MASKED TEN MOVIES - 2016

Here are my ten favorite movies of 2016. As you can see below, with one exception, my bias is towards the smaller independent films. I waited to publish the list until I saw "La La Land" but, for me, it didn't knock any of these off of the list. It was no "Whiplash". 

 There was nothing that blew me away like the above mentioned movie or "Boyhood" of "Mad Max: Fury Road". If you put a gun to my head I would say my favoritest movie of the year was "Sing Street" with "The Eagle Huntress" a close second but all of these movies (listed alphabetically) kept me awake for their entire run and left a lasting impression on me. Check them out.

Arrival

The Eagle Huntress

The Handmaiden

Hell or High Water

The Innocents

Love and Friendship

Miles Ahead

The Nice Guys

Sing Street

Weiner

MASKED 12 - JAZZ ALBUMS 2016

Here's my annual list of favorite Jazz albums for the year. I listen to a lot of Jazz and Reggae and these are the twelve Jazz albums that would break through the constant background music and make me stop and look to see what's playing. By the end of the year I just knew.

Some years an album or two would be heads above the others. This year I enjoyed all of these works equally but if you don't buy much jazz check out Lucian Ban's "Songs from Afar"

So here are the Masked12 for 2016

Charles Lloyd & the Marvels - I Long to See You

Lucian Ban - Songs from Afar

Larry Young - In Paris: The ORTF Recordings

Renee Rosnes - Written in the Rocks

Vijay Iyler & Wadada Leo Smith - A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke

Jack DeJohnette-Ravi Coltrane-Matt Garrison - In Movement

Eli Degibri - Cliff Hangin'

Omar Sosa & Paolo Fresu - Eros

Richard Bona & Mandekan Cubano - Heritage

Enrico Pieranuzi - New Spring

Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra - Time/Life

Tom Harrell - Something Gold, Something Blue

THE MASKED TEN TV - 2016

Lots of good TV this year, far more than the shows found below. As I do each year I want to emphasize that this list represents my favorites and not necessarily the "best" shows of the past year. I don't know how to do that. 

I don't watch everything, but I do watch a lot. As you can see below I gravitate towards certain platforms because I tend to like their product. Although this is a "top ten" list there are seventeen shows here. I'm an old-school scheduler so I do believe that the whole is often greater than the sum of its parts and, although shows don't appear on the same night, they do represent a feeling.

Finally, I can't get to everything so a show like BLACK MIRROR may show up next year. I thought that was going to be the case with TRANSPARENT but season three again did not live up to my appreciation and joy of the first season. Oh well.

Yes I watched this year's darlings STRANGER THINGS, WESTWORLD, and THE NIGHT OF. They didn't do it for me to the extent of replacing anything on this list. I'm happy if they did it for you.

So here are my faves for the year in some sort of order but don't hold me to it. I don't try to be cute by finding something obscure to put here. Most are returning shows, only two are freshman series.


THE AMERICANS (FX)

The evolution of Paige, the destruction of Martha, Elizabeth's betrayal of her one true friend, the sadness of William, Nina, the Mail Robot. This show is fucking amazing. AND IT TURNED OUT THE RUSSIANS WON!!!!!

RECTIFY (SUNDANCE CHANNEL)

Every scene, every sentence, every character is perfection. I find myself holding my breath, forgetting to breath more with this show than any other. Caitlin FitzGerald has been a welcome addition to this final season. I will miss them all so much.


THE PEOPLE V. OJ SIMPSON (FX)

Full disclosure, I'm not a big Ryan Murphy fan but this "event series" or whatever it was labelled held a special interest for me because, without going into details, I had an intimate link to this moment in our history.
This was riveting television from start to finish with some of the best over-the-top acting I have ever seen. There were times I felt that every actor was in a different show but it didn't matter. Respect to Sarah Paulson and special shout out to Travolta who was a glorious trainwreck. The ESPN documentary was also quite excellent. This will never go away. 


BETTER CALL SAUL (AMC)

Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks and MVP Michael McKean that is all.

SILICON VALLEY (HBO)

This is the funniest show on television for me and, although I don't work in that world, feels authentic. Don't bust my bubble. Special shout out to Masked Wife's fave Martin Starr because he reminds her of me....attitude wise.

HAPPY VALLEY/RIVER/THE FALL/MARCELLA (NETFLIX)

One of my favorite things about Netflix is when these little nuggets pop up. HAPPY VALLEY is my fave of the group and  RIVER was a pleasant discovery. They are dark and riveting and I have a few sitting in my to do list for the new year. 

PREACHER (AMC)

This one came out of nowhere for me but, as I said above, AMC is one of those platforms that gets my full attention. This show was fucking wack and we consumed it virtually close to air. Can't wait for season two and what a way to get introduced to Ruth Negga (Tulip)

ATLANTA (FX)

I don't turn to FX for my comedy fix and I honestly don't see this as a comedy...more of a sadedy...I was worn down by the platitudes so I figured we would check it out and, because we were late to the party, and because there are so many ways to consume TV we went to the FX app and caught ourselves up. So happy we did. I think this was the Masked Wife's favorite show of the year since she keeps coming back to it in conversations...and she has exquisite taste.

GAME OF THRONES (HBO)

Loved, loved this season and actually gave one episode a standing ovation so fuck you if you disagree.

JANE THE VIRGIN/CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND (CW)

I know they are now on different nights  but for one glorious season Monday night on the CW was the best night of network television there was. Smart and creative in so many ways and so aware that they are TV shows. One makes me feel warm all over and the other hurts my brain but in a good way. They are both a reminder that the CW is more than superhero of the night. Too bad the CW whiffed for me in their third attempt at this form. I hope there are more and looking forward to Archie et al.

THE GOLDBERGS/FRESH OFF THE BOAT/ MODERN FAMILY (ABC)

I'm not saying it's easy to make great comedies like these but sometimes the networks make it harder on themselves than they have to by trying to be different. ABC has the secret sauce and superb casting and they are single camera but there's a lot to laugh at here. We had The Goldbergs at FOX for a cup of coffee and I would have loved to see how it would have been cast...not like this I'm certain.

 If I had to pick 5 shows that just missed the cut they would be

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (NETFLIX)
CATASTROPHE (AMAZON)
UNDERGROUND (WGN AMERICA)
THE NIGHT MANAGER (AMC)
HIGH MAINTENANCE  (HBO)

The most improved show of the year for me was GOTHAM. Check it out.

Happy to hear your thoughts but remember...not the best...just my personal favorites.

TCA SMACKDOWN

I attended my first TCA (Television Critics Association or "Press Tour") sometime around 1987 or so. Since then, up to my retirement from the industry, I have gone to about 60 of these puppies. I mention this right up front to establish that I believe I have some cred in what is going to be an obsession among TV writers leading up to the January TCA in Pasadena. You see yesterday the heads of the broadcast networks. with I believe the exception of the CW, decided not to hold executive sessions at this event.

Here's my two cents on all this and remember.....experience. I will be brief.

Let me start here. TCA has changed over the years but the way networks approached it has not. The biggest change has been the speed by which the "news" from TCA is disseminated to the consumer. The original intent of TCA was to book stories for the next few months as new shows were rolling out. The networks would make their senior executives available to the press and those sessions would be reported within a day or two of their occurrence.

Preparation for the executive sessions would take up a lot of time as we would try to anticipate the issues that would be top of mind to the writers. The goal was not to make news. I remember one of my bosses almost got fired for commenting on something during his TCA session. Some serious shit could happen if you weren't careful and, as much as you prepared, there would always be a question or two that you did not anticipate.

I always told my bosses that there are only three responses to questions at TCA:
Yeah
And your point is
Go fuck yourself
Just be creative in how you frame the answer.

As painful as it was and as risky as it was my bosses always felt the obligation, as did our competitors, to meet the TV press at TCA. To be honest, I think there was always a little ego involved in all this but you don't get to those positions without it.

Personally, TCA was always a chance to catch up with several of the writers with whom I had established trusting relationships over the years. I still stay in touch with several of them and help them out in any way that I can. There are a lot of smart people still writing about the business.

This all started to change with the rise of social media especially Twitter. News from TCA became instantaneous. The gap between reflection and assessment on the one hand and communication on the other vanished. The need to react immediately was intensified by the reality that you were sitting in a room with others sending out their take on what was happening.

On top of that the Tweeters developed personalities which started to merge with their reporting of the sessions at TCA. In my opinion Tweeting became as much to impress one's fellow writers as it was to objectively report on the session. Again, in my opinion, tweeting at TCA often became a form of virtual public stoning.

Sadly I spent the past few years at TCA feeling bad for my press and publicity comrades who had to sit through these sessions staring at their smartphones anticipating the worst.
I think it was Bob Greenblatt who turned the tables on the TV writers by posting their tweets on a big screen.

The game and the soul of TCA had changed. It's all about the clicks, who can be funny or witty, and that's OK.

Also, to be honest, there was a new generation of writers several of whom, not all, just didn't seem to have a grasp of the business nor an historical perspective to help process issues. Trust me, this wasn't just my opinion.

In the final years of my tenure in television two things I ranted about at work were TCAs and Upfront presentations. My rants were not about eliminating them but rather bringing both into the present in ways that accounted for the changes in technology and the new realities of the business. I was generally met with eyerolls because it was easier to stay the course rather than be the innovator (something I dealt with through my entire career). Therefore I was not surprised when it was Netflix and Amazon who fired the first Salvo here.

Were the networks smart in how they handled this announcement? No, not at all, but if it leads to a discussion of how to reimagine TCA given all of the new realities then fine.

Throwing a hissy fit like the one I read this morning. Calling the networks cowards and in denial is only going to harden positions. TCA stands for Television Critics Association. As critics they have the right to evaluate shows and give their opinions. They even have the right to be biased against broadcast network product and come to whatever conclusions they want to about why it is what it is. I don't believe the networks have pulled their shows, just their executives.

Maybe an association of TV Business Writers who sit down with the various heads of networks for open, honest discussions about the state of the business, while not on their Twitter accounts, would be a step in the right direction. I don't know.

What I do know is that these network heads and the people they report to are not stupid and are more aware of things and what to do about it than many give them credit for. Change is good. Let's see where this all goes.

THE BOOK OF LIFE - THE STICK TO YOUR KNITTING EDITION

It looks like the Fall premieres are finally over and I'm adding what I believe are the final four freshmen series to the Book of Life. Mostly good news and three of the four are CBS shows which were delayed because of the Thursday NFL package on the network.

CBS is best at sticking to its knitting and once again it paid off. However, they still seem to have issues with finding a solid medical drama. Code Black which was predicted to make it to a second Kol Nidre service (it did) is floundering and Pure Genius does not look like it will get a second season. On the plus side the classic CBS schlubby guy/hot wife formula still has legs and, after one or two attempts at Big Banging it again, The Great Indoors looks promising. 

ABC continues to score with family comedies but can't pop with the ersatz-Shonda approach to female centric drama.

FOX's biggest success is going broad and mainstream. Lethal Weapon is not only holding up well with 18-49's but is getting nosebleed level 2+ viewers which is something the network either consciously or unconsciously resists (trust me on this).

NBC is the most interesting in that they have the least to lose and can use The Voice and Chicago Whatevs to try something different and it's paying off for them.

The CW didn't come up with this year's Jane the Virgin or Crazy Ex-Girlfriend but let's see what happens with Archie (Riverdale)

Last May I said that the nets were acting like broadcast networks more than they have in recent years and it paid off.So on to mid-season where there are some more offbeat shots. 

New entries are in red  

BUY THE DELI PLATTER AND PAY A SHIVA CALL (stick a fork in it, it's done)

NOTORIOUS

WILL CELEBRATE THEIR B'NAI MITZVAH (will get to 13 on the air)

SON OF ZORN

McGYVER

PITCH
CONVICTION
NO TOMOROW
PURE GENIUS

LET'S GO TO A BRIS (the order will be snipped)

THE EXORCIST

SET A PLACE AT THE SEDER TABLE (should finish full the season)

DESIGNATED SURVIVOR
TIMELESS

SEE YOU AT NEXT YEAR'S KOL NIDRE SERVICE (there's a second season)

KEVIN CAN WAIT

THE GOOD PLACE

LETHAL WEAPON

THIS IS US

SPEECHLESS
BULL
FREQUENCY
AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE
MAN WITH A PLAN
THE GREAT INDOORS

WHAT IF I SCHEDULED TRUMP TV

Last week I got a call from Michael O'Connell over at The Hollywood Reporter. He told me how much he enjoyed my Twitter feed and said that they were putting together something on the possibility of a post-election Trump TV. He wondered if I would put together a prime time schedule for the platform.

Of course in the modern era a Trump TV channel would be some sort of digital streaming entity where schedules don't really matter but, be that as it may, I was asked to go old school and, to be honest, the fact that anyone is still interested in what I have to say, makes me feel needed.

I put together the schedule in the same way I did it for over 25 years: I drew a grid by hand and filled it in with a pencil or pen.

My goal was to create a schedule that would be entertaining and that had a logic and flow to it. Clearly it reflected my opinion of the man who would put his brand on such an endeavor (not high) and I tried to reflect what I believe is going on in that deranged mind of his

Surprisingly the folks over at The Hollywood Reporter printed it as is with no changes other than a few typos since I can't spell to save my ass.

Here is the link to the Hollywood Reporter article and I reprinted the schedule.

Let me know what you think.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/a-legendary-hollywood-scheduler-imagines-trump-tvs-lineup-943547

THE BOOK OF LIFE - THE 'WHY BOTHER" EDITION

I added five more shows (they're in red) to The Book of Life. Two of them will make it to next year's Kol Nidre service not that they are performing well, it's more that nothing will perform better in the time period so....why bother? 

I have to believe that, somewhere on this blog, I discussed the magic number 2 1/2. That's the number of new hours that a network can put on before they are better off sticking with what's currently on their schedule. Most networks (CBS being the exception) generally go beyond this limit because "we can do better"....they cannot. What then compounds the problem is making too many changes when the current shows are not working. Good rule: You want to see a time period circle the drain quicker....change the programming.

There are so many factors which account for the decline of network ratings but there are self-inflicted wounds. that's why it's good to see networks sticking with what brought them to the dance. NOTORIOUS was the one show I felt needed to be offed because of its important place on ABC's big Shonda night. Yesterday they snipped the order but beyond that most shows are being allowed to run their course and I added two shows for a total of seven shows that I expect to be back for a second season.

One of the two shows that will be at next year's Kol Nidre service is FREQUENCY because the CW renews almost everything. NO TOMORROW was an attempt to replicate the creative success of two of my faves JANE THE VIRGIN and CRAZY EX GIRLFRIEND......nope. I don't expect it to last beyond its B'nai Mitzvah...but.....why bother.

Happy Simchat Torah everyone.  

BUY THE DELI PLATTER AND PAY A SHIVA CALL (stick a fork in it, it's done)

NOTORIOUS

WILL CELEBRATE THEIR B'NAI MITZVAH (will get to 13 on the air)

SON OF ZORN

McGYVER

PITCH
CONVICTION
NO TOMOROW

LET'S GO TO A BRIS (the order will be snipped)

THE EXORCIST

SET A PLACE AT THE SEDER TABLE (should finish full the season)

DESIGNATED SURVIVOR
TIMELESS

SEE YOU AT NEXT YEAR'S KOL NIDRE SERVICE (there's a second season)

KEVIN CAN WAIT

THE GOOD PLACE

LETHAL WEAPON

THIS IS US

SPEECHLESS
BULL
FREQUENCY

That Time Bob Dylan told me to "Fuck Off"

I woke up this morning to the news that Bob Dylan had won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Big up to him. Several of my good friends have heard this story but, in honor of this award, I thought I would share it with all of you. It's about the time that Mr. Dylan told me to "fuck off".....he really did.

While playing the role of a powerful network executive I had the opportunity to meet several celebrities and powerful people. After a while you get sort of numb to it. Some of them impress you (Jack Welsh, Rupert Murdoch, George Clooney) and some of them are fucking idiots and you just wonder.

At FOX I was often asked by casting to sit in on meetings with professional wrestlers. I had a chance to meet Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H and Chyna and Jeff Jarrett. I also got to meet Vince McMahon along with his kids Shane and Stephanie when they were shopping Smackdown to the broadcast networks.

I met John McCain of the set of 24 and the entire Masked Family had their picture taken with the Clintons when Bill was President. We actually used it as our Holiday card one year. The card said "The B------s and the Clintons wish you Happy Holidays" We received calls from several friends asking us how we photoshopped the picture. Several thought I was joking when I said it was real.

Funny story about that. Before we headed to DC for "Christmas in Washington" my daughter broke her wrist so she was wearing a cast at the taping. My wife tried to make her feel better by promising that we would ask the President to sign his cast. My good friend in NBC Sales got us on the list to have our picture taken with the Clintons. After the picture was shot, as we were walking away, I heard my wife say "Mr. President would you sign my daughter's cast?" Bill said "Do You have a Sharpie?" of course she did and we have my daughter's autographed cast to this day.

But I digress.....

....So it's late 1988 or early 1989. I'm in Research at NBC and still living in New York. I was coming back from a business trip to LA. This was a time when you could still smoke on a plane and it was also a time when executives like me could travel First Class. It so happened that on the day I was returning to NYC The Traveling Wilburys was nominated for a Grammy. At some point early in the flight a man in a hoodie gets up to use the restroom. On the way back to his seat I noticed that it was Bob Dylan. He was sitting across the aisle and a few rows back from me.

My relatively new boss at NBC was a huge Bob Dylan fan and legend had it that, when Dylan was on SNL, my boss went down to the dress rehearsal with Dylan's picture in a frame and a knife to cut it out of the frame. He was jumped by security and never got the autograph that he was seeking. I thought to myself "Wouldn't it be cool if I could get my boss Dylan's autograph". As I said at the top you get numb to meeting celebrities BUT THIS WAS BOB FUCKING DYLAN!!!!!! This was different. This was like approaching a God.

I took out a pad and a pen and spent the whole flight working up the nerve to ask him for his signature. In my mind I went through every possible line I could use.I was terrified. Finally, about twenty minutes before landing, I got up crossed the aisle and stood at his seat. Dylan was smoking a cigarette and was talking intensely with his travelling companion. So there I am holding a pen and a pad. His companion looks up at me and shakes her head like---don't do this. Dylan sees her reaction and turns around to look at me. Here's what came out of my mouth: "You can tell me to fuck off". Dylan looked at me and said as only he can "Fuck off". I walked back to my seat with no autograph and with my heart beating quite rapidly.

When we landed I immediately called my boss. "You won't believe who told me to fuck off on the flight back to New York....BOB DYLAN!!!!". I told him the story and we both agreed that being told to fuck off by Bob Dylan trumped getting his autograph.

So congrats on the Nobel Prize Bob and thank you for giving me one of the peak experiences of my life.

THE BOOK OF LIFE: ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER

Tonight is Yom Kippur so it's time to turn the page and begin entering the new 2016-17 series in the Book of Life. I generally wait for three numbers before determining the fate of a show. I made one exception because the ratings are so strong that, even when the gimmick wears off, there's enough there to merit another season. I'm assuming five of the eleven shows below will return for a second season which is a pretty good success rate. Each network has something to feel good about. As I said last spring the broadcast networks decided to act like broadcasters and they are being rewarded.

I think that there is only one major casualty so far and that is Notorious. It is suffering from the triple whammy of low ratings, little critical/social support and inhabiting a "Must Succeed" time period hammocked between the two Shonda shows. ABC is going to have to do something to prevent this important night from slipping away while they wait for the return of Scandal, so expect something if Notorious dips below a 1 this week. I feel bad because a good friend of mine is the Executive Producer here.

There are other shows hovering at a 1 rating but they will probably not suffer the ignominious fate of Notorious. Pitch will hang in for 13 and not go beyond that this season. FOX is into these short orders. It is holding up relative to its leadin and has the critical/social respect to support it. Also the dude who does This Is Us did this and I don't think FOX wants to piss him off right now. If I were to bet it's 13 and out for Pitch       

                                                                                    McGyver is not showing a very good trend and is down near a 1. CBS (whom I have a lot of respect for) if the king of the "My Shit Doesn't Stink" philosophy of programming so they will ride it out for 13. Also CBS generally gets the largest audiences for their shows so that 1 for McGyver includes a lot more viewers than we see for Pitch. 

I don't know what FOX was thinking with The Exorcist. In addition to being a bad pilot I have to believe that there was resistance to this show from their Sales group. I don't see how they can hang in there for all 13.

The one head scratcher for me is Designated Survivor. The next number will be interesting. I couldn't get myself to buy it tickets for next year's Kol Nidre service. It was the winner of the MASKY for best new Fall hour but, having watched the three episodes, it does have the whiff of coming off the rails. The family stuff is terrible and every few minutes I hear myself saying "Now wait a second"....this show requires just too much suspension of disbelief. I'm also waiting for Kiefer to go all Jack Bauer and when it doesn't happen I feel let down. I think it will last the season and the delayed viewing is large but I'll withhold judgement for now.

I'll be back with a few more shows real soon. Meanwhile here is the list so far.

BUY THE DELI PLATTER AND PAY A SHIVA CALL (stick a fork in it, it's done)

NOTORIOUS

WILL CELEBRATE THEIR B'NAI MITZVAH (will get to 13 on the air)

SON OF ZORN

McGYVER

PITCH

LET'S GO TO A BRIS (the order will be snipped)

THE EXORCIST

SET A PLACE AT THE SEDER TABLE (should finish full the season)

DESIGNATED SURVIVOR

SEE YOU AT NEXT YEAR'S KOL NIDRE SERVICE (there's a second season)

KEVIN CAN WAIT

THE GOOD PLACE

LETHAL WEAPON

THIS IS US

SPEECHLESS

THE MASKED TEN - HALFWAY THROUGH

There's been a lot of really good television so far this year. As we approach the halfway mark I thought that i would share with you the MASKED TEN for 2016 so far. As always I never call these shows the best because that is a personal evaluation. Rather, these are the ten ( actually 14) shows that I especially enjoyed this year. 

The one criteria for being on the list is that the show has finished it's run or, in the case of streaming series, I have watched the entire cycle. There are some shows like PREACHER on AMC and UNREAL on Lifetime that are currently on and may well knock off current MASKED TEN shows.

There are 14 shows on the list because, in three situations, I gave a platform credit for something beyond simply one show. i guess that was my attempt t being cool and creative. I don't think that this is a radically offbeat list and I have a feeling many of you enjoy these shows as well. We may differ on the order but that's simply subjective. So here are the mid-year MASKED TEN listed in the order of my enjoyment. 

• THE AMERICANS (FX)
• THE PEOPLE vs. OJ SIMPSON (FX)
• BETTER CALL SAUL (AMC)
• SILICON VALLEY (HBO)
• HAPPY VALLEY/RIVER - NETFLIX BRITISH PROCEDURALS
• ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (NETFLIX)
• GAME OF THRONES (HBO)
• CW MONDAY - CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND/JANE THE VIRGIN
• ABC FAMILY COMEDIES - FRESH OFF THE BOAT/THE GOLDBERGS/MODERN FAMILY
• THE NIGHT MANAGER (AMC)

There are five honorable mentions that will miss the cut this year but still had excellent cycles:

• BILLIONS (SHOWTIME)
• THE OUTSIDERS (WGN AMERICA)
• LONDON SPY (BBC AMERICA)
• GIRLS (HBO)
• CATASTROPHE (AMAZON)

Let me know your thoughts

MASKYS 2016

One of the greatest wrestlers of all time (in my humble opinion) Bret Hart said that professional wrestlers can be evaluated on three characteristics:

• In-Ring Ability
• Appearance
• Mike Skills

It was that simple.

Evaluating Broadcast TV Pilots can also be reduced to three characteristics. Over my 35 years in the business, and having seen hundreds of pilots, I can pretty much tell whether something has potential by asking myself three questions:

• Quality...Pretty simple. Was it good. Well produced. Cast right. Did it hold my attention. Were there people to root for or care about.
• Is it commercial...Can it attract a large broad audience. That is important for the BUSINESS of broadcast television which still relies, to a large extent, on ad sales. Is there more than a niche audience here.
• Sustainability...Is this a TV show or just a solid pilot. Can you see episode 50. Are there enough stories that can be told and characters whose journeys you want to follow. 

Pilots that hit this trifecta and hit it big are rare and by no means am I saying that there aren't shows that have long successful careers that come up short on one or more of these criteria. Clearly other factors come into play but when you screen the pilots, hear the research and put together a schedule you need something other than your gut.

I have gone through many pilot seasons without seeing a home run on my network or the other nets. Once in awhile the heavens do open though. Since coming to FOX in 2000 there are four pilots that exploded for me:

24

MODERN FAMILY

JANE THE VIRGIN

EMPIRE

The EMPIRE pilot was so good that I remember telling our head of Drama development that he finally made a pilot that lots of people may actually want to watch. Yeah I'm an asshole...never denied it.

Well I watched 37 pilots and sadly I have to report that none of them popped on all three criteria. If I had to characterize this year's crop of pilots I would call them "competent". There are a lot of familiar ideas here. Several of them are pre-sold with the hopes that a franchise, be it film or TV series, will attract eyeballs. Comedy continues to be a bitch and, to be honest, sometimes the nets make it harder on themselves than they have to. If you look at the small list above three of the four are family shows and the fourth, 24, started out its life as a family drama.

Maybe I'm getting old and cynical...no I AM old and cynical...but one thing I sensed this year was the cookie cutter nature of most of the characters in this year's class. There was something rather predictable about everyone's actions as if writers went to the character playbook and followed the recipe with little deviation. I felt that there was a lack of trust that viewers can figure these people out on their own. There was little effort to add complexity.

Even in a solid pilot like DESIGNATED SURVIVOR it felt really important to keep Kiefer Sutherland in a Cornell sweat and to give him horn rimmed glasses to drive home the point that this is an academic thrust into the role of President. He's fucking Jack Bauer man. That's why people are gonna watch this.

So I have my check list for judging the pilots and, of course, I have the 35 years of experience, and I give each pilot a grade of A through F. Without getting into the plusses and minuses here was this year's breakdown. Oh and of course the nets will now potchkie with several of the pilots...recast, add a character,change a plotline or ending etc. generally making things worse but this is what we have right now:

A

24 LEGACY

B

THE MICK

TRIAL AND ERROR

DESIGNATED SURVIVOR

PURE GENIUS

THIS IS US

THE PITCH

LETHAL WEAPON

TRAINING DAY

STAR

SHOTS FIRED

C

SPEECHLESS

KEVIN CAN WAIT

MAN WITH A PLAN

A GOOD PLACE

THE GREAT INDOORS

GREAT NEWS

DOWNWARD DOG

MAKING HISTORY

CONVICTION

NOTORIOUS

BULL

TIMELESS

NO TOMORROW

FREQUENCY

DOUBT

TIME AFTER TIME

TAKEN 

MIDNIGHT, TEXAS

APB

PRISON BREAK

RIVERDALE

D

AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE

IMAGINARY MARY

POWERLESS

MARLON

THE EXORCIST

A lot of those C's were competent, just not inspiring. There are four shows that I will personally check out in the fall. There are others that may work but I won't be watching. The four I intend to follow are:

DESIGNATED SURVIVOR

24 LEGACY

STAR

TRAINING DAY

A few other observations

I felt that FOX had the best development. I'm not just saying that because I worked there for 15 years. In fact they refused to share their pilots with me. I'm saying that as a broadcast professional.

I love the ABC family comedies so I was scratching my head at this year's comedy choices. I think there's a reason why ABC has had the success it has had in comedy and there seemed to be a conscious effort to avoid servicing that audience. To CBS's everlasting credit they know who their audience is and they service them and they did it again this year.

There were two pilots whose premise was billionaires know how to do things better than institutions (APB-law enforcement and PURE GENIUS-medicine) Hmmmmm

There were two pilots which I gather were written by the same dude. Both had a big reveal at the end which sort of changes the narrative and makes you wonder what the series is. I won't say which two they were but both got very low marks for sustainability.

There was a lot of time travel this year. I DM'd Shawn Ryan after his pilot TIMELESS was picked up over at NBC to wish him the best and emphasize how important the rules are for sci-fi in general and time travel shows in specific. I am not a fan of sci-fi on broadcast. They generally have a niche audience and these viewers often bail if there is an inconsistency in the rules of the show. If TIMELESS sees itself as more of an adventure show and less sci-fi it may have a chance but this is a tough nut to crack.

I was a little disappointed in the CW. They are doing a great job over there and in the last two seasons have really delivered something special in JANE THE VIRGIN and CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND. I guess they felt NO TOMORROW was the next one in that space but it wasn't. FOX initially developed RIVERDALE and, when it suddenly appeared as CW development, I was excited to see the finished product. It was OK...sort of more WB than CW if you know what I mean. I probably set a higher bar for CW than the other nets.

Well those are my thoughts on the pilots and again just one person's opinions. Judge for yourself.

So if you missed the MASKYS on Twitter here they are:

BEST FALL ONE HOUR – “DESIGNATED SURVIVOR”    

BEST FALL HALF HOUR – “THE GREAT INDOORS”  

                                     

BEST TIME TRAVEL SERIES – “THIS IS US”   

BEST IP (MOVIE) – “TRAINING DAY”  

BEST MID-SEASON HOUR “24 LEGACY”

BEST MID-SEASON HALF HOUR – “THE MICK”

BEST DRINKING GAME – “STAR” (TAKE A SHOT EVERY TIME THE WORD “BITCH” IS UTTERED)

BEST PLEASANT SURPRISE – “PURE GENIUS” (TERRIBLE TITLE THOUGH)

           

BEST USE OF VOICE FOR AN ANIMAL, IMAGINARY CHARACTER OR INANIMATE OBJECT – “MAN WITH A PLAN”

THE “PRETTY LITTLE ARCHIES” AWARD – “RIVERDALE”

BEST USE OF THE CBS EYE AS A TIME MACHINE – “TIMELESS”

MICHAEL DANN AND THE TALE OF MY BIG FAT OBNOXIOUS RABBI

Last night I read that legendary programmer Michael Dann had passed at the age of 94. I hope that longevity is in the scheduling gene. 

There is not a very large fraternity (and sadly yes it is overwhelmingly a male dominated gig) of schedulers in the history of Broadcasting. Schedulers tend to keep their jobs across several regimes. I have had more than one new Network Entertainment President come into my office and say a variation of "I don't know what the fuck you really do but you seem to know what you're doing and I have bigger problems so carry on". On one or two occasions a new President has approached me and said "I know a thing or two about scheduling". They generally get fired pretty fast. But I digress.

Mike Dann and I shared a few things about our careers. We both had long runs at two networks. We appreciated how scheduling could turn mediocre shows into hits. We both celebrated and tried to protect and build quality shows. Most importantly, neither of us looked down on mass appeal, silly, "low brow" television. For him is was the Paul Henning shows: "Petticoat Junction", "Beverly Hillbillies", "Green Acres". For me it was reality television and my friendships with Bruce Nash and Mike Darnell.

You see what Michael Dann and I shared in common was that we were both ratings junkies. In his obituary in today's New York Times this quote of his stood out.

“By and large I operated under a principle I was trained in, and that was that there was no such thing as a good program executive with low-rated shows or a bad program executive with high-rated shows, and I never changed my position as long as I was working in the commercial networks.” 

I shared this principle through my entire career as well. That often put me at odds with several of my colleagues but I really didn't care. My job was to get ratings and if I could get them with "quality" fine but if I needed to go into the gutter once in awhile so be it.

So in honor of Mike Dann I will share with you one of the lowest moments of my professional career. This is from my late lamented original Blog. It's the tale of how I came up with the idea for a reality show called "MY BIG FAT OBNOXIOUS RABBI"

Don't judge me.

Now that the show is having some success there has been some discussion of late about how CBS will be able to do another iteration of UNDERCOVER BOSS. Won't it be difficult to replicate the secrecy and won't workers know something is up especially if the presence of cameras is explained in the same way each week?  Since I believe that reality TV is the pro wrestling of the new millennium I assume that UB is more staged now than we may think and that's ok. FOX was faced with a somewhat similar dilemma several years ago when we were stunned by the ratings success of JOE MILLIONAIRE. Mike Darnell tried to convince our leaders to make a second one before we aired the first iteration. Mike hoped that if JM popped we would have a second one in the can and therefore avoid the problems of replicating the surprise element. I think NBC shot two iterations of FOR LOVE OR MONEY for that very reason. All this got me thinking about the need for secrecy in the world of unscripted and one of the lowest moments of my professional career when I threw all principles aside in pursuit of a rating.

A little while after the success of our series MY BIG FAT OBNOXIOUS FIANCE' (a woman introduces an obnoxious guy to her family and tells them that they are about to be married) the Masked Wife and I received a letter from the Rabbi of our temple informing the congregation that he was about to retire. I had actually become buds with him. We would often have sushi and shoot the breeze. He was and is a really nice guy who now wanted to be known as "Alan" and not "Rabbi".                                                                                                                                                        A few weeks after we received the letter the Masked Wife informed me that she had been asked to join the search committee to find a new Rabbi. My mind immediately went to the dark side. What if Mikey (Darnell) and I went to the board of our temple and offered them a sum of money that would clear all their debts and in return the temple would allow us to find an actor to play the most obnoxious Rabbi ever. He would be introduced to the congregation and we would film his first few weeks as the new Rabbi. The committee can continue to find the replacement; we just want to do the con first. I even figured out the camera thing. We would say that the temple had agreed to allow the search to be filmed for a documentary on how a reform synagogue selects a Rabbi.

This all made perfect sense to me. I could not contain my enthusiasm as I pitched all this to my sweet wife. She just looked at me and said "You realize if I agree to let you go to the board we would have to leave the temple and possibly the area". I think my response was "Possibly but this is going to be huge". She said, "Go ahead". My wife assumed that I would eventually come to my senses. She called my bluff. That's what these jobs can do to you.

So I pitched “My Big Fat Obnoxious Rabbi” to Darnell who, not surprisingly, shared my enthusiasm. We played around with the idea for a while but eventually we realized that we would burn in hell if we did this. Mike and I still think of it as the big one that got away. When Peter Liguori replaced Gail Berman as head of entertainment at FOX Mike and I Pitched him the idea. He was genuinely concerned about us.

Anyway, the temple finds a Rabbi and one Sunday afternoon the entire congregation assembles to meet him. After some speeches the curtains open to reveal the new Rabbi and his family. I turned to the Masked Wife and said, "That's a 40 share down the drain".

After the new Rabbi was introduced I'm having a farewell lunch with Alan our now former Rabbi. I decide, what the fuck, let me share this crazy idea with him. I walk him through all the details; he sits there quietly for a minute...."How much money would you have offered us?”. So I give him a number, a number that would have cleared the books on the temple’s debt. "How could you afford to do that?".... I explain this all works. 

"Why didn't you come to me with this?".....................OH SHIT!!!!

So respect and praises to Mike Dann and maybe this story makes it into my obit.