IT'S SUMMERSLAM SUMMERSLAM SUM SUM SUMMERSLAM _ PREDICTION AND HOLY SHIT EXPECTATIONS

Another summer another slam. This one feels pretty solid and should resolve some story lines while pushing others forward.

Interesting that there are several titles not being contested here. Austin Theory gets a pass with the US belt. He's been sort of a dud. No Rhea but, seriously there is only one person who can challenge her and KO injured means no tag title match. Yet there's still enough here and, with Vince on the shelf for legal and medical reasons, hopefully this gives Trips a free hand.

Also no NXT presence on the card although there will be some in the Battle Royal so let's start there.

Holy Shits are 0 to 4

SUMMERSLAM BATTLE ROYAL

These are always a mess and I assume this is the one that puts LA Knight over. Guessing the final four are LA, Shinsuke, Chiampa and Bronson Reed. Giving it 1 1/2 Holy Shits

RONDA/SHAYNA

As hard as they try to make Rhonda the face she is not beloved by the fans and I think they have done a good job of making Shayna sympathetic which is a major achievement. I assume Rousey take some time off and this gives Shayna the push for a championship shot. 2 Holy Shits

LOGAN/RICK O' SHAY

Spotfest and I think Logan needs a W so who better to give him one. I have grown to respect what Logan Paul does both in the ring and on the mike. 3 1/2 Holy Shits

SETH/FINN

There are four championships on the line and it is hard to believe that none of them will flip. I think this is the most likely since it advances a storyline for Finn, Priest and The Judgement Day. I'm going with Finn with Priest getting involved with his briefcase. Seth will be fine. He doesn't need this belt. 4 Holy Shits

ASUKA/BIANCA/CHARLOTTE

Do the math. Too soon. for Bianca to regain the belt. Charlotte would be boring and predictable. Asuka and the title would benefit the most from the W and let her have a sustained run. She can make anyone look good. I think she retains and all three women will come out looking good. 3 Holy Shits

GUNTHER/DREW

Can't see Drew taking the belt yet So assume a Gunther win with interference from his Nazi henchmen and the feud will continue. Gunther does not know how to put on a bad match and Drew is Drew so this will be a 4 Holy Shit banger

CODY/BROCK

If there was ever a slam dunk it's here. Brock has been kicking the shit out of Cody pretty consistently of late so it's payback. It will be brutal but Cody will get the pin and I believe a new obstacle will emerge to stand between him and the title. 3 Holy Shits

TRIBAL COMBAT TIME

The greatest story ever told in the WWWF/WWF/WWE continues and it should be pandemonium. Would not be surprised if Jimmy and Sami as well as the elders get involved. It almost doesn't matter who wins because there is a lot more to tell in this saga but I assume Roman walks out with the strap in a 4 Holy Shit extravaganza.

Anything can happen on Friday to change or add to the card so, as always card subject to change.

trump, oj AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING A RATINGS WHORE

 chris licht fucked up. I mean he really fucked up.....bigly.

Not only did he give donald trump a national forum a day after trump was found, by a jury of his peers, to have sexually assaulted a woman, but to have caused her mental anguish by slandering her as only trump can do. That cost him five million dollars. Licht also had the audacity to call this event a "town hall" when the room was made up of donald trump supporters and "independent" trump leaners (whatever the fuck that means). This was a campaign rally fully funded by cnn as a way to ingratiate their platform to the indicted ex-president as the 2024 presidential campaign starts to gear up. Finally, cnn threw him some red meat by having a young, intelligent woman on the stage with him. He accommodated by calling her a nasty person.

chris licht is a ratings whore. His predecessor jeff zucker was a ratings whore.

Former NBC evp for program planning Preston Beckman told Smith: “Zucker's thirst for ratings blinded him to the damage he was doing by offering saturation Trump coverage.” “He's a ratings whore — and I'm telling you that as a ratings whore” 

That's me in a New York Times article on Zucker before he was canned by cnn for doing some dumb shit.

As I alluded to in my post, I am a ratings whore and it takes one to know one. The thing about being a ratings whore is that the short term rush of doing something dispicable for a rating often has negative results down the road. I think that may happen over at cnn. Whatever benefits they thought this stunt would get them may also cost them far more than the ratings bump.

UPDATE: THE TOWN HALL DID NOT GIVE cnn THE RATINGS BUMP THEY WERE HOPING FOR

I have done things for ratings and, this morning, I asked myself what was the most hideous thing I ever did and it was easy...OJ.

I don't think I ever shared this with you all so enjoy.....

Somewhere around 2004 I was at FOX Broadcasting. rupert murdoch was in town and I was at a meeting with him, Mike Darnell our unscripted king, Peter Liguori our boss and maybe some others. At the meeting rupert told us that judith regan, a sleazeball author who had a publishing deal with Harper Collins (owned by Newscorp), was in the process of writing a book called "If I Did It" where oj simpson speculates as to how he would have murdered his wife Nicolle and her friend Ron Goldman.....if he did it. rupert said that, as part of the book deal, there would be a special where simpson would talk about the murders.....if he did them. This was pretty sensational shit and I believe rupert said we would air the special.

OK filed away. Over the course of my career I have heard many bizzaro pitches so nothing really shocks me, especially when your partner in crime is Mike Darnell.

I'd say about a year or more had passed since this meeting when, one day, I see that regan's oj book was about to be published. Remember I am a ratings whore. I walked down to Mike's office and asked him if he remembered the conversation and, of course he did....another ratings whore. Mike and I walked over to Liguori's office and we reminded him of the conversation. Peter didn't blink. I don't remember if he called Peter Chernin's office or rupert's but we quickly got the go ahead to do the special.

We kept the interview quiet. Other than me, Darnell and Liguori, maybe someone in business affairs, legal and press and publicity were aware. I'm sure we did not alert sales far in advance and we did not say a thing to our affiliates. We were certain we had a huge rating on our hands.

Darnell shot the interview in privacy. I have never seen it but Mike told me it was terrifying and if it terrorfied Mikey it must have been terrifying.

The day before we were going to announce the special I was in New York. I was going to be on a panel with other network execs the following day. Liguori decided to call his senior staff together and reveal what was about to happen. I was on the phone for the meeting. Peter walked through everything and there was a deafening silence. Finally the dam burst and my fellow execs voiced their anger with the special. After a few minutes of that I chimed in. 

"Uh gang I 'm in New York and I'm going to be on a well attended panel at some sales conference. What should I do do?" 

Deafening silence.

I begged that we put off the announcement until after the panel but it was too late.

I did not sleep that night trying to figure out what I was going to say. The next morning I was met by three FOX press people who escorted me to the conference. They were giving me talking points but I was pretty numb. The first question on the panel was to me to explain the oj special. I answered it but have no idea what I said. I was pretty much ignored for the rest of the session.

Over the course of the day the outrage grew and rupert finally pulled the plug on the special and the book. Of course he took no responsibility for any of this.

We survived but we already had a reputation. cnn will suffer for not stopping the town hall, and the rush of a rating will subside quickly; the outrage and damage to the platform will continue for quite a while longer.

chris licht is finding out that there are consequences for being a ratings whore. I should know.

 

 

WRESTLEMANIA 39: THE END OF THE LINE???????

I have been watching pro wrestling since I was about 7 years old. That's a very long time ago. When I started there was a show on the independent channels in New York City virtually every day of the week. Boston, DC, Philly and Sunnyside Garden in Queens where my dad would take my cousin and me to the matches on Tuesday night.

It was at Sunnyside Gardens where I lost my virginity regarding kayfabe when my dad took us to the parking lot where the wrestlers had their cars and asked Pampero Firpo, who had just wrestled Antonina Rocca, for his autograph. He smiled at us and signed with the most beautiful penmanship I had ever seen. You see he was called "Wildman" Firpo but he was a gentleman with us and the light went on.

I have lived through over 65 years of the sport. Spent many Monday nights at Madison Square Garden during the Bruno Sammartino Era. Was at the Garden the night Bruno dropped the belt to Ivan Koloff. I was at Shea Stadium for the Chuck Wepner/Andre the Giant Match. Attended four Wrestlemanias and will always marvel at the Mega Powers Explode and Austin/McMahon sagas. I almost went to work for the WWWF. Over two years ago I joined the Board of Managers of Major League Wrestling so my life has alway had pro wrestling in it.

Everything, I mean everything, can be explained by pro wrestling.

I'm telling you all this because I have never experienced anything like the Bloodline saga that will either come to a head or go off in a new direction with this weekend's Wrestlemania extravaganza.

No need to go through the story. If you're reading this you're probably a fan, but everyone involved has been at the top of their game. Roman Reigns was always meant to be a heel. His cousins have been integral to the success of this tale and Heyman, well Heyman. 

This is a family saga, the culmination of decades of this legendary Samoan wrestling dynasty but what has elevated this tale is it's also a love story....a love story between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The way the WWE has merged the Bloodline story with reuniting the two Canadian friends has been flawless. 

But wait there's more.....Cody Rhodes. This is the culmination of Cody's journey. Leaving the WWE, doing the indies and winding up in New Japan to then return to the states along with the Jackson brothers and Kenny Omega to build a viable alternative to WWE (this could only happen with the help of another billionaire) only to return to WWE to claim the title that his legendary father could never obtain. So much of today's WWE talent was under the tutelage of the great Dusty Rhodes as Roman made clear to Cody one Friday night in one of the several memorable promos throughout this story.

This weekend's Wrestlemania feels like an ending but I believe there is more to come as the Bloodline universe expands. Sadly most everything else feels like an afterthought. In different times the Judgement Day/Edge/Rey Mysterio story would be huge but pales next to the Bloodline. Austin Theory is on the brink of becoming a mega star but, again, not getting the heat. So, for me, after the Bloodline matches, everything else feels sort of bland.

So let's go through the card with predictions and whatever ranking inversely from meh to epic. Here we go:

MEN AND WOMEN FOUR WAY TAG TEAM

This is just an excuse to give someone a paycheck and keep the undercard people happy. Also we need bathroom breaks. I assume Street Prophets for the men with Braun and Ricochet a possibility. For the women Rhonda and Shayna with Raquel and Liv the wild card team. They're trying to build up the tag team division. Good luck.

TRISH/LITA/BECKY V. DAMAGE CONTROL

With so much good young talent I don't understand the need to go back to the two Hall of Famers and Becky deserves better. I love Bayley and Io Skye is not chopped liver and deserves a title shot. I assume this is it for Damage Control and Shayna and Rhonda take the belts from the faces down the road a bit.

BROCK V. OMOS

This is all leading to a callback to the classic Hulk Hogan body slam of Andre moment. That's all you need to know. Brock in a quickie.

CENA V. THEORY

I have to believe that Cena puts Theory over here. Nothing good comes from Cena taking away the belt. Comes down to what Cena has left in the tank.

CHARLOTTE V. RHEA

It's Rhea's time. The question is there a double turn here where Rhea comes out with the belt and as a face. How will this all affect Judgement Day.

BIANCA V. ASUKA

This should be a pretty solid match. I think the better of the two women's championship matches. Bianca should prevail but it could steal the show.

DOM V. REY

It's going to be an ass whooping. Dom will get in a couple of blows but in the end daddy prevails. This could be a wild one with lots of interference including the Mysterio women.

SETH V. PAUL

Logan Paul has been impressive and this is one I am looking forward to. I don't think there will be a clear winner. Expect a count out, a dq or outside interference. Seth can take the loss but not to a part timer.

EDGE V. DEMON FINN IN HELL IN A CELL

This should be awesome. Brutal and violent. I. don't think Demon Finn has ever lost and I don't expect it to happen here. It feels like Finn is getting the push and this is the prelude to a title run. What belt? no idea.

GUNTHER V. DREW V. SHEAMUS 

I could have been happy with another Gunther/Sheamus outing or Gunther/Drew. Making this a three way diminishes it a bit in my opinion and I assume we see another schism in the Drew/Sheamus dynamic because Gunther ain't losing this. He's got bigger things in his future. It will be a banger.

Wrestlemania is all about these last two matches.

CODY V. THE TRIBAL CHIEF

I am not feeling this. Some great promo work between the two of them but I just feel it's too soon. The Cody injury didn't help but I just don't feel Cody is Roman level. I would love to be proven wrong. I know it's a bit contrarian, and to many this feels like a foregone conclusion, but I think Roman retains and the two fight another day.

USOS V. KO AND SAMI

This is the match that I am most looking forward to and I would be shocked if it doesn't exceed my high expectations. We are clearly seeing the demise of the Bloodline but I think it will happen in increments. This match will be wild and I think the Canadian heros take the belts off of one of the all time great tag teams. We now start to witness Roman's disappointment and the eventual turn of the Usos on the Tribal Chief  and their brother Solo. There's a lot more to tell in this story.

It should be a solid wrestlemania if the two main events deliver.

I think Finn/Edge could be epic and at least one of the women's matches will probably excel. Looking forward to it.

NIGHT COURT'S ON....TIME TO WALK THE DOG

 I gather that NIGHT COURT is returning to NBC in a few days. It was one of those shows that had a surprisingly long run on the Peacock. Sort of like GIMME A BREAK.

I was in network research back when NIGHT COURT joined the primetime schedule in January 1984 (probably responsible for the Saturday Morning daypart). As I remember it the NC pilot was screened in May 1983 to an underwhelming response and was not picked up. It did have one champion...Brandon Tartikoff and legend has it that he ordered it sometime that summer.

NBC's Fall 1983 Thursday schedule was 

GIMME A BREAK (duh)

MAMA'S FAMILY

WE GOT IT MAID

CHEERS

Not exactly a formidable lineup

In January, CHEERS went to 9PM and at some point NIGHT COURT was put in the 9:30 slot.

In the Fall of 1984 the world changed for NBC. Our Thursday lineup was

THE COSBY SHOW

FAMILY TIES

CHEERS 

NIGHT COURT

and pretty much stayed that way for four seasons. At some point Carsey/Werner flexed it muscles and A DIFFERENT WORLD replaced FAMILY TIES in the 8:30 time period.

It was during those four season that I came up with a term that has lived on in the TV lexicon although, with the growth of streaming, might not apply as much today.

Although NBC Thursday night "Must See TV" did not start until the 1990's, Thursday in the 80's was the first Golden Era for the Peacock. The Masked Wife and I would sit and watch the entire night including the great HILL STREET BLUES at 10PM.  One problem we had a dog...Bella.... who needed to be walked at some point and I decided that, of all the shows on the night,  NIGHT COURT was the most expendable so that's when Bella and I would go for a walk.

Back then I had developed a relationship with Bill Carter who was the TV writer at the New York Times. We were talking one day about the dominance of our Thursday schedule. and I told him that NC was the "walk the dog" show on the night. Remember this was back in the beginnings of the VCR so most TV was viewed live. I told him that a dominant night needed a walk the dog show and that was the function of NIGHT COURT. Bill used it in a story and it sort of caught on.

For the 88-89 season NIGHT COURT was moved over to Wednesday at 9PM so that NBC should try out a new show (DEAR JOHN) behind CHEERS. This was the inevitable trajectory of a utility comedy. After two seasons on Wednesday NC spent a year on Friday ironically leading out of QUANTUM LEAP, another show that NBC has revived.

IN THE FALL OF 1991, when I came out to Burbank to take over scheduling, NIGHT COURT was back on Wednesday night leading into SEINFELD which was starting its first full season on the NBC schedule after some fits and starts. Ironically as much as Brandon believed in NIGHT COURT,  the same was not the case regarding SEINFELD.

Early in 1991 we were having a current meeting where we go over the shows on the schedule. We were all talking about how fantastic SEINFELD was and I suggested that we flip NIGHT COURT TO 9:30 and have SEINFELD lead off the hour. After all this. was going to be NIGHT COURT's final season. It worked and the rest is history.

So that's NIGHT COURT. I wish NBC luck in bringing it back.

Oh one more thing. The night Markie Post delivered her baby on the show was the same night the Masked Son was born! It was on the TV while the Masked Wife was in labor. Cosmic.

MY FAVORITES FOR 2022 - TV AND JAZZ

Here are the TV shows that I really enjoyed in 2022. They're not the best I'm sure some of them you will agree with and some you won't and you have your own list which is as valid as mine or any television critic out there who agonizes for hours over putting a list together. You can't quantify this. Sorry.

I think all of these shows came out in 2022 but I could be wrong and we are at a point where it's really about what you finally got around to rather than an arbitrary release date range. For instance BAD SISTERS will probably make my list for 2023 although it dropped this year. You just can't watch everything.

Lists are also a function of what streamers you subscribe to. I don't get Paramount+ so there might be good stuff on there which is just not in my world. I also watch less and less broadcast TV although I enjoy the 911's on FOX and THE RESIDENT but they are not among my faves.

Unlike the jazz albums I recommend below, these 14 shows are sort of listed in order of like although, to be honest, RESERVATION DOGS is in a class by itself. Please watch it. DARK WINDS was a pleasant surprise. I had read the books but was not prepared for just how excellent this series would be and look forward to another season. One show on here that you may not find anywhere else is MISS SCARLET AND THE DUKE which gets more fun and richer with each season. We've already seen season three which comes on in January.

OK enough. Here's my 14 favorites of the year which I would recommend to you.

Reservation Dogs - FX on HULU

Dark Winds - AMC

Ramy - HULU 

P Valley - STARZ

Somebody Somewhere - HBO

Better Call Saul - AMC

Hacks - HBO MAX

Under the Banner of Heaven - HULU 

The Dropout - HULU

As We See It - AMAZON PRIME

Derry Girls - NETFLIX

Miss Scarlet and the Duke - PBS

What We Do in the Shadows - FX

Winning Time:The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty - HBO

I listen to a lot of jazz....a lot. Here are the 18 albums (actually more here) which I would recommend. They were all released in 2022. How do they get here. Well I have a playlist of all the jazz albums I downloaded over the year and these are the ones that, when they pop up on shuffle, I stop what I am doing and look over to see (or confirm) who's making these joyful sounds.

This list is in no particular order. If you are not a fan of the genre I think these would make a good introduction as to what's happening on the jazz scene. Most are pretty accessible.

Cécile McLorin Salvant - Ghost Song

Wadada Leo Smith: The Emerald Duets

Gerald Clayton - Bells on Sand

Tyshawn Sorey Trio - Mesmerism

Tom Harrell -Oak Tree 

Steve Cardenas, Ben Allison, Ted Nash - Healing Power

Steve Davis - Bluesthetic

Tierney Sutton - Paris Sessions 2

Terri Lyne Carrington - New Standards Vol 1

Samara Joy - Linger Awhile

Steve Feifke, Bigon Watson _ Generation Gap Orchestra

Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen

Charles Lloyd - Trio of Trios

Jim McNeely/Frankfurt Radio Big Band - Rituals

Emmet Cohen - Uptown in Orbit

Cameron Graves - Live From the Seven Spheres

Kirk Knuffke Trio - Gravity Without Airs

Tyshawn Sorey Trio with Greg Osby – The Off-Off Broadway Guide to Synergism

A FAREWELL TO THE LANDMARK

The Landmark Theatre on Pico closed its doors yesterday.

That's sad.

Growing up in a city where there were several options to see independent cinema, listen to jazz, eat pizza and get a real bagel or Chinese food; the transition to Los Angeles back in 1991 remains painful. Yeah there's the weather and sports starts earlier here (don't have to watch Mets games starting at 10PM) but that's about it. Going to see independent films in Los Angeles required a bit of a schlep but it was generally worth it.

The Landmark and the Laemmle Town Center or Royal were our go to theatres. Before the pandemic we would go virtually every weekend and, in retirement, during the week where we were often surrounded by ten or so people. When the world changed, out movie consumption changed with it. We were not alone in this and now our favorite theatre is gone.

The Landmark had around 8 or 9 screens including one set up as a living room with couches. We saw "Lambert & Stamp" in that venue. It was awesome.

The attendants were friendly and helpful and the popcorn was fresh. They would have someone introduce every movie and the audience would always applaud. You came up the escalator (the theatre was on the second and third floors of a shopping mall) to the lively main area. We would often run into people we knew. For some reason we would see Henry Winkler there quite often. I would remind him that I sent him an entire season of 24 when he was working in Europe. It was a community.

What I especially liked about The Landmark was it was the first place you could see the newest independent films, often a week or so before they would spread to the Laemmles. It was always  a "be the first kid on your block" experience to see films like "Moonlight", "Lady Bird", "Whiplash" or "Phoenix" there.

My favorite story was going to see "La La Land" the night it opened (one of the few venues in LA). We were walking out in front of an elderly couple. The woman calmly asked her husband what he thought of the movie and he shouted in that cranky old man voice "I HATED IT". We all got a good laugh.

When we first started going to The Landmark there was a Barnes and Noble connected to it and that became part of the experience. That shut down as well as the Nordstroms which occupied the mall's east side of Westwood Ave. The whole area eventually became a ghost town.

And now it's gone. Maybe we should have made more of an effort to head down to Pico and support it (our local independent theatre also closed down recently) once it became a bit safer and we were triple vaxxed but we didn't. So I'll just say thank you to all who created a comfortable venue for independent films.

Hopefully others will fill the void.

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON THE 2022 UPFRONTS

 CBS revealed their 22-23 schedule this morning. I would often wait for the CW announcement to pontificate but, really, why bother. I think David Zaslav and the WBD possé has declared themselves the fifth "network" so here are some thoughts and impressions.

I'M SO HAPPY I'M NO LONGER IN THE BUSINESS. That's it. Next.

WE HAVE TO BE NEAR THE END OF THE TRADITIONAL NETWORK UPFRONTS AND THE BEGINNING OF THE DISNEY+, PARAMOUNT+, PEACOCK, WARNER DISCOVERY, FOX/TUBI. The broadcast networks are part of a studio/multi-platform delivery eco-system. More ad money will be moving into that system and out of traditional broadcast. within a year or so WARNER DISCOVERY will be the model for these presentations.

AVOD will be the growth area and, as I predicted, NETFLIX will get into the advertising game. The beauty of streaming and advertising is, for now, you can't fast forward through the ads....for now.

SOMEONE IS GOING TO INVENT THE NEXT ITERATION OF "TV GUIDE" AND MAKE A FORTUNE. Right now figuring out what to watch and where to find it is a mess and most streamers don't make it easy for their own users. There's money there.

FBC NEEDS TO GO COLD TURKEY FROM THEIR FORMER STUDIO PARTNER. They dodged a bullet this year and, no matter what Charlie said, they held off announcing a schedule because two of their successful scripted shows were being held hostage. Those 20th Television people were assholes when we were all under one roof, I can only imagine the negotiations now that they are separate entities. Animation will be the next battleground.

YOU GOTTA LOVE CBS. Rudyard Kipling said it best:

If you can keep your head when all about you

    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you

They continue to use the playbook with the frayed yellow edges with a binder that is falling apart.....but it works. If the other networks acted this way there would have been far less erosion over the past decade.

I'm not going to bother evaluating every network's schedule but some observations:

Back in the day you were always looking for a "big move" by one of the networks. I was part of several of them. It was a way of announcing that these schedules matter and where shows go impacted the other networks. These moves were far less risky than portrayed by the press but they got the networks "ink". That has been replaced by "stability"...fewer new shows and fewer time period changes. There is little showmanship here and that has been the case for a while.

The "colonized nights" are the way to go because.....

......network TV is becoming like radio. You can turn it on at 8PM and stay for three hours and you get the same stuff. If there was one questionable (to me) scheduling move it was ABC separating it's colonized "The Rookie" show from the mothership but.....

.....don't expect networks to change their schedules based on the competitors schedules. Another lost art. Back in the day I would study the other skeds and if my spidey senses tingle I would suggest a tweak to my bosses who generally trusted me.

Heroes, heroes, heroes and healers. Cops, Firefighters, EMT, FBI, Doctors, Prosecutors. You know what won't work? ALASKA.

Sci-fi pretty much gone from the network schedules. This increases the chances of success. You have LA BREA returning from last year but that was starting to fade which is common for the genre. QUANTUM LEAP is IP and high concept but much closer to TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL and HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN....the feel good anthology.

ANOTHER WAVE OF THE VIRUS AND ALL THIS WILL TURN TO SHIT REAL FAST.

Good luck to everyone involved and it's gonna be real interesting to see where the money goes, what measures are being used and how guarantees are handled.