Uncategorized

Shorter Tim Kring…

Technology and television just don’t mix. (I was half expecting him to add “The fax machine is nothing but a waffle iron with a phone attached!”)

Like Maureen Ryan, I found Kring’s comments via James Poniewozik’s rebuttal. In fairness, though, I don’t think Kring is precisely saying that DVRs make it hard to follow a serialized show. He’s acknowledging the opposite: it’s better to watch a serialized show via DVRs or the internet or any format that allows you to watch at your convenience. The problem is that those formats don’t count toward the ratings, and ratings are still the only things that really count. He’s not wrong about that; it is a serious problem when the best ways to watch a serialized show are the ones that don’t actually help the ratings. It’s another reason why serials are in trouble, as the people who are watching TV in the traditional way tend to be casual-type viewers, who can’t be relied upon to watch the same show every week.

That said, though Kring will undoubtedly claim he was just joking (in five, four, three…), this is not something even a desperate showrunner should say about his viewers:

So [watching it] on air is related to the saps and the dipshits who can’t figure out how to watch it in a superior way.

It’s just never good PR for the producer of a show to express contempt for his audience, particularly the segment of the audience that matters most (the broadcast-viewing audience). Besides, given the quality of Heroes for the last two seasons, can you really argue that the people who occasionally watch a broadcast episode are bigger saps than the people who force themselves to suffer through every single episode on more up-to-date formats?

Looking for more?

Get the Best of Maclean's sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for news, commentary and analysis.
  • By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.