Men of A Certain Age Gets the Ax

[Mark Giardina]

http://www.hollywood.com/news/Men_Of_A_Certain_Age_Cancelled/7817861

Sorry for the upcoming rant but it really gets me pi$$ed off when quality caliber shows like this one get the ax, but these dumb-ass reality shows continue to monopolize the airways.

I could give a rat's a$$ about the Housewives from__________ (name the location or profession), nor do I care about the continuing saga of the Kardasian (sp) broads.

Apparently network executives feel its better to feed the public garbage than spend a few extra bucks to develop quality programs that don't insult ones intelligence.

Okay enough of my rant. Now I feel better!

 

[Al Timiter]

Hey Mark, I understand your frustration, I really do. But let's face it: If this show was attracting an audience that produced revenue it would still be on the air. It's not about quality, it's all about the money. But I do share your frustration.

 

[imhomerjay]

Complain about the people tuning in, or not, as the case may be. They're not in business to be a charity case--if the audience doesn't watch...that's just the way it goes.

Of course, it's also apples and oranges--TNT isn't running the shows you mentioned, and can't reasonably be held accountable for what someone else does. All of their dramas may not be to any one person's tastes (as is the case with any genre and network), but they keep to scripted shows.

 

[mnradiofan]

It's all about money, plain and simple. I hate reality shows, don't watch a single one (including American Idol). More specifically it's about Return on Investment. If they can make more of a profit, even with less viewers, on reality programming, they will. And reality programming is CHEAP, so they can have many less viewers and still make a profit. Not that I want to demonize writers, directors, actors, etc, but that IS where the true blame for that resides. Many of them have simply priced themselves out of the market, which is why you see a lot of new faces on some of these scripted shows.

 

[FreddyE1977]

HOORAY! This was perhaps the most agonizingly depressing show I have ever watched....and I
AM of that certain age.

I have friends who actually liked it. I think they're nuts!

Ray Romano can be tough to take when he is doing comedic whining.
Hearing his actually whiny whining is just more than my brain could handle.

 

[Markxxx]

It's all about money, plain and simple. I hate reality shows, don't watch a single one (including American Idol). More specifically it's about Return on Investment. If they can make more of a profit, even with less viewers, on reality programming, they will. And reality programming is CHEAP, so they can have many less viewers and still make a profit. Not that I want to demonize writers, directors, actors, etc, but that IS where the true blame for that resides. Many of them have simply priced themselves out of the market, which is why you see a lot of new faces on some of these scripted shows.

I agree in a way actors and writers did out price themselves. I know it's much more complicated than that, but it's easy to see how the ridiculous amounts of money paid to actors and writers now hurts creativity. In the old days, actresses like Bette Davis and Rita Hayworth were, in a way, underpaid. They studios didn't share their profits with them equitably, but on the flip side, it forced the actresses to work. Let's face it a crummy script with Bette Davis in it, still is gonna be a lot better and it will also allow writers to get exposed. Now a person makes a TV show and he's set.

While I agree under the studio systems the actors were not allotted their fair share, it seems like now it's gone a bit too far the other way.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

I happened to like Men of a Certain Age and am disappointed that the show has been canceled.

As for the ratings, sorry if I don't fit into the demographics that the networks desire. But on the other hand I own my own home, car, and have money to spend, while the age group Madison Avenue is interested in is up to their collective necks in debt because of car payments, mortgages, college for their kids, and credit cards interest rates.

 

[mnradiofan]

It's all about money, plain and simple. I hate reality shows, don't watch a single one (including American Idol). More specifically it's about Return on Investment. If they can make more of a profit, even with less viewers, on reality programming, they will. And reality programming is CHEAP, so they can have many less viewers and still make a profit. Not that I want to demonize writers, directors, actors, etc, but that IS where the true blame for that resides. Many of them have simply priced themselves out of the market, which is why you see a lot of new faces on some of these scripted shows.

I agree in a way actors and writers did out price themselves. I know it's much more complicated than that, but it's easy to see how the ridiculous amounts of money paid to actors and writers now hurts creativity. In the old days, actresses like Bette Davis and Rita Hayworth were, in a way, underpaid. They studios didn't share their profits with them equitably, but on the flip side, it forced the actresses to work. Let's face it a crummy script with Bette Davis in it, still is gonna be a lot better and it will also allow writers to get exposed. Now a person makes a TV show and he's set.

While I agree under the studio systems the actors were not allotted their fair share, it seems like now it's gone a bit too far the other way.

It's a very slippery slope, because YES talent should be compensated for their work, but on the flip side, some talent is WAY overcompensated. Look at Charlie Sheen. If he'd stop being stupid, he'd be set for life. Ashton Kutcher is going to get 20 MILLION dollars, almost a million per episode, just so Warner Brothers doesn't have to refund pre-sold syndication. For any normal person, 20 million would be enough money for life. After taxes, even if I paid myself a half million a year, I'm STILL set for 20 years, assuming I don't put any of it away in CD's. Do it right, and you could live at 100k a year just on interest from those wages.

I think the studio's are to blame too, because they are overpaid as well. Then again, I think that anyone that makes over 20 times what I'll make in my entire LIFE in one year is making too much, and I feel that I live a fine life.

 

[imhomerjay]

And those shows continue to take in the money that pays for those salaries, just like ballplayers, etc. Supply and demand and all that. But there's only so many eyeballs to go around, and no one has presented a shred of evidence that "overpayment" led to "Men"'s demise. Again, bring in the eyes, and you stay around. Don't...and you're toast. It's not exactly a wholesale reinvention of the wheel.

 

[ding12]

The show may have been good - but I don't know as I never watched it.

I think it was not very marketable. The title sounds depressing. I'm not of that age, but I probably wouldn't want to see men growing older. Maybe if it was an indy movie and got good reviews, I would watch it even if the story was on the depressing side. But a full tv series on cable, I couldn't do it.

 

[Mark Giardina]

The show may have been good - but I don't know as I never watched it.
Maybe if it got good reviews, I would watch it even if the story was on the depressing side.

For someone who never watched the show, how can you offer constructive criticism?

The show received great reviews from the critics. One of the co-stars was twice nominated for an Emmy. The show wasn't depressing, it was about the lives of three good friends. It wasn't Ozzie and Harriet, but damn well written and acted and most important believable.

What burns my a$$ is programs like this aren't given a chance to build an audience yet there are shows on TV dealing with Hollywood wannabes, burned out rock stars and other reality crap that continue to bombard the airwaves. Newtown Minnow was on target when he said "television is a vast wasteland."

 

[imhomerjay]

How many seasons are they supposed to give it? Five? ten? It declined when it came back each time...not exactly reason to stick with a loser.

Details, details....

 

[Mark Giardina]

How many seasons are they supposed to give it? Five? ten? It declined when it came back each time...not exactly reason to stick with a loser.

Details, details....

Here's some details. Cheers was at the bottom of the ratings barrel for a few years before it managed to capture an audience and then took off to help NBC be the number one network. All in the Family wasn't a major hit until summer reruns. Shall I go on?

The problem with TV today is that with the advent of cable, or satellite, network executives are going for the cheapest programming they can offer to an audience that would watch people eat worms, some skank getting arrested by the cops, or a rich old broad on Botox crying the blues because her Mercedes won't start.

 

[imhomerjay]

Last time I looked at my calendar, it's not the '70s or '80s anymore. Businesses of all stripes have had to adapt, and TV is supposed to be immune to that reality?

And yet again, the network in question doesn't show a single thing like those you list. Not one. Of course, you overlook the slew of original scripted series that get audiences, from light hearted to serious, from mystery to comedy....because a particular show didn't cut it. Frustration at a favorite show meeting it's demise is all well and good, but baseless whining that ignores inconvenient facts in favor of silly hyperbole does nothing to bolster the argument.

 

[LKellerIII]

I'm disappointed. I liked this show. But I'm not mad at TNT. We live in a great TV world now in which basic cable networks are taking chances and running original dramatic series. When the ratings decline, they have to make hard choices.

One of my favorites was "Deadwood" on HBO, which had the potential for at least one more good season. But it was expensive to produce and writer-producer David Milch was anxious to move on to another project, so it was cancelled. Unfortunately, that new project was the awful "John from Cincinnati."

To quote a great American (Tony Soprano); whatchoo-gonna-do?

 

[Al Timiter]

I disagree with the assertation that writers have priced themselves out of the game. Many are among the lowest paid employees in the biz. Some of them live on McDonalds because that's all they can afford. Don't believe it? Ask around in the business.