Showing posts with label NBC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NBC. Show all posts

Good Morning "Law and Order" Haters

By Keelin 

People, did you hear? "Law and Order," the pioneering television drama which is the only reason 90% of all Americans know anything about their own legal system, has been canceled after twenty short seasons. Do you think you or Antonin Scalia would know all the words in the Miranda warning without this amazing program? I sincerely doubt it.

As we bid farewell to the show, let's also look back at some of the great things it brought to American culture.

1. Lesson: All Manhattan Assistant District Attorneys Are Ladies



Seriously, every last one. Of course, they always depart under mysterious circumstances.

2. Employment for Thousands of New York's Loser Actors




Have you ever been to the Big Apple? Did you call it that when you went? That figures.

Well, one thing New York has in common with Los Angeles is its legions of unemployed and only marginally talented actors. The theaters and strip clubs simply cannot keep these people employed!

Luckily, "Law and Order," one of the few TV shows that shoots in the city, kept these men and women busy as drug dealers, pimps, and abusive parents for two solid decades. The end of "Law and Order" will be as tragic for these actors as the end of WWII was for the Hitler Youth.

3. Reminders of Newsworthy Crimes as Soon as We Had Managed to Forget Them



You know how sometimes a crime happens and the news reports on it? Yes, like when JonBenet Ramsey was killed or that other thing that happened? No sooner does our nation piece back together its tattered psyche than "Law and Order" broadcasts an episode copying all the details and proclaiming the result to be "ripped from the headlines." This is truly a public service like no other.

The past few seasons they even had a character based on Eliot Spitzer. In the show, his wife ruthlessly murders someone who poses a political risk to her husband. I'm sure Silda Spitzer enjoyed that immensely!

4. Filled American Minds With Unrealistic Ideas About New York Real Estate



I lived in Manhattan for five years. It was cramped and expensive, even for me, a fancy white lady. Yet whenever those lovable cops on "Law and Order" barnstorm some single mother's apartment, it turns out to have the square footage of Tara. Then the cops say, "This place is a dump!" It's actually about $1.7 million of space in a prime upper Westside pre-war but with, like, shabby curtains.

And thus were born a million dreams across the Midwest of "making it" in New York. Who will encourage those hopelessly destructive ambitions now? It's all on you, Carrie Bradshaw.

A Comparison of Conan O'Brien vs. NBC and Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon

By Jake 

Jay Leno physically removing Conan O'Brien from The Tonight Show had fans siding with Conan, making him a TV folk hero. Today, NBC announced a buyout of $45 Million ($32 Million going directly to Conan). The whole O'Brien/Leno/NBC situation reminds me of another high profile, big money TV feud: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon.

The way Conan O'Brien and Steve Austin attacked their bosses (verbally and physically) gave the working class American something to strive for-- being popular enough to beat up on their boss and get away with it. Who hasn't dreamed of throwing a red cup full of beer into their bosses face? Well Steve Austin sprayed an entire truck's worth of beer at Vince McMahon. Who hasn't wished they could publicly criticize their boss on a nationally broadcast talk show? Conan has been doing that for the last two weeks.

These two American icons are everything the common man strives to be: a beer guzzlin', boss hating, redneck with a chip on his/her shoulder. I'm not sure why, but a justifiably angry person is always more respectable than a calm person. Nobody ever thought Alan Thicke was a hero, and nobody ever would. The guy is too relaxed and his money is probably still piling high from royalties for writing the Diff'rent Strokes theme.

When Steve Austin got into a scuffle with Mike Tyson, it's a lot like Conan getting into a war of words with Jay Leno. It might be a bit of a stretch to compare Jay Leno to Mike Tyson, but it's similar nevertheless. Sure Austin may have given Vince McMahon a Stone Cold Stunner every now and then, but fighting with Mike Tyson was the last straw. After that the gloves came off, and that can similarly be applied to O'Brien's situation. Once Jay and Conan started taking shots, NBC scrambled to break the fight up.

As tempers flared, the audience was drawn into the spectacle. The ratings soared. Much like when Steve Austin left WWE, Conan's departure from NBC is going to cripple the network's already poor ratings. Nobody can identify with Jay Leno and his 800 classic cars. I wouldn't be surprised to see Comcast (soon-to-be owners of NBC) cast Leno to the side for a younger, funny person to replace him on The Tonight Show.

With only two more shows left to air for O'Brien, could NBC try to screw Conan? If what Vince McMahon did to Stone Cold Steve Austin at King of the Ring 99 is any indication, then Friday's show could be a very rocky one. I'm not exactly sure how NBC could screw Conan any more than they already have, but if I know NBC, they'll figure out a way.