Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, November 28th, 2023.
'TIS THE SEASON FOR TV YULE LOGS
TV stations have been airing footage of a roaring fire backed by lightweight Christmas music since the mid-1960s. It's cheap and keeps audiences tuned in while they open presents and guzzle Budweiser, the eggnog of budget-priced beers.
Even now, most TV markets have some station that still airs some variation of the "Yule Log," so it's not surprising that various streamers have gotten in on the action.
I have a piece posting on AllYourScreens in the morning that takes a look at all of the various places you can stream some variation of the Yule Log this year. And to be honest, most of the variations are pretty mediocre. Even the majority of the IP-specific yule logs Max cranked out this year are lifeless wastes of time.
Except for the Adult Swim Yule Log (aka The Fireplace), which answers the question "What would a yule log video look like if it were produced by Blumhouse?"
The video begins with the traditional fireplace shot and after a couple of minutes a cleaning lady is dragging a vacuum cleaner through the shot. The doorbell rings and a mother and son talk themselves into the house (all of this is off-camera). The son assaults and ultimately kills the cleaning lady but before they can getaway, the couple renting the house for the weekend show up.
The next 20 minutes bring a visit from the local sheriff and his deputy who warn about demon trees and UFO visits, a marriage proposal, a quartet of new people consuming edibles and a series of scenes that ends up with death by possessed demon log spirit. And that's just the first half hour.
Adult Swim Yule Log is just an insane video, but it shows what can be done with a little imagination. And it makes me wish Max had been more clever with some of the other choices. I wish we could have seen a Guy Fieri Yule Log that shows Guy introducing the burning fire before making his son Hunter sit there on camera and watch the dying flames while Guy leaves to play golf. And having Hunter consumed by a devil log wouldn't be the worst ending I can think of.
'I PROMISE WE WON'T MAKE SO MANY THINGS THAT SUCK'
I've written a great deal about how media industry CEOs love events in which they get to situations in which no one will ask them any difficult questions. Disney head Bob Iger had one of those moments today when he held a town hall for employees in NYC. And of course, by "town hall" I mean "speech where he gets to be a showman but no one is allowed to ask him questions.
So what did Mr. Iger talk about today? Well, among other things, he was able to use the sentiment most often expressed by media company executives these days:
Ah..."quality over quantity." As if anyone ever plans produce something that sucks. But it's an easy thing for an executive to say, even if it doesn't actually mean much.
So what quality movies does Disney have coming down the content delivery tracks? Not surprisingly, it's a lot of familiar IP:
Great storytelling isn’t just a box office or ratings story but has ripple effects on parks and consumer products. But Bergman promised the studio will learned from its down year at the box office and move on with a slate that includes The Omen prequel, a new Planet of the Apes, Inside Out 2, a new Alien and Deadpool 3, which recently resumed filming post actors’ strike.
Sounds like guaranteed quality to me!
IT IS APPARENTLY STILL 'NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS' ON THE TAYLOR SWIFT BEAT
I wrote last Monday about the lack of substantive news coverage of the problems that occurred during Taylor Swift's Rio concerts. One person died, hundreds were injured and a lot of the problems seemed to have been glossed over by Swift and her formidable PR team:
Local press reports state the heat index at the venue topped 135 degrees. Outside water was banned and the only option for fans was overpriced water sold by vendors inside the venue. And based on some local reporting, much of that quickly sold out. Promoters had reportedly covered the grass of the field with sheets of metal to protect it. And thanks to the heat, the metal became so hot that it began burning some fans.
A spokesperson for Rio's Fire Department said after the concert that more than 1,000 people were treated at Friday's concert after they fainted. There were also complaints that despite the heat and requests from fire officials, Swift's team set off her usual round of pyrotechnics inside the stadium, reportedly endangering some concertgoers.
And after that initial round of problematic stories following the fan's death, American entertainment news outlets have been remarkably unwilling to do any follow-up stories. While Brazilian news outlets covered Swift fan-led efforts to provide free drinking water for her remaining concerts (something that, I don't know, maybe a wealthy singer could have arranged instead?) and mocked her PR team's obvious efforts to provide distracting photo ops, American publications were touting that Swift's new concert film will include three previously unreleased songs when it moves to streaming.
I'm not suggesting that the coverage be angry or one-sided. I'd just like to see some actual reporting, instead of simply rephrasing a few press releases and calling it a story.
Stories like yesterday's Hollywood Reporter piece: "Taylor Swift Met With Family of Fan Who Died Ahead of Eras Tour Brazil Stop." The subhed reminds readers she was "devastated" to hear of the fan's death. A statement which I am sure is true. But she and the journalists covering her are treating the concert as some event that just happened, as opposed to one which Swift carefully controlled:
According to reports, the 23-year-old Swift fan died after going into cardiac arrest, likely due to the country’s heat wave last weekend.
Contrast that short explanation to the excerpt of the story I wrote last week. That sentence was the only even vague explanation of what might have happened. The rest of the piece was comprised of Taylor's statement expressing her sorrow over the death and an extended statement from the concert promoter. Nothing from anyone else who attended. No effort to even aggregate some local coverage of the event. But the THR piece did make sure to highlight at the top all of the good deeds being done by the singer. Although the deeds would have been just as thoughtful if they weren't instantly posted across Swift's various social media accounts:
Before kicking off her final show in the Brazilian city on Sunday, the Grammy winner took some time to get to know the family of Ana Clara Benevides Machado. They posed for a photo with Swift in matching shirts featuring a photo of Machado. A video shared on social media also showed the family in the VIP section during the concert’s closing night in the South American country.
As a serious journalist, this stuff is embarrassing.
ODDS AND SODS
* I reviewed the new Netflix series Love Like A K-Drama, which I mentioned in yesterday's newsletter.
* Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas, the 2021 Roku Channel TV-movie that served as a conclusion to NBC's Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, will air Friday, December 8th on VH1.
* Minnesota's independent news site Racket asks whether Fargo really gets 'Minnesota Nice?'
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S NEW TODAY AND TOMORROW:
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH:
* Comedy Royale Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Love Like A K-Drama Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Onmyoji Series Premiere (Netflix)
* South To Black Power (HBO)
* Taming Speed (Viaplay)
* Verified Series Premiere (Netflix)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29TH:
* American Symphony (Netflix)
* Bad Surgeon: Love Under The Knife (Netflix)
* Christmas At Graceland (NBC)
* Christmas In Rockefeller Center (NBC)
* Marvel Studios' Assembled: The Making Of Loki – Season 2 (Disney+)
* Pretty Hard Cases Season Premiere (Freevee)
* Sex Sells (Fuse)
* Shetland (Britbox)
* Slow Horses Season Three Premiere (Apple TV+)
* The Artful Dodger (Disney+/Hulu)
Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.
SEE YOU WEDNESDAY!
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Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, November 28th, 2023
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- By Rick Ellis
