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summer shows often fall
For every 'Millionaire' hundreds are long forgotten
By Ed Robertson
If it’s June, it must be time for the networks to load up their schedules with new summer programming.
NBC began last week by resurrecting "Fame," only this time as a reality game show talent competition a la "American Idol."
Monday saw the premiere of "For Love or Money" (also on NBC), a "Joe Millionaire" knockoff with the inevitable twist.
Fox has four shows in the works, including two that premiered this week: the much-hyped "American Juniors" (the search for pint-sized Clay and Rubens) and "Keen Eddie," a fish-out-of-water cop show starring former daytime soap star John Valley.
Summer programming, of course, is hardly a new idea. Back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, popular shows such as "The Jackie Gleason Hour" and "The Carol Burnett Show" were often rested during June, July and August in favor of original fare.
That was the era of such summer replacements as "The Prisoner," "Sonny & Cher," "The Johnny Cash Show," "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" and "Coronet Blue." Some of these shows, including "Sonny & Cher" and the Campbell hour, proved popular enough to earn a spot on the regular schedule and sustain their success for years to come.
The latest surge in summer programming dates back, of course, to August 1999, when "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" dominated the ratings en route to becoming the breakaway hit of the fall. Ever since, the networks have inundated their summer schedules with original series, hoping to find the next "Millionaire," "Survivor," or "American Idol."
Unfortunately, the odds of that happening are not very good.
History reminds us that most summer series, like most new TV series in general, fail to catch on. Those that do manage to win a midseason pickup usually fail to replicate their summer success once they’re pitted against regular season competition.
Granted, there are exceptions such as "American Idol," which became an even bigger hit this year than it was last summer.
For the most part, though, summer hits find the going a lot tougher in the fall, when they’re no longer competing against reruns and other summer fare. Despite giving "Friends" a challenge Thursday night, "Survivor" has placed a distant second two years in a row—a far cry from when the show dominated Wednesday nights during its original summer 2000 run.
To reach the heights of "Millionaire" or "Survivor," a summer show needs the kind of quirky, captivating premise of which major phenomena are made.
Love him or hate him, Simon Cowell had everyone buzzing about "Idol" and watching the show as a result. The cast of original "Survivor" made the covers of both Time and Newsweek. Even Oprah once did an entire show telling her audience how much she loved "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."
"Northern Exposure" and its eccentric cast of characters were the talk of the summer of ‘90. Going further back, so was "The Prisoner," whose topical allegories and subversive undertones pushed the envelope in the summer of ’68.
"Exposure" went on to anchor Monday nights for five years, while "The Prisoner" remains a television classic—despite the fact that only 17 episodes were made.
Judging from the rest of this year’s summer fare ("The O.C." and "Paradise Hotel" on Fox, yet another round of "Big Brother" on CBS), it’s hard to imagine remembering any of these shows 35 days from now, let alone 35 years.
The one exception might be "Boy Meets Boy," which joins Bravo’s lineup in July. Sure, the premise seems gimmicky ("Queer as Folk" meets "The Bachelor"). But it’s also daring and edgy, with a twist of its own that has already ruffled some feathers. One man looks for love from a pool of 15 males. While most of the suitors are gay, some are actually heterosexual.
Given the controversy, "Boy" is likely guaranteed a huge audience for its premiere broadcast.
Provided the show lives up to the hype and continues to captivate viewers, history says that could bode well for a run that lasts long beyond summer.
June 6, 2003© 2003 Media Life
-Ed Robertson is a writer from the San Francisco Bay Area who covers
television.
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