Riddle me this, PopWatchers: Why is the home of television’s smartest, funniest reality series determined to insult my intelligence? Yep, Bravo, I’m talkin’ about you, and more specifically, your very unnecessary teasers about what’s ”coming up” after each and every commercial break on Project Runway (and the new, oddly addictive Work Out). I know Bravo’s not the only network that employs this maddening practice (I’ve hated it since the days of The WB’s Felicity), but seriously, have a little faith in your audience. For one thing, if a viewer is going to flip the station without a ”coming up” reminder, then one of two underlying problems exists:
1. The show is not particularly engaging.
2. Said viewer has the attention span of a gnat.
Either way, they’re gonna surf over to Fear Factor or According to Jim or whatever bright, shiny color catches their eye while taking a break from Heidi, Michael, and the bewitching Nina Garcia. Worse still, teasers are, in fact, nothing more than spoilers for loyal fans who plan to stick around from beginning to end. I’m tired of covering my ears, closing my eyes, and shouting ”la-la-la-la-la” every 11 minutes during my Wednesday-night addiction, so please please please, surprise me tonight by killing the ”coming up” crap. Who knows, with all that extra time, maybe you can squeeze in an extra quip from Tim Gunn. Trust me, if you really want to retain viewers, then there’s the ultimate strategy.
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Michael Slezak, you’re my hero. Can we seriously get this forwarded to Bravo? The “coming up”s have got to stop.
Um, Michael, honey, I’ve never really paid attention to the “teasers” you speak of… Would you like a green tea, maybe some Enya to relax…
If I had to play devil’s advocate (which I guess I do since I am) “Project Runway” covers a lot of ground for most hour-long reality shows and the teasers sometimes help me know what’s coming up next (maybe I’ll make a PB&J sandwich during the model selection but park it for judging).
As for other shows, you’d be surprised how short some people’s attention spans are… my mother flips through stations lightning speed if something doesn’t hold her interest (I have a life but I was with my mom recently that’s all. I do too have a life!)
There are bigger “Runway” issues to discuss, like, what episode will Vincent be eliminated in… I hope it’s soon… Dear God, do I hope it’s soon…
My big bugaboo about this season is the doofy little poll that ends up spoiling you for the end of the episode. There was at least one ending (sorry, the old age setting in, can’t remember what) that I wouldn’t have seen coming if it hadn’t been for the poll.
Oh the repeats on NBC on Monday nights (which are a God send for us non-cable subscribers) don’t have the “coming ups.” But I do agree that more Tim Gunn would make the world a happier place.
Totally agree about the polls. They put the exact bottom 3 in the first one before it was announced on the show that was airing.
What?!! No rant about the train wreck called Rockstar Supernova? Seriously were these the rejects from the people who didn’t make last season’s Rockstar INXS? And last season the three bottom singers had to sing INXS songs; why aren’t the bottom singers singing Guns N Roses, Metallica, or Motley Crue songs?
michelle, you’re so right. i didn’t get to watch RockStar last season and I am sure it was 10x better. There are like 2 or 3 standouts, but other than that either the voice isn’t there or the stage presence isn’t there. I don’t understand why they’re not doing any of the band’s music either. Maybe copyright issues?
As for the “coming up” promos- they seem to be on ever reality show now. ARRGHHH…on a half hour show, it’s really silly.
Here, here!
The “coming up” blurbs don’t annoy me. What annoys me are the constant “pop up” promos that stations like Bravo and particularly TNT employ during shows. Sometimes, the entire bottom third of the screen is obliterated by a glaring, moving promo for another show. And it’s always a show that they run promos for over and over and over and over for amid the commercials, too! For gosh sakes, lemme watch the show I’m watching!!! It’s bad enough that there are too many commercial breaks already, but you’ve got to pop up and scrawl promos constantly throughout the show! Gimme a break!!!!!!
Slezak, I am once again drawn into your orbit. Would you call me already? I’m cute, I promise.
Anyhoo, the damn “teasers” are really just “spoilers” and “annoyers”, aren’t they? TiVa and I have learned to skip them, as well as the “coming next week”s that also spoil much of upcoming episodes. Funny–a year ago I was trolling the net for any spoiler I could get my grubby mitts on. Now I loathe them and avoid at all cost. Ah, maybe I’m just learning how to delay pleasure…
But not too much, Slezak…
I hate the ‘coming ups’ and do find them highly insulting to my intelligence, but what makes me REALLY climb the walls is the even more insidious post-commercial RE-CAP.
Fatuous Voiceover: ” Moments ago, Chef Ramesay threw burning hot spaghetti sauce on Big Keith, causing him to scream like a little girl and fling his clothes off.”
Me: I KNOW!!! I WAS JUST THERE!!! JUST BEFORE THE FLIPPIN’ COMMERCIAL! TWO MINUTES AGO!!! Do ya think I forgot?? AAAAAAUGHHH!!
Okay, I’m off do do some deep breathing before SYTYCD comes on.
The home of television’s smartest, funniest reality series is FX. Have you SEEN 30 Days?
~The “coming ups” really get to me too – It’s the same reason I go to the movies half as often now – because half of the time, you see the whole plot of a movie unfold in the time it takes to run a 60 second preview.
BUT what REALLY BUGS ME about PROJECT RUNWAY (MY FAVORITE SHOW) is the constantly dubbed voice-overs – DOES ANYONE ELSE NOTICE THEM? I’ve watched each saeson hoping they would stop – but it happens on EVERY EPISODE… there’s at least ONE or TWO comments by either HEIDI OR TIM that is clearly ADDED after the show was edited and done just for dramatic effect – I feel like after they edit, they “think” that certain things haven’t been explained well enough, or there wasn’t enough drama/emphasis placed on something… so they dub over these random comments for overall effect but instead all I focus on is the fact that the sound quality of the dubbing is clearly different from what Tim sounded like talking to the cast in the workroom just moments before the voice-over!
I think the gripes about Project Runway (the queen mother of reality TV) are fairly minor when you consider the crap that passes for reality TV on other channels (Treasure Hunters anyone?). Sure, maybe some of the dubbing is done for more dramatic effect, but, it is also possible that not all the sound recorded properly when filming and they had to add them back in.
As for the previews, most people today seem to have the attention span of a five year old child, so, I guess they feel they have to do it to keep people interested. I certainly am dying to see next weeks show to find out who is forced to leave early.
Besides, if you don’t want to be bothered, get a Tivo. I just skip right through all the commercials and upcoming clips (as well as the polls) and just watch the show.
When did they ever do they ever do that on Felicity?
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