V IOLENT and bizarre network promos ought to carry a warning.
TV programs have warnings so you know whats ahead. But whats to protect you or your kids from witnessing the scenes of disfigurement, carnage and death that have become commonplace on network promos?
The answer is: Nothing. Sickening network promos can appear anywhere, anytime, usually when you least expect them (and hopefully not when youre eating).
Two examples are running now on Court TV. One of them comes across as a twisted salute to the kitchen knife as a weapon of choice for killing or maiming. The other one features security-camera videotape of a man pumping bullets into another man with a handgun.
Sound jarring? You bet – especially since they come at you without warning. The first one promotes a Court TV special going up against this Sundays Super Bowl. The five-hour special is tastelessly titled Wives with Knives and shows a harried housewife running a fingertip along the sharp edge of a long blade as she contemplates attacking her football-fan husband. The wild-eyed wife is intercut with images of women on trial for assaulting their men with knives. The second one is designed to hype Court TVs new show Crime Stories.
And Court TV isnt the only network out to shock you into tuning in. Promos for Foxs reality shows are notoriously unsettling – like the one that aired a few months ago in which a man detached a prosthetic nose to reveal a gaping red hole in the middle of his face.
The trend is especially alarming for what it says about the state of TV today – namely, that competition among the ever-increasing crowd of networks is so fierce that theyll do anything to get you to watch.
*
*Well-laid plans went awry for ABC News during yesterdays historic impeachment votes in the Senate.
ABC, CBS and NBC all preempted regular programs to cover the voting on two resolutions – one to dismiss the case, and the other to allow for the deposition of key witnesses.
All three – along with cables CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and Court TV – presented the ayes and nos on scoreboards as they were cast. ABCs coverage, anchored by Peter Jennings, even had one feature the others didnt have: headshots of every senator that were shown on screen with their name and state as their individual votes were tallied.
ABC was doing fine until Maryland Democrat Barbara Mikulski interrupted the proceedings to change her vote after mistakenly voting against the resolution to dismiss the case. She was allowed to change her vote, but the sudden switch threw a monkey wrench into ABCs on-screen presentation and the network was never able to correct its tally.
Then the network, which had mounted the most ambitious scoreboard of the day, had to remove it completely for the rest of both roll-call votes.
*Attention, Hollywood producers: You may be able to get Robert De Niro for a Taxi Driver sequel. De Niro said on Inside the Actors Studio on Bravo Sunday night that hes curious about what might have happened to crazed cabby Travis Bickle in the 22 years since he played him in the 1976 movie. Its an interesting idea, the reclusive actor mused in the interview, conducted by host James Lipton.
*CHANNEL SURFING: Who knew an antique auction could be so exciting? It made for dramatic television Monday night on Ch.13s Antiques Roadshow as the bidding for a rare 200-year-old card table at a Sothebys auction rose to a closing bid of $490,000. That represents a profit of $489,975 for the New Jersey woman who bought the piece in 1969 for $25 … Ch.7s Diana Williams did the best job of all the local newspeople who covered the popes visit to North America this week. She was on-scene in Mexico and St. Louis. … … I like those Two Fat Ladies more and more these days, but their voices sound as if everything inside them is clogged. And its no wonder with the buttery, fatty foods they eat. … I had high hopes for Tom Green right up until the moment he sucked on a cows udder in the premiere of his new show Monday night on MTV. Even Howard Stern hasnt stooped that low for a laugh.
What are YOU watching? Adam Buckman welcomes your TV comments and questions. E-mail him at [email protected].