Rolling out the Fall Schedule

I've watched with interest the new television shows that the networks are throwing out there so for the next few days I want to look at why that should matter to you:-)

The fact is that it's hard to get a pilot made in Hollywood, much less get one scheduled and on the air. They are also not given much time to succeed. The plug can be pulled at any moment, and those show runners are well aware of how fast they need to build an audience.

The networks invest big bucks into making these shows so that in turn, the advertisers will invest bib bucks for you to watch the shows. They don't go into it lightly. They miss the mark at times, but there is a reason they think these shows will succeed in American households. Advertisers are clammering to get your attention. Consider this:

Consumers who own digital video recorders (DVRs) like TiVo skip 92 percent of ads, according to "Inside The Mind Off The DVR User," a new report conducted by Forrester Research Inc. The study also found that TiVo users spent 60 percent of their viewing time watching delayed or recorded programs

Even though DVR's only comprise about 5% of American households, it's expected that number will climb to 41% (not sure why it's 41 and not 40) in the next five years.

The onset of the DVR will change television. We forget sometimes that television programming is a way to get you to watch advertising, not the other way around.

Why should we care?

Well looking at what's coming on television is a way to get a taste of our culture - what's popular... it's supply and demand at work on that screen in your living room. If we don't demand it, they don't supply it. So looking at the fall schedule will give you a look at what our nation is demanding and what will be said to them.

I watched the movie Constantine last night (well, over the course of two nights really) and my husband and I kept pausing the movie pointing out all the doctrinal errors they were "teaching" people through this movie. Yes, people out there do get their ideas about God and religion through mass entertainment so we would be wise to watch and see what is being taught.

Now I didn't expect the movie to be "doctrinally sound", but why teach something wrong, when teaching the correct thing would not change the movie. My biggest problem was that this, like so many other movies, gives satan far too much power and credit. They described God as someone with an ant farm (how he sees us).

I grew up with a Dad that said "God helps those who help themselves". It wasn't until college that I learned that God never said that!

We get subtle, and blatent messages through television - if we know what they are, then we are more prepared to combat them with the truth.

So over the next week or so I want to look at Fall TV...and why it matters...

And since I know you're out there reading, I have Site Meter, I want to hear from you. Please join in. What's sparked your interest this season? What shows do you watch? Love? Hate?