Someone always gains when there's a strike. Something has to fill the void caused by, in this case, the drying up of new episodes of your favorite TV sitcoms, dramas and late night shows. Those viewers not inclined to watch a reality or game show, are starved for something new or different, anything that they haven't seen before. You have your 'Oldies' fans who live and breathe TV Land or old tapes from dawn to dusk and then you have the majority of viewers who watch their favorite current shows. Two strange bedfellows have come to the rescue in this time of need for new and you won't believe who they are...
The undefeated New England Patriots and politics have made the biggest gains in TV ratings during the writers strike, now in its sixth week. Last Sunday's Pats win over Pittsburgh pushed "60 Minutes" into third place in the national ratings last week. Their last-minute 27-24 win over Baltimore on ESPN's 'Monday Night Football' drew 17.5 million viewers for the biggest audience in cable TV history. There are a couple of reasons for this. At 13-0 the Patriots are heading for the first undefeated NFL season in 35 years and they "are unabashed in their desire to beat up on people" according to TV analyst Marc Berman of Mediaweek. Berman adds, "I think the Pats may be some kind of special phenomenon and women love Tom Brady." ...
The other, less viewed phenomenon - politics, is the second biggest ratings gainer. You would think at this point, 20 debates and counting, that viewers would be bored by all the yacking but they're not. Each new debate gains more viewers. Last October the Republicans pulled about 1 million for a debate. The audience jumped to 2.3 million two weeks later and 4.3 million for the YouTube debate on CNN in late November. The Democrats have gone from 1.4 million in September to just under 4 million in mid-November...
The longer the TV writers strike lasts, the more gains will be made by something new and compelling. Can you imagine what the Mitchell Report on Steroids would've done in prime time???
10 Timeline Memories:
- 1773] Not my cup of tea: The Boston Tea Party takes place as American colonists board a British ship and dump more than 300 chests of tea in Boston Harbor to protest tea taxes. This might explain why the water in Boston Harbor has been described as "orange pekoe with specks of green tea in a sea of chamomile" in color (12/16). This video clip depicts the 'Tea Party': http://youtube.com/watch?v=U0Xj-ydLwSY ...
- 1799] "Happy Trails": George Washington dies of a throat infection at his home in Mount Vernon (VA) at 67 (12/14)...1890] Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull and 11 other tribe members are killed by Indian police in Grand River (SD) at 59 (12/15)...1944] Bandleader Glenn Miller, 40, disappears over the English Channel in a U.S. Army plane. A thick fog had enveloped the plane (12/15)...1963] Dinah Washington dies from a drug overdose at 39 (12/14)...1966] Walt Disney dies from cardiac arrest at 65 and no, his body wasn't frozen (12/15)...1985] Organized crime chief Paul Castellano is gunned down outside Sparks Steakhouse on 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. This reportedly was set up by John Gotti (12/16)...1997] Singer Nicolette Larson passes away from swelling of the brain at 45 (12/16)...2001] Legendary R&B singer/DJ Rufus Thomas dies from a heart attack at 84 (12/15)...2006] Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, injured after a fall at a Rolling Stones performance at the Beacon Theater in October, slips into a coma and dies at the age of 83 (12/14)...
- 1905] Debuted on this date: Variety Magazine hits the newsstands and gets boffo reviews (12/16)...1939] "Gone With The Wind", starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh has its world premiere, where else? At the Loew's Grand Theater in Atlanta (12/15) and here's the classic Carol Burnett spoof of the movie: http://youtube.com/watch?v=TjhtxfSMIWk ...1955] The Tappan Zee Bridge opens to traffic (12/14)...1977] One of the biggest box office hits of all-time, "Saturday Night Fever" has its world premiere. The musical starring John Travolta has such classic lines as "would you just watch my hair", "I work on my hair a long time and you hit it?" and "he hits my hair" (12/14)...
- 1960] Tragedy in the air: A United Air Lines DC-8 and a TWA Super Constellation collide over Staten Island, killing 134 (12/16)...
- 1961] Guilty as charged: Former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death by an Israeli court. Eichmann is hanged in 1962 (12/15)...1988] James Brown is sentenced to a 6-year term for leading police on a late-night chase. He's released on February 27, 1991 (12/15)...
- 1972] Untouched: The Miami Dolphins become the first NFL team to go unbeaten and untied in a 14-game season. They go to 17-0 after their Super Bowl win (12/16). The (13-0) Patriots are getting closer with each game now...
- 1982] Curtains: Paul 'Bear' Bryant announces his retirement at the University of Alabama. He was the winningest college football coach in history at the time. The Bear will suffer a fatal heart attack at 69 one month later (12/15)...1993] John Williams conducts the Boston Pops for the final time (12/15)...
- 1982] Reborn: Tom Seaver becomes a Met again after a trade with Cincinnati (12/16)...1983] Yogi Berra is named Yankee manager for the second time (12/16)...
- 1985] Wedding Bells: Sylvester Stallone and Brigitte Nelson enter the ring. The marriage will end in a KO in the 18th month (12/15)...1990] Rod Stewart asks Rachel Hunter, do ya think I'm sexy? Apparently she does and they marry. Their divorce becomes official in November of 2006...2004] Sprint and Nextel tie the $35 billion knot (12/15)...
- 2003] Who's your daddy?: The family of the late Senator Strom Thurmond acknowledges that Essie Mae Washington-Williams' claim of being the Senators' illegitimate mixed-race daughter is true (12/15)...
Music Memories:
- 1961] Gold Standard: "Big Bad John" - Jimmy Dean (12/14)...
- 1962] Number One on this date: "The First Family" LP - Vaughn Meader (12/16) - right off the record: http://youtube.com/watch?v=wsbArxPjddQ ...1964] "Come See About Me" - Supremes (12/16)...1970] "The Tears of A Clown" - Smokey Robinson & Miracles (12/14)...1986] "Walk Like An Egyptian" - Bangles (12/16) doin' it live: http://youtube.com/watch?v=yAFYFkcirpY&feature=related ...1987] "Faith" - George Michael (12/16)...
- 1968] Released on this date: "Crimson & Clover" - Tommy James (12/14)...1974] "Lady" - Styx (12/14)...1979] "London Calling" - The Clash (12/14) Here's the band doing an early TV appearance, check out the ties: http://youtube.com/watch?v=SLd8jwQuclo&feature=related ...
- 1999] Number One in this century: "You've Lost This Lovin' Feeling" -
Righteous Brothers (12/14). BMI announces in 1999 that the song is the number one composition on the performing rights group's list of "Top 100 Songs of The Century"...
Commentary:
There's been a lot of doubters among the sports reporters summing up the George Mitchell investigation of steroid use in baseball but I thought Mitchell did a good job in presenting the evidence he was able to gather with no subpoena power. He went as far as he could legally with the strongest player's union in sports ready to pounce all over him. As far as the Boston bias with few Red Sox players names on the list because of Mitchell's position as a director of the Red Sox, I don't buy it. Remember most of the evidence came from a personal trainer and former batboy, both based in New York. Mitchell will get much consideration when the list of 'The Good, The Bad & The Ugly' is posted here in 10 days...Congratulations to Madonna, John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen (who I had the pleasure of working with), The Dave Clark Five and the Ventures. All were voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In special categories, Chicago bluesman Little Walter and Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff (who were long overdue for their achievements) were also inducted. They will all be honored at a ceremony on March 10, 2008 at the Waldorf Astoria. It will air live on VH1...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
(12/14) Bill ("oops") Buckner (58), Dee Wallace (59), Dawn's Joyce Vincent Wilson (61), Patty Duke (61), Abbe Lane (75) and Don Hewitt (85)...
(12/15) Benjamin Bratt (44), Benny (ABBA) Andersson (61), Steven Bochco (64), Lesley Stahl (66) and Liv Ullmann (68)...
(12/16) Rodney Harrison (35), Don Johnson (58), Dave Clark (65), Nick Buoniconti (67), Cindy Birdsong (68), Tim Conway (74) and Jerry Wallace (79)...
Timeline Countdown for Sunday, December 16, 2007: 8 days until winter, 9 days until Festivus, 10 shopping days until Christmas, 11 days until 'TGTBTU' of 2007, 16 nights until New Year's Eve and 21 days until the NFL Wild Card Playoffs...
