Comments on: My Own Worst Enemy and Lipstick Jungle Are Cancelled

By: Julia

Julia — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 13:15:58 +0000

They keep Kath and Kim cause of Molly Shannon and Lorne Michaels are tight from SNL

No, they keep Kath & Kim because it retains most of its lead-in and a half hour comedy is much cheaper to produce than a show like MOWE.

By: Dan

Dan — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 06:05:31 +0000

What BS this is. This show was really good(MOWE), great acting, suspense, action, even some emotinal issues for the women to deal with. They keep Kath and Kim cause of Molly Shannon and Lorne Michaels are tight from SNL, and I’ve tried watching that show, but besides it being utterly stupid, it makes no sense. I can understand about wanting to put a sitcom on, but at least make it funny.. MOWE, Journeyman, why are all these good shows being dumped after 1 season.. MOWE IMO, lived up to the hype. NBC blows

By: mowefan

mowefan — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:06:48 +0000

This is exactly why reality shows get higher ratings. They don’t cancel them in the middle of the show. MOWE was the first show from NBC that I’ve liked for such a long time I sometimes wished I could remove the channel from my remote. It’s just in the way. Again, NBC chooses quantity over quality. That’s why they don’t have a steady and reliable audience. They didn’t even give MOWE a chance to be whatever it was going to be. I didn’t watch CSI when it first came out. Or Law and Order. But see how successful they’ve become? Time is the real factor in deciding if a show has the potential to make it and NBC dropped the ball, AGAIN, by not letting MOWE at least finish out the season. I’m going back to my boycott.

By: Carol

Carol — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:50:49 +0000

I can’t believe they are cancelling MOWE.Last year they cancelled JourneyMan
which was on Monday night. Does not that tell them anything. Instead of
cancelling how about moving nights. You can’t put a new show on at the same
time of a long running show like CSI Miami and expect it to do good. Just
change nights and bring back Journey Man.

By: Julia

Julia — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:29:51 +0000

And for once I’m too slow.

By: Julia

Julia — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:29:16 +0000

Cynthia, NBC is actually the only network that releases any info on web-watchers. The news isn’t good. Sorry.

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:27:46 +0000

cynthia — it’s a nice fantasy for you, but it simply isn’t so. The truth is, NBC is much more accurately able to measure it’s online viewing than its television viewing. Unfortunately for Lipstick Jungle, it’s online viewing was not off the charts, and the networks really haven’t figured out how to make any money off of the shows online. Though the show does seem to wind up averaging ~40,000 downloads on iTunes, that’s only $80,000 per episode of revenue even before NBC splits with Apple. They make more than that in one 30 second spot of television — even for Lipstick Jungle!

You can see more about the online viewing and downloads via NBC’s TAMi report:

http://nbcumv.com/special/Tami23Dec08.pdf

By: cynthia

cynthia — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:23:59 +0000

Has it occurred to anybody that NBC really doesn’t know how to measure an audience? All this talk of ratings and no one has any clue as to how many viewers are exclussively web-watchers! This is the same network that canceled Star Trek in 1966!

By: Darlene

Darlene — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:24:54 +0000

I can’t believe that everytime a good show comes on it is cancelled. In my opinion this was the best show I have seen in years. Christian Slater is one hell of an actor. This show will be missed by many.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 07:01:49 +0000

I am so pissed off over the cancellation of MOWE that I cannot even believe it. Who are these people any way. What do they do for a living? Do they sit around and watch My Mame is Earl or better yet American Dad? How about the Office. I would like to find out who votes out these things because I am never asked my opinion. I enjoy watching GOOD showes after dinner and all the chores are done. Every time I find one I get into it and it gets cancelled. That is so not fair.
I would like to know what i can do. Anything??? You can keep your stupid shows and leave the good ones alone. I hope MOWE will come back on a different network. My husband and I both liked this show. Thank you very much for taking that away. We need some new judges.

By: Robert Seidman

Robert Seidman — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:16:30 +0000

Dex, more likely that the DVD production run happened before the cancellation. Far more likely. MOWE is done, the people working on it have been told, the mid season schedule is out, MOWE isn’t on it, etc…

By: Dex

Dex — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:12:31 +0000

What I find surprising is that two big name DVDs that were just released The Mummy and Wanted both contained ads for MOWE nearly a month after the cancel notice, which makes me suspect they may renew. Plossibly in a new time slot

By: john

john — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:04:48 +0000

there is nothing but crap on tv anymore, shows that make you imagine and think, like my own worst enemy are quickly yanked off, intead junk like mamma’s boy will be put on, . i guess the saying is true for people who watch crap like this…” SIMPLE THINGS FOR SIMPLE MINDS”

By: Sean Parker

Sean Parker — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:25:13 +0000

You know this is always the case. Everytime I love a show it dies. They canceled Journeyman now MOWE, Stargate Atlantis and, Cruseo. I’m so sick of this. I loved my Monday night, Chuck then Heroes then MOWE. Great TV! Now they took it away from me. When will the networks stop?

By: Ryunkin

Ryunkin — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 04:50:56 +0000

The cancelling of My Own Worst Enemy is an example of why I rarely watch network programming any more. So many of my favorite shows have been cancelled that I’ve more or less given up on the mainline channels. Quite frankly, I just don’t get the popularity of “reality” shows and the newer sitcoms just can’t compete with the old classics like Get Smart and the Addams Family.

By: Dutchess

Dutchess — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:28:40 +0000

Dear Sirs:

I hear you are going to cancel My own worse enemy!?! Are you crazy!?! This show is fabulous. I look forward to seeing it every week.

I realize some people have not discovered this show yet, but come on; how much reality crap do we have to endure?

Please reconsider. Thank you.

By: jro

jro — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:17:30 +0000

We almost never watch TV but MOWE sounded interesting and my husband and I are hooked. I can’t believe they are terminating the ONE show we actually watch! Is there not enough sex in it to sell?

By: Riff Rafferty

Riff Rafferty — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:56:00 +0000

Yeah, it also had Joyce DeWitt as a man.

I suffered through more episodes of that clunker than I care to remember (when it was situated in between “Mama’s Family” and “Cheers”) and to this day, I still contend that it was Fred Silverman’s payback to NBC for firing him. Even the tacky opening credits — with the actors popping out of irons and dryers, all backed by computer graphics that weren’t even good by 1983 standards — were unwatchable. Just an awful show. And so of course it was a hit when it was on Thursday. Everyone should thank the ghost of Brandon Tartikoff for dumping it on Saturday, where it croaked.

The guy who co-created it had not done anything in years, and the other co-creator (who was his wife, as I recall) had NEVER done anything. It showed.

By: Nick C

Nick C — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 05:30:49 +0000

Riff, but WE GOT IT MADE, had a hot maid with no maid experience who for some reason seemed to always be in one form of undress or another.

By: blama

blama — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:56:14 +0000

I cant believe it!!
finally an original idea, there are no desperate housewives and no crime scene investigators. Im disgusted! and disappointed!
I gave up on network Tv along time ago but renewed my hope of intelligent TV and charming and new characters.
It really is a different kind of show and Im going to miss it a lot.

By: Izzy

Izzy — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:25:43 +0000

I really REALLY like Lipstick Jungle and have watched it faithfully from the beginning. I don’t know what kind of ratings it’s garnered but moving it to Friday night seems like a death sentence. How come every time a well-written show with great characters that doesn’t involve reality show idiots, cops, lawyers or forensics doesn’t survive? In my opinion, LJ should be moved Sunday night and given a fair shot to develop a following. It really is a great show.

By: Riff Rafferty

Riff Rafferty — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:41:51 +0000

Vader,

Why are you taking it out on me? I didn’t cancel the show. I’m a huge fan of Mike O’Malley, and watched it just for him. His father, Tony, even sent me a few emails some years ago. But that’s the business. I’m sure Mike can tell you that himself. NBC canned his self-titled show in half as many episodes as they did this. He got over it, moved on, and was rewarded with a hit that ran 6 years.

As for how much the shows cost, I have it on reasonable authority. Along with the Nielsen island “Crusoe,” it was one of the lowest-cost freshman dramas. “Knight Rider” has a no-name cast commanding no-name salaries. (Less than no-name now that they’ve gotten rid of the one demi-name, Bruce Davison.) “My Own Worst Enemy” had a handsomely paid star. Gary Scott Thompson green screens everything. Smilovic doesn’t do TV cheap. That’s why his shows all die quick and other low-rated shows don’t. That, and because NBC grossly overestimates how well they’ll do when setting the ad rates for them. Both shows are partially deficited by car company product placement. (”Worst Enemy” had General Motors.)

“Life” did do better than “Worst Enemy” (Monday 10:00) and “Lipstick Jungle” (Friday 10:00). That is why it got picked up and not them. Of course, it’s doing worse than Smilovic’s “Moronic Woman” (Wednesday 9:00) — even after half that show’s audience deserted it. But, again, Smilovic doesn’t do TV cheap.

Do you remember NBC’s disastrous and legendary Fall ‘83 lineup? 9 new shows. All failed big-time. Which was the one that got dumped first? The one that cost the most money, “Bay City Blues.” Which was a very good show that got very good reviews. Meanwhile, the thoroughly dull drama “The Yellow Rose” and the absolutely unwatchable sitcom “We Got It Made,” which were slaughtered by the critics, got picked up for the season. That, too, was the business.

By: Nick C

Nick C — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 04:43:24 +0000

Julia, don’t forget that 30 ROCK also was a top 5 show in the over $100k income category. That actually matters.

By: Julia

Julia — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 04:38:40 +0000

Vibe, the three other NBC shows you mentioned have all performed well in the demos. (Well, 30 Rock didn’t prior to this season, but it won tons of awards for both of its previous seasons. And it still did better than what Lipstick Jungle does/did.)

By: Vibe

Vibe — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 04:32:13 +0000

I LOVE Lipstick Jungle, and I hardly like anything on television. It’s not as good as Sex & the City was, but it’s good, and Brooke Shields is great. I think she has matured as an actress and she rarely hits a false note. Hope everyone involved in the show isn’t discouraged. It’s clear from the comments here that many people are fans of LJ, so please, NBC, what would it take to get you to reconsider? I promise to urge people to watch … even on Fridays. I get … but don’t get … why NBC saves the worst shows, or ones with cult followings (I find The Office unwatchable, WISH I could stand 30 Rock, and omigod, I used to run screaming from Scrubs) and scraps shows with fervent followings that haven’t caught fire yet. I still haven’t gotten over American Dreams.