So how can we grumble or complain about a show that re-launched the careers of George Clooney and Anthony Edwards … okay, just George Clooney?

Here’s the thing: when “ER” first started, we were completely hooked. Must-See Thursday was more than just a marketing catchphrase: it was a command. A command we obeyed. The medical cases were fascinating, the drama was intense, and the cast was hot. What more could one ask for?

It took awhile -- say six seasons -- for us to slowly wean ourselves off of our “ER” addiction. First, we started missing a couple of episodes here and there, then, maybe half a season and then there actually came a day when we flipped on the TV and didn’t recognize 7 out of the 10 regular cast member. We think that’s when we finally considered ourselves a recovered junkie.

“Dear Tyra Banks: You cannot be the voice of your generation if all you do is talk about yourself, ” wrote New York magazine in their February 12 issue (they also listed her in the approval matrix as both “despicable” and “lowbrow.”) And that’s really the problem with her – she tries to be like Oprah, but falls flat.

It’s not that we don’t...]]> http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/make_it_stop/2007/04/make_it_stop_tyra_banks.php http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/make_it_stop/2007/04/make_it_stop_tyra_banks.php Wed, 25 Apr 2007 11:29:23 -0800
He aint heavy...and nobody's watching.

Why is it, in these days of perpetual voyeurism—the frankness of myspace, the relentlessness of the paparazzi, the total disclosure of blogs—people in this country don’t seem to get into "Big Brother?"

Abroad, the show is wildly popular, the actions of some of the housemates causing ripples literally across the globe. Winners and notables on the British version are instant megastars of the Anna Nicole variety, complete with their own fragrances and exercise videos, but here, in the States, the show is a drop in the bucket of reality television. A summer fling while we wait for our appointment television to come back to us in the fall, and look forward to the new line-ups.

For whatever reason, Big Brother just hasn’t caught on around these parts. Thanks for the effort, and for the memories (if you have them), but it’s just never going to measure...]]> http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/make_it_stop/2007/03/oh_big_brother.php http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/make_it_stop/2007/03/oh_big_brother.php Mon, 19 Mar 2007 08:02:29 -0800
It is now official: the way to know when a reality series has jumped the shark is when they introduce their “All-Stars” series. Exhibit A: The Amazing Race.

There are only so many action sequences, only so many remote areas, only so many rock climbing/repelling/rope bridge crossing challenges around the world, apparently, and "The Amazing Race," once the envy of all other network reality series, has run out of steam.

We are tired of dirt road trips, endless shouting, and wind sprints across African plains. Enough already: Make It Stop.

Part Survivor, part travelogue, part treasure hunt, "The Amazing Race" used to add a dash of class to an otherwise barren reality show market. Smarter, and obviously more worldly, than some of the lesser reality prime times, The Amazing Race has won the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Series every year since the award was...]]> http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/make_it_stop/2007/03/the_amazing_race_isnt_actually_so_amazing.php http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/make_it_stop/2007/03/the_amazing_race_isnt_actually_so_amazing.php Fri, 02 Mar 2007 05:51:42 -0800
When Dateline first began baiting perverts and pedophiles, it appeared to be an important expose on both the surplus of sexual predators in this country, as well as the dangers of the internet, and the risk it poses to our nation’s young people. It was an “It’s 10 o’clock, do you know where your children are?” for the Myspace generation, and surely, it was a welcome wake up call to many children and parents alike.

Now, however, it’s just become rubbernecking. Baiting a bunch of creepy, lonely, pathetic, frightening, potentially dangerous men into showing up to some suburban home with a six pack of Zima and a terrified look in their eyes.

We’ve always wondered: if a deviant were sneaking into an underaged girl’s home for sex, wouldn’t he be weary of the “Dateline” vans parked outside? Or, if they’ve taken the time to park...]]> http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/make_it_stop/2007/02/vigilante_prime_time_1.php http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/make_it_stop/2007/02/vigilante_prime_time_1.php Wed, 21 Feb 2007 10:18:31 -0800
First, it was the evening news. Then, it was the local news. Now, it’s the local news, followed by… the local news, with just a little more local news before the evening news. We cannot believe that there is any daily event, anywhere, in any town across the country, that demands hours and hours of late afternoon news coverage.

We are sick of the ninety-minute local news lead-in to the network news. We can’t take it any more hours of local news coverage that isn't even terribly local. Please, make it stop.

There isn't much we can say about local news that hasn't already been mined from "The Simpsons." Local news has always been the stuff of punchlines. A reporter with a concerned look on his face gets an eyewitness account of a kitten stuck in a tree, as firemen scramble in the background to get a ladder set up. That we do...]]> http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/make_it_stop/2007/02/your_local_news.php http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/make_it_stop/2007/02/your_local_news.php Sun, 04 Feb 2007 12:55:10 -0800

We’ve all had this happen: we’re sitting at home, flipping channels, and all of the sudden there’s some celeb in a gown, or tux, standing in front of a Lucite podium, envelope in hand. And we think, “Oh! Did I miss the Emmys? Or the Grammys? Or the…?” You get the idea.

The answer is: of course we didn’t. Because the truth is, we can’t watch one week of prime time without running into another annoying, irritating, unnecessary, indulgent, ridiculous, self-important, absurd awards show.

We need another awards show like we need a hole in the head: make them stop.

Awards shows, as far as we can tell, are created by people who believe that if an event has enough celebrity attached to it, there will be enough of an audience to make it worthwhile. While this may be true, we hope it isn’t the case, and we...]]> http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/make_it_stop/2007/01/all_that_glitters.php http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/make_it_stop/2007/01/all_that_glitters.php Fri, 19 Jan 2007 10:29:04 -0800 The ads are back on the air. Ryan’s tips (the little iddy-biddy-ends of his locks) have been dyed blond ... again. Paula’s (supposedly) sobered up. Randy’s thin again. And Simon’s spent his off-season presumably fine-tuning his new crop of one-liners. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, “American Idol” is back.

And we're sure we are not alone in wishing it was gone. Gone. Gone. And GONE!

Enough with the over-hyped, over-wrought, over-exposed singing contes. Right? Just Make It Stop.

There's been some bona fide talent emerge from the show? Yes, absolutely, you won’t catch us denying that. But was America lacking talent before? Was there a severe national shortage of talent that needed exposing? And where was it decided that the a capella belting of pop standards was the way to solve this crisis?

There’s a new scourge creeping across our prime time airwaves. We hope it is no more than a passing phase, a blip on the television timeline, a placeholder until our beloved appointment television shows come back from the newly minted “winter hiatus”.

The Reality Game Show. We beg the TV Gods: Make this stop.

We call them “reality” game shows because the games that viewers used to tune in for have now been replaced by the contestants: their personalities, their families, their back stories, and their wild antics. The knowledge and skill that used to be required to win a game show are no longer necessary, as these games have little more premise than: pick a number between one and ten. You were right? Hooray! You were wrong? Ahh.

Instead of marveling at someone’s knowledge of French Impressionist painters, or someone’s ability to read “A Stitch In Time Saves Nine” without...]]> http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/make_it_stop/2006/12/deal_or_no_deal.php http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/make_it_stop/2006/12/deal_or_no_deal.php Tue, 19 Dec 2006 10:54:56 -0800

We have had enough of homicide detective geniuses picking up a piece of shoelace and next thing you know, they’re knocking on the door of a serial killer. There are too many forensics shows on prime time, and we’ve far exceeded the saturation point. They can set the next "CSI" wherever they want- Terre Haute or the-planet-formerly-known-as-pluto- it just won’t make it new.

The forensics show -- "NCIS," "Criminal Minds" ... even "Law & Order" -- is a tired formula, and we want it to stop. Now. Please.