Tony v. Tonys - Tony Wins

The results are in in the Tony vs. Tonys showdown.

Broadway's best averaged a tepid 6.2 million viewers from the 110 million households that receive CBS.

THE SOPRANOS drew 11.9 million viewers from among the 30 million households in the HBO universe.

If one were to extrapolate the HBO universe out to national levels, THE SOPRANOS audience would have been equivalent to about 43.6 million viewers.

It wasn't even close.

Even at 11.9 million, THE SOPRANOS scored higher ratings than every other show on American TV this week except for AMERICA'S GOT TALENT.

Oh, and do you hear anyone talking about the way the Tonys ended? David Hyde-Pierce could have paraded on stage naked and no one would be talking about anything other than "Cut to black, roll credits."

America Doesn't Get It

SPOILER WARNING: IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FINALE FOR THE SOPRANOS - STOP READING NOW.

COME BACK AFTERWARDS, AND WE'LL TALK.






I MEAN IT.



The headline I wanted to use:

America Doesn't Get It - Tony Does.

Americans get the TV they deserve. It's the beauty of the system. TV shows that draw big audiences stick around. Shows that don't, go away. Unfortunately, that allows the lowest common denominator to have a pretty big say in what we have beamed into our homes.

It's the reason CBS programs the way they do. Throughout the TV era simple shows like MURDER, SHE WROTE, THE BRADY BUNCH, JAG, THE GHOST WHISPERER and CSI have drawn large audiences who want simple distraction.

That's not necessarily a bad thing - but it's aggravating when quality shows that do challenge the audience, like PROFIT, FIREFLY, or (insert the name of your favorite short-lived show here) get scrapped only to be replaced by yet another clone of THE BACHELOR.

Tonight, we may be seeing a huge steaming pile of why American TV is as bland as it is.

The finale of THE SOPRANOS has generated an enormous amount of web traffic this evening. HBO's servers are melting due to the number of complaint postings and emails about how tonight's episode simply cut off and went to black.

You see, Tony and his family (the biological family, not the other one) were meeting at a diner for a meal. It looked like Tony had come out on top in a war with a rival family, and things might be getting back to normal.

Tony was first to arrive - and every time the front door of the diner rang, we looked up from the menu with Tony to see who was coming in.

Carmella walked in, followed by a seedy looking character in a truckers cap who might be trouble. Tony chatted with his wife - and the bell sounded again.

A.J. followed by another seedy fellow into the diner. The other fellow sat at the bar, and A.J. joined the family.

Meadow had trouble parallel parking. While we nervously watched every person in the diner for signs of suspicion. The tension built. And built. And built.

The fellow at the bar, got up and went to the men's room. Meadow finally got the car parked, and crossed the street to join her family. The bell rang. Tony looked up - and dead silence over black.

And fanboys all across America screamed "WHAT?!!!!"

They're complaining about an ending they don't understand, about details left unfinished, storylines that didn't end.

What they're not getting - including this guy from the AP - or these guys either - is that Tony got whacked.

Tony said it himself in the first episode of the season. You never see the one that gets you.

Series creator (and this episode's write/director) had confidence in his audience's ability to fill in the blanks.

They didn't get it. And they're screaming bloody murder about it.

And that's why network TV sucks.

Tony v. Tonys

Way back in the day, when the world was still broadcast in living black and white, Broadway supplied television with some of the most popular programming available.

Huge numbers were racked up by live televised versions of things like Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, or specials featuring the best of the Great White Way.

Tonight, CBS airs the 61st Annual Tony Awards. Last year, all of 7.8 million people tuned in. The big winner was "Jersey Boys."

Also tonight, the curtain falls on one TV's most impactful made-for-premium cable shows - THE SOPRANOS. 7.7 million tuned in for the season premiere last month.

It's Tony Soprano vs. the Tony Awards.

Which telecast will feature the most drama? Which will draw the larger audience? Which will we remember this time next year?

I think I know the answers. Jersey Boys all the way. As for that awards show?

Fuhgetaboutit.

Random Thoughts: 041207

Some random TV thoughts....

It took 17 hours for Jack Bauer to shake off whatever it was the Chinese did to him. I was feeling a bit disappointed with this season of 24 - until Jack killed this season's bad guy with his bare hands. 24 has 'unjumped' the shark and The Jack Bauer Power Hour is back

Starting to get pumped up about DRIVE. Captain Tightpants (Nathan Fillion from FIREFLY) and ANGEL's Fred (Amy Acker) headline a pretty good looking cast in another Tim Minear project - that FOX will probably toss on the ash heap before its time. I hope not.

'TIL DEATH has had its season finale. It's still not a great show, but it's getting better. My guess is that it will be back next year.

Last Friday the History Channel aired PLANET OF THE APES. Huh? It worked. I watched the whole thing - plus the special about Giganticus/Sasquatch that followed.

There a marathon of Eddie Izzard's THE RICHES on FX this weekend. Check it out.

I'm going to wait one more episode to comment on THE SOPRANOS.

Next week - Sanjaya WILL be in the bottom three. But he won't go home until we're down to the Top 5.

I've started pulling for Blake.

It's been a long haul over the past month - no new episodes of GILMORE GIRLS, SMALLVILLE or HEROES. If it weren't for the new subscription to HBO - and all the movies I don't have time to watch - my TiVo would be very bored.

What's going on on your set? What are you watching? What are you NOT watching?

Easter Bonus: Sopranos Resurrected

Back in June, I posted a piece on the mid-season finale of THE SOPRANOS.

With the second half of the season about to premiere, I thought it might be fun to revisit it.

Sopranos Finale: Peace on Earth

7 Minutes of Emptiness

At 6:53PM local time today, something happened that I haven't seen in years.

My TiVo was empty.

That's right. Empty. Caught up on THE O.C., HOUSE, HEROES - you name it. Nothing left to watch.

For seven whole minutes.

And then, at 7, the better half triggered some home fix it show on HGTV. At 8, we grabbed THE SOPRANOS on A&E.

And after seven minutes that must have seemed like an eternity to the magic little elves in the TiVo box, they weren't alone anymore.

Just goes to show how little has been on TV over the last 2 weeks.

Coming soon - 24, IDOL, LOST, BONES, HOUSE, HEROES, THE O.C., THE SIMPSONS, tons of stuff I won't have time to watch live.

Even the TiVo deserves a break for the holidays, right?

Now, back to work, you!

Sopranos Finale: Peace on Earth

SPOILERS BELOW

The last ten minutes of the season finale of THE SOPRANOS were some of the most captivating, edge-of-my-seat moments since....well since Picard got all Borgified. I was a bundle of nerves, expecting the big whack to come any minute.

Every time Christopher was on screen, the pace of the episode slowed to a crawl but in a good way. An intense, 'holy crap they're about to whack Christopher' sort of crawl.

And then, nothing.

And then back to Chris and another long, gut-wrenching scene with undertones of promised violence so intense it distracted from the dialogue.

And still, nothing.

Then, the family gathers for a perfect little XMAS. Everyone's there (except for Adrianna) and again the moment was too happy, too perfect not to be destroyed by the threat of imminent violence about to be unleashed on this family. How could a peaceful moment be allowed to go unchallenged in this world? Holy cow, they're gonna blow up Tony's house with everyone in it! The tension is killing me!

And nothing.

There are a lot of fanboys out there who are thoroughly disgusted with this episode, and the entire season for that matter. I am not one of them. Just like LOST, I'm along for the ride. (That's another post entirely) I'm enjoying Tony's attempts to treat every day as a gift - and how his life is faighting back against that choice. In fact, at one point I thought Tony might be considering buying Tony Sack's interest in that New Orleans shipping concern just to relocate and get away from Jersey and all the baggage that comes with it.

But not so.

So what did we see last night? A happy ending that will be stretched into 8 more episodes? A series limping past it's prime? I don't think so. My guess is last night was Camelot. For one brief shining moment, happiness. A room filled with gifts - just like every day in the rest of Tony's life.

In January, the bills are going to come due and there's going to be hell to pay.