Show and Tell

New televison shows are subject to fickle audiences, steep competition, and the network's ax. A number of fall series have already suffered from all three. CBS' Smith and the CW's Runaway were both cancelled while NBC's Kidnapped and FOX's Vanished are as good as cancelled. In other words, the latter two were exiled to Saturday and Friday timeslots, respectively. On top of that, the networks only ordered 13 episodes of each instead of the usual 22. Some say that it's better than nothing. At least, they're going to finish the season, and they won't dillydally with any unecessary episodes or plotlines.

Originally, I was just going to write about Kidnapped and how other media outlets on kidnapping have been unsuccessful. For instance, the movie Trapped starring Charlize Theron and Kevin Bacon bombed at the box office. It cost $30 million to make, but cashed in under $7 million. Then, I read an article in USA Today about the same thing. However, it expanded the scope of its discussion to why all four of the aforementioned shows failed. The article stipulated that it was because all of them dealt with crime. Also, the audience needed "something they [couldn't] get from CSI or Law and Order." Moreover, the world we live in is already a constant reminder of crime, why do we need to see it on our television sets?

On the other hand, four new shows have been picked up for full seasons. The lucky ones are (Drumroll, please!) CBS' Jericho, ABC's Ugly Betty and Brothers and Sisters, and NBC's Heroes. Coincidentally, I happened to stumble on an article with some insight as to why Ugly Betty and Heroes are successful. Although they're two very different shows, "half the cast of each, including the leads, is a person of color." They boast of cast members who are Indian, Japanese, African-American, and Hispanic. That alone pulls in a very large, diverse audience. I guess they're not the minorities anymore--at least not in the world of television and that's a start.

I'm Taken

Danger lurks around one of my favorite new television shows, Kidnapped. Admittedly, by its name alone, it is sort of ironic. Anyway, 7.3 million is a big number...depending on what you're talking about. In terms of dollars, it's huge! Anyone can retire with that amount of cash in their pockets. However, in terms of the number of viewers tuning in for a show, it's relatively low. So low, in fact, that USA Today didn't even rank it in their top 20 for that week or the top 20 for ages 18-49. (Why they even rank the latter is beyond me.)

PLEASE WATCH IT!!! Or at least, turn your television sets on to channel 3 (NBC--It's not even on cable so, no excuse!) on Wednesdays at 10 pm. The show revolves around Leopold (Will Denton), the kidnapped son of the wealthy Cain family. Upon receiving the cliche of a note that says, "Don't call the police," Mr. Conrad (Timothy Hutton) and Mrs. Ellie Cain (Dana Delany) go on to hire Knapp (Jeremy Sisto), a rogue specialist. Privacy be damned, the FBI (Delroy Lindo) gets involved so, they always clash, which makes for interesting television.

Until tonight's episode, the Leopold's older sister was missing as well. (That was just the second one so, there's time to catch up! Plus, they have a quick review at the beginning of the show for those just coming out of their caves.) All the actors are relative unknowns but they're good, and they could be great given enough buzz. Hint, hint. I dont know if I can take this clash of the networks anymore. Quite a few of my favorite shows have been cancelled in the past. Most notably, Reunion on FOX, a mystery show that was cancelled half-way (Not even. Maybe, 1/4 way?) through the first season. Cancelled mystery shows are especially hard to take.

Going back, Kidnapped will keep you on the edge of your seat. You can't help but feel for the characters. You root for Knapp, the reluctant hero (Think Nicolas Cage in Con Air or Dustin Hoffman in Accidental Hero.) and Leopold who's anything but the victim (like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone 1 and 2 but sleeker). I could go on, but it's more important for the show to go on, so keep your eye on the boobtube!