Calm Before the Storm
Tonight is a big night for the television industry. Survivor 2: The Australian Outback and an extended episode of Friends will battle head-to-head at 8 p.m. When the highest-rated summer series in history meets one of the highest rated comedies in history, the competition will be undeniably fierce.
Although most surveyed viewers say they’ll watch Friends, Survivor‘s post-Super Bowl ratings are certainly a force to be reckoned with. Last Sunday’s premiere of the reality-based show’s second season held 75 percent of viewers who tuned into the CBS post-game show, thus drawing nearly 44 million people. While that number is a far cry from last season’s finale, it was still enough to satisfy network executives. CBS President Les Moonves told the Wall Street Journal that they were “thrilled” with the numbers.
In other Survivor news, Debb Eaton, the first contestant to get voted off the Outback, attributes her loss to her lack of participation in the X-rated conversations among the players. Apparently everyone was talking freely about sex, and she didn’t like it. Meanwhile, she has received much public scrutiny for her current romantic relationship with her stepson.
Hello irony.
Imitation Without Flattery
A 12-year-old Connecticut boy is in critical, but stable condition after being doused with gasoline and set on fire, in an attempt to reenact a scene he had recently viewed on MTV’s stunt show Jackass.
The incident has since created a political firestorm, after the boy’s father enlisted the help of Senator Joseph Lieberman, who has been a longstanding critic of violence in the media. According to Movieweb.com, Lieberman said MTV was “irresponsible” and asked the network to either cancel the show or move it to a later hour, when fewer young and vulnerable viewers would be likely to tune in.
MTV, however, has firmly stood by the program, noting that, in addition to its TV-MA rating, several verbal and written disclaimers appear throughout the airing.
J. Lo is High, Puffy’s Not
A female artist has never been simultaneously at the top of the box office and the Billboard charts. That is, until Jennifer “J. Lo” Lopez came along.
Her new romantic comedy, The Wedding Planner, took a pounding from critics, but that obviously didn’t deter the public. The movie debuted at number one this past weekend, grossing $13.5 million. Her new album J. Lo also opened in the top slot on the album charts, according to sales figures released yesterday. She ended the seven-week reign of the Beatles’ aptly-titled compilation album, 1.
And while J.Lo basked in media glory, her boyfriend continued his trial for gun possession and bribery charges. Sean “Puffy” Combs was arrested over a year ago, after fleeing a Times Square nightclub where three patrons were injured after someone allegedly insulted Combs.
E-News Shorts
Britney Spears cursed backstage at the Rock in Rio concert and the recording has since become a very popular download on Napster … Marilyn Manson will portray Willy Wonka as the devil in a planned remake of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory … Sega will no longer manufacture its Dreamcast system.
Quote of the Week
“Most women ain’t got no damn interest in an intellectual Beat poet if Allan Houston [of the New York Knicks] is sitting across from that motherfucker.”
–Actor Orlando Jones in Vibe, on the draw of athletes
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