HBO

More newsy bits

Lot’s of interesting news today.
We have stories from PGA.com, TV envy, and the New York Times.

PGA mention
Who knew that golfers were so into the Conchords? PGA.com writer Grant Boone compares this month’s FedEx Cup to Murray’s futile attempt to get more fans:

You get the idea. It’s like Murray updating Flight of the Conchords’ band members Jemaine and Bret on how many people are in the fan club. (Murray: “We have two. Jemaine, you’re one of them. Do you want to join, Bret?” Bret: “No, I’m not really a fan of the band.”)

And then in regards to Tiger Woods, Grant writes:

In case you’re wondering, it’s only mathematically possible for the #1 seed - i.e., the leader in FedEx points for the season - to skip the first three rounds and still make the Tour Championship. Who is that points leader? Tiger Woods! Granted, the Tour didn’t know for sure when it created that point scale that Woods would end up #1. But it’s a little like Bret guessing that Mel won the Flight of the Conchords’ fan competition.

Murray: How’d you know that?

Bret: Because there was probably only one entry.

Murray: No, there was hundreds actually.

Bret: Really?

Murray: Yep! They were all from Mel. And one from Jemaine. But he was disqualified.

From: PGA.com

Some TV envy
Next, Tv Envy’s David L. Williams writes an open letter to HBO about Flight of the Conchords:

To the executives at HBO: You recently decided to cancel John From Cincinnati after one season and to renew Flight of the Conchords for a second season. You deserve many thanks for making the absolute right decision. (Yes, I know they renewed Entourage but I don’t watch Entourage, mostly because five minutes after I’ve ever watched an episode of Entourage, I’ve completely forgotten what the episode was about. And, seriously, I can recite chapter and verse of Buffy and Lost episodes.)
I’ve grown to flat out love Flight of the Conchords and I … well, I never hated John From Cincinnati, I just grew bored and restless watching it. It’s not that I wanted them to answer all the questions they posed; I’m a big ol’ Lost defender, so to demand that sort of thing would be hypocrisy. No, I wanted … something of substance there. I wanted better acting, more interesting subject matter, a … honestly, I wanted another Deadwood. Not another foul-mouthed western starring Ian McShane, but a show that would take subject matter that didn’t automatically interest me and fill it with fascinating, well-acted characters, crackling dialogue, and stories that touch on much greater themes than the plots would suggest. John From Cincinnati didn’t do that for me. I watched the whole season because I trust the brilliance of David Milch, and I’ll watch his next show most definitely, but this one was a miss to me.
Flight of the Conchords, on the other hand, is a big hit. It’s a deadpan musical comedy (which is not something you hear about very often) and I would put it up there with The Office, 30 Rock, and Extras as one of the few shows that make me laugh out loud watching it. The warm-up tour, the fact that they have one obsessed fan (who’s married), the band meetings with Murray, the brilliant joke about purchasing stars as a way of buying property and then having it explode in a supernova … several million years ago. The funny never ends. Nice work, HBO!

Woo-hoo! Ditto that..

From: TV Envy

New York Times Article
Finally, the NYtimes has an article about HBO and it’s “stumbling” in this new season. It sounds like they have a lot of faith in the C so that is encouraging!

In terms of raw numbers “Conchords,” with only about a million viewers on average for its initial run on Sunday nights, is not in the same league as previous HBO hits like “Entourage,” which has drawn as many as 3.8 million viewers. But increasingly HBO is measuring its success both by how many viewers a show accumulates over multiple plays and especially by how well it drives the on-demand business, where viewers can order specific episodes of shows.

HBO says that its on-demand business is not dominated by its hit shows but by the niche interests of its audience for choices from theatrical movies to sports programs. According to the channel, “Flight of the Conchords” has been a strong on-demand entry with men between the ages of 18 and 34.

The article is an interesting read especially if you want a clue to how network executives think.

From: New York Times