I’m not in the hospital yet… but William Rabkin, who will be blogging for me while I am, offers this observation on today’s cancellation news:
Remember when Mel Gibson started shooting THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST? All the brilliant thinkers in the entertainment industry said he’d gone out of his mind — a religious tract in Aramaic would not only be a financial disaster, but would sink his career.
Well, once Gibson made several hundred million dollars on that folly, the brilliant thinkers had to change their minds. Now he was a genius, and everything he touched would be golden. Of course, everybody wanted to be in business with him, and suddenly the actor/producer/director sold two series to two networks — despite a complete lack of TV experience. And of course, they would have to become the huge hits of the season, because, well, he was the guy who made a religious tract in Aramaic.
So how’s he doing? Well, one of his two shows was cancelled today — CLUBHOUSE, the CBS drama about… a ballboy for a baseball team. (Yes, a concept that couldn’t have been less appealing if it had been in Aramaic.) The other, a sitcom called COMPLETE SAVAGES, was supposed to be this season’s breakout comedy, and it’s a complete disaster, with a tiny audience and nobody paying attention.
Of course, when these shows were picked up, it was all Mel all the time. But an entire article in Variety on the cancellation of CLUBHOUSE doesn’t mention Gibson once…
The writers at Variety aren’t too sharp. For example, I remember when they were heralding KINGDOM HOSPITAL as Stephen King’s first TV series. Clearly, they forgot all about GOLDEN YEARS… then again, so did most of America.
I have a great idea for the next Mel Gibson show — an idea that will cover all the idealogical zealotry he likes and the forensics bent the nation seems to love:
JESUS CHRIST, PI.
Lee Horsely plays a tough as nails saviour of man kind who comes back to Earth to fight crime and save souls. With a crack staff of forensics specialists, including Carl Weathers as Dakota, a tough talking CSI tech with a heart of gold and a dark secret, and Sam Elliott as The Father, a former LAPD captain fired from the force who now dispenses wisdom from his Echo Park art studio, Jesus tracks down criminals and delivers a little Biblical street justice.
I can have a spec reading in a week.
Complete Savages included Erik von Detton. A sure kiss of death if you ask me.
Erik von Who? Never heard of him. Has he been in other series?
Looks like he’s got some minor series credits… never heard of him, though:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0902184
He was in another ABC Friday night comedy years ago that was supposed to make him a star. It failed. This one was supposed to make him a star. It failed. He was in the first season of Celebrity Mole. About the only thing he’s done that didn’t fail was The Princess Diaries, but I’m crediting the fact that he had a minor but pivital role.
Wow, you’re pathetic and bitter. Jews like you give the rest of us a bad name. This bitter resentment towards Gibson over his film has done noting but made us seem like whiny children who can’t respect other people’s face. Oh, and by the way, Gibson’s Complete Savages has been retaining 100% of its audience from the show that airs before them, 8 Simple Rule. Complete Savages was also picked up for the rest of the season because it’s audiences has been growing each week.
Oops, i means whiny children who can’t respect other people’s FAITH. your bitter post made me sick that i couldn’t even type right.
TL,
I don’t think Bill Rabkin has a problem with Mel Gibson’s movie. I believe Bill’s problem was with television networks and the media who touted Mel as the savior of primetime simply because he’d made a hit movie about Jesus. Now that one of Mel’s two series has failed, Bill noted that Mel’s name was noticeably missing in the media reports of the show’s quick cancellation.
I wonder if you would have been as outraged by such a tame posting if it had been made by, oh, someone who wasn’t Jewish on a blog that was run by, say, someone who wasn’t, oh I don’t know, named Goldberg…
I stumbled across your blog while I was doing some online research. Of course, Gibson’s recent arrest and deplorable comments may hinder his career. I personally think he should make genuine reparation for what he said.