LITTLE ROCK — I know it’s still April, but in the arcane world of TV ratings it’s already May.
Or at least it’s May sweeps. Sweeps months are when the networks count noses very, very carefully for advertising purposes. Stunts and special programming — crossover episodes, guest stars, dramatic cliffhangers — are trotted out in hopes of luring every last nose for the tally.
May sweeps begin tonight and run through May 23. NBC kicks off its contribution with 30 Rock’s second live episode.
The first live experiment, on Oct. 14, 2010, was a ratings success as folks tuned in for the drama of what was common place back in the day. It’s like theater.
Beth McCarthy-Miller, who directed the first live episode, will return to direct the new one.
Once again, two versions of the same story will be telecast — one live for East Coast and Central time zone viewers and a second for the West Coast.
What can we expect tonight?
When their Kabletown bosses announce they will no longer pay for TGS (that’s Liz Lemon’s show within the show) to be a live production, Liz (Tina Fey) and Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) realize their lives will actually be easier if they shoot canned episodes.
Only Kenneth the Page (Jack McBrayer) objects, urging that nothing can replace the communal experience of live television.
Kenneth tries to convince the TGS staff to fight for their right to be live by taking them (and the audience) through a magical look back at the illustrious history of Studio 6H.
The episode will air live from NBC’s famed Studio 8H, home to Saturday Night Live and many other memorable NBC television and radio programs.
The series also stars Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan, the loose cannon star of TGS With Tracy Jordan, Jane Krakowski as his co-star, Jenna Maroney; Scott Adsit as TGS producer Pete Hornberger; Judah Friedlander as cynical staff writer Frank; and Keith Powell as Toofer, the staff writer who went to Harvard.
If you’re keeping track, 30 Rock has earned 77 Emmy nominations, resulting in 14 wins.
They’re back. Those pesky and confrontational Sea Shepherds of Animal Planet’s Whale Wars are back with a new mission.
The five-part Whale Wars: Viking Shores kicks off at 8 p.m. Friday when the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society heads to the Faroe Islands to pester those who carry out the traditional pilot whale slaughter, known to the locals as “The Grind.”
Animal Planet tell us, “The Sea Shepherds are not only at sea but deploying a covert team to patrol the streets, interact with locals and carry out undercover missions.
“With over 20 killing beaches spread across 18 islands, stopping this hunt isn’t easy and this time, their determined foe is far from faceless.”
The main difference this time around is that “viewers have the chance to see both sides of the argument for the first time.”
Note that pilot whales are not endangered, are used for food and that The Grind has been a tradition for more than 300 years.
Still, Animal Planet says, “The Sea Shepherds believe that justice takes precedence over the law and go to extreme lengths to stop what they believe is an unethical ritual.”
Dark Shadows. Tim Burton’s big-screen adaptation of the TV cult hit Dark Shadows is set to debut in a couple of weeks. That makes the news all the sadder that Jonathan Frid, known to millions of TV fans as vampire Barnabas Collins, died April 13.
That, appropriately, was Friday the 13th. Frid was 87.
Frid, who starred in the gothic ABC soap opera from 1967 to 1971, has a cameo in Burton’s film that stars Johnny Depp as Barnabas.
Cable confusion. The lines have blurred with cable outfits these days. I recall years ago when I teased that the History Channel’s big H logo stood for the Hitler Channel, since it seemed to have Hitler documentaries airing 24/7.
Now the History Channel has lots of programming that’s hardly about history.
Ponder this: History Channel’s biggest hits are about a family pawnshop, a couple of antique scouts, alligator hunters, catfish noodlers, loggers, truckers and dudes who dress like knights and joust one another.
History isn’t alone in the confusion. Recently Syfy aired the Daniel Craig James Bond movie Casino Royale. How that has anything to do with science fiction is beyond me.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. E-mail:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Weekend, Pages 32 on 04/26/2012