The Zombies at AMC’s Doorstep
Rodney Walker
its original series at
http://nymag.com/arts/tv/upfronts/2011/amc-2011-5/
I'm not pleased with how it references "Remember WENN."
The first reference is a few paragraphs in:
"AMC’s first foray into original programming was the geriatric dramedy
'Remember WENN,' which ran for four seasons from 1996 to 1998. But that
show has since been all but erased from AMC’s official mythology.
Executives almost uniformly name the 2006 Western mini-series Broken
Trail as the channel’s first brush with serialized TV."
I've nothing against geriatrics; year by year I become more geriatric
myself. But I cannot see how the term applies to WENN. One dictionary
I referenced had this to say about the usage of geriatric: "it
typically carries overtones of being worn out and decrepit and can
therefore be offensive."
I think a reasonable conclusion is that the author means to insult the show.
Later in the article, he quotes Charlie Collier, an AMC executive:
"'Everyone has a reality-show pitch now,' Collier says. 'I live in
Connecticut, where it’s mostly finance, and I’m the TV guy, so I get
noticed. They get me on the train platform.' Recently, a stranger
shoved a DVD into Collier’s hands as he was walking down an AMC
hallway. It was for a reality show about a radio station in Alaska,
vaguely reminiscent of 'Remember WENN.' 'We didn’t go with it,' Collier
deadpans."
The implication is that Collier, too, holds WENN in low esteem.
I've got scores and scores of low-brow and high-brow books to read,
music to listen to, and videos to watch. While "Mad Men" and other AMC
programming may be worthy, life is just too short and full already
without giving any support to AMC by spending time with any AMC product
other than "Remember WENN."
Rodney
--
WENN Home: http://rabat.liquidweb.com
Patty Winter
In article <2011051718420116807-rwwalker@delremtossitixnetcomcom>,
Rodney Walker <rwwa...@delremtossitix.netcom.com> wrote:
>Michael Idov has an online article in New York Magazine about AMC and
>its original series at
>http://nymag.com/arts/tv/upfronts/2011/amc-2011-5/
>
>I'm not pleased with how it references "Remember WENN."
>
>The first reference is a few paragraphs in:
>
>"AMC’s first foray into original programming was the geriatric dramedy
>'Remember WENN,' which ran for four seasons from 1996 to 1998. But that
>show has since been all but erased from AMC’s official mythology.
>Executives almost uniformly name the 2006 Western mini-series Broken
>Trail as the channel’s first brush with serialized TV."
Ouch, yeah: "geriatric"?
At least he remembers the show. As he points out, AMC doesn't. :-(
In fact, didn't they refer to "Mad Men" as their first scripted series
when they debuted it?
>I think a reasonable conclusion is that the author means to insult the show.
I don't know that it was meant to be an insult, or simply a statement
that the show appealed mostly to an older audience.
Patty
Rodney Walker
If so, I think it may be a misperception on his part. I was suprised
when I got involved with other online WENNers to find half were 18 and
under. Mind you, at the time, Internet fandom was driven mostly by the
computer-savvy young.
However, I think we can agree that the author of
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/emmys-how-amc-became-hbos-203084
is less equivocal with "1996's Remember WENN -- a radio station-set
series created by Rupert Holmes, the guy who wrote the "Pina Colada
Song" -- wasn't memorable at all after its four-season run."