tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37916241.post2287294253568830004..comments2023-09-01T01:29:15.314-06:00Comments on zigzigger: In Treatment and Medium Essentialismmznhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12336592183292185884noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37916241.post-32148822111204912752008-02-01T16:32:00.000-06:002008-02-01T16:32:00.000-06:00Thanks for the comment, Jason. The schedule is so...Thanks for the comment, Jason. The schedule is sort of both present and absent for this show, because HBO is offering it through so many "channels" at once to win an audience (iTunes, on demand, repeats, etc.). I guess they hope we will all get hooked and watch it every day, adopting the rhythm of the "broadcast" schedule. But I'm not sure HBO really cares if we watch when it first "airs" or catch it another way; on one level, maybe its scheduling is fodder for a promotional discourse (check out this novel concept) rather than something essential to how the show works as narrative/experience/television. We shall see.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37916241.post-55548725009700222022008-02-01T13:04:00.000-06:002008-02-01T13:04:00.000-06:00I haven't seen In Treatment (yet), but I think bot...I haven't seen In Treatment (yet), but I think both Tasha & Henry raise its core of medium essentialism: more than any shooting or performance style or mode of production, television's essence has been tied to the notion of <B>schedule</B>. The way we receive programming through simultaneous, pre-determined timings seems central to 20th century TV, and that essence is now shifting via DVRs, VOD, online video, etc. The fact that HBO is pushing a show defined by its schedule, and the way that schedule mirrors the appointment-based world of therapy, suggests that it may be much more medium essentialist than most other new programs out there, the essence of "appointment TV."<BR/><BR/>Whether that makes it any good or not is another matter altogether...Jason Mittellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05375428916312710022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37916241.post-75451571797206513102008-01-31T16:39:00.000-06:002008-01-31T16:39:00.000-06:00@henry, please don't delete it, I like it, you mak...@henry, please don't delete it, I like it, you make such good comparisons to daytime shows, just the sort of thing HBO doesn't want to compare itself with, which is very important. And I await your treatise. And I wanted to tell you how much I like your Hills fan fiction!<BR/><BR/>@Derek I agree completely: HBO trumps the medium every time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37916241.post-87899916831058217552008-01-31T16:19:00.000-06:002008-01-31T16:19:00.000-06:00ugh, i just read that flow TV link and now i want ...ugh, i just read that flow TV link and now i want to delete my comment!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37916241.post-88786422008718233692008-01-31T16:12:00.000-06:002008-01-31T16:12:00.000-06:00i'm so glad you posted this - i loved greenberg in...i'm so glad you posted this - i loved greenberg in college (that cranky old tie salesman). the one medium essentialist property of the show you don't talk about in your post, though, is the one that i think is the most interesting - the way the show is scheduled. (i don't have HBO, so correct me if i'm wrong) i absolutely love that this show is airing in a new episode five days in a row for however many weeks. the trend in how TV is watched now is of course towards time shifting and on demand, so that scheduling of first run episodes and when and how a show is rerun becomes irrelevant. the "in treatment" schedule seems almost hyper-old school (like "roots" or something) in its sort of everydayness. thinking about shows that work with and gain something from this kind of schedule, where the schedule becomes not just an aspect of marketing or whatever as noted above, but an essential part of how the show functions (obviously soap operas. they're the only fictional thing i can think of, but, getting into non-fiction, the view/today show/letterman etc. all benefit from this every day scheduling that makes them quotidian fixtures). <BR/><BR/>i mean, "in treatment" could obviously be DVRed and time shifted by its audience and all of this would mean nothing but, still, i like the intent behind the choice.<BR/><BR/>etc.<BR/>-of course, scheduling still <I>does</I> matter in some cases (friday night lights)<BR/>-a treatise is necessary about how MTV's rerun/marathon/rebranding strategies affect consumption/absorption/interactionAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37916241.post-23695549011056911302008-01-31T09:40:00.000-06:002008-01-31T09:40:00.000-06:00I think the key factor is how that "medium essenti...I think the key factor is how that "medium essentialism" is being played out <I>outside</I> the text itself. That is, how is it being described in previews, press releases, critiques, interviews, etc. This inevitably sets up a critical framework within which the show, film, or whatever will be regarded. Obviously, this won't be the only critical framework, and may be rejected outright or at least argued with, but it'll still have some discursive heft, by design.<BR/><BR/>In the case of this show, the fact that's it's on HBO thus trumps everything else. "HBO" as shorthand for "distinctive" and "edgy" in the general culture. Hackneyed? Abso-frakkin-lutely. Lazy? That too. Effective? Damn right, and that's what they pay their marketing folks for.<BR/><BR/>We had an interesting discussion in my TV History class on Tuesday about this. I talked about the beginnings of NBC in 1926 with all their rhetoric of "quality" and "culture," and a student remarked how they still seem to promote those values. I agreed, and added that I think the people at NBC (broadly speaking) genuinely believe that they're better than everyone else, and that Zucker's NATPE speech from Monday can be taken as a direct descendant from the sorts of high-falutin' talk they spun back in the 1920s.<BR/><BR/>In short: branding works, despite our best instincts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com