Tuesday, April 11, 2006

TV: Aborted Viewing

The people in charge of television marketing will be very happy to know that I can become interested in a television show I had no prior knowledge of, based solely on a well-crafted set of ads. They will perhaps be saddened to learn that this does not mean I will watch the right show. And by the right show, I mean a show I have interest in, have plans to watch again or even get a season pass on my DVR for. (Jennifer Crusie has a wonderful entry on her blog on the power of the right book cover - one that draws people that will actually want to read that book.)

So, having watched enough TLC two weekends ago to run into the "Honey We're Killing the Kids" ads, I started watching it last night. And then we ran into the problem. From the ads (and some of this is a expectation mismatch on my part, I get that), I had the impression that they would talk to the parents and kids in these families, review their behavioral and nutrition patterns, and suggest some changes. So I viewed this as being in the line of "Ten Years Younger" - review, quick changes, have a nice life.

Instead the show (and admittedly I watched only ten minutes of it) is really just "SuperNanny" with cooler graphics and an excessive title. So they show the parents a scary graphic of fat, droopy looking futures for their children and then swoop in and take over their daily lives for a while. Hey, there are already two nanny intervention shows I don't watch. Just because this one changes their diet and makes them exercise doesn't mean I want to watch it.

So, instead of some good viewing to brighten up my Monday (which is pretty lonely right now with just "How I Met Your Mother"), I have one more show to not watch.