A lot of TV people make the seriously flawed assumption that people really like their shows.
They like it enough to switch on the channel and religiously watch it, right?
Really?
The last show I religiously sat down to watch, like, in front of a TV, was Survivor. Week in, week out, I was there every Friday.
Nowadays, I have a TV set, but I have NEVER sat down in front of the TV in anticipation for any show on any timeslot, regularly. My nephews, the new Silent Generation? They watch ANY crap on Ceria and Playhouse Disney, regardless of what's on. They might be playing something and not watching the channel, but change it, and they wail like I just dismembered their arms. That's why I constantly change channels anyway, to get that reaction.
I go to people's homes, and they put on shit on TV as some sort of comforting background noise, or to establish their 'personalities'. TV shows are personality enhancers, not entertainment.
The age of dedicated Malaysian TV viewers is at a decline, as soon as we have constant repeats and high-speed Internet. Not saying it's gone, just at a decline.
You'd think that people watch shows on primetime, right? Let me ask you - what do most Malaysian households do during primetime?
Chinese families generally - and I am being racist here - sit down to have dinner around 7pm. Malay families around 8 or 9pm. Dinner lasts around an hour or so. After dinner, poor Malays go and fuck. Chinese families? I dunno.
During this time, the TV is usually on. What channel? What show? Whatever. They just turn it on, a lot of them.
You go to restaurants and mamak shops, they always have the TV on, tuned in to nothing.
So even though people might tune in, it doesn't necessarily mean they're watching, cause their minds are tuned out.
If I was running the TV stations, I'd do an experiment - I'd put on a video of a rock for 20 minutes on primetime and see how much I score on Nielsen. My bet? Just as high or higher.
My point is, if you're doing TV shows, do something that you love because one day, a lonely guy in a hotel room will find a rerun of your shit and might even enjoy it.
Okay, I don't ave a point, but I thought I'd waste your time.
