Yesterday, in discussing ABC’s decision to release a spoiler-heavy 10-minute preview of the upcoming third season of “Cougar Town,” television critic Ryan McGee asked showrunner, Bill Lawrence, directly what the idea behind the strategy was. Here’s his response:

It’s not a “new standard” as far as clips go. We have a different burden – getting people back after nine months, convincing folks to try a show with a polarizing title. But: why not put every episode out? You’re not trying to get all those people to watch it on TV, you’re trying to get word of mouth, and buzz to spread to the 25,000 NIELSEN households (that’s it – has anyone met one?) that determine the fate of your show. That is our flawed system: 25,000 households representing entire TV viewing country. You just have to hope that if a Nielsen family watches pilot/clips early, they are still compelled to watch again because they liked it and want to keep show alive. Ruining it for the masses or encouraging them to watch on their computer doesn’t matter until the system changes.

I knew the Nielsen sample was small, but that number is striking: 25,000 households, out of approximately 115 million households in America. I’m not very good at math, but by my calculator’s calculations, that means that .0217 percentage of American households determine not only the amount a network can charge its advertisers, but what shows in effect are canceled or renewed. .0217. That’s astounding. That means that, essentially, a very popular show (say, a show like “Mike & Molly” that receives 10 million household viewers) has to only be seen by the right 2,100 households out of 115 million to be considered a successful show.

Read the rest of this entry »

A bad television show will built itself around catch phrases. A good television show will deliver so many great lines week after week that few will stick long enough before the another round of one liners come along and supplant them. But the best television sitcoms have a knack for infectious dance sequences so memorable that the characters can be identified by their signature moves.

I’ll be honest with you: I love a good dance sequence. Nothing brings me more pleasure than a sitcom character unafraid to act a fool for the entertainment bliss of others. Here are television’s signature dance moves, the ones that — good or bad — get inside your bones and make you wanna go Sam Rockwell up in this joint.

Read the rest of this entry »

The meme-fication of “Community” is a funny little trend, and kind of difficult to understand. On a per viewer basis, I seriously doubt that any television show has inspired as much Internet creative dedication as this little show with 4 million viewers on a last place network. Nary a day goes by without something “Community”-related springing forth from the gaping maw of the world wide web. The latest is the fourth crack at animating “Community” characters in the mold of an animated show. After the jump, you can also see the “Community” cast as the characters from Batman, Calvin and Hobbes, and X-Men.

Read the rest of this entry »

In today’s feature, we’ve got GIFs from last night’s game (including the middle finger seen ‘round the world), as well as selections from “Archer,” “The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret,” “Parks and Recreation,” and even something from “Community.” That’s right, if you needed a new movable Alison Brie image, we’ve got you covered. Also Madonna doing a dance that looks a lot like one from a favorite show of ours…

World peace and GIFs, or GTFO.

Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever wanted to try Apple Jack’s made with single malt scotch? Or Fruity Paintballs with the sweet artificial flavor of chicken fingers? Or Tobias Funke’s blue balls? Now you can, and if you act now, Ron Swanson’s Bacon n’ Eggs Cereal comes with a free copy of Be a Man: The Pawnee Rangers Handbook.

Read the rest of this entry »