The topic
for this post is “What Makes Prime Time and Why”. Topping the Nielson
Television Ratings Chart for the week of March 4-10, 2013 is N.C.I.S. which
stands for Naval Criminal Investigative
Service and airs on C.B.S.
Tuesday night at 8 p.m. The show chronicles an elite team of special agents
whose mission is to investigate any crime that has a shred of evidence
connected to Navy and Marine Corp personnel (according to tvlistings.zap2it.com).
My question is what makes this show so popular with the 18-49 year old
demographic that tuned in to this show with over 20 million viewers? Is it the
actors, production, or the story that has so many people sitting in front of
their televisions or computers on a Tuesday night, or is something else? I sat
down with actor/ casting director of Big Roses Entertainment Dante Floyd and
asked him what he thought the contributive factors were that led to such a
large number of viewers that tuned into that particular episode of N.C.I.S.
that beat out American Idol for the first time in history with almost double
its viewers. “I am a big fan of the show says Floyd, it is an action packed
show with a great cast that can make people want to move things around in their
schedule to ensure that next Tuesday night they are tuned in to C.B.S”. With
all of the shows that share the 8 pm time slot on different network stations,
how is it that this particular episode beat out everything else to win its top
spot on the Nielson Ratings Chart? It’s
a combination of talent, scriptwriting, and a great story that can generate
this kind of interest in my eyes, but I am just one person. When asked the same
question Floyd replied “In any series your ability to grab your audience’s
attention will make or break its success. Your audience has to be able to
relate to the story as well as the actors, and if one of those aspects flops
the whole thing will flop. Also the proper promotion with word of mouth can do
wonders for the take-off of a production”. Some of the technical qualities that
Floyd elaborated on were the black and white freeze frame that they incorporate
at the end of segments and the fast cuts between shots during action scenes. He
states that the usage of the transitions separated the segments perfectly and
that the fast pace editing added to the action in the story. He also states
that he has been a Mark Harmon fan who plays Special Agent Leroy “Jethro” Gibbs
from day one.
The purpose
of this blog is to spark the exchange of ideas and understand what and why
people feel or think something is entertaining. In my quest to better understand
what separates a production from a great production I am seeking input from the
very consumers, who the shows are aimed to. There are different things that
each individual may find entertaining. My goal is to review the input I gather
and funnel these ideas into different projects that I may be working on, in
essence, giving the customer exactly what they want. So feedback is very
necessary for me to achieve this goal. This is the first of many posts that I
intend on gathering information on different topics related to entertainment
such as movies, music, plays, sports, as well as individuals. Please feel free
to leave any comments, pictures, or anything that you may feel is entertaining
to you on this blog. For more information you may contact me at entertayne@gmail.com or you can view the Facebook page roseyproductions1. It is all for your
entertaynement you dig!
Works Cited
101856_d0598b_1. Digital image. Cbs.com.
N.p., 2013. Web. 18 Mar. 2013.
Floyd, Dante. "What Is Entertaining
You." Interview by Clark J. Stephens, Jr. n.d.: n. pag. Print.
"TV Listings." Guide, TV
Ratings, TV News, TV Shows. N.p., 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 Mar. 2013.
