CBS Prime Time Bosses Need Sports Lesson

It is rare that I hop on this blog these days to rant about something bothering me.  Part of the reason for that is the depth of other avenues for my writing as an outlet.  Part of the reason for that is the lack of topics that don't fit within these outlets.  And part of the reason for that is some current life situations that provide some perspective about things.

However, I just can't let this go.  Because in the past, television network executives had made this mistake before, and have (as the proverb goes) failed to learned from their history and became doomed to repeat it.  So a quick word of advice to the empty suits at CBS who are trying to nickel-and-dime the cast of my favorite television series, NCIS.  And it comes from the sports world, something the network should be slightly familiar with:

"You don't fuck with a winning streak!"  Perhaps if it were one of 'Gibbs's Rules' they would not tempt the fates this way.

In the last several hours, fellow fans of the highest rated scripted series on television for a second consecutive season, with more than 18.7 million viewers each week, is not taking care of the actors that helped them achieve their success.  Though David McCallum has signed a new contract, three other key actors of the cast are currently without new deals: Michael Weatherly (DiNozzo), Pauley Perrette (Abby), and Sean Murray (McGee) all have had their contracts expire.

The story being circulated around the net indicates that the three are seeking new deals with a salary increase.  That's nothing new in Hollywood.  But the three all earned less than $100,000 per episode.  Compare that to the $1.2 million dollar for  prison-bound Charlie Sheen, which averages 4 million FEWER viewers a week, and it makes you scratch your head as an outsider and wonder: what are those CBS execs smoking?

I can tell you that I probably speak for most NCIS fans when I say that CBS needs to keep the team together.  It is winning on the field, so you don't screw around with that.  Some of my friends that don't watch the show think it is too pedestrian for their tastes.  These are also the same fools that tolled the bell for shows like Lost and Heroes the past few years - shows that had no staying power, no substance to back up their initial sizzle, and ultimately have left them flailing for another hot show to jump on.

Meanwhile, the ratings for NCIS are nearly up 25% in season seven from season one, something that is unheard of these days in television.  In sports, in business, in life - when you do better then you did before, you have the right to ask for a bigger share of the pie that you helped bake.

I will say this: if CBS thinks they can simply recast one or more of this trio and maintain their ratings incline, they are mistaken.  The show has found a groove in chemistry between the cast members and the crew and the fans that watch it.  If they can't get it solved, they should simply cancel the show.

Don't get me wrong, I usually abhor people making more in two weeks of 'work' then I will make in the next three years combined asking for even more money.  But it's not like the three actors in question are in the media and the public eye whining about like has happened with other shows in the past.  And the demands are that outrageous for a billion dollar corporate bully like Black Rock.

The bottom line here: CBS is doing very well, and can easily afford to end these distractions by simply getting these deals done.  To let this linger longer is tempting the fates.

If you are a fan of NCIS, and you want to send a message to CBS that you don't like what they are doing, click on this link and send them a Feedback Form.  At the very least, you'll be able to do your part.  End of rant.

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Updates on my father's condition can be found on my Facebook page.  Will try to update it as much as possible when I have more news to tell.  Meanwhile, I want to thank all of you for your kind thoughts and well wishes during his hospitalization and recovery.

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On a happier note, I'll be recording play-by-play commentary of the Santa Monica Little League city championship games this Saturday for the AAA-Minors and the Majors divisions.  The broadcast will air on local Santa Monica cable television on a tape-delayed basis: when I have the air dates and times for those in this market, I will post them.  For the rest of you, I'm told I will be receiving a DVD copy of the broadcast, and will make copies for anyone requesting them.  Here in SoCal, there's already talk of a 'delayed watch party'.  BTW, fellow Mahaloan Jeff Ammons, will be singing the national anthem before both games.  For more about the big day of events, click here.

There are also four additional events that I will be attending, and will have much more information about on my Kings Examiner site in the coming days:

• On Monday June 14 - I will be attending the 22nd Annual Dave Taylor/Jim Fox Cystic Fibrosis Golf Classic at Moorpark Country Club.  Click on this link for more details

• Then on Saturday June 19 - I will be attending another great charity fundraising event called Castle in the Clouds at the Playboy Mansion.  Click on this link for more details

• And then from June 22 through 24 - I will be attending and reporting on the 2010 NHL Awards as a member of the media officially credentialed by the NHL.  The awards take place on Wednesday June 23 and can be seen on Versus.

• Finally, on June 25 and 26 - I will be at Staples Center attending and reporting on the 2010 NHL Draft, taking place here in Los Angeles for the first time ever.

Happy June everyone.

Posted via web from jonmahalo's posterous