I have been privileged to be able to watch The Black Donnellys on HDNet. It was an amazing experience watching the episode entitled "Lies" on an HD TV where it is truly in high definition.
I am more than certain that The Black Donnellys deserves to be watched on television and not via a standard computer monitor. I realized I had missed a lot of details while watching the entire season several times online at NBC.com. The computer monitor does not do the series justice.
In this episode, I noticed that there is usually one object in the scene that is green, whether it is a green couch in the Donnelly's home, the neon clover sign at the Firecracker or even the green cowboy hat with a sequined rim in the Donnelly's room. I'm sure the colors signify nothing more than Irish influence. I also noticed the color purple that a priest wears while Jenny Reilly (Olivia Wilde) is visiting the church. I'm not sure what significance that had, but the color itself is vibrant and contrasts the brown and yellow overtones utilized throughout the series. You'll notice the color again in the episode, "The Black Drop".
I also noticed that the Donnelly's rooms are decorated with license plates and how the numbers and letters stand out. Watching the series in HD, you also notice the typography on the cabs and stores. There is clarity to everything in HD, including the blemishes on an individual's face to the threads of their clothes.
I'm excited and eager to watch the remaining episodes of The Black Donnellys on HDNet. I am even more excited about coveting my copy of The Black Donnellys: The Complete Series DVD when it is released September 4th, so that I can enjoy the intricacies of the series for a lifetime.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Top 10 Reasons Why HBO Should Pick Up a Second Season of The Black Donnellys
I'd thought I'd share the counter part to the Top 10 Reasons How NBC Failed The Black Donnellys with this Top 10.
Here are my Top 10 Reasons Why HBO Should Pick Up A Second Season of The Black Donnellys:
10) With the finale of the Sopranos, I'm sure their audience (given the right marketing, the right network and scheduling) will enjoy The Black Donnellys as an independent and intriguing series.
9) There's precedence with NBC cancelling JAG, as you may recall. CBS picked up the show and profited from a total of nine seasons. JAG came in 77th in the ratings. The Black Donnellys averaged 55-60th.
8) Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco push the limits of writing and editing which is something refreshing and unfamiliar for TV. This is definitely thought provoking and challenging for the viewers.
7) The Black Donnellys is the "quiet gem", even though most critics prejudge the show from only a few episodes being released on the air. They don't realize the true depth of the storyline. Those who enjoy The Godfather, The Departed, Goodfellas and Usual Suspects will appreciate the wit, writing and cinematic feel of the series.
6) HBO will have a great cast of up and coming actors. Billy Lush (Kevin Donnelly) is already shooting "Generation Kill" in Africa, a new HBO miniseries. Keith Nobbs (Joey "Ice Cream") will be in Australia shooting for another HBO miniseries entitled "The Pacific". HBO will gain a new audience with this generation of actors.
5) An established audience will return as Kirk Acevedo's most known role as Alvarez from HBO's "Oz". Kirk was also in HBO's "Band of Brothers". Everyone definitely knows him as Alvarez, and will soon be familiar with Nicky Cottero.
4) There are too many unanswered questions to leave it as one season. What happens to Ma Donnelly, does she survive Dokey's bullet? Does Dokey survive? What happens to Mr. Reilly and his illness that teeters Alzheimers? What happens to Jenny? What will Samson do, when he wakes up from his beating? Will Tommy find out about the rape? What about Joey? Is he really telling the truth? What bodies is he talking about?
3)The Black Donnellys has the potential to be profitable for HBO or any network, (except for NBC) due to its exposure to audiences via the online viewing platform. This show is marketable and you could milk it for all its worth! There is an established iTunes audience and soon with the September 4th release of the DVD, we'll see how profitable sales are. I'm sure if someone came out with a Season 1 soundtrack, the sales of an audio CD would skyrocket as the songs and artists are appropriately used throughout the series including: Snow Patrol, Arcade Fire, Death Cab For Cutie and Drop Kick Murphys.
2) The Black Donnellys, with only a small portion of its season being aired has a growing fanbase of Firecrackers that consist of US, Canadian and a global audience. The series is reaching a wider demographic, that would benefit HBO's current demographic.
1) The Black Donnellys have a "die-hard" fan base who will support the series until its resurrection.
Here are my Top 10 Reasons Why HBO Should Pick Up A Second Season of The Black Donnellys:
10) With the finale of the Sopranos, I'm sure their audience (given the right marketing, the right network and scheduling) will enjoy The Black Donnellys as an independent and intriguing series.
9) There's precedence with NBC cancelling JAG, as you may recall. CBS picked up the show and profited from a total of nine seasons. JAG came in 77th in the ratings. The Black Donnellys averaged 55-60th.
8) Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco push the limits of writing and editing which is something refreshing and unfamiliar for TV. This is definitely thought provoking and challenging for the viewers.
7) The Black Donnellys is the "quiet gem", even though most critics prejudge the show from only a few episodes being released on the air. They don't realize the true depth of the storyline. Those who enjoy The Godfather, The Departed, Goodfellas and Usual Suspects will appreciate the wit, writing and cinematic feel of the series.
6) HBO will have a great cast of up and coming actors. Billy Lush (Kevin Donnelly) is already shooting "Generation Kill" in Africa, a new HBO miniseries. Keith Nobbs (Joey "Ice Cream") will be in Australia shooting for another HBO miniseries entitled "The Pacific". HBO will gain a new audience with this generation of actors.
5) An established audience will return as Kirk Acevedo's most known role as Alvarez from HBO's "Oz". Kirk was also in HBO's "Band of Brothers". Everyone definitely knows him as Alvarez, and will soon be familiar with Nicky Cottero.
4) There are too many unanswered questions to leave it as one season. What happens to Ma Donnelly, does she survive Dokey's bullet? Does Dokey survive? What happens to Mr. Reilly and his illness that teeters Alzheimers? What happens to Jenny? What will Samson do, when he wakes up from his beating? Will Tommy find out about the rape? What about Joey? Is he really telling the truth? What bodies is he talking about?
3)The Black Donnellys has the potential to be profitable for HBO or any network, (except for NBC) due to its exposure to audiences via the online viewing platform. This show is marketable and you could milk it for all its worth! There is an established iTunes audience and soon with the September 4th release of the DVD, we'll see how profitable sales are. I'm sure if someone came out with a Season 1 soundtrack, the sales of an audio CD would skyrocket as the songs and artists are appropriately used throughout the series including: Snow Patrol, Arcade Fire, Death Cab For Cutie and Drop Kick Murphys.
2) The Black Donnellys, with only a small portion of its season being aired has a growing fanbase of Firecrackers that consist of US, Canadian and a global audience. The series is reaching a wider demographic, that would benefit HBO's current demographic.
1) The Black Donnellys have a "die-hard" fan base who will support the series until its resurrection.
Top 10 Reasons on How NBC Failed The Black Donnellys
I really do believe that The Black Donnellys could have done and may do well with a different network. It is difficult to succeed if you are only given the tools to fail.
Here are my top 10 reasons on how NBC failed The Black Donnellys:
10. This ain't no disco ball, it's a snowball dropping effect of Studio 60: They replaced Studio 60 with The Black Donnellys. Studio 60 had already established a fan base, by replacing the drama with another drama that alienated their viewers. Those who are die-hard fans of Studio 60 naturally boycotted and turned off their television. To this day, even after Studio 60's cancellation, many Studio 60 fans despise The Black Donnellys for that reason.
9. To survive, you need to advertise: NBC missed a marketing opportunity by not promoting the show on daytime or night time talk shows after the show had premiered. NBC has a number of outlets to promote their new television series especially with the Today Show, Ellen, Jay Leno and Conan. You didn't see any cast interviews or interviews with Paul Haggis or Bobby Moresco, two well known film directors and writers, after the series began.
8. Peacock blinded by its own feathers: There has been speculation that Kevin Reilly, former NBC programming chief and NBC executives were not on the same page. A quote from Variety states that "Reilly opted against putting "Donnellys" on NBC's fall 2006 sked. Some saw this as a sign that "Donnellys" didn't have enough internal support from Reilly's bosses, or that advertisers were concerned with some of the show's darker themes." While, Kevin denied that this was true, we've seen the outcome of the network. I see more fear and confusion from their actions than the opportunity to capitalize on risk.
7. Censor the audience that you strive to keep: After the series was officially cancelled in May, several Black Donnelly fans became vocal and started to think of ideas that could help NBC change their minds. Instead, the board moderators were told to remove and "clean up" anything that had to do with "saving" The Black Donnellys. Several fans and viewers were suspended from The Black Donnellys message boards silencing the support for the series. Other posts were deleted, because they were thought to create "too much drama" on the boards, alienating all board users and series supporters.
6. Low ratings, don't blame Nielsen but look in the mirror: Blame NBC. Don't forget that The Black Donnellys did do better in the ratings than its predecessor Studio 60 but for a network that is trying to become a pioneer with online media, why are they solely depending on Nielsen ratings? The Black Donnellys were ranked in the top 10 episodes and season passes on iTunes up until the finale amongst the likes of Grey's Anatomy, The Office and 24. Many viewers streamed the online episodes after it was pulled, these are potential indicators NBC refused to acknowledge.
5. NBC: NBC failed the The Black Donnellys by being the ranked #4 amongst the other networks. There is a reason why they continue to remain #4. There is a lot of pressure for NBC to do well due to historical purposes. It's difficult for anything "new" to succeed with the overburdening pressure on a network.
4. What Light? The Black Donnellys left in the Dark: After 5 on-air episodes, The Black Donnellys were pulled. Serial dramas are delicate. How would you expect to gain any viewership to compete with the likes of ABC, CBS or Fox after 5 episodes? NBC did not lit a match or give a light to The Black Donnellys to travel easily down the tunnel.. a tunnel that contains an epidemic of cancelled serial dramas.
3. Technical Difficulties: When NBC removed The Black Donnellys after 5 episodes, they offered the remaining episodes as online content on NBC.com. However, of the remaining episodes only one episode loaded correctly and on time on a Monday night. The rest of the episodes were delayed at least a half hour. There was a couple of Monday nights, where the episode was not available until three hours from the advertised time. This is not an acceptable way to gain new viewers. New viewers may have just closed their internet browser after the first couple of tries.
2. Shuffle like a Deck of Cards: Unfortunately, The Black Donnellys were as lucky as Kevin Donnelly was with his gambling bets. NBC treated The Black Donnellys like a deck of cards and the series was dealt the wrong hand. NBC had originally intended for the series to air during ER's hiatus in November 2006 in the Thursday night timeslot. However, because ER was doing well with its reruns, they decided to push their most hopeful drama series until January. And they even pushed it further until late February, when Heroes would be on hiatus to a Monday night time slot, after Deal or No Deal.. not allowing The Black Donnellys to gain an appropriate viewership or stable audience.
1. No Brains Channel: NBC did not experiment with putting The Black Donnellys in a different time slot. For a high budgeted series, you would think they would have alternate solutions to create better ratings, rather than hinder or create obstacles for a new series. NBC determined The Black Donnellys' fate from the get go.
Here are my top 10 reasons on how NBC failed The Black Donnellys:
10. This ain't no disco ball, it's a snowball dropping effect of Studio 60: They replaced Studio 60 with The Black Donnellys. Studio 60 had already established a fan base, by replacing the drama with another drama that alienated their viewers. Those who are die-hard fans of Studio 60 naturally boycotted and turned off their television. To this day, even after Studio 60's cancellation, many Studio 60 fans despise The Black Donnellys for that reason.
9. To survive, you need to advertise: NBC missed a marketing opportunity by not promoting the show on daytime or night time talk shows after the show had premiered. NBC has a number of outlets to promote their new television series especially with the Today Show, Ellen, Jay Leno and Conan. You didn't see any cast interviews or interviews with Paul Haggis or Bobby Moresco, two well known film directors and writers, after the series began.
8. Peacock blinded by its own feathers: There has been speculation that Kevin Reilly, former NBC programming chief and NBC executives were not on the same page. A quote from Variety states that "Reilly opted against putting "Donnellys" on NBC's fall 2006 sked. Some saw this as a sign that "Donnellys" didn't have enough internal support from Reilly's bosses, or that advertisers were concerned with some of the show's darker themes." While, Kevin denied that this was true, we've seen the outcome of the network. I see more fear and confusion from their actions than the opportunity to capitalize on risk.
7. Censor the audience that you strive to keep: After the series was officially cancelled in May, several Black Donnelly fans became vocal and started to think of ideas that could help NBC change their minds. Instead, the board moderators were told to remove and "clean up" anything that had to do with "saving" The Black Donnellys. Several fans and viewers were suspended from The Black Donnellys message boards silencing the support for the series. Other posts were deleted, because they were thought to create "too much drama" on the boards, alienating all board users and series supporters.
6. Low ratings, don't blame Nielsen but look in the mirror: Blame NBC. Don't forget that The Black Donnellys did do better in the ratings than its predecessor Studio 60 but for a network that is trying to become a pioneer with online media, why are they solely depending on Nielsen ratings? The Black Donnellys were ranked in the top 10 episodes and season passes on iTunes up until the finale amongst the likes of Grey's Anatomy, The Office and 24. Many viewers streamed the online episodes after it was pulled, these are potential indicators NBC refused to acknowledge.
5. NBC: NBC failed the The Black Donnellys by being the ranked #4 amongst the other networks. There is a reason why they continue to remain #4. There is a lot of pressure for NBC to do well due to historical purposes. It's difficult for anything "new" to succeed with the overburdening pressure on a network.
4. What Light? The Black Donnellys left in the Dark: After 5 on-air episodes, The Black Donnellys were pulled. Serial dramas are delicate. How would you expect to gain any viewership to compete with the likes of ABC, CBS or Fox after 5 episodes? NBC did not lit a match or give a light to The Black Donnellys to travel easily down the tunnel.. a tunnel that contains an epidemic of cancelled serial dramas.
3. Technical Difficulties: When NBC removed The Black Donnellys after 5 episodes, they offered the remaining episodes as online content on NBC.com. However, of the remaining episodes only one episode loaded correctly and on time on a Monday night. The rest of the episodes were delayed at least a half hour. There was a couple of Monday nights, where the episode was not available until three hours from the advertised time. This is not an acceptable way to gain new viewers. New viewers may have just closed their internet browser after the first couple of tries.
2. Shuffle like a Deck of Cards: Unfortunately, The Black Donnellys were as lucky as Kevin Donnelly was with his gambling bets. NBC treated The Black Donnellys like a deck of cards and the series was dealt the wrong hand. NBC had originally intended for the series to air during ER's hiatus in November 2006 in the Thursday night timeslot. However, because ER was doing well with its reruns, they decided to push their most hopeful drama series until January. And they even pushed it further until late February, when Heroes would be on hiatus to a Monday night time slot, after Deal or No Deal.. not allowing The Black Donnellys to gain an appropriate viewership or stable audience.
1. No Brains Channel: NBC did not experiment with putting The Black Donnellys in a different time slot. For a high budgeted series, you would think they would have alternate solutions to create better ratings, rather than hinder or create obstacles for a new series. NBC determined The Black Donnellys' fate from the get go.
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