The (Non) Influence of the TV Critic - Page 3

"It's probably to our detriment as critics that we don't reconsider enough," agreed Doyle. "We don't often enough go back six months or even a year later and take another look at it and try to figure out why a show is still on the air, who it's appealing to, how it has improved."

That brings up an interesting point: the critics' seeming inability to analyse a show through the lens of the audience. When critics are raving about 30 Rock, a sitcom that was lucky to get 6 million viewers in a week, and sneering at Two and a Half Men, one that reaches 15 million weekly, there's an obvious disconnect with the television audience, who are also, presumably, newspaper and magazine and website readers. But peruse the entertainment sections and you'd be hard pressed to guess that more people prefer CSI:Miami to Lost, or Rules of Engagement to The Office.

It's easy to dismiss popular success and the tastes of the public, but how relevant does that make critics? Isn't there value in discussion about how these shows successfully resonate with their audience, despite their perceived lack of quality?

Later in the festival, Macleans' Scott Feschuk – a former TV critic himself – interviewed Two and a Half Men's Chuck Lorre for his Master Class. Lorre's hate-hate relationship with the media stems from largely negative critical reaction to his largely popular sitcoms. The man behind Dharma and Greg, Cybill, and Grace Under Fire said about those reviews, "I try to remember the following week it's wrapping fish. That keeps things in perspective."

Feschuk recounted an anecdote about fellow critics watching America's Funniest Home Videos — a show they pilloried in print — and howling with laughter, suggesting there's little correlation between entertainment value and critical success. But Lorre didn't even want to speculate that even as critics are scoffing at Two and a Half Men's lowbrow humour, they must be laughing at it, too. "I try not to get inside their minds. It's a bad neighbourhood."

Article Author: Diane Kristine Wild

Diane writes about boring things by day, pop culture things by night. She also runs the TV, Eh? website, a compilation of news about Canadian television. Follow her on Twitter @deekayw for more random thoughts.

Visit Diane Kristine Wild's author page — Diane Kristine Wild's Blog