The Big O Bounces
Media Mogul and "queen of all things" Oprah Winfrey has decided she needs to step the plate and run thangs over at the OWN network. In case you haven't been watching and by all account that's a lot of folks who have all but said "WTF" about channel, Winfrey is not amused at the performance of the network which debut in January 2011. Of course I don't know personally how she feels since she didn't phone in her concerns to me, but from what I've seen of the network, it's a take it or forget about it proposition for myself. I'm not sure who thought that we really needed to hear or no more about "Finding Sarah" featuring defrocked duchess Sarah Ferguson who drones on about her spiraling royalty life and now "finding" redemption through reflection. Alright Sarah, enough of that. Then there's The O Neal's, that's Tatum and daddy Ryan O'Neal whom display dysfunctional from A to Z, Including papa O'Neal who recently stated that he believed that his daughter was a primary reason for his lifetime lover, Farrah Fawcett death. Really Mr, O Neal? Even though it was well documented that Ms. Fawcett had cancer which she publicly discussed many times. Of course O'Neal has been in the news most recently over copies of Andy Warhol artworks of Fawcett as he's in a face off with her old Alma manta. Enough Already. Shall we go on? We must. In this hodge podge mash up of programming you've got Shania Twain spilling about her marriage breakdown, The Judds displaying their tri-fecta of human relationship between mother and daughters Wynonna and Ashley, add a dash of cooking from Christina Ferrare and a dose of Carson Kressely's Queer Eye "Carson Nation" make over show will make you grateful that you've got 300 other channels to choose from. Even though it's not all pretty at OWN, there are some glimmers of hope such as Our America with Lisa Ling, Serving Life which chronicles prison life in the infamous Angola prison of Louisiana and Master Class do offer good TV watching. But I can't believe that with all the Oprah power that surrounds Winfrey, why there isn't more compelling choices especially since the Discovery Channel had many ground breaking programs and was one of my favorite channels. Former CEO Christina Norman an MTV verteran was given the boot despite her expertise, she somehow just didn't make the cut. I was amazed that this African American women took on the challenge but perhaps the odds were against her from the onset. I know that it takes much to produce content because I do it daily, and surely when Ms,. Winfrey takes the CEO and Chief Creative Director helm not only will my expectations will be enhanced but undoubtedly so will everyone else's. On her Facebook page, Miss O stated that she was in pursuit of finding programming that resonates with viewers which it is now reported at about a third of 266,000, down from Million eyeballs earlier this year. Why all the concern you ask, well it's all about the advertisers such as Target, General Motors and Proctor and Gamble who believed that the "O" magic will sell product. They've put up some big bucks and the Discovery suits have rolled the dice with Winfrey to make this outing a success. However, what OWN needs is shows that someone cares about while feeling good about them as Oprah keeps talking about. Alright here's some ideas, how about more of The Number One Ladies Detective Agency featuring Jill Scott. It was a great series with a built in audience and certainly made me feel good, plus it was stopped mid seasons for reasons unknown. Or how about a revisited Frank's Place produced by Tim and Daphene Reid which was offbeat but with many "feel good" messages. Here's another, "Any Day Now" about changing race relations in the south beautifully portrayed by Lorraine Toussiant and Annie Potts could be updated and retro-fitted for the 21st Century. Hey, Big O! Call me I got some ideas for the network that just might be a winner while the rest offer those ho-hum and tired concepts. I'll be waiting... 
No comments:
Post a Comment