@ShowsMyNetworkShould’veLeftAlone.

It *kinda* rhymes with Bleep My Dad Says, no? Tech Crunch has a piece on  the show based on the internet lottery meme @shitmydadsays. They cover off much of what I was set to riff on. While it apparently did okay following the lead-in of that other excuse for a comedy Big Bang Theory (12.4 million viewers), two things though are going to kill this show. (If there’s a comedy God, and there has to be considering all the opening acts he/she has up there now.)

TC makes one point worth looking at a little more as it applies to brands in general. The show is less a failed line extension of a one-trick internet pony than it is thinking that popularity in one medium automatically translates to another.

There are nuances for each, and if they cared about continuity in that regard, this is a show that should’ve been on cable from the start.

I get that they were going for mass audience though, and while cable offers the chance to be edgier, it’s numbers just don’t hold up to network. It’s a valid point if you’re trying to convince the Unilevers of the world to advertise with you.

While not necessarily scientific as measuring TV ratings typically goes, say you took the Twitter followers for @shitmydadsays, now around 1.73 million followers, and compared it to TV views. Those numbers don’t even represent a respectable audience on cable.

Going network means softening the edge. Screw funny, this is about not offending advertisers.

From a sitcom POV, it’s more of the same dumb-downed shit my dad watched. In that regard, the show will likely have its audience because it’s perfect for your grandparents. Granted, it’s easy play armchair quarterback the day after, but actually, it’s what a lot of people said before the show premiered: Going to network TV is a big mistake. Ironic that networks listen to the net to steal ideas but ignore it when it says big mistake, don’t do this.

Go read @shitmydadsays now and in two tweets if it doesn’t cleanse the palette of what I saw Thursday night.

Which brings me to the second thing at work: The Shat. I think he’s spent the past decade or so playing himself in such an over the top Priceline fashion that it’s hard to see him all of a sudden in the role of some cranky old guy. Shatner’s at his best when he’s making fun of himself, and this role isn’t designed to do that.

One last related point has more to do with sitcoms in general: His supporting cast is only there to lob him softballs. Really good shows have great ensemble characters you remember, and they are anything but. Shows you want to forget?

Those have safe one-liners from a Twitter feed.