Eager to promote their shows and build a community among fans, networks are turning to the tool of pundits, gadflies and self-styled pamphleteers – the weblog.
Some shows have long had links on network websites giving lengthy episode descriptions and plugging the next one. Web pages for some reality shows came with a running commentary from a current or past contestant.
But now networks are piling on the blogs even for scripted shows.
Many are written in the voice of a character – usually not the main figure but an especially popular or quirky sidekick. Executive producers for other shows drop the charade of writing in character and merely use their own name.
Together, they present a network’s united blogging front for a show, rather than cede control to do-it-yourself, sometimes obsessive fan bloggers.
“Blogs are a great way to bring millions of viewers who enjoy our programming into the creative process,” CBS Entertainment president Nancy Tellem said in announcing more than a half-dozen blogs on, or coming to, CBS.com.
One is posted from Barney, the womanizing cad played by Neil Patrick Harris on the comedy “How I Met Your Mother.” Though the former “Doogie Howser, M.D.” who portrays Barney is pictured, the postings come entirely from the sitcom’s writers.
Example: “Halloween is just around the corner and you know what that means: girls dressed in slutty costumes all across the city – it’s like Christmas in October.”
Daytime TV has even gotten into the act with new blogs from both sides of split personality Jessica (and Tess) Buchanan from ABC’s “One Life to Live.”
Actress Pauley Perrette’s blog for the CBS drama “NCIS” isn’t in the character of Abby Sciuto, but as herself. She tells about what goes on during the long hours on the set – they sing a lot apparently, all different songs at the same time. Reality shows are an obvious choice for blogging, where current contestants or past players, writing with the benefit of experience, comment freely on developments and strategies like sports columnists.
“The Biggest Loser” blog uses a past finalist to comment on the second season’s progress. Commenting on one contestant’s victory on the NBC show, Gary Deckman said, “I know that feeling well, Matt. After being on the losing end of most of the challenges I finally got a chance to win something on my own and prove to myself that if I put my mind to it my body would respond.”
For some former reality stars, the blog is one last bid in the fight against oblivion. A raft of them – including Rob Cesternino, Jenna Morasca, Ethan Zohn and Jon “Jonny Fairplay” Dalton – contributes to “Survivors Strike Back,” the blog analyzing CBS’s “Survivor: Guatemala.” In every instance, the blog is never meant to stand alone as entertainment but to support a show. The networks can be certain fans will not give up their favorite shows for the blog.
Indeed, when the “Today” show host took his gimmicky recent trip, “Where in the World Is Matt Lauer?” his computer diary was submitted as a “video blog” – which was pretty much like TV itself.
