10 September 2003

Sitcom Poison returns to the Airwaves...or, Ted McGinley, Killing Shows Since 1974

One of the perks of being in television promotion is you get to see the new shows before the public. It serves a higher purpose, but its a great benefit for the TV lover in me.
I've seen some good and some bad over the years. More lean to one side than the other.

Which brings me to my point:
One person that I truly thought I'd never, never, ever see again on the small screen is Ted McGinley.

The boys over at JumpTheShark.com know what I'm talking about, referring the McGinley as their Patron Saint. They go on to write this:

Ted is the patron saint of shark jumping. Chances are that if Ted is anywhere near your cast, consider the show on the downward spiral. That's not to take away from Ted's fine acting skills. Consensus here enjoys Ted more on the big screen (Revenge of the Nerds) than on our sets. Then again, we wouldn't have a patron saint...thanks Ted!

In the spirit of being fair, Here's Joseph's take:

In Defense of Ted...
"Ted McGinley rules! i would portray him in a more distinguished light, he is no clown. any actor who can carve a niche like that man is talented and lucky. shows disappear and he keeps on coming back. he survives as others sink. while revenge of the nerds was terrific, his body of work that distinguishes him from meeker actors is on married with children. jefferson, d'arcy's boy, is one of the classic all-time characters. time will prove me correct." - Joseph


Enough said.

The reason I bring up Ted is that one of the new shows on ABC's resurgent "TGIF" lineup, Kelly Ripa's vehcle "Hope and Faith" has recently hired Ted as Hope's husband on the show, played ironically by Faith Ford, or Corky Sherwood-Forrest of Murphy Brown.
When I saw the pilot three months ago, a nameless actor portrayed the role of said husband. Apparently, he wasn't as destructive of a force as the President of Alpha Beta from Revenge of the Nerds or as lovable and pathetic as Jefferson D'Arcy from Married with Children.

Sometimes, I wonder if TV execs truly want shows to fail, like some sort of elitist-defeatist complex.
It's the only way I can truly explain such personnel moves.

But I digress...

For lack of a better analogy than a sports one, (I'm such a GUY), I liken Ted McGinley to the Turk on your favorite sports team.
For those of you infamiliar with the Turk, he's the sadistic employee of the team (Coach/Trainer/Guard/Equipment Manager) who gets the pleasure of informing a player indirectly that he's been cut from the team.
For example, in the NFL, the guys grabs and mutters the immortal phrase:

"The Coach wants to see you...and bring your playbook."

Yeah, that guy. When Mr. McGinley arrives on set, let the Requiem begin.

Sorry Kelly, but the Exec wants to see you...and bring your script with you.

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