Category: Television

COUCH POTATOES THINK ëFRIENDS’ REALLY ARE
Repeat after us, TV fans: Tony Soprano, Frasier and Seinfeld are not really your pals, even though you may think they are.
A new study found people watching TV believe they have an improved social life and wider circle of “Friends” – but in reality, it’s only in their imagination.
That’s the word from sociologist Satoshi Kanazawa of Indiana University in Pennsylvania, who looked at the TV-viewing habits of 600 Americans.
“My basic contention is that in evolution, our entire body has difficulty comprehending stimulus that didn’t exist 200,000 years ago,” Kanazawa told The Post.
“Therefore, our brain doesn’t know that we don’t have more friends when we watch TV, that they are just actors.
“We found that people who watch TV think they have these friends – even if they don’t have any real friends, they think they have them.”
Sitcoms and prime-time dramas were the most rewarding shows for women. Men responded best to news programs.
Kanazawa said the brain’s mechanisms for recognizing friends evolved long before TV came along.
That means the subconscious counts any face it sees regularly as a real-life friend, even it’s just on TV.

Robin Williams Solo Set for HBO
Robin Williams will return to HBO this summer for a live comedy event, marking his first solo TV special in more than 15 years.
His last one, “Robin Williams: An Evening at the Met,” premiered on HBO in 1986.
“Robin Williams: Live on Broadway” will be presented at 9 p.m. July 14 from the Broadway Theater in Gotham, one of the stops on his national comedy tour.
Williams appeared on HBO during the pay cable network’s 1977 “Young Comedians” special and went on to star in three solo specials for the network, in 1978, 1983 and 1986.
In addition to performing on a variety of other HBO comedy specs, he also was one of the hosts of all eight “Comic Relief” benefits.

NBC Dominates Ratings Week
NBC celebrated its 75th anniversary with a dominating week in the Nielsen Media Research ratings, taking the lead during the important May “sweeps” period.
The network’s three-hour anniversary gala Sunday night from Rockefeller Center was watched by 20.4 million people, the fourth most-watched program for the week.
Bob Hope also proved his enduring appeal on television, drawing 13.1 million people for an outtakes special Monday. Hope’s show outdrew Jay Leno’s prime-time “Tonight” special, which had just under 12 million viewers.
For all the nostalgia, NBC’s most popular shows were regular airings of “ER” and “Friends” as they neared big events: Anthony Edwards’ exit from “ER” and the birth of Rachel’s baby on “Friends.”
CBS came in second for the week, as “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” narrowly edged “ER” as the most-watched show of the week. The “ER” ratings were slightly higher, an indication more people were watching the show while alone.
ABC’s movie on a late “Saturday Night Live” star, “Gilda Radner: It’s Always Something,” drew just over 9 million viewers ó more than a million less than a one-hour special of highlights from the real Radner’s work.
Struggling ABC finished fourth, behind NBC, CBS and Fox, among the 18-to-49-year-old demographic craved by advertisers.
For the week, NBC averaged 15 million viewers (9.7 rating, 16 share), CBS had 12.1 million viewers (8.0, 13), ABC had 8.3 million (5.6, 9), Fox had 7.5 million (4.7, 8), the WB had 4.2 million (2.8, 5), UPN 3.7 million (2.4, 4) and Pax TV 1.1 million (0.8, 1).
ABC’s “World News Tonight” narrowly beat NBC’s “Nightly News,” 9.49 million viewers to 9.41 million (both 6.7 ratings, 14 shares). The “CBS Evening News” had 7.9 million viewers (5.6, 12).
A ratings point represents 1,055,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation’s estimated 105.5 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.
For the week of April 29-May 5, the top 10 shows, their networks and ratings were “ER,” NBC, 16.6; “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” CBS, 15.9; “Friends,” NBC, 15.4; “Friends” special, NBC, 13.1; “NBC 75th Anniversary,” NBC, 12.7; “Law and Order,” NBC, 12.5; “The West Wing,” NBC, 11.4; “Survivor: Marquesas,” CBS, 11.3; “Everybody Loves Raymond,” CBS, 11.2; “Law and Order: SVU,” NBC, 11.2; “Will & Grace,” NBC, 11.2.