Joshua Ligairi » 12.1.11 »
If there is one thing I really excel at in life, it is catching on to an online phenomenon about 2-3 years late--I'm spitballing on that number, but that's about average. With that in mind, I present to you, the internet craze of 2009: THE TEN MOST RACIST MOMENTS IN TV!
Showing posts with label Television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Television. Show all posts
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
BLOG: Prime time
Joshua Ligairi » 11.22.11 »
Knights' ratings were what I'd call "pretty okay" last week. Yeah, not mind-blowing, but good enough. See, there was some concern on our part because Fox Execs came into National Geographic and completely cleaned house right after they picked up our show. Luckily, the new Fox Execs seemed to love Knights of Mayhem, but they are also notorious for canceling shows before they get a chance to prove themselves. Tons of ads had gone up for the show:
We had great preview press coverage.
We constantly had promos all over television.
We had posters in the New York subways.
We even had an ad behind home plate during the World Series.
Pretty crazy.
On my end, I was getting a little nervous because, you know, I'm mildly neurotic. But, honestly, I just hoped we could justify all this advertising. Coming from the grassroots, indie world, it was almost terrifying to imagine the amount of money we had behind this project. It's still just insane for me to even think about.
And as the premiere date drew closer, nerves only increased.
We weren't too happy with the sport segments of the pilot (or those of episode 2 which aired immediately after), but picture was locked. Also, as I began to tell friends and family about the show, a lot of people told me that they don't even get National Geographic Channel. It hadn't occurred to me that it was a premium channel in many areas. Hopefully, this had occurred to the Fox Execs.
But then, it just happened. The show premiered. Our stars live-Tweeted from a San Diego sports bar (they were driven to in limousines) and their fan feedback was blowing up. I started getting personal texts and Facebook messages too. People were watching. It was exciting to just sit there with the rest of America and watch.
When all was said and done, the show did "average" traffic for National Geographic Channel. The twist was that half of those viewers were new to National Geographic and they were predominantly younger (13-25) demographics. So, that was actually great. Whether or not that justified the advertising blitz, it's hard to know, but things seem to be going well.
A review from France.
We're getting some great reviews (see the past few blog posts). I especially like the review from the New York Post. Minus the cheesy title, "Lancing with the Stars," it perfectly articulates and summates my own feelings about the show.
So, tonight, we'll get another glimpse into the impact of the show. Will people come back? There were plenty of online haters that think Charlie is too macho, too egotistical and too mean to be watchable. But isn't that the bread and butter of reality TV? People love to hate reality shows with rough, egotistical main characters like Paul Teutul on American Chopper, Gordon Ramsey on Hell's Kitchen, Donald Trump on The Apprentice, and Simon Cowell on American Idol. I'm thinking maybe Charlie and the Knights of Mayhem will be okay after-all.
By the way, if you are having trouble finding the show (I know that I did at first), "Locate TV" can help you find every episode! Also, if you've been wanting to tune in, but don't have cable, you can download the eps for a small fee from iTunes (although you could get NatGeo for a month for the same price it would cost to download these first three episodes).
Knights' ratings were what I'd call "pretty okay" last week. Yeah, not mind-blowing, but good enough. See, there was some concern on our part because Fox Execs came into National Geographic and completely cleaned house right after they picked up our show. Luckily, the new Fox Execs seemed to love Knights of Mayhem, but they are also notorious for canceling shows before they get a chance to prove themselves. Tons of ads had gone up for the show:
We had great preview press coverage.
We constantly had promos all over television.
We had posters in the New York subways.
Print ads in major magazines.
We even had an ad behind home plate during the World Series.
On my end, I was getting a little nervous because, you know, I'm mildly neurotic. But, honestly, I just hoped we could justify all this advertising. Coming from the grassroots, indie world, it was almost terrifying to imagine the amount of money we had behind this project. It's still just insane for me to even think about.
And as the premiere date drew closer, nerves only increased.
We weren't too happy with the sport segments of the pilot (or those of episode 2 which aired immediately after), but picture was locked. Also, as I began to tell friends and family about the show, a lot of people told me that they don't even get National Geographic Channel. It hadn't occurred to me that it was a premium channel in many areas. Hopefully, this had occurred to the Fox Execs.
But then, it just happened. The show premiered. Our stars live-Tweeted from a San Diego sports bar (they were driven to in limousines) and their fan feedback was blowing up. I started getting personal texts and Facebook messages too. People were watching. It was exciting to just sit there with the rest of America and watch.
When all was said and done, the show did "average" traffic for National Geographic Channel. The twist was that half of those viewers were new to National Geographic and they were predominantly younger (13-25) demographics. So, that was actually great. Whether or not that justified the advertising blitz, it's hard to know, but things seem to be going well.
A review from France.
We're getting some great reviews (see the past few blog posts). I especially like the review from the New York Post. Minus the cheesy title, "Lancing with the Stars," it perfectly articulates and summates my own feelings about the show.
So, tonight, we'll get another glimpse into the impact of the show. Will people come back? There were plenty of online haters that think Charlie is too macho, too egotistical and too mean to be watchable. But isn't that the bread and butter of reality TV? People love to hate reality shows with rough, egotistical main characters like Paul Teutul on American Chopper, Gordon Ramsey on Hell's Kitchen, Donald Trump on The Apprentice, and Simon Cowell on American Idol. I'm thinking maybe Charlie and the Knights of Mayhem will be okay after-all.
By the way, if you are having trouble finding the show (I know that I did at first), "Locate TV" can help you find every episode! Also, if you've been wanting to tune in, but don't have cable, you can download the eps for a small fee from iTunes (although you could get NatGeo for a month for the same price it would cost to download these first three episodes).
Thursday, November 17, 2011
PRESS: Chicago Tribune reviews Knights
Who needs the NBA when we've got 'Knights of Mayhem'?
Call me a naive little baby who'll believe just about anything if it involves medieval combat on TV, but I've got a feeling that somebody is going to die on National Geographic's new show, "Knights of Mayhem."
It is as inevitable as the decline of empire, with Americans increasingly more comfortable seeking mental refuge by looking backward in time rather than forward, into a bleak, debt-ridden future.
So a spear through the eye will penetrate the brain. A neck will snap after a fall from a charging horse. I don't want to see it. But I can't stop watching.
The show features men the size of offensive linemen bellowing like pro wrestlers. Add tattoos, a heavy-metal soundtrack, full plate armor, heavy-hooved horses, spears, high impact and fear.
Who needs the NBA?
Sunday, November 13, 2011
PRESS: New York Post reviews Knights
Linda Stasi » 11.13.11 »
‘This ain’t no Medieval Times dinner show,” Charlie Andrews, reigning world jousting champion, says just before the finals where he nearly takes someone’s head off.
Yes, I did say jousting, and no, “Knights of Mayhem,” Nat Geo’s new reality show about modern-day jousting ain’t no show where ladies faire and courtiers in giant pantaloons dance around to the amusement of fat tourists glomming down chili dogs.
Extreme Jousting, (is there any other kind?), is suddenly and not quietly making a comeback after only 500 years!
And much of the rise of the sport in the USA is due to Andrews, a mean, not-lean wild man who has lost his wife, his life savings and everything else a wild man might hold dear in order to pursue this deadly sport and make it the next big thing.
Never doubt a 240-pound man in 150 pounds of armor charging at you on a 2,000- pound steed in the heart of Texas.
On tomorrow night’s premiere, we follow Andrews, a tremendously unlikeable, but very competent jouster as he sets up his training camp and then risks his life as often as he can to charge at other “knights” at top speed with a giant lance.
And I was riveted.
His chief rival is the quietly lethal Black Knight, Patrick Lambke, who is everything you imagine someone with that moniker would be. Lambke got into jousting when he was fresh out of the army in the 1990s. He worked one joust as a stunt photographer and was hooked.
In fact, Lambke taught Charlie everything he knows about jousting and now Charlie has overtaken him as world champ.
It is Charlie’s dream to get full-contact jousting into arenas and out of the Renaissance Fair circuit. To do that he needs rookies -- athletes willing to risk everything including their lives -- in order to make this a giant professional sport.
And with this reality series, he might succeed. What you’re watching, with your heart in your mouth, is the birth of a sport before it gets controlled by corporations, sponsors, advertisers, agents and networks.
It’s raw, it’s got heart and the enemies are really enemies -- unlike the theatrics of wrestling.
When Charlie says, “Even though Patrick is my ‘brother,’ I will cut his head off with a chain saw and leave it on the side of the road,” he means it. And then he almost does it with a lance.
There are the rivalries, the scared rookies and the daily risk of death for an insane sport these guys love. And best, there are the weekly jousts themselves.
“It’s the new extreme sport that’s also the oldest extreme sport,” Andrews growls between expletives.
Not for nuthin’ but these knights are enough to make those maidens faire who work at Medieval Times rip their bodices right off.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
PRESS: Knights on CBS Morning News
As the premiere of Knight of Mayhem (a docu-reality show we co-created) on National Geographic Channel draws nearer, we get this goofy story about "jousting's come-back." Our heavy armor knights are featured about 3 minutes in after all the Renaissance Faire fluff:
Bill Geist » 10.30.11 »
Modern day jousters are on a mission to make the sport of knights popular again after a several hundred year down period. Bill Geist reports.
Bill Geist » 10.30.11 »
Modern day jousters are on a mission to make the sport of knights popular again after a several hundred year down period. Bill Geist reports.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
PRESS: Knights on ESPN
Jeremy Schaap » 2.27.11 »
A piece our development team co-produced with ESPN about ultimate jousting and the Knights of Mayhem.
Find the original post at the ESPN site here. More work from Jeremy Schaap here. More info on the Knights of Mayhem here.
A piece our development team co-produced with ESPN about ultimate jousting and the Knights of Mayhem.
Find the original post at the ESPN site here. More work from Jeremy Schaap here. More info on the Knights of Mayhem here.
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