https://www.facebook.com/TheRealMikeRowe...74/?type=1

(04-10-2014 01:25 PM)Smaug Wrote:  https://www.facebook.com/TheRealMikeRowe...74/?type=1

Can't do FB, so what's his new show?

Quote: Hi Russell. Years ago, I hosted a show in San Francisco called Somebody’s Gotta Do It. That was the most “real” show I ever worked on. We featured regular people on a mission - mad scientists, crazy collectors, bloody-do-gooders...people with passion and purpose who marched to the beat of their own drum. I miss that show, and the honest way we produced it. So yeah - if the people on this page said, "Hey, Mike, here's ten bucks to cover jet fuel and production costs," I’d start shooting "Somebody's Gotta Do It” tomorrow.
---

After that post, thousands of you encouraged me to do that very thing. Hundreds more pledged money to help pay for Somebody’s Gotta Do It. That was humbling and initially, pretty exciting. But when it came down to actually taking your money to produce a show with my name in the title, I couldn’t do it. It felt vaguely icky...like inviting friends to my wedding and then charging them for dinner. However, your enthusiasm for a real, unscripted show was duly noted, and last year, I went out to find Somebody’s Gotta Do It a proper home. Well, that little adventure could have been Episode 1.

Long story short, I spoke with dozens of producers and network executives who develop unscripted content and reality programming. They were all very nice, and made a point to tell me how much they valued the humor and spontaneity of Dirty Jobs. When I explained that Somebody’s Gotta Do It would include those same qualities, they became even more enthused. But eventually, their questions came around to “plot lines,” “recurring characters,” “stakes,” “dramatic tension,” and the “narrative arc” of each episode. Basically, they wanted to know what was going to happen before we started rolling. A few of them even asked for a script. I’m not kidding. A script, for an unscripted show. It got to the point where I could no longer hear the words “reality” or “unscripted” without hearing Mandy Patinkin’s quiet admonishment to Wallace Shawn in The Princess Bride - “You keep using that word...I do not think it means what you think it means...”

When Dirty Jobs debuted ten years ago, “unscripted” meant uncertain. That’s what made it fun, and cheap. There was no real format. We Forrest-Gumped our way around the country and made up a show along the way. Scripted content on the other hand, provides a lot more certainty and a lot more control, but at a much higher price. That's always been the tradeoff. However, by combining real people in real-world settings with a more scripted approach, some very clever producers created a new format called Docu-soaps, or “scripted-reality.” Networks love this format, and obviously, so do viewers. The why the Ducks have a Dynasty. And the Amish have a Mafia. And Honey has a Boo Boo.

Don’t get me wrong - I’ve got no beef with docu-soaps. I narrate several good ones, and I’m grateful for the work. But in real life, I’m simply not equipped to appear on camera in the kind of programs currently in vogue. I have no experience hunting for ghosts, digging for gold, or fishing for crab. I’m not a survivalist or a stunt junkie. I don’t like cooking in front of judges, and I’m not qualified to dance with anyone, including The Stars. True - I have spent countless hours both Naked and Afraid, but rarely at the same time, and never for a whole season. Point is, Docu-soaps and competition shows have no need for an Erstwhile Host or a Full Time Apprentice. Today, a truly unscripted show is a very hard sell. Which is why I’m pleased, relieved, and grateful to announce that Somebody’s Gotta Do It is going to premiere on...

CNN.

Yep.

CNN.

I suspect some of you will have questions about all this, and I’ll answer as many as I can later. But for now, here’s the headline - of all the networks I spoke with, no one talked about unscripted content and point-of view programming with more passion than CNN. When I described Somebody’s Gotta Do It, they said, “Mike, we get it. We love it. We want it. And we’ll give you an hour in prime-time to make it happen.”
Who say’s “no” to that?

(04-10-2014 01:37 PM)Smaug Wrote:  

Quote: Hi Russell. Years ago, I hosted a show in San Francisco called Somebody’s Gotta Do It. That was the most “real” show I ever worked on. We featured regular people on a mission - mad scientists, crazy collectors, bloody-do-gooders...people with passion and purpose who marched to the beat of their own drum. I miss that show, and the honest way we produced it. So yeah - if the people on this page said, "Hey, Mike, here's ten bucks to cover jet fuel and production costs," I’d start shooting "Somebody's Gotta Do It” tomorrow.
---

After that post, thousands of you encouraged me to do that very thing. Hundreds more pledged money to help pay for Somebody’s Gotta Do It. That was humbling and initially, pretty exciting. But when it came down to actually taking your money to produce a show with my name in the title, I couldn’t do it. It felt vaguely icky...like inviting friends to my wedding and then charging them for dinner. However, your enthusiasm for a real, unscripted show was duly noted, and last year, I went out to find Somebody’s Gotta Do It a proper home. Well, that little adventure could have been Episode 1.

Long story short, I spoke with dozens of producers and network executives who develop unscripted content and reality programming. They were all very nice, and made a point to tell me how much they valued the humor and spontaneity of Dirty Jobs. When I explained that Somebody’s Gotta Do It would include those same qualities, they became even more enthused. But eventually, their questions came around to “plot lines,” “recurring characters,” “stakes,” “dramatic tension,” and the “narrative arc” of each episode. Basically, they wanted to know what was going to happen before we started rolling. A few of them even asked for a script. I’m not kidding. A script, for an unscripted show. It got to the point where I could no longer hear the words “reality” or “unscripted” without hearing Mandy Patinkin’s quiet admonishment to Wallace Shawn in The Princess Bride - “You keep using that word...I do not think it means what you think it means...”

When Dirty Jobs debuted ten years ago, “unscripted” meant uncertain. That’s what made it fun, and cheap. There was no real format. We Forrest-Gumped our way around the country and made up a show along the way. Scripted content on the other hand, provides a lot more certainty and a lot more control, but at a much higher price. That's always been the tradeoff. However, by combining real people in real-world settings with a more scripted approach, some very clever producers created a new format called Docu-soaps, or “scripted-reality.” Networks love this format, and obviously, so do viewers. The why the Ducks have a Dynasty. And the Amish have a Mafia. And Honey has a Boo Boo.

Don’t get me wrong - I’ve got no beef with docu-soaps. I narrate several good ones, and I’m grateful for the work. But in real life, I’m simply not equipped to appear on camera in the kind of programs currently in vogue. I have no experience hunting for ghosts, digging for gold, or fishing for crab. I’m not a survivalist or a stunt junkie. I don’t like cooking in front of judges, and I’m not qualified to dance with anyone, including The Stars. True - I have spent countless hours both Naked and Afraid, but rarely at the same time, and never for a whole season. Point is, Docu-soaps and competition shows have no need for an Erstwhile Host or a Full Time Apprentice. Today, a truly unscripted show is a very hard sell. Which is why I’m pleased, relieved, and grateful to announce that Somebody’s Gotta Do It is going to premiere on...

CNN.

Yep.

CNN.

I suspect some of you will have questions about all this, and I’ll answer as many as I can later. But for now, here’s the headline - of all the networks I spoke with, no one talked about unscripted content and point-of view programming with more passion than CNN. When I described Somebody’s Gotta Do It, they said, “Mike, we get it. We love it. We want it. And we’ll give you an hour in prime-time to make it happen.”
Who say’s “no” to that?

Thanks. Is it just me, or did anyone else read that entire piece in Mike Rowes' voice?

No, it wasn't just you.

(04-10-2014 01:58 PM)Smaug Wrote:  No, it wasn't just you.

lol, that's good to know. Same type of thing happens when I read anything written by Morgan Freeman.

I'm glad to hear that Mike's going to be back on air.. . but CNN? I really guess they're getting away from the "NEWS" part of their logo/brand?

Hey ill take it. I loved dirty jobs! I loved the fact it was unscripted. I think that is what made it so good and funny!

This is the future of CNN and MSNBC. Just like History Channel and The Weather Channel ... they will sell up the river their not hugely popular product (even if, as was the case of some of History's original stuff, it is good) in the quest for the almighty dollar.

Two more channels of "reality" TV. Just what the world needs. (Although with Mike Rowe we'll at least have ONE worth watching)

(04-10-2014 10:07 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  This is the future of CNN and MSNBC. Just like History Channel and The Weather Channel ... they will sell up the river their not hugely popular product (even if, as was the case of some of History's original stuff, it is good) in the quest for the almighty dollar.

Two more channels of "reality" TV. Just what the world needs. (Although with Mike Rowe we'll at least have ONE worth watching)

I like the history channel and I like the shows they produce. They are certainly leagues better than MTV or any other reality show. At least they bring some knowledge to the viewers.


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