To which Schur then responded: "These are the groans the dinosaurs made before they became extinct."
Well, this is fun and we could go on like this forever, but we've already busted deadline and our editor says we have to knock it off.
Despite those Olympics promos, "Father of the Pride" scored only 11 million viewers.
(Dreamworks)
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More than 200 million people watched NBC's coverage of the Athens Olympics, according to the network, which would mean that more than 200 million people were bombarded with those promos for the new animated comedy "Father of the Pride" that littered the 17 consecutive days of Games coverage.
And yet, an average of just 11 million of them tuned in Tuesday night to watch the unveiling of the prime-time cartoon series about a family of adorable and apparently quite lustful white lions who toil for the Siegfried & Roy act in Vegas -- only it's in an alternate universe where Roy hasn't been mauled by one his white felines and their wild-animals-make-wonderful-pets show hasn't been shut down.
Since 1999, NBC has debuted 16 sitcoms in the fall. The "Father of the Pride" debut finishes in the bottom five of that list. It scored fewer viewers than had the debuts of "Inside Schwartz," "Stark Raving Mad," "Cursed," "Good Morning, Miami," "Hidden Hills," "DAG," "Scrubs," "Coupling," "Whoopi," "Happy Family" and "The Michael Richards Show" -- none of which enjoyed more than 200 million unique viewers who'd been exposed to an onslaught of promos heralding its unveiling.
"Father of the Pride" did, however, bag more viewers than the debuts of "In-Laws," "The Mike O'Malley Show," "Emeril" and "Tucker."
Guess we'll have to add "Father of the Pride" to the list of new shows that NBC promoted like mad during Olympics broadcasts to no avail -- a longish list that includes, among others, "Watching Ellie," "Leap of Faith" and that Michael Richards show. (In fairness, NBC does not have the corner on this market. Other networks have tried and failed to launch series off big-ticket sporting events, including the Olympics.)
But here's some good news for NBC. In that list of 16, "Father of the Pride" is No. 2 among kids ages 2 to 11.
Oh, wait, "Father of the Pride" was supposed to be an adult program, despite its cuddly animation style. NBC's promos said so, and the network scheduled it at 9 p.m., which, NBC promised, would send a clear message to viewers that it was not appropriate for children. In that first episode, Larry the Lion heads home to have sex with his wife because she's in heat and roars, "It may be 9 o'clock in New York but right here, it's mountin' time!" after spray-painting a happy face on his nipples and belly with whipped cream. Later, his even hornier elderly father-in-law screams at an unhappily single 30-year-old female panda, "I'll tell you what's wrong with you -- your ovaries are turning into concrete. Go home!"
Guess maybe it wasn't such a good idea to brag in those promos that the show comes from the same guys who brought you "Shrek."
Oops.
