NBC Orders Betty White Reality Series..OFF THEIR ROCKERS ..Will you watch?
Said White, "People have been telling me that I’m ‘Off My Rocker’ for years -- now I can prove it."
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
NBC Orders Betty White Reality Series..OFF THEIR ROCKERS ..Will you watch?
Said White, "People have been telling me that I’m ‘Off My Rocker’ for years -- now I can prove it."
‘Betty White’s Off Their Rockers’
By NEIL GENZLINGER
What’s the best way to breathe new life into a tired television idea? Not turn it over to the Betty White generation, apparently.
On Monday night, after a 90-minute special celebrating Ms. White’s 90th birthday, NBC gave a trial run to “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers,” which resurrected the hidden-camera gimmick that “Candid Camera” brought to television more than a half-century ago. The twist here was that the gags were all executed by old folks.
The show, though, often seemed more interested in proving that the elderly know what the Internet is than in delivering a decent joke. It was trying for an elder-power chic (the Twisted Sister song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” seemed to be its anthem), but some of the routines didn’t exactly help the gray-haired image — for instance, a woman on a motorized cart driving up behind pedestrians and blaring a loud horn at them.
Other times the bits were overly aggressive in the other direction, trying too hard to burst stereotypes. (An old gent tells some strangers that he’s waiting for his honey and that they still have a zesty sex life; when she finally shows up, she’s a hot young thing.) The ones that worked the best had subtlety and wit, just as on the original “Candid Camera.” Two old fellows sit on either side of a young woman and, unprovoked, start doing the wave. Will she look at them oddly? Yes, she will. Will she then join in? Yes, she will.
The network has indicated it might give this show a regular slot. If so, more of that, and less pandering to the over-70 viewer, please.
Known throughout Europe as Benidorm Bastards, Betty White’s Off Their Rockers follows a band of seven senior citizens who make it their mission to play pranks on unsuspecting younger people. "Betty White is a comedic genius who escalates hilarity in any situation," said Paul Telegdy, NBC's EVP Alternative Programming. "Viewers will thoroughly enjoy watching her pull one over on the unsuspecting youth of America."
Said White, "People have been telling me that I’m ‘Off My Rocker’ for years -- now I can prove it."
There have been a lot of prank shows through the years, and viewers have seen a lot of different reactions to people getting pranked. Sometimes it's laughter, sometimes it's fear, sometimes shock, horror and even outrage. But there was a near universal response to the pranks featured on the sneak preview of "Betty White's Off Their Rockers" (Mon., 9:30 p.m. EST on NBC).
Coming out of NBC's star-studded 90th Birthday tribute to Betty White, "Off Their Rockers" is a new series hosted and executive produced by White that features a troupe of older men and women playing pranks on innocent people. Unlike many other prank shows, there was no reveal that it was all a joke to the victims. That could be because no one got mad at the elderly pranksters.
The common response to the antics of these older folks was amusement, delight, or a shaking of the head with a smile. People were simply amused or bewildered -- but positive -- about what had just happened to them. The fast pace of this special allowed the producers to feature simply tons of pranks. Maybe as a preview, this episode was spotlighting as many pranks as they could, and the regular series will slow down a bit and let the pranks linger, or show different reactions from different people to the same pranks.
Regardless, the show has a feel-good tone to it, ably narrated and pushed along by interstitial videos featuring White being her typically charming and sassy self. White isn't perhaps as hot as she was a year or so ago -- when she could do nothing wrong -- but there's still a lot of love for her as she turns 90 years old. Will it translate to viewers for a new twist on the prank show format? source:
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