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Star of the Show (11/24/98)
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Now there's yet another article out there on how Macs and Apple equipment show up on so many TV shows-- NewsWeek's a little late with their offering, but it's still a good read. You know the phenomenon, of course; if you manage to watch an evening of network television without ever catching a glimpse of a Mac or two, you're either not paying attention or you have really unusual taste in your program choices. Just last night we noticed iMacs and Apple Studio Displays being used on "Just Shoot Me," while faithful viewer P.J. Groult informs us that across channels on the WB there was a platform argument on "Felicity," in which the iMac is called "one incredible machine:" "Their love was not to last. He was an avid Mac user, and she was drawn to the dark side of the Wintel world." Pulse-quickening stuff, indeed.
While the placement of Apple products on all these shows is due to the very hard work of Apple's own Suzanne Forlenza, we have to assume that the dialog on "Felicity" was entirely the decision of the writers, who felt like throwing a nod to the iMac on the air. Between official product placements and these apparently unsolicited testimonials from TV writers, Apple's got some real visibility on the tube. And it makes sense; it seems that Macs are still the computer of choice with the creative set, so if TV people need to incorporate computers into their sets, why not use the computers they know and love? According to Suzanne, Apple products are also used as props because they "say something about a character: more hip, more innovative." That's why they show up so much on youth-oriented shows, like "Buffy" and "The Real World."
Probably the most informative part of the article is when Suzanne talks about situations in which she declined to allow Apple's products to be used onscreen. When she was pitched a movie where "the PowerBook was going to be used as an explosive device," she deemed that use "inappropriate" and said no. Inappropriate? But an old PowerBook 5300 would have been a perfect choice! Heck, you wouldn't have to do a thing to use one of those as an explosive device...
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SceneLink (1176)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 11/24/98 episode: November 24, 1998: AOL is probably picking little bits of Netscape out of its teeth right now, as it wonders if it has room left for pie. Meanwhile, Apple readies something big to do with wireless Internet access, and iMacs continue to make their presence felt all over the tube...
Other scenes from that episode: 1174: Gobble Gobble Gobble (11/24/98) Yep, it really happened: AOL couldn't wait until Thanksgiving to stuff their collective face, so they gobbled up a browser company as an appetizer. They announced that the deal has been finalized, and they're buying Netscape for a little over $4 billion in stock-- and Sun gets a piece of the pie, too... 1175: Piecing the Puzzle (11/24/98) Lots of sites out there have picked up on the story that Apple has quietly filed to register "My Apple" as a service mark for something it's got up its sleeve. Apple certainly isn't saying what it is, though, and most of the people reporting this tidbit aren't going out on a limb to guess what it means...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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