Anna Nicole Smith's 'reality' show debuts strongly
By Sue Zeidler
Aug 6
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- One critic likened it to a trip to the vomitorium while another said it was a cruel joke and a freak show. But E! Entertainment Television thinks it has a hit on its hands. Watch out Ozzy Osbourne.
E! Entertainment on Tuesday said the debut of its "reality" show starring former Playboy Playmate and Texas oil tycoon widow Anna Nicole Smith ranked as its highest-rated program premiere ever and was also the top debut for a reality show on basic cable.
A spokeswoman said the Sunday debut of the half-hour show, which chronicles the outlandish life of the now plus-sized Smith, 34, her beloved dog Sugar Pie and her entourage, logged a 4.1 rating, which translates to over 4 million viewers.
The E! spokeswoman said the network expects the numbers to rise in coming days as final figures from Nielsen Media Research come in which will include whether one or more person per household was watching the program.
While the numbers appeared impressive, critics were not as enamored with the show about the former Vickie Lynn Smith (also known as Vickie Lynn Hogan and Vickie Lynn Marshall) of Texas who started her rise to celebrity as a topless dancer before becoming a Playboy Playmate in 1992.
ANCIENT ROME ANYONE?
Comparing the present state of American popular culture to the Caligula era in ancient Rome, Washington Post television critic Ken Ringle said "The Anna Nicole Show" was like a trip to the vomitorium. The program showed her slurring her words and getting stuck under a table as she travels through Hollywood house-hunting.
The program is the latest entry in the celebrity reality show race spawned by the smash hit "The Osbournes," which follows the doings of aging rock star Ozzy Osbourne and his family. Showbiz newlyweds Liza Minnelli and David Gest have also announced plans to air a reality show on cable.
New York Times critic Caryn James called the Smith show a "cruel joke of a reality series" that is in the "forefront of the latest wave of reality programs, freak shows that are a step below celebrity boxing."
Officials at E! Entertainment, which focuses on celebrity news, gossip and entertainment programming, said the network decided to base a show on Smith after an episode about the former Guess? jeans model on its "The E! True Hollywood Story," biographical program drew high ratings.
The former pinup in March won $88 million in a court battle against the son of her late husband, Texas oil billionaire J. Howard Marshall.
Smith met 86-year-old Texas oil man when she was just 24 years old and working in a Houston strip club. She married him, and they remained husband and wife until his death 14 months later.
E! said the program's debut was the highest reality show debut in cable, beating the MTV debut of "The Osbournes," which debuted with a 2.8 household rating in the spring.
The E! spokeswoman said the show's debut also beat its own very popular pre-Oscar coverage, which logged a 3.6 national household rating this past spring.
E! Entertainment is 79.2 percent owned by a joint venture between subsidiaries of Comcast Corp. and Walt Disney Co. The remaining 20.8 percent of the company is owned directly or indirectly by affiliates of AT&T Corp.
08/06/02 17:39 ET
By Sue Zeidler
Aug 6
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- One critic likened it to a trip to the vomitorium while another said it was a cruel joke and a freak show. But E! Entertainment Television thinks it has a hit on its hands. Watch out Ozzy Osbourne.
E! Entertainment on Tuesday said the debut of its "reality" show starring former Playboy Playmate and Texas oil tycoon widow Anna Nicole Smith ranked as its highest-rated program premiere ever and was also the top debut for a reality show on basic cable.
A spokeswoman said the Sunday debut of the half-hour show, which chronicles the outlandish life of the now plus-sized Smith, 34, her beloved dog Sugar Pie and her entourage, logged a 4.1 rating, which translates to over 4 million viewers.
The E! spokeswoman said the network expects the numbers to rise in coming days as final figures from Nielsen Media Research come in which will include whether one or more person per household was watching the program.
While the numbers appeared impressive, critics were not as enamored with the show about the former Vickie Lynn Smith (also known as Vickie Lynn Hogan and Vickie Lynn Marshall) of Texas who started her rise to celebrity as a topless dancer before becoming a Playboy Playmate in 1992.
ANCIENT ROME ANYONE?
Comparing the present state of American popular culture to the Caligula era in ancient Rome, Washington Post television critic Ken Ringle said "The Anna Nicole Show" was like a trip to the vomitorium. The program showed her slurring her words and getting stuck under a table as she travels through Hollywood house-hunting.
The program is the latest entry in the celebrity reality show race spawned by the smash hit "The Osbournes," which follows the doings of aging rock star Ozzy Osbourne and his family. Showbiz newlyweds Liza Minnelli and David Gest have also announced plans to air a reality show on cable.
New York Times critic Caryn James called the Smith show a "cruel joke of a reality series" that is in the "forefront of the latest wave of reality programs, freak shows that are a step below celebrity boxing."
Officials at E! Entertainment, which focuses on celebrity news, gossip and entertainment programming, said the network decided to base a show on Smith after an episode about the former Guess? jeans model on its "The E! True Hollywood Story," biographical program drew high ratings.
The former pinup in March won $88 million in a court battle against the son of her late husband, Texas oil billionaire J. Howard Marshall.
Smith met 86-year-old Texas oil man when she was just 24 years old and working in a Houston strip club. She married him, and they remained husband and wife until his death 14 months later.
E! said the program's debut was the highest reality show debut in cable, beating the MTV debut of "The Osbournes," which debuted with a 2.8 household rating in the spring.
The E! spokeswoman said the show's debut also beat its own very popular pre-Oscar coverage, which logged a 3.6 national household rating this past spring.
E! Entertainment is 79.2 percent owned by a joint venture between subsidiaries of Comcast Corp. and Walt Disney Co. The remaining 20.8 percent of the company is owned directly or indirectly by affiliates of AT&T Corp.
08/06/02 17:39 ET
