Gawker: defamer, viva laughlin

CBS Doing Its Best To Forget About 'Viva Laughlin'

Mark — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 18:09:38 EDT

A crucial part of the mourning process for a network forced to euthanize a hopelessly enfeebled, Nielsen-sick primetime child is the speedy removal of its web presence, a compassionate measure that stops heartbroken programming executives from obsessively surfing over to the show's page in hopes a message promising "ALL NEW EPISODE THIS SUNDAY AT 10 PM! " will magically appear.

Accordingly, CBS has already taken the first steps towards healing following Viva Laughlin's tragic demise; anyone who tries to visit the former location of the show's official page is met only by a blindingly white light, an online beacon providing hope to the grieving that the dearly departed series has gone on to a better place.

Bonus: For those who need to discuss their pain with others, someone has hijacked a Ghost Whisperer message board thread to give fellow fans a place to say their goodbyes.

The Former Online Home Of 'Viva Laughlin' [CBS.com]
Previously: Hugh Jackman's Wife Claims Responsibility For 'Viva Laughlin' Bombing [Defamer]

Hugh Jackman's Wife Claims Responsibility For 'Viva Laughlin' Bombing

Mark — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 12:18:13 EDT

When one's creatively adventurous casino musical murder mystery bombs so spectacularly that everyone involved is still picking the bloody sequins from the costumes of cabaret dancers killed in the low-rated blast out of their hair several days later, one can either go into hiding, hoping the media will stop calling to find out What Went Wrong, or one can hold one's head high to proclaim (in song, preferably), "Nothing ventured, nothing gained!" We're not sure which route Hugh Jackman eventually plans to take, but his wife has chosen the latter option:

"We are obviously very disappointed, but you have to take risks in this business," Deborra-Lee Furness said Wednesday in Sydney.

"Viva Laughlin" was the first project for Jackman's Australian production company, Seed, which he owns with Furness. "Doing a drama that is a musical is going to be a huge risk," Furness said. "If I'm going to fail, I want to fail spectacularly, and it seems like we did."
Furness described her 39-year-old husband, who had a minor role in the show, as "fabulous."

"He did it for fun," she said.

Undeterred by Laughlin's failure, Furness went on to announce their production company's next bold foray into network television: a still-untitled, silent telenovela set at a bowling alley in Palm Springs, in which Jackman will occasionally guest star as a mysterious pinsetter who communicates only through dance, noting, "It's going to be amazing. Next time, we're only going to make it through the first premiere night act break before CBS pulls the plug."

Jackman Disappointed TV Show Was Axed [Breitbart]

Hugh Jackman Casino Murder Musical Just As Popular As Anticipated

Mark — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:36:02 EDT

In a development that will probably surprise no one save the Hugh Jackman producing partner who counseled the star, "You know what we be an inspired career move, Hugh? Let's get you into a TV project with casinos. But not Vegas—someone's done that already, I think? Oh, also? There should be SINGING! And a murrrrder!," the debut of CBS's conceptually adventurous Viva Laughlin bombed so badly that network corporate overlord Les Moonves may order the execution of everyone involved after its next airing. Reports TV Week on the Nielsen carnage:

"Laughlin" fell 63 percent from lead-in "CSI" to post a 2.4 preliminary rating among adults 18 to 49 at 10 p.m., coming in last place. Moreover, the show lost 31 percent of its demo rating in its second half hour and was the lowest-rated program among the major broadcast networks for the night.
CBS is going to wait until after Sunday night's "Laughlin" airing in the show's regular time slot before making any decisions about its fate. But if you're working on the show, you might want to stop payment on the boat.

Naturally, such a spectacularly poor result invites second-guessing about the network's programming choices, especially considering CBS's early season struggles with its new series. We speak, of course, of their egregious passing over of Babylon Fields, whose horny zombies could have made a nice lead-out for CSI, allowing viewers to see what might happen if the hit procedural's corpses unzipped their body bags and reassumed their lives once their murders had been solved.

'Viva Laughlin' Craps Out [TV Week]