How many hops left for the bunnies of The Playboy Club?

"The Playboy Club" premiered on Monday, September 19. The rating came in at 1.6 for adults 18-49 (live plus same day). Rather dissapointing for NBC in the 10-11pm time slot. And I can understand why such low ratings. As a viewer, or at least a student assigned to watch this program, I was excited for the premiere episode and all of the retro fashion and the "throw back" to a time that was. The episode began and introduced all of the characters that will be playing a part in this series. Of course you have the love story between main man Nick Dalton (Cibrian) and head bunny Carol-Lynne (Benanti) with the added implied mistress and most envied bunny Maureen (Heard). Dalton and bunny Maureen get themselves involved with each other and also possible trouble with the mafia in the first 15 minutes of the show. We learn the club dynamics, who's who and see that other bunnies have secrets they are keeping (one bunny and her husband are secretly gay and hold meetings in their home for the Chicago chapter of the Mattachine Society, an underground gay-rights group from the ’50s and ’60s). I have to admit that even with all of these pieces and of course the tension between bunnies, I was bored. I did not feel like the show went anywhere. It did not make me want to tune back in the following week to see where everything ended up or how it would pan out. The show seems predictable and I think predictable means a lack of creativity. And I was not alone in questioning tuning in for week 2. According to Reuters.com, ratings for the second episode dropped 19 percent with a rating of 1.3. The outlook is bleak that the show will make it to midseason. Any news published about the show is not good news. And NBC is mum about the life of the show. No official statement has been made and no one has come out in defense of the program. Probably not a good sign.

Money + Sex + Murder = A hit show for struggling NBC?

Bunny suits...men in suits...the ambiance of a club atmosphere...a murder. These are the images shown in the pilots and previews for "The Playboy Club", premiering on NBC on Monday, September 19, 2011. Of course, with a name like "The Playboy Club," one can expect a lot of backlash and it has come mainly from the conservative viewers. The show centers on main character Maureen, who comes from a small town and moves to the big city of Chicago. Maureen lands a job at The Playboy Club, a chain club owned by none other than Hugh Hefner.There she meets fellow bunnies and also the patrons who frequent the club. This is a network television show, so the allusion of sex is more important than actually showing the act, well, because they cant. But as soon as the promos hit the web and on-air, the critics began their protests of the show. Hollywood.com (http://www.hollywood.com/news/Is_The_Playboy_Club_Too_Sexy_for_Network_TV/7839742) describes the backlash:
"First, the Salt Lake City NBC affiliate refused to air the series on grounds that it went against their morals and next, acclaimed writer and activist, Gloria Steinem, called for a boycott of the series since it’s based on the string of clubs she once cried out against. Finally, the Parents Television Council requested that NBC remove the buzzy series from its lineup.The argument seems to be wrapped up in the fact that Playboy magazine is technically part of the pornography industry. Which, at face value is an understandably incendiary notion, but that term, which enjoys a rather broad definition these days (you know, “I know it when I see it”) also lends a level of filth to the series that simply isn’t there. The women of the series aren’t prostituting themselves or making sex tapes, they’re wearing tiny outfits and getting into a bit of old fashioned Chicago-style trouble – some of which is more dangerous than sexual. The bunnies may be trotting around in itty-bitty outfits and playing on men’s depraved desires, but isn’t that the same thing we see yearly on The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show or the Miss Universe Pageant? (Don't fool yourself -- it is.)"
As I go into watching this show for the season, granted it isnt quickly cancelled, I am not interested in the references to sex and "Mad Men." I am interested in the way that the women are portrayed. A blog on http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2011/09/the-playboy-club-an-insult-to-womens-rights-advocates.html refers to the "insult to women:"
"The San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women has issued a non-binding resolution urging NBC and its affiliates to 'replace the program with a series that, instead, depicts women's substantive achievements." The organization is a publicly-funded entity dedicated to securing equal economic, social, political and educational opportunities for San Francisco women.
The resolution, issued in late Aug., says the show "represents a major step backward for women who have struggled to earn an equal place in the workplace, in the community, and at home.'"
I am not totally convinced. I know I mentioned in class that my father told me that this was a time where women were beginning to make more money than the male figures in their life (fathers, brothers, etc.). I think there is some validity to that. Think as you may about women's liberation and women's rights, there is power in money. And there is power in sex. I hope that the show focuses on this topic in some aspect, not just the salacious details that seem to haunt the show. I hope that there is some take-away value in this program so it doesn't become another cliche show that is cancelled within 2 episodes.