Throwaway Keeper

TV Review: Huff

What, you thought I'd write about the election today? You all know what I hope will happen, that I think it will happen, and that I won't sleep tonight until I know for sure that it did happen--or, if the nation is determined to make me reconsider living in it, didn't.

So did you see the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly? Fascinating cover story about Elton John; he talks about his recent public statements regarding Madonna and his allegedly fabulous show in Vegas, as well as his new CD, coming a week from today. I can't wait--and there's a Seal greatest hits album as well! Splendid!

More interesting to me, though, is a promotional DVD included with the magazine. This isn't the first promo DVD I've seen in the mag; there have been several that included movie trailers. This one, though, comes from Showtime, and it's intended to promote HBO's ugly stepsister's new Sunday-night series, Huff, starring the always-funny Hank Azaria in the title role. Big deal, right? But this is no ordinary promo: It contains the entire pilot episode. Meaning that rather than sitting down on Sunday night--when the palate may not be open to something new--to decide whether this show it worth my time, I can watch it any time I want.

How smart is that? The hardest part of launching a TV series, especially one that aspires to both quality and a loyal audience, is getting people to start watching and get hooked. This DVD is like that first freebie you'd get from your crack dealer, the one that makes you keep coming back for more. It costs not-a-lot, could help build buzz for the show, and lets viewers know that (a) Showtime has a new series starring some pretty big names and (b) They think it's so good they wanted everyone to be able to watch the first episode for free, whether they subscribe or not. I know that makes me curious enough to give the show a chance for an hour. Congrats to Showtime for being the first folks I know of to think of this. If HBO had done the same with Deadwood, I might be an old West junkie by now. If Fox had done this with Arrested Development, I might not feel like it's too late now to jump on the bandwagon. If ABC had done this with Desperate Housewives...OK, sometimes shows find an audience on their own. But I hope more networks will follow Showtime's lead on this. In a busy world with many forms of media competing for my attention, the ability to evaluate something anytime I want makes me a lot more likely to give it a shot.