Fundraising Folly: Gay Guy Advice for PBS

Straight Guy,

The two public television stations in my area have been in fundraising campaigns, annoyingly at the same time. The deprivation is worse than just the lack of good TV, it's an active assault by bad TV.

Here's PBS' strategy: Put on lots of horrible programs that no one wants to watch, then interrupt frequently to implore you to give so that this kind of programming can stay on the air. Ack. PBS trots out wonders such as hours of off key, geriatric reunions of girl and boy groups from the 1950s, Andrea Boccelli singing and, worst, hours and hours of Celtic Woman. Not since the IRA hung up their guns has Ireland produced such terrorists as Celtic Woman.

Marketing the PBS way boggles my mind. Why not put on really good programming, then make the pitch that, with your help, fabulous shows like the one that you just watched, and NOT Celtic Woman, will continue to thrive?

SG, you know that I am wild for Masterpiece Mystery's new Sherlock Holmes series, which is set in contemporary London. Sleuthing was never so smart, sly, and sexy. Watch the shows or at least watch the trailers here.

There's nothing overtly gay about Holmes and Watson in this new series; indeed Holmes is played as pretty much asexual. But in each episode he flirts with Watson, which vexes the good doctor. A wink from Sherlock leaves me weak in the knees (see trailer one).

Here's my pitch: PBS: I am exactly who you are trying to reach. I watch you without paying for you. But, if you were to tell me that with my PBS membership I get special episodes of Sherlock with him sleuthing around in the Full Monty, I'll become a member. I promise.

--Gay Guy

11 comments:

straight in upstate said...

Oh GG, you've been in development long enough to know the truth: that crap raises millions, or they wouldn't be doing it. I mentioned the persistence of Lawrence Welk reruns on our area PBS station (every Saturday at 7 pm) to a board member - she just blinked and said, "You wouldn't believe how much money LW fans give us."

Gay Guy said...

SIU,

It may be the truth that this approach works, but I still want my Sherlock full frontal nudity, damn it.

Climb2Nowhere said...

Sherlock must be hot GG if you're looking for full frontal. I was hoping for full frontal from Jake G in Love and Other Drugs, but no such luck. When will they learn what we want!

Oddyoddyo13 said...

AMEN, GG.

Molly Louise said...

I watched half an episode on the plane (sitting on the tarmac, of course) and I must say, as a lover of Sir Arthur's fabulous stories, this version is legit. Lovely and legit.

Straight Guy said...

I clicked over to the Celtic Women hoping that whatever was driving you nuts would interest me. Nope.

Dorn said...

Couldn't agree more about the insanity of PBS's approach. We have three of their channels and two of them are in non stop gimme-money-mode. A couple months back the other station ran a slew of old school Julia Child episodes that were entertaining but that's about as far as I'll go with giving them any credit.

Straight in Upstate said...

My career involves working for small non-profits (museums) whose board members - not just my current employer, but many other places - feel it's tacky to ask directly for money. Send out a letter and be happy with whatever you get - but the letter can't sound like you actually NEED the money. It's okay for Red Cross, United Way, Boys and Girls Club, and everyone else to mount very public annual appeals - they're important and "it's for the kids" - but we are forbidden from making it sound like we need money. So the begathons kinda annoy me, but at least they're direct.

Tinkerschnitzel said...

I would definitely give money if they ran hours of NOVA programming. And I'm with you GG on the full monty for Sherlock Holmes. Or if they ran the first season of MI5 with Matthew MacFadyen wearing absolutely nothing. :D

Gay Guy said...

Mmmmm . . . Naked M15 . . .

Kathleen Lawton-Trask said...

I think PBS must be getting advice from NPR, which has a similar hostage-taking approach. Their "give before the campaign and we'll subtract a day of the campaign" smacks of coercion. Your Holmes plan makes a lot more sense. All I can recommend for now is to turn to DVDs of Cambridge Spies and Atonement for some Benedict C. cameos.

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