SpotcheckBilly
04-05-2002, 10:59 AM
Is Huge (Bleeping) Hit for MTV
By ISAAC GUZMAN
Daily News Feature Writer
s Ozzy Osbourne sees it, he's "The Prince of Darkness," always on the lookout for "evil — more evil." But viewers of MTV's breakout hit "The Osbournes" know that the former Black Sabbath frontman has far more in common with Homer Simpson than he does with his supposed master, Satan.
Music to Programmers' Ears: 'The Osbournes', starring (clockwise from l.) Ozzie, Sharon, Kelly, and Jack, has become the most popular show in MTV history.
Over the past five weeks, fans of the sitcom-cum-reality-show have been treated to a blizzard of oddities, as the 53-year-old metalhead does battle with incontinent pets, unstable backstage chairs and a foulmouthed family that refuses to respect anything he says.
On Tuesday, the show drew 5 million viewers, a modest number for network television but enough to make it the biggest ratings success in MTV's 24-year run. It's become a show that gets people talking about each episode.
[b]On WNEW's "Opie & Anthony" show, for example, "The Osbournes" has become the subject of extensive discussion. Ozzy's travails as a longsuffering father and husband resonate with listeners.
"It's hysterical," says co-host Anthony Cumia, "because you've got a guy who a lot of people grew up with as a rock idol. And then you realize that he is in absolute hell. He's saddled with a dysfunctional family, and he doesn't know what to do with himself."
"I think this is payback for all those years he spent on the road partying," adds Gregg (Opie) Hughes, Cumia's on-air partner. "But it's endearing. You watch and go, 'He's a real human being.'"
"The Osbournes" is the next logical step in a progression of shows that runs from "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" to "The Cosby Show" to "The Simpsons," says Syracuse University Prof. Robert Thompson, who heads the school's Center for Popular Culture. It combines elements of those family sitcoms with the reality television of "Survivor" and MTV's earlier hit "The Real World."
"It slams them together in a way that really works," Thompson says.
For prim parents who knew Osbourne only as a satanic rocker, the show is a surprise. Jeff Rappaport, publisher of Metal Rules magazine, says that even his 50-something mother has been asking her office mates to tape the show for her.
"The people who think he's a devil worshiper will probably be shocked," Rappaport says. "Because you can tell that [his] whole family really cares about each other."
The show's only downbeat note is the ravaged condition of its star. Ozzy's hands tremble and his speech is sometimes unintelligible.
"I'm just assuming that that's 30-plus years of hard drinking and drugs," Rappaport says. "It's a well-known fact that that guy partied harder than any other person on the planet."
I missed this yesterday..pretty cool.
By ISAAC GUZMAN
Daily News Feature Writer
s Ozzy Osbourne sees it, he's "The Prince of Darkness," always on the lookout for "evil — more evil." But viewers of MTV's breakout hit "The Osbournes" know that the former Black Sabbath frontman has far more in common with Homer Simpson than he does with his supposed master, Satan.
Music to Programmers' Ears: 'The Osbournes', starring (clockwise from l.) Ozzie, Sharon, Kelly, and Jack, has become the most popular show in MTV history.
Over the past five weeks, fans of the sitcom-cum-reality-show have been treated to a blizzard of oddities, as the 53-year-old metalhead does battle with incontinent pets, unstable backstage chairs and a foulmouthed family that refuses to respect anything he says.
On Tuesday, the show drew 5 million viewers, a modest number for network television but enough to make it the biggest ratings success in MTV's 24-year run. It's become a show that gets people talking about each episode.
[b]On WNEW's "Opie & Anthony" show, for example, "The Osbournes" has become the subject of extensive discussion. Ozzy's travails as a longsuffering father and husband resonate with listeners.
"It's hysterical," says co-host Anthony Cumia, "because you've got a guy who a lot of people grew up with as a rock idol. And then you realize that he is in absolute hell. He's saddled with a dysfunctional family, and he doesn't know what to do with himself."
"I think this is payback for all those years he spent on the road partying," adds Gregg (Opie) Hughes, Cumia's on-air partner. "But it's endearing. You watch and go, 'He's a real human being.'"
"The Osbournes" is the next logical step in a progression of shows that runs from "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" to "The Cosby Show" to "The Simpsons," says Syracuse University Prof. Robert Thompson, who heads the school's Center for Popular Culture. It combines elements of those family sitcoms with the reality television of "Survivor" and MTV's earlier hit "The Real World."
"It slams them together in a way that really works," Thompson says.
For prim parents who knew Osbourne only as a satanic rocker, the show is a surprise. Jeff Rappaport, publisher of Metal Rules magazine, says that even his 50-something mother has been asking her office mates to tape the show for her.
"The people who think he's a devil worshiper will probably be shocked," Rappaport says. "Because you can tell that [his] whole family really cares about each other."
The show's only downbeat note is the ravaged condition of its star. Ozzy's hands tremble and his speech is sometimes unintelligible.
"I'm just assuming that that's 30-plus years of hard drinking and drugs," Rappaport says. "It's a well-known fact that that guy partied harder than any other person on the planet."
I missed this yesterday..pretty cool.