Tattoos Hit Prime Time Reality Television And Become Mainstream. The Struggle Begins!
There are two brand new reality Television series that will be coming out this summer that have already started a rumble within the tattoo industry.
You see for a long time there has been an on going struggle and a hotly contested battle between what I call tattoo traditionalists and the newer tattoo artists. This is really a reflection or similar to the age old power struggle that teenagers often go through as they try to form their own identity and separate themselves from their parents.
Well, let me explain a little more. You see the industry of tattoos and tattooing has had a phenomenal rate of growth in the last two or three years. This growth has led to a lot of new innovations in the world of tattoos and even new styles in tattoo designs. It has also led to greater number of celebrities getting tattooed, and therefore tons of people wanting to get tattoos like their favorite stars and so on and so forth the ball rolls on. In fact this growth has been so explosive that tattoo related words are now show up on top of every search engines listing as most frequently used search terms. Tattoos key search terms are even being searched for more then many of the top porn and adult related key terms.
So as with any industry there are some serious growing pains within the field of tattoos as the traditional tattoo artists and those newer to the field struggle with issues of marketing vs. art. Many feel that this new growth is wonderful and it is all leading to new business and more respect for the field. However the traditional tattoo artists feel that their true art and life style is now being exploited and commercialized.
This issue has been an ongoing struggle for the last few years but it will really come into play within the tattoo community as two new reality television show come out this summer. Yes, you heard right both The Learning Channel (TLC) and the Arts and Entertainment (A and E) stations on cable television will be releasing new reality television shows about the world, art, and life style of tattoos.
Miami Ink. This show chronicle five tattoo artists that will be setting up a new tattoo shop in Miami. They will be living together, working together and promoting their tattoo shop together.
A and E will also be debuting a new reality T.V. show called Inked. This show features a shop that recently opened up inside of a Casino in Las Vegas. It will be about the shop, the tattoo artists in the shop and also the customers who come to get tattooed. There are even some celebrities that will be coming in to get tattooed and that are rumored to be featured on the site.
So what does this mean for the industry? Has the end finally come and the whole industry has now been shot to you know what as the traditional tattoo artist would state? Or is this just all great for business and we should just pocket the money and run to the bank and not worry about the artistic value of the piece or even if the customer should really be getting a tattoo done or not?
Well, there are tons of opinions out there and already a lot of murmuring is starting in tattoo related chat rooms, bulleting boards, and websites. What is the finally answer? I know you wish I would just come out straight and say it or at least tell you my opinion on the subject. Honestly I think it is important for you to make up your own mind and think about the struggle. My hunch or inclination is that tattoos and this whole struggle is probably a lot more gray then many people would like to make it. I mean there has to be some middle ground between the two. Obviously the art of tattooing could use the business and it would be nice in some ways to see a greater level of respect for the wonderful talents of tattoo artists. For they and their art have always been looked down upon when compared to more traditional arts. However too much commercialization and spoon feeding to the public nice little digestible bits, and tattoo factoids also doesn’t do justice to the art but instead commercializes it.
So to sell out or not to sell out that seems to be the question and only time will tell.
Primetime 2007 – ABC’s Lineup
Sam I Am – what happens when you get involved in a car accident and get retrograde amnesia? You begin to rebuild your life because you simply don’t remember who you are. If you’ve been mean to people, will thy now forgive and forget? Samantha Newly is about to find out. Starring Christina Applegate from Married with Children As Samantha, this series puts a new twist on the genre started with 50 First Dates. Now we see the world from the victim, not from the outside.
Cavemen – Most of us have evolved. It took long enough, but 100,000 years has turned most of us from cavemen into homo sapiens. Except for these guys. Meet Joel, Jamie and Nick. They are cavemen who haven’t yet figured out how to evolve. So they are stuck lacking that huge gap in learning that the rest of the world has undergone. This dynamic comedy series is based off the hugely successful Geico insurance commercials and looks to be quite funny. It stars Bill English as Joel, and Nick Kroll as … Nick.
Carpoolers – Take four ordinary men, all from he same basic walk of life. They all have dreams, hopes, fears and their own personal demons. Put them together out of necessity in the modern suburbanite chaos that is the daily commute, and you have The Carpoolers. Four men who try to figure the world out as they zip up and down the carpool lane. These guys all have hidden fears that although unspoken can emerge at any time to catch them unawares, but as friends, they work to help each other out; solve problems; and try to survive. Starring Fred Goss, Jerry O’Connell, Jerry Minor, and Tim Peper.
Pushing Daisies – Once upon a time, there was a baker. He was a typical baker, renowned throughout the town for the quality of his pies. He made excellent pies. But, he was also given a gift as a child, and he uses that gift to help his friend, a PI who specializes in unsolved murder cases. How can a lowly baker help solve a murder. He has the Touch. Meet Ned, a man gifted with the power to touch a dead person and bring them back to life for a short time. Using this power to help, Ned gets the victims to name their killers so they can be brought to justice. Starring Lee Pace, Swoosie Kurtz, and Kristen Chenoworth.
Private Practice – After the runaway success of Grey’s Anatomy, Shonda Rimes gives it another go to see if she can recreate the magic a second time. The spin-off features Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery who decides to leave Seattle Grace and go to Santa Monica to seek the advice of her friends on relationships and motherhood. They have a private practice down there, and Addison thinks that working with them might be a way to reset her own life and get on with living. Featuring an all-star cast including Amy Brenneman, Tim Daly and Taye Briggs as well as Kate Wash playing Addison, this series looks to be a worthy spin-off.
Dirty Sexy Money – It has been a long time since we Saw Dynasty and Dallas on prime-time TV. Soaps have been relegated to afternoon series for so long, we have almost forgotten the thrill of watching what happens to an atypical family undergoing massive turmoil and stress. Now, DSM seeks to become the red-headed sexy stepchild of those two legacy series. Focusing on the Darling family of New York – a family so wealthy that they are the Upper in Upper East Side. The main focus on the series is not Donald Sutherland as the Darling Patriarch, nor is it William Baldwin as the senatorial bad boy son – it focuses on Peter Krause, who plays Nick. Nicks job is to be the ultimate spin doctor, turning all of the bad press the Darlings generate into good press, to keep the family floating along the top of the river of mud that they always get mired in.
Big Shots – 4 high-powered executives, running companies, in very high upper management of big business. How do they blow off steam and voice their opinions and thoughts without having to worry about somebody using that information against them? They got to a country club and chat together. James (Michael Vartan) was about to become the latest victim of downsizing when a twist lands him in the corner office. Duncan (Dylan McDermott) runs a cosmetics firm and can’t resist the wiles of his ageless ex-wife. Karl(Josh Malina) is the lovable one, and he gets all out of whack when his wife an his mistress become best friends. Then there’s Brody(Christopher Titus). Brody is so focused on doing his wife’s bidding, her birthday is more important than his company’s well being.
Women’s Murder Club – Women working in a man’s field need to team up. So that’s just what Lt. Lindsay Boxer(Angie Harmon) does. Although she can analyze a crime scene in minutes – she is terribly frustrated by the slowness of the Justice system Men-only process. So she bypasses it, by assembling a team of a medical examiner, a reporter, and an assistant DA, she finally has the tools to do the job needed faster than the male-dominated system has seen before.
Cashmere Mafia – 4 female executives, known as the Cashmere Mafia, work together to provide a united front against the ambitious and ruthless men who dominate their workplace. Lucy Liu, Frances O’Connor, Miranda Otto, and Bonnie Somerville are the Cashmere Mafia. By discussing their problems and issues, these four Ivy-league educated women manage to keep on top of not only their overachieving husbands, but all the ambitious women below them who are always trying to topple them from their lofty perches.
Eli Stone – A high-powered corporate shark of a lawyer, Stone has been tapped to be the next visionary, literally. He begins to experience visions that change his entire perspective from winning one for the company, to helping out the little guy and making the world a much better place. Johnny Lee Miller is Eli Stone – a man who has shown that although the Legal system has made billions, now it’s time to make a Prophet.
Miss Guided – Your past always catches up to you, but can you overcome it and show yourself to be better than before? Becky Freely(Judy Greer) thought she left her teenage years behind when she comes home to her old high school as a guidance counselor. But the past catches up when her high school rival and nemesis also appears in the form of Lisa, who is also on the faculty and proves to be a thorn that Becky now has to overcome. This dynamic series is produced by Ashton Kutcher and directed by Todd Holland.
ABC’s Fall Schedule
MONDAY
8-9:30 p.m.: “Dancing with the Stars”
9:30-10 p.m.: “SAM I AM”
10-11 p.m.: “The Bachelor”
TUESDAY
8-8:30 p.m.: “CAVEMEN”
8:30-9 p.m.: “CARPOOLERS”
9-10 p.m.: “Dancing With the Stars” (results show)
10-11 p.m.: “Boston Legal”
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m.: “Pushing Daisies”
9-10 p.m.: “PRIVATE PRACTICE”
10-11 p.m.: “DIRTY SEXY MONEY”
THURSDAY
8-9 p.m.: “Ugly Betty”
9-10 p.m.: “Grey’s Anatomy”
10-11 p.m.: “BIG SHOTS”
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m.: “Men in Trees”
9-10 p.m.: “WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB”
10-11 p.m.: “20/20″
SATURDAY
8-11 p.m.: “Saturday Night College Football”
SUNDAY
7-8 p.m.: “America’s Funniest Home Videos”
8-9 p.m.: “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”
9-10 p.m.: “Desperate Housewives”
10-11 p.m.: “Brothers & Sisters”
Unhappily Never After – Marriage and Sex During Prime-Time
According to a study published by the Parents Television Council, major network prime-time scenes depicting sex between unmarried people outnumbers depictions of marital sex at a ratio of adultery references outnumbers marital sex references at 2-1.
The conclusions one may draw from these narrow facts vary.