Drew Cam

Last updated

"Drew Cam"
The Drew Carey Show episode
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 9
Directed by Sam Simon
Story byMichael Becker
Teleplay byHolly Hester
Production code225406
Original air dateNovember 17, 1999 (1999-11-17)
Guest appearance
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Drew Live"		Next →
"Drew's Stomachache"
List of episodes

"Drew Cam" is the ninth episode of the fifth season of the American sitcom The Drew Carey Show , and the 110th overall. The episode sees Drew (Drew Carey) becoming a 24-hour salesman for the Winfred-Louder department store. Webcams are installed in his house and he has to promote the store's range of appliances. While Drew is out, the webcams continue to stream events that occur in his house. When the viewers become bored of Drew's life, Kate O'Brien (Christa Miller) is hired to play his girlfriend for the show. She is soon replaced by Isabel (Rosa Blasi), who Kate becomes jealous of. She eventually tells Drew that she loves him during the webcast.

Contents

The episode was written by Holly Hester, based on an idea by Michael Becker, and directed by Sam Simon. It first aired on November 17, 1999 on ABC in the United States. Parts of the episode were broadcast simultaneously on television and the Internet, a first for a primetime show. As ABC did not own the online rights to The Drew Carey Show, the company had to work with Warner Bros. Television to produce the webcast. Negotiations between the two companies began in June 1999. ABC and Warner Bros. Television hoped to target around 500,000 viewers of the estimated 4 million US households with Internet access that regularly watched the show.

"Drew Cam" was seen by an estimated 11.2 million viewers, finishing inside the top 20 in the ratings the week it aired. It was the second highest-rated episode of the fifth season. The webcast attracted one of the largest online audiences watching a streaming media event, with the website receiving almost two million visits and 650,000 streams. "Drew Cam" received mixed reviews from critics, with some calling it ambitious, while others thought it was nothing more than a marketing gimmick.

Plot

At the Winfred-Louder department store, Mr. Wick (Craig Ferguson) tells Drew (Drew Carey) that Mimi Bobeck (Kathy Kinney) has had the idea of putting webcams in her apartment, so potential customers can watch her interact with the store's range of appliances in an attempt to increase sales. Mr. Wick then informs Mimi that the board felt she might overshadow the appliances, therefore the webcams will be installed in Drew's house. While Drew is working to advertise the various appliances, his friends Lewis (Ryan Stiles) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader) come over. Lewis is called outside by Kate O'Brien (Christa Miller), who shows him a letter she wrote to Drew detailing her love for him. Lewis reminds Kate that Drew's therapist told him he is not ready for a relationship until he learns to love himself. The following day, Mr. Wick tells Drew that the viewers dislike his boring life and he plans to get a woman to live with him for the show. Lewis suggests Kate for the role and Mr. Wick accepts. Both Drew and Kate work hard to advertise the products, but Mr. Wick soon tells them that the viewers do not think they have chemistry, so he replaces Kate with Isabel (Rosa Blasi), a Winfred-Louder employee.

Mimi asks to be on Drew's show, so she can promote her talents, but Drew denies her request. Online shopping for Winfred-Louder increases and Mr. Wick extends the promotion for another two weeks. Kate becomes jealous of Drew and Isabel's closeness. When Drew tells Kate that he is going to ask Isabel on a date, she gets upset and tries to put him off the idea. Lewis almost tells Drew what is going on with Kate, but he gets drunk and falls asleep before doing so. The next day, Kate visits Drew and notices Isabel wearing Drew's shirt. Kate confronts her, causing Isabel to leave. Kate finally admits to Drew that she is in love with him. Drew experiences happiness, surprise, and confusion, so Kate leaves him alone to think about it. Drew breaks up with Isabel, meaning he has to give back all the appliances. While Drew is out, Lewis and Oswald decide to use the new washer before it goes. They strip off, but noticing the camera, Lewis covers it with a shirt. When it falls off, the viewers see Oswald washing Lewis in a small bath tub.

Production

"We want to see how the viewers respond to it and see how far we can push the internet in terms of simultaneous viewers to a stream." [1]

—Patricia Vance, the senior vice president of ABC's Internet Group, on the episode.

On October 11, 1999, ABC and Warner Bros. Television announced that parts of the November 17 episode of The Drew Carey Show would be broadcast simultaneously on television and the internet, a first for a primetime show. [2] The event would also mark the first time the internet arms of ABC and Warner Bros. would work together. [2] The companies hoped to target around 500,000 viewers of the estimated 4 million U.S. households with internet access that regularly watched the show. [1] [2] Richard Tedesco of Broadcasting & Cable reported that the video would be streamed using Microsoft's Windows Media Player. [1] ABC opted against simulcasting the full episode online as they were worried about a backlash from advertisers. The webcam footage was free of advertisements and audio, which would have caused the broadcast to fall out of sync. [2] [3]

The premise of the episode saw webcams installed in Drew's house after he becomes a 24-hour salesman for the Winfred-Louder department store where he works. [4] When Drew leaves his house, the webcams continue to stream events involving other characters that the television audience does not get to see. [5] Sequences include: Mr. Wick being tempted into his office by a woman wearing a dominatrix-cowgirl outfit; Ed McMahon bringing Drew a check for $10 million, only to find Drew is not home; the neighborhood dogs holding a party in the kitchen, dancing ghosts re-enacting a murder, [3] [5] and Oswald's "Belly Button Theater." [6]

Ed McMahon makes a cameo appearance during the webcast. Ed mcmahon 1990.jpg
Ed McMahon makes a cameo appearance during the webcast.

The idea for the episode came from Michael Becker, an ABC creative consultant. Bruce Helford, co-creator of The Drew Carey Show, ran with it, aware that a large number of the show's viewers had internet access. The previous year, ABC.com's servers became overwhelmed when viewers went to the site to participate in an April Fools' Day competition. [3] After being given the green light, Helford prepared scenes for the webcast, but most of his ideas rejected by the director, Sam Simon, and Carey himself. [3] Helford commented, "You can't do regular scenes for the Web. It's a tiny little picture. Little jokes get lost." [3] The episode was written by Holly Hester, based on Becker's idea. [5] Keeping the connection speeds in mind, Simon got the actors to slow down their movements for the pre-taped webcast, so they would not create a blurry effect on-screen. [7]

Since ABC did not own the online rights to The Drew Carey Show, the company had to negotiate with Warner Bros., where the show was produced. [3] Helford, executive producer Deborah Oppenheimer and ABC.com representatives met with Jim Banister and John Kaufman from Warner Bros. to discuss the event in June that year. [3] Banister and Kaufman thought The Drew Carey Show webcast would be "a great promotional opportunity." [3] John Geirland of Network World reported that companies spent more than six weeks debating who would host the webcast, how the web traffic would be shared and the details of promotion and advertising the event. [3] The production companies set up Winloud.com to host the webcast, while their respective websites linked to it. [8] The websites also hosted interactive features, exclusive features, cast biographies, photo galleries and video clips. [2] [8]

Media company RealNetworks entered into negotiations to distribute the webcast, but talks collapsed and ABC and Warner Bros. decided to go with Microsoft instead. [9] Since "Drew Cam" was going to be broadcast in three time zones, bringing in potentially thousands of online viewers, other partners were brought on board to help out. [3] These included: Akamai Technologies, Don Mischer Technologies, E-Media, Enron Communications, Globix, Ibeam, InterVu, SandPiper-Digital Island and Sonic Foundry Media Services. [10] Geirland observed that it took "an unprecedented degree of collaboration among the various network providers" to create the episode. [3] Helford predicted the event would be the biggest "in the history of the internet", even outperforming the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show webcast that aired earlier in the year. [11] Despite a small pre-air mistake, the episode and the webcast aired without any problems. [3]

Reception

Ratings

In its original broadcast, "Drew Cam" finished 19th in the ratings for the week of November 15–21, 1999 and was viewed by an estimated 11.2 million viewers. [12] It received an 8.6 ratings share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, and was the second highest-rated episode of the fifth season, following "Drew Live", which aired the week before. [5] The webcast had more viewers than many cable networks on the same night. [5] It attracted one of the largest online audiences watching a streaming media event in internet history. The website had close to two million visits, with 650,000 streams. [5] In three hours, 277,000 video segments were downloaded. [13]

Critical response

The episode received a mixed response from critics. Entertainment Weekly's Noah Robischon said the premise "sounds like typical high jinks for The Drew Carey Show." [6] Robischon also said, "Sure, it's gimmicky. But it's also a preview of TV's future." [6] Rik Fairlie from The New York Times branded the episode "one of the most ambitious, and winning, forays into Web/TV convergence." [13] Network World's John Geirland concurred, calling the episode "one of the most ambitious experiments in convergence programming to date." [3] David Bloom of the Sun-Sentinel thought the webcast was humorous. [14]

Patti Hartigan from The Boston Globe found the webcast "was little more than a marketing gimmick." [15] Tony Davis of The Sydney Morning Herald included the episode in his "TV previews" feature, but gave it a negative review. He stated, "Nineteen minutes of tosh masquerading as half an hour of comedy. The basic premise is that Drew and his mates are selling everyone (including themselves) via the Internet. A preamble on our preview tape advises you to see www.winloud.com if you want to have more fun. How you'd have less fun is hard to imagine." [16]

The Orlando Sentinel's Nancy Imperiale Wellons disliked the webcast and thought the episode was enough. She said, "While it was a novel idea, and a tip of the hat to tomorrow's convergence of television and the Web, the gimmick was hampered by today's technological limitations." [17] Wellons thought the webcast was "too small and dark to have much visual oomph". She also found the characters' dialogue during the episode was out of sync with the webcast. [17]

Related Research Articles

ER is an American medical drama television series created by Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994, to April 2, 2009, with a total of 331 episodes spanning 15 seasons. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Television, in association with Warner Bros. Television. ER follows the inner life of the emergency room (ER) of Cook County General Hospital, a fictionalized version of the real Cook County Hospital, in Chicago, and the various critical professional, ethical, and personal issues faced by the department's physicians, nurses, and staff.

A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, webcasting is "broadcasting" over the Internet.

<i>Hangin with Mr. Cooper</i> American television sitcom (1992–1997)

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 1992, to August 30, 1997, starring Mark Curry and Holly Robinson. The show took place in Curry's hometown of Oakland, California. The series chronicles Mark Cooper (Curry), an NBA player-turned-substitute teacher/gym coach, and his roommate Vanessa (Robinson).

<i>The F.B.I.</i> (TV series) American television series

The F.B.I. is an American police television series created by Quinn Martin and Philip Saltzman for ABC and co-produced with Warner Bros. Television, with sponsorship from the Ford Motor Company, Alcoa and American Tobacco Company in the first season. Ford sponsored the show alone for subsequent seasons. The series was broadcast on ABC from 1965 until its end in 1974. Starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Philip Abbott and William Reynolds, the series, consisting of nine seasons and 241 episodes, chronicles a group of FBI agents trying to defend the US government from unidentified threats. For the entirety of its run, it was broadcast on Sunday nights.

<i>George Lopez</i> (TV series) American sitcom

George Lopez, commonly referred to as The George Lopez Show, is an American sitcom created by George Lopez, Bruce Helford and Robert Borden, which originally aired for six seasons, consisting of 120 episodes, on ABC from March 27, 2002, to May 8, 2007. Helford and Borden also serve as showrunners and are executive producers. The show stars the titular comedian George Lopez, who plays a fictionalized version of himself, featuring his life at work and his family life in Los Angeles, California.

Bruce Lewis Helford is an American television writer and producer.

<i>The Drew Carey Show</i> American television sitcom (1995–2004)

The Drew Carey Show is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995, to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the comedian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Webcam model</span> Livestream video performer

A webcam model is a video performer who streams on the Internet with a live webcam broadcast. A webcam model often performs erotic acts online, such as stripping, masturbation, or sex acts in exchange for money, goods, or attention. They may also sell videos of their performances. Once viewed as a small niche in the world of adult entertainment, camming became "the engine of the porn industry," according to Alec Helmy, the publisher of XBIZ, a sex-trade industry journal.

<i>The O.C.</i> season 4 Season of television series

The fourth and final season of The O.C., an American teen drama television series, aired in the United States from November 2, 2006, to February 22, 2007, and consisted of 16 episodes. The O.C's final season aired Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET in the United States on Fox, a terrestrial television network. Fox tested a new timeslot by airing the second episode on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. ET against ABC's Lost and CBS's Criminal Minds. With Lost about to enter a three-month hiatus, Fox hoped that changing the timeslot for The O.C. would attract back viewers it had lost since the end of the previous season; however, the move was unsuccessful and the show returned to its Thursday timeslot.

Jennifer Kaye Ringley is an Internet personality and former lifecaster. She is widely regarded as the first camgirl. She is known for creating the popular website JenniCam. Previously, live webcams transmitted static shots from cameras aimed through windows or at coffee pots. Ringley's innovation was simply to allow others to view her daily activities. She was the first web-based "lifecaster". She retired from lifecasting at the end of 2003.

"New York and Queens" is the twenty-fourth episode and season finale of the second season of the American sitcom The Drew Carey Show, and the 46th overall. The episode centers on Drew and his friends taking a disastrous road trip to New York City. Upon returning to Cleveland, the group decide to attend a midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, only to be confronted by rival fans of its replacement The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. A dance-off between the two sets of fans then ensues.

"Pilot" is the first episode and the series premiere of the American sitcom The Drew Carey Show. It first aired on September 13, 1995, on the ABC network in the United States. The premise of the show revolves around the life Drew Carey would have lived if he had not become a stand-up comedian. The pilot introduces the main characters of Drew (Carey), Kate, Lewis and Oswald, as well as Drew's workplace, the fictional Winfred-Lauder department store, and enemy Mimi Bobeck.

"The Dog and Pony Show" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American sitcom The Drew Carey Show, and the 54th overall. The series focuses on the work and home life of a fictionalized version of actor and comedian Drew Carey. The episode first aired on November 12, 1997 on ABC in the United States. The episode's plot sees Mr. Wick pass off caring for his boss Mrs. Lauder's Hungarian Puli to his employee Drew. When Drew has the prize-winning dog shaved and neutered, he and his friends decide to perform a striptease at the local bar, The Warsaw Tavern, to earn quick cash to buy a replacement.

"Drew Live" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of the American sitcom The Drew Carey Show, and the 109th overall. The episode's plot focuses on Drew trying to stop his friend, Kate, from pursuing a relationship with a mystery man, as Drew is in love with her. However, Drew is unaware that he is stopping Kate from pursuing him. Meanwhile, Drew's brother Steve Carey and his fiancée Mimi Bobeck hold a joint bachelor and bachelorette party.

"In Ramada Da Vida" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom The Drew Carey Show, and the 77th overall. It first aired on September 30, 1998 on the ABC network in the United States. The plot of the episode sees Drew and his friends form a band to play at a Ramada Inn. After they are offered a regular gig by the hotel manager, they realise they need a guitarist and audition several hopefuls. Meanwhile, Kate O'Brien decides to quit her job to find something more fulfilling.

"Drew Carey's Back-to-School Rock 'n' Roll Comedy Hour" is a double-episode of the American television comedy series The Drew Carey Show, covering the first and second episodes of the seventh season, and the 155th and 156th episodes overall of the series. It first aired on September 26, 2001 on the ABC network in the United States. The episode, which does not follow the ongoing narrative of the sitcom, is formatted as a variety show, featuring the members of the cast along with guest stars Jenny McCarthy and Amanda Bynes performing comedy sketches out of character, loosely oriented around a middle/high school theme. Interspersed between sketches are musical performances from Sugar Ray, SHeDAISY, Smash Mouth, Uncle Kracker, and the Peter Frampton band.

"Drew Live II" is the fifth episode of the sixth season of the American sitcom The Drew Carey Show, and the 132nd overall. It first aired on November 8, 2000, on the ABC network in the United States. The episode's plot sees Drew open an employment agency, but he has trouble finding jobs for his friends Lewis Kiniski and Oswald Lee Harvey.

"Brotherhood of Man" is the 27th episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom The Drew Carey Show. It also serves as the show's 100th episode and the season finale. The plot sees the staff of Winfred-Louder given a month-long vacation by the new Dutch owners as the store is renovated, except for Drew Carey, who has to stay behind to make sure the wages are paid. He learns the owners plan to demolish the store putting the employees out of work. Drew then has to decide whether to inform his co-workers or take a promotion. Meanwhile, Drew's friend Oswald Lee Harvey buys a pay phone in order to make money.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Tedesco, Richard (October 18, 1999). "Intel set to invade Europe". Broadcasting & Cable . Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2013– via HighBeam Research.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Graser, Marc (October 12, 1999). "'Carey' simulcast will draw Web, TV auds". Variety . Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Geirland, John (November 23, 1999). "It's Drew Carey Time". Network World . Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  4. ↑ Wolk, Josh (October 12, 1999). "Blown Opportunity". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "ABC's 'The Drew Carey Show' Streaming Video Internet Event Breaks Records". PR Newswire. November 22, 1999. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 Robischon, Noah (November 19, 1999). "Prime Time TV Fuses with the Web". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  7. ↑ Karlin, Susan (November 2, 1999). "Telewebbing". Upside . Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  8. 1 2 "TV shows turning to internet sites". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal . November 6, 1999. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  9. ↑ Dunlap, Tom; Wright, Lara (November 20, 1999). "The week in review: Dawn of the "PC-plus" era?". CNET . Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  10. ↑ Graser, Marc (November 18, 1999). "'Drew's' 'Net result". Variety . Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  11. ↑ Moore, Scott (November 7, 1999). "Sitcom Star Suffers for His Art". The Washington Post . Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  12. ↑ "People's choice (television program ratings)". Broadcasting & Cable . November 29, 1999. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2014– via HighBeam Research.
  13. 1 2 Fairlie, Rik (January 16, 2000). "Television/Radio; Television and the Net Converge". The New York Times . Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  14. ↑ Bloom, David (November 29, 1999). "Warner Bros. Site Designed For Net Gains". Sun-Sentinel . Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  15. ↑ Hartigan, Patti (July 30, 2000). "What's wrong with this picture?". The Boston Globe . Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2013– via HighBeam Research.
  16. ↑ Davis, Tony (April 10, 2000). "TV previews". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  17. 1 2 Imperiale Wellons, Nancy (November 18, 1999). "'Drew Cam' Was Novel But Didn't Carry Concept Well". Orlando Sentinel . Retrieved October 28, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.