Fox Cancels Anchorwoman Reality Series Debuted with 1.0 Rating Wednesday Night
By Michael Malone & Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/23/2007 5:15:00 PM
In the tradition of highly promoted flops that lasted just a single episode like ABCs Emilys Reasons Why Not last year, Fox canceled Anchorwoman, a network spokesperson confirmed Thursday afternoon.
The show -- about a former model and World Wrestling Entertainment performer who becomes a news anchor -- debuted Wednesday night to a miniscule 1.0 rating in the adult 18-49 demo.
The network will air repeats of Til Death in its place for at least the next three weeks, but those anxious to see how Lauren Jones journalism career turned out can do so by catching unaired episodes at FOX.com and via the Fox On Demand service.
This completely flew under my radar, but I doubt I would have tuned in either. Also, calling Lauren Jones a "former WWE performer" seems charitable at best, but I suppose it'll give the newz boardz one more "WWE contributes to stink of another failure" headline.
For once I am glad that people in TV news can't be Nielsen households. If they were, I'm certain this would have been one of the highest rated shows in the history of television.
Now I don't have to listen to any more complaining about it.
"Tattoos are the mullets of the aughts." - Mike Naimark
The IMDB news section claims she actually wrestled. Leading up to the first episode, I heard radio interviews where she just said that she appeared in Smackdown! a few times. I am guessing she was in the Diva Search at one point.
'Anchorwoman' All Washed Up Fox's Anchorwoman , blasted by critics and ignored by viewers, has been yanked from the network after just a single episode. Last Wednesday's season debut attracted only 2.7 million viewers. The reality show, in which Lauren Jones, a former female wrestler and model (she was once a "Barker Beauty" on The Price Is Right), attempts to make it as a serious TV journalist at KYTX in Tyler, TX, will continue on the Internet however, on the Fox on Demand website at www.fox.com/fod.
I may forget this show, but I won't forget the billboard they used to advertise the station's new anchorwoman....A giant picture of her with the words, "She's Coming." Priceless.
I'm almost certain she never wrestled, and that includes Water Pouring matches and all that stuff. She was on TV in that really sad period from November '04 to February '05 when they thought the key was to put a bunch of hot women on TV all at once with no context. That was when Maria, Candice Michelle, Amy Weber (JBL's Cabinet), Joy Giovanni (Big Show's Friend), and Michelle McCool from the first diva search were all signed and first put on TV. Lauren Jones along with Rochelle Loewen were just models they signed and appeared on Smackdown a few times leading up to a Girl Contest of some sort at No Way Out. That was pretty much her only role of note, but if she left without any harassment from Orton or JBL, unlike some of the other girls, then she should probably be considered lucky.
The Rick had this (onlineonslaught.com) preview of No Way Out 2005 that included a short look at the "Rookie Diva 2005 Contest". Personally, I was putting my money on Lauren being a "Diva Dodgeball participant" before I looked it up. This PPV featured the JBL/Big Show Barbed Wire Steel Cage Title Match, as well as other classics such as Booker T vs Heidenreich, and Undertaker vs Luther Reigns...
Excerpt:
A Likely Waste of Time and Energy
So what's the deal here? I don't really know. I think they said something like there will be three events (swimsuit, evening gown, and talent?), that Veteran Divas Torrie and Dawn Marie will oversee the event, and that the fans will determine the winner.
The four "rookie" divas are: Joy Giovanni, Michelle McCool, Rochelle, and Lauren. Those last two, I honestly don't know what's going on... wasn't Rochelle originally a Useless RAW Diva? And I don't think I've ever seen this Lauren before in my entire life. Where the hell'd she come from? Further: why the hell should I care?
In any case, I don't really know a lot about these rookies, so I made a Very Special Visit to WWE.com to do research, and I came up with these tidbits of profile information to help YOU decide which of these women is the least objectionable.... I swear, I did NOT make any of this up (the girls submitted this information on their own). I only edited it slightly for length (OK, and maybe for my own amusement):
JOY GIOVANNI Lists Her Credentials As: "Licensed Massage Therapist" and "Special Friend of Big Show's" [again, NOT making this up! This is a REAL credential! I only changed it to be punctuated in a grammatically correct fashion!] Why You Should Vote For Her: "Just like Big Show is going to defeat JBL for the WWE Championship inside of the Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match, Ill defeat these other three girls and be named SmackDown!s hottest new Diva, because I know I can bring the most Joy in the long run." [OMG~! A Pun~! A subtle plug for an actual PPV wrestling match~! Joy is so SMRT~!]
LAUREN Lists Her Credentials As: "Actress on Guiding Light" and "Homecoming Queen" [HOMECOMING QUEEN?!? Does she want to get a job with WWE, or be accepted as a pledge to Kappa Delta Skank?]
ROCHELLE Why You Should Vote For Her: "Fans should vote for me because of the four, I have the most wonderful body, Im sweet, bubbly, funny, silly, and gorgeous." [She forgot to mention modest. Christ, get over yourself, honey; it's not like you're competing against The Women of the Department of Motor Vehicles.]
MICHELLE McCOOL Lists Her Credentials As: "Gymnast" and "Kick Boxer" Why You Should Vote For Her: "All the other girls are really beautiful, and Joy already has a lot of fans out there, so this ones gonna be tough. But I dont like to lose, and I really think Im the total package. Its easy to go and parade around the ring in skimpy clothes, but its a different thing to go out there show some athletic skills inside the ring, like I plan on doing here shortly."
The post extremist "bleeding edge" armor minus the blue lights and with a reversed color scheme? Ugly if you ask me. But i can see why they would avoid using the actual Extremis armor since they already used it with the mark VI in Iron Man 2.