Yet none of that charisma comes
through in his home life as shown on VH1’s
“Hogan
Knows Best” Sundays at 9:30 p.m. In fact,
as reality personas go, Hogan is as dull as
his wrestling persona was interesting. And fans
who initially tuned in to watch a wrestling
legend in the role of paterfamilias are tuning
out.
For its July 10 premiere,
the show delivered 1.9 million viewers 18-49
and was the highest-rated series premiere in
VH1 history. Last week, the week ended July
24, the show’s third episode was down
to 1.2 million viewers, a 40 percent drop.
Among 18-34s, “Hogan”
debuted to 1.3 million and was No. 3 among cable
shows for the week in that demo. Last week the
show declined 37 percent, to an average of just
826,000 viewers.
“He is not as out there
as some of the other reality types” on
VH1’s Sunday Celebreality block, says
Bill Carroll, director of programming at Katz
Television Group. “In that context, with
Janice Dickerson preceding [on ‘Surreal
Life’] and Gary
Busey
following [on ‘Celebrity
Fit Club'],
the Hulkster seems less outrageous.”
Indeed, Hogan comes across
as your everyday over-protective dad. In episode
one, he grills daughter Brooke’s suitor
as they prepare for a first date. In episode
two, Hogan gets choked up when son Nick blows
him off for a new girlfriend.
Anyone who has read his colorful
comments on celebrity cat fights in Us
Weekly
would have expected more.
And that includes the critics,
who have not been kind. “The challenge
with a straightforward series premise of day-to-day
family life is finding people who come off as
either a little crazy (Ozzy
and Sharon Osbourne
and their children) or at least a little clever,”
writes The
New York Times’
Anita Gates. “The Hogans are neither,
at least not on camera.” There's
more where this cam from. |
