OPENING DAY!

I didn’t know what to expect when I decided to watch the October 30th debut of Phil Robertson’s new show “In the Woods with Phil” on CRTV …

• I didn’t expect an episode called “Ruffling Feathers,” an 8-minute clip showing how to pluck a duck and the fact that it is a God-given food source.
• I didn’t expect an episode called “Philin Groovy,” an 8-minute clip showing Phil on a multi-wheel ATV sitting on a dirt road explaining the peace and quiet found in the woods and tips on deer hunting,
• And I certainly didn’t expect an episode called “All My Ducks in a Row,” a 9-minute clip taking us on a tour of Phil’s garage and explaining how he organizes everything for duck hunting season and fattens up local deer.

I think I expected a television-style program instead of a series of pleasant vignettes of Phil’s life as seen through a camera lens.

Also, I think I expected a little more considering how the program was sold to the potential CRTV audience …

In the Woods with Phil -- What does a man do when liberals try to run him out of town for quoting a Bible verse? He goes deep into the woods and starts a fire. Join Phil Robertson like you’ve never seen him before. No middlemen, no PC police — just truth, from Phil’s mouth to your screen. (Preorder Campaign - CRTV)

Phil Robertson is starting a fire in the woods. Big news! Duck Commander Phil Robertson is BACK with his uncensored, unfiltered, exclusive new show. (Fox News Clips)

Phil Robertson to Star in New Show That Will "Reject Political Correctness"  The former star of 'Duck Dynasty' will court controversy on conservative digital network CRTV's 'In the Woods With Phil.'  Phil Robertson is getting his own show again, and it promises to be much more of a vehicle for his irreverent take on politics than Duck Dynasty ever was. (Hollywood Reporter)

The fact that Phil’s woodsy setting is exotic to a city-dweller; the fact that Phil totes a semi-automatic rifle with a large-capacity clip; and the fact that Phil kills animals and eats them – just does not impress me as controversial, even though I live in California.

Bottom line …

Ho hum!

All programs take time to mature, but I see this program as a rather small-format extension of the family’s successful Duck Dynasty program without his colorful family and friends in staged and scripted commercial outdoorsiness. Unless it gets better faster and delivers meaningful content, it might just go the way of the Mark Steyn show which disappeared in a flurry of lawsuits after a few episodes.

Something is going on with CRTV, and I see this current effort as little more than a blatant attempt at increasing its paid ($79 – $99/year) audience. While it advertises as being commercial free, you can see continual self-promotion within each show.

I am more concerned with Mark Levin’s slide to Trumpism – possibly at the urging of the man said to be behind CRTV. Billionaire Republican donor Cary Katz who made his fortune merchandising student loans and whose business was eviscerated when Obama nationalized the school loan guarantee program as part of the Affordable Care Act. I had always wondered why CRTV was located in Las Vegas and had traces to Poker – until I found out the Katz is one of the best Poker players in the world and the one who launched Poker Central.

Wait and watch.

-- steve