$treet jousts Bull for yuppie broker viewers
Bull
Stephen Mykijewycz, WH '02
Issue date: 11/6/00 Section: Undergraduate
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The real reason why I have shirked my duty as Wharton Journal columnist this semester is because I have been watching a new TV series billed as the new show for the New Economy. Frankly, I watched the premier this summer because I thought it would be hilarious. I had just recently seen the awful movie Boiler Room and had similar expectations. While Bull has not achieved the purity of Wall Street as evidenced by juvenile name-dropping, it has unquestionably surpassed Boiler Room.
Bull is TNT’s first ever original dramatic series. It was created by one of the executive producers of the hit show Law & Order. Bull chronicles the adventures of a group of young motivated traders working for a stuffy Wall Street firm. These brave few risk it all and strike it out on their own. The stakes are even higher for the leader of the herd – he abandons the firm founded by his grandfather. In the first episode, the team musters the gusto needed to walk out on a comfortable New York lifestyle and start from scratch. From cold calling to lunches with old clients, the team tries hard to make ends meet.
The episodes continue to tell the story of the firm on Tuesdays nights at 10 p.m. on TNT. However, what makes Bull so appealing is that it does not kill you with an affected business pretense. I guess with the knowledge of a Law and Order mastermind on their side, the Bull producers have been able to mix love, money, hate, and most of the emotions in War and Peace in a one hour weekly series with the perfection you expect from the bartender mixing a martini at Pod.
So maybe I am being a little melodramatic, but this is precisely why this show is enjoyable. It isn’t overly dramatic. While at times Bull does border on soap opera, if taken with a grain of salt, the show can certainly be digested by any Wharton student. Again, this is because Bull has other topics aside from the inherent business nature of the series. Relationships and society are portrayed well in the show. If I had to pick a current TV show to watch, after the Simpsons and Third Rock, Bull would not be far behind.
Many people have caught Bull fever. TNT and CnnFN.com jointly promoted the show replete with an Internet contest to go along with the episode. Prominently promoted on the CnnFN’s site during the end of August, the "Bull Run" is a contest for people to manage a fictitious portfolio for various prizes such as a trip to the set.
This idea of managing a fictitious portfolio is really starting to bother me because it is sprouting up all over the web now. However, I suppose if you are an inveterate fan, may you should consider entering the Bull Run.
I guess that if I were a 14-year-old now, Bull and its accompanying Bull Run would be high on my mind right after fifth period lunch. For college age students, the business aspect of Bull will of course seem somewhat childish, but I urge you to sit back and get ready to laugh at the name dropping (I can nearly assure you at least one Goldman Sachs reference) while soaking in the high drama.
Bull is TNT’s first ever original dramatic series. It was created by one of the executive producers of the hit show Law & Order. Bull chronicles the adventures of a group of young motivated traders working for a stuffy Wall Street firm. These brave few risk it all and strike it out on their own. The stakes are even higher for the leader of the herd – he abandons the firm founded by his grandfather. In the first episode, the team musters the gusto needed to walk out on a comfortable New York lifestyle and start from scratch. From cold calling to lunches with old clients, the team tries hard to make ends meet.
The episodes continue to tell the story of the firm on Tuesdays nights at 10 p.m. on TNT. However, what makes Bull so appealing is that it does not kill you with an affected business pretense. I guess with the knowledge of a Law and Order mastermind on their side, the Bull producers have been able to mix love, money, hate, and most of the emotions in War and Peace in a one hour weekly series with the perfection you expect from the bartender mixing a martini at Pod.
So maybe I am being a little melodramatic, but this is precisely why this show is enjoyable. It isn’t overly dramatic. While at times Bull does border on soap opera, if taken with a grain of salt, the show can certainly be digested by any Wharton student. Again, this is because Bull has other topics aside from the inherent business nature of the series. Relationships and society are portrayed well in the show. If I had to pick a current TV show to watch, after the Simpsons and Third Rock, Bull would not be far behind.
Many people have caught Bull fever. TNT and CnnFN.com jointly promoted the show replete with an Internet contest to go along with the episode. Prominently promoted on the CnnFN’s site during the end of August, the "Bull Run" is a contest for people to manage a fictitious portfolio for various prizes such as a trip to the set.
This idea of managing a fictitious portfolio is really starting to bother me because it is sprouting up all over the web now. However, I suppose if you are an inveterate fan, may you should consider entering the Bull Run.
I guess that if I were a 14-year-old now, Bull and its accompanying Bull Run would be high on my mind right after fifth period lunch. For college age students, the business aspect of Bull will of course seem somewhat childish, but I urge you to sit back and get ready to laugh at the name dropping (I can nearly assure you at least one Goldman Sachs reference) while soaking in the high drama.