''12 Angry Viewers'' is a daily half-hour television show in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. In it, a public jury judged

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

s. It ran from 1997 to 1998. The title is a play of title of the movies ''

12 Angry Men ''Twelve Angry Men'' is an American courtroom drama written by Reginald Rose concerning the jury of a homicide trial. It was broadcast initially as a television play in 1954. The following year it was adapted for the stage. It was adapted for a ...

'' and the 1997 TV remake, which aired a month before, that covers a jury deliberation. Winning videos were then shown more often on MTV. Its first host was Jancee Dunn, with

Ananda Lewis Ananda Lewis (born March 21, 1973) is an American television host, carpenter, former model, and social activist. She was an MTV veejay from the late 1990s until 2001, when she left the network to host her own broadcast syndicated television tal ...

replacing her later on.

Premise

The "12 Angry Viewers" were selected from 18 to 24-year-old MTV viewers who auditioned at MTV's studios in New York City. Through the course of a week they would watch several "brand new" videos and select a finalist at the end of each episode. On Friday a winner was selected from among the four finalists and put into "heavy rotation" on the network. In actuality the 12 viewers filmed five episodes over the course of one day, after being selected from a group of walk-in auditioners who did a "test viewing" in an observed room. Some auditions were held on campuses or locations for special events such as spring break. The format of the show was tweaked for several events, such as ''12 Angry Spring Breakers'', in which the hottest male/female video star was selected, and ''12 Angry VJs'', which aired during 1998's ''Wanna Be a VJ'' and featured 12 former VJs. The show's final episodes were taped in

Seaside Heights, New Jersey Seaside Heights is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 2,887,Gina G Gina G (born Gina Mary Gardiner, 3 August 1970) is an Australian singer who represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996, with the song " Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. The ...

's 1996 single " Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" in 1998. However, this video was only played on select shows such as ''The Grind'' and never saw a lot of rotation on the channel.

History

The show was created during MTV's programming overhaul in 1997, which was partially in response to criticism for playing fewer music videos as it had in the past. It was originally considered for development as a segment of '' MTV Live''.

MTV Russia MTV Russia or MTV Россия (russian: МТВ Россия) was a Russian music and entertainment TV channel, which carried out its broadcasting from September 25, 1998 to May 31, 2013. On October 1, 2013, MTV Russia was relaunched as a satel ...

had a version of ''12 Angry Viewers'' called ' which started in 1999 sporadically until present with several different styles and hosts. Some season were "in which intellectuals and others debate music videos."

Reviews

In 2013, Louis Virtel wrote for

NewNowNext Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progr ...

that the show was #7 of MTV's 10 Most Underrated Series where members "fought over which clips ruled the roost" and "see fabulous vids by Bjork, Portishead, or Daft Punk." In 2015, James Sheldon wrote for Fame10 placing it at #9 on Worst MTV Produced Shows because, "The viewers were coached to be outspoken, controversial if necessary and highly energetic. This made the show insufferable."

Videos that won ''12 Angry Viewers''

Propellerheads Propellerheads were an English electronic music duo, formed in 1995 in Bath and consisting of Will White and Alex Gifford. History Their first release was an EP named ''Dive!'', released in 1996 through the independent label Wall of Sound. ...

- "History Repeating" * Portishead - "Only You" *

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic styles such as techno, ambient, and jungle. Journalists from publicati ...

- "Come to Daddy" *

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

- "Bachelorette" * Fretblanket - "Into The Ocean" *

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

- "Around the World" *

Jason Nevins Jason Nevins (born December 15, 1972) is an American songwriter, record producer and remixer, who is most widely known for his pop and dance productions, including his multi-platinum, multi-million selling production of " It's Like That" by Ameri ...

VS.

Run DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history ...

"It's Like That" (scored 59 out of 60) * Lusk "Backworlds" * Def Squad "Rapper's Delight" *

Royal Crown Revue Royal Crown Revue was a band formed in 1989 in Los Angeles, California. They have been credited with starting the swing revival movement. Career The band contained Mark and Adam Stern. Other members included Daniel Glass Daniel Glass is an ...

- "Barflies at the Beach" *

Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise was an American band from Detroit, Michigan. The group was a collaboration between Robert Bradley, a blind street singer, and three rock musicians. History It formed in 1994 when former members of the band S ...

- "Once Upon A Time"

References

External links

{{MTVNetwork Shows MTV original programming MTV weekday shows 1997 American television series debuts 1998 American television series endings 1990s American music television series English-language television shows