Let’s start canceling already!
By fred | October 2, 2007
This is so pathetic it’s not even funny anymore. You know how network executives loves to cancel show so soon people didn’t had a (fair) chance to watch them ? But with a little luck though, your naive self was trying to invest time in new series, started watching, so you end up once again pissed that your new favorite show is already gone, after starting airing liking 20 minutes ago or so?
And already, first reports are popping out, about how industry observers are concerned about the absence of a breakout series. That’s about this season. Yes, that one, where new series premiered day ago - for those that did premiered already - and they pretty much only have ONE single episode out.
Really, how stupid is this?
So we hear that only two new shows may have a chance. A chance to to become a potential hit series, that is. Because what matters is not that it does well, or very well, it has to be a major hit to stay on the air.
And, it has to happen RIGHT NOW! Seriously, only one episode aired, people are only starting to talk about them and see which shows they want to give a try… and those morons expect to have a hit already.
Even though many shows premiered on the same time slot as others, or season premiere of returning, well established series. None of that matters, new shows should be an instant hit because it’s TV, and TV is magic, I guess.
Even over at Nielsen they know people’s ways to watch TV have evolved, and they take into consideration DVR viewership, as the percentage of DVR homes in their sample went to 20%, up to 9% last year - or they will, numbers aren’t out yet already. But who cares, right?
Don’t than comfort in the idea that those “people” commenting and worrying are ad executives, they will sadly have an effect on TV schedules.
I just believe that anyone able to say today, only one week within the new season, something like “They better be worried, very worried. The new season isn’t starting well” — every one of them deserves to die.
Too much? I don’t think so, but at the very least they should get fired. And beaten up. Really.
Another thing those people need to understand : it’s not only the way viewers watch TV that is evolving - but it is, someone please let them know - it goes further than that. Series themselves are evolving, with the success of serialized shows with a different approach to stories, today’s series do not always have to potential to last for 10 years, even the best one.
Take Prison Break for example. It should have been a two season series at most. Not because the quality faded, or because the success wasn’t there anymore, but because that’s how the story is written, with serialized series you cannot drag them over years and years.
That’s why saying something like this proves you have no idea of how the business you work in is evolving, and you have no idea of the reality of today’s world : “The programs are not qualitatively as strong as previous seasons. What we need to watch the most is if the shelf life on existing dramas have shortened because so many have begun their decline earlier than the normal five-season (cycle)“.
The worst part is that the shows that have a chance, according to those brain-dead execs, are Bionic Woman and Private Practice, in other words none of the best new series of the season. I mean please, anything but Private Practice.
People heard a lot about those, and as a result they tuned in. Give it time. Now that they’ve seen what the buzz was really all about, they most likely are - I sure hope so - to switch to better quality series like Life, or even Journeyman.
Posted in News
Shows: Bionic Woman, Journeyman, Life, Private Practice
