Will Dexter move to CBS ? And, do you really want that ?
By fred | December 5, 2007
As you may have heard, writers are on strike at the moment. They’ve been striking for a few weeks already, and sadly it doesn’t seem to be coming to a resolution soon. And here is yet another indication that studios aren’t really optimistic about it : CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves said he was “hopeful [but] not terribly optimistic” about the resumption of on-going talks, and so CBS is preparing itself a full schedule for midseason, strike-proof.
After having already announced their schedule going over January and February, they’re now considering the possibility of stealing shows from Showtime, owned by CBS Corporation as well, in order to get new content on the air. And amongst the series being considered for such a move is, of course, Dexter.
Why is that ? Simply because that the very show that established new records for ShowTime.
But this now brings the question : do we really want that ? I’m saying no!
And that’s not even because I personally thought the first season, or what I saw of it which is about the first half of it, really sucked.
But like most shows on cable, Dexter’s episodes are about 50 to 55 minutes long, whereas they’ll have to be retooled or tweaked to get to CBS, where an episode must be about 42 minutes long. I may not like the show, but I’m sure those who do would hate that very idea, because even if you take some petty awesome show, like The Sopranos, cutting it and trying to “adapt” it in order to get it out of cable and DVD only gets a messed up results.
One that fans will hate, and that will give an awfully wrong idea about what the show is (like) to those who had never watched it “for real”.
Sure, Dexter or Weeds - also considered - might be better than some crappy reality TV or reruns, but the actual shows would be, not butchered versions of them. And beyond that, I’m not sure I like this idea for a couple more reasons :
- Some people actually pat to watch Showtime and the exclusive series they have. Sure, CBS would get some heavily cut and censored version (yeah cause it’s cable, so on Dexter they they love to throw as many “fuck” and “motherfucker” as they can… to make it more “real”, I guess) but still.
- I hate morons who declare themselves “not worried” about the strike, because they can handle it just fine without writers. “Sure, ratings will drop, but so will production cost” they say. Yeah, but you still need writers, idiot, if you’re trying to go get some of their work elsewhere. Because they are the ones making good television in the first place, they are the ones responsible for creating what will drag millions of us in front of your network, so cut the crap and go help making a deal happen instead!
PS: And don’t forget that once the strike is over, production costs will grew back up. Ratings on the other hand, maybe not. Not as much, not if the strike last for too long. Here’s a hint : next year will definitely be way too long!
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