I really think the networks are missing a trick when they run series like this.
I completely understand that the desire to get to 100 episodes is enormous for syndication, but surely the long term future of those big syndication paydays is limited in the future? Are we still going to watch TV like that? If you want to see something on demand you go to iTunes, Netflix, Amazon or wherever. You can probably pick up the DVD boxset relatively inexpensively and avoid annoying commercials. But while there's cash to be made, I get it. However that only really works with sitcoms and procedurals where everything is - broadly speaking - reset at the end of each epsiode. Sure there are arcs running even on CSIs and L&Os, but there's minimal requirement for viewers to stay glued. And that's as well because if a show's being stripped across a week, then who's really going to find time to watch a show that way? To me, the boxset culture - either in physical discs or downloads - means that having stories with a beginning, middle and end become really important. Even if ABC decides that there's no future for The Last Resort, the show has no residual value unless you finish the story somehow. Perhaps the economics of boxsets and international sales doesn't outweight the potential loss of advertising revenue from reruns of something more popular, but I suspect the balance is getting closer. In the UK, SyFy has just started showing The River. But why would I invest any time in watching it? I know that there are only 8 or so epsiodes made because Wikipedia tells me so. And I doubt all the loose ends are tied up before ABC got nervous and cancelled it. So to start watching it would be akin to reading a novel that I know is missing the second half of its pages. And audiences are probably tiring of these shows being run like this and then cancelled. Why should I begin to invest time in this series until I know there's an end? The mini-series/cable model really does seem to work. You know you're going to get all 10/12 episodes of a cable series. There'll be an end of some description. And if the show's on HBO, they've already renewed it after episode 2 so you know you're not wasting your time with the show in the sense it'll get somewhere. The Walking Dead or even a miniseries like The Hatfields and McCoys (coming to the UK this week) seem to do gangbuster numbers. Commission 2 x 10/12 episode series for a timeslot in year. Fashion them so there's an ending - but perhaps with an opening for a continuation if needed. If a show fails - well you can still package for DVD/download/international, and you've still got another bite of the cherry in January when your other series airs. And if it suceeds, repeat next year or extend. Build demand in the meantime. Adam On Sun, Oct 21, 2012 at 7:40 PM, K.M. Richards <[email protected]> wrote: > I have an even better indicator of a show's potential to make it to season > two. > > For the last several years, any show on the big three (I haven't liked > anything on Fox or CW enough to care) I liked enough to watch on a regular > basis was cancelled no later than mid-second season. The one exception > that comes to mind was Heroes, but I started tiring of it by the end of its > second season and I was somewhat amazed it made it to season four. > > I've thought the BBC model, as discussed elsewhere in this thread, should > be the way drama series such as Last Resort or Heroes are produced (ongoing > ensemble cast series such as Grey's Anatomy and the NCIS group seem to work > okay under the traditional U.S. model). Yes, yes, I get the desire for 100 > episodes for syndication, but sitcoms are the 200-ton gorilla in that > resale market and most drama series end up doing the bulk of their repeats > on cable, where the BBC model wouldn't be as much of a hindrance. > > Not that I believe the industry cares what I think. > > -- > TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "TV or Not TV" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en > -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
