Geophyrd
04-May-2006, 01:21 PM
Ok, I'm really pretty annoyed about American TV. Since I've only ever watched a foreign tv once or twice, I can't speak for it. But damned if they could be any more stupid than American TV seems to be.
Yesterday, they cancelled Commander In Chief. Its not that the show was great, although it was pretty good. TV did it to themselves, shot themselves in the foot yet again.
Here's whats bugging me:
1). If a TV show carries a dramatic arc, it ought to be shown in order and (hopefully) more than once a week. You miss one episode of 24 and you're screwed for the rest of the season. This has killed many a great show...Firefly (great show) being a good example.
2). If there has to be a hiatus, let it be a maximum of 1 week. Commander in Chief didn't just fail for its managerial changes. No one knew when the thing was one. It went a month and a half without a new episode and then they put it on another night. I don't know a single show out there that's capable of carrying a dramatic arc for a month and a half. I don't remember what CiC's cliffhanger was before their big hiatus but its return would have just elicited a yawn from me had I known it was one. On the other hand, I waited a year and a half for Sopranos...
3). FX, HBO, Showtime seem to have the right ideas when it comes to their programming. Finish the season and then repeat the last two. I defy anyone who wanted to see The Shield, Rescue Me, Sopranos, Deadwood, L Word, etc that couldn't find it.
4). Sweeps weeks are ruining TV! How much better would TV be if sweeps was done by random sampling throughout a year? Instead of reruns until sweeps and then reruns until the next sweeps, we'd have quality programming more constantly. Its why I have trouble recalling what the hell I saw three weeks ago on the last new episode of Lost (yes, I know it was a new one last night...I'm making a point)
5). When a show is cancelled...cancel it. Fat Actress is still 'on hiatus' and Kirstie Alley is no longer fat. Sleeper Cell (great show which was killed by a moronic marketing campaigh) is probably never coming back but at least tell me so I stop looking for it! Other shows, like Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Family Business were in the can ages ago and they simply never got around to showing it. BTW, Family Business did start up again a week ago. Bull****, the Penn and Teller show, is also back but they're showing like 2 new episodes a week. Only way I discovered it was by looking at Showtime's website.
6). Stop cancelling shows that are really good. If the economics no longer work, then rework the economics. The only good reason to cancel The West Wing is because the actors cost too much. Get some new actors. Better yet, get Aaron Sorkin back and working! I only hope that Battlestar Galactica doesn't run into the same problems. I only worry because with the announcement of the new series, Caprica, I don't want them to retire BSG before I get a chance to sleep with Starbuck.
Make now mistake...its a golden age of TV. There's a lot of TV that's better than any movie out there (and crap too...MoH was crap IMHO)
Now if they'd quit screwing it up...
Yesterday, they cancelled Commander In Chief. Its not that the show was great, although it was pretty good. TV did it to themselves, shot themselves in the foot yet again.
Here's whats bugging me:
1). If a TV show carries a dramatic arc, it ought to be shown in order and (hopefully) more than once a week. You miss one episode of 24 and you're screwed for the rest of the season. This has killed many a great show...Firefly (great show) being a good example.
2). If there has to be a hiatus, let it be a maximum of 1 week. Commander in Chief didn't just fail for its managerial changes. No one knew when the thing was one. It went a month and a half without a new episode and then they put it on another night. I don't know a single show out there that's capable of carrying a dramatic arc for a month and a half. I don't remember what CiC's cliffhanger was before their big hiatus but its return would have just elicited a yawn from me had I known it was one. On the other hand, I waited a year and a half for Sopranos...
3). FX, HBO, Showtime seem to have the right ideas when it comes to their programming. Finish the season and then repeat the last two. I defy anyone who wanted to see The Shield, Rescue Me, Sopranos, Deadwood, L Word, etc that couldn't find it.
4). Sweeps weeks are ruining TV! How much better would TV be if sweeps was done by random sampling throughout a year? Instead of reruns until sweeps and then reruns until the next sweeps, we'd have quality programming more constantly. Its why I have trouble recalling what the hell I saw three weeks ago on the last new episode of Lost (yes, I know it was a new one last night...I'm making a point)
5). When a show is cancelled...cancel it. Fat Actress is still 'on hiatus' and Kirstie Alley is no longer fat. Sleeper Cell (great show which was killed by a moronic marketing campaigh) is probably never coming back but at least tell me so I stop looking for it! Other shows, like Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Family Business were in the can ages ago and they simply never got around to showing it. BTW, Family Business did start up again a week ago. Bull****, the Penn and Teller show, is also back but they're showing like 2 new episodes a week. Only way I discovered it was by looking at Showtime's website.
6). Stop cancelling shows that are really good. If the economics no longer work, then rework the economics. The only good reason to cancel The West Wing is because the actors cost too much. Get some new actors. Better yet, get Aaron Sorkin back and working! I only hope that Battlestar Galactica doesn't run into the same problems. I only worry because with the announcement of the new series, Caprica, I don't want them to retire BSG before I get a chance to sleep with Starbuck.
Make now mistake...its a golden age of TV. There's a lot of TV that's better than any movie out there (and crap too...MoH was crap IMHO)
Now if they'd quit screwing it up...