Wer'e going to lose a lot of good shows

[Punisher]

I just read in Entertainment Weekly that networks are going to start giving the axe to shows whose first two or so episodes do poorly. This is terrible news because many of the great tv shows started off slowly and then took off. I think they should at least give new shows six or seven weeks before wiping them out completely.

[Magneto_X]

Crap.

This is awful.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

This is part of the reason Broadcast Networks are losing ground. Now if you have Martha Stewart's show which is losing and losing viewers to the point it should be cancelled then...yeah. But if you have a show thats clicking slowly , you should try and grow its fanbase.

[Elias Bogan]

I heard that ABC is giving 'Invasion' one more shot this week. If it looses overall viewers (and especially those in the 18-49 demo) then it is done. 'Night Stalker' will get its slot.

[Arune Singh]

I heard that ABC is giving 'Invasion' one more shot this week. If it looses overall viewers (and especially those in the 18-49 demo) then it is done. 'Night Stalker' will get its slot.

?

As far as I know, "Invasion" has one of the highest debuts this fall and is doing quite well with critics. It bored me, but I think it has a strong audience.

[Magneto_X]

Guess this gives network execs even better reasons to axe shows they hate (ala Firefly). :(

[Scorpion13]

I just read in Entertainment Weekly that networks are going to start giving the axe to shows whose first two or so episodes do poorly. This is terrible news because many of the great tv shows started off slowly and then took off. I think they should at least give new shows six or seven weeks before wiping them out completely.


Good job, pin heads. Kill everything that doesnt take off like a rocket, huh? If the lesson that not every show that ends up being a rating juggernaut (Cheers, Seinfeld etc.) starts out a hit hasnt sunk in yet, well, say bye bye. Most cable channels give just about any show that premiers a good 12 episodes at least. At least they give them a chance to succede.

[Steve]

Well, if the networks are looking for candidiates, here are two:

Sex, Love, & Secrets (UPN)
Just Legal (UPN)

I've watched both and think they can actually cure insomnia.

[DDM]

The reason Head Cases was cut so fast is the second episode lost 50% of its viewers. A show cannot exist in today's television market & lose 50% of its audience. The producer whined like a baby.

[Sanagi]

You wouldn't think it would be so hard to understand - Make a good show and people will come to like it, maybe not overnight, but it'll happen. But the network executives only understand numbers and hype.

[Elias Bogan]

Arune:

Actually no. The show has dropped viewers (and demo) every single half hour it has been on the air. For example, in the 10:00 half hour, it had a 7.5 in the demo but dropped to 6.5 in the second half hour. People are bashing it as boring all around the net. A show that looses viewers for four consecutive half hours is not going to last. Night Stalker and CiC both gained share, viewers and demo in the second half hours.

[Arune Singh]

Arune:

Actually no. The show has dropped viewers (and demo) every single half hour it has been on the air. For example, in the 10:00 half hour, it had a 7.5 in the demo but dropped to 6.5 in the second half hour. People are bashing it as boring all around the net. A show that looses viewers for four consecutive half hours is not going to last. Night Stalker and CiC both gained share, viewers and demo in the second half hours.

Didn't know! The show had over 16 million initial viewers, so I guess I assumed it was doing well and the ads for the show highlighted response from critics.

Thanks for the info.

And now...

[Arune Singh]

I just read in Entertainment Weekly that networks are going to start giving the axe to shows whose first two or so episodes do poorly. This is terrible news because many of the great tv shows started off slowly and then took off. I think they should at least give new shows six or seven weeks before wiping them out completely.

That's not what EW said. The article says that shows are looking for larger audiences at first and won't be cancelled out of the gate, but explicity mentioned "Head Cases" as an exception to the rule because of the horrible ratings. There was NO statement to support your contention.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Any show that loses 50% of its rating the next week is pretty sure to be cancelled . I mean there was the XFL but Vince had a deal to keep it on for weeks and by the end NBC was thankin jesus it was over. It made the 50% drop by Headcases look like blimp on the radar screen.

[Magneto_X]

You wouldn't think it would be so hard to understand - Make a good show and people will come to like it, maybe not overnight, but it'll happen. But the network executives only understand numbers and hype.

It doesn't help that they do their best to kill shows for stupid or political reasons (re: Firefly, Angel).

[Gaz]

Good job, pin heads. Kill everything that doesnt take off like a rocket, huh? If the lesson that not every show that ends up being a rating juggernaut (Cheers, Seinfeld etc.) starts out a hit hasnt sunk in yet, well, say bye bye. Most cable channels give just about any show that premiers a good 12 episodes at least. At least they give them a chance to succede.
Hell, even The Simpsons needed a while to take off. It was up against Cosby and got SLAUGHTERED at the beginning (not as bad as it would have been with a lesser show, but still pretty bad)

[Sean Whitmore]

It doesn't help that they do their best to kill shows for stupid or political reasons (re: Firefly, Angel).


Angel might have been political, but didn't Firefly have crap ratings?

And I realize that the crap ratings were caused by Fox putting it on Friday night, pre-empting half the episodes, showing the rest out of order, etc. But they were crap nonetheless, and that only proves they didn't know how to handle the show, not that they were trying to get rid of it.


SEAN