It's Always the Better Shows

[Andara Bledin]

So, there are a slew of new shows on TV this season, some good, some not-so-good.

One of the ones that I've been enjoying and that most of the people I've talked to have been enjoying is 666 Park Ave.

ABC, in their infinite wisdom, put the show to air at 10pm on Sunday. I have to ask: Do people actually watch TV that late on a Sunday night?

What is it with the really interesting and edgy series not making it past the first season?

I found a show on Netflix called The Gates some time back that was also really good, different, and that I wanted to keep watching, but it never made it past the first season. It's worth noting that this was another ABC program given the 10pm Sunday time slot. Is that where they stick shows they want to kill or something?

Anyway... If, like me, you are a fan of 666 Park Avenue, there's a few petitions out there to save it, including This One.

^-.-^

[hinakiba777]

I was shocked when I learned they were cancelling this show. It's not fair that just because I'm not a Nielsen Family that all my favorite shows get cancelled. I honestly have never met anyone who was in a Nielsen Family, but I would love to know what are their watching habits. There are so many great shows that I have watched that I know other people are also watching regularly that have gotten cancelled. Yet shows that I have no one I know are watching stay on the air.

I'm not referring to Todders and Tiaras or Jersey Shore because I know people who watch that stuff ironically. But there are shows I will stumble on when watching TV that look like shit, and when I ask everyone I know if they watch it, they confirm they have not. Yet I turn on the TV and it's still there.

Body of Proof is another ABC show that I loved that got cancelled after only a few episodes, much to my shock. However, it did eventually return, but ABC never advertises for it. So I wasn't even aware it got green light for a third season. ABC is honestly one of the first networks for cancelling awesome shows. They may even be worse than FOX. Fox cancelling Futurama, Family Guy, Greg the Bunny, Arrested Development and a million other wonderful shows.

Honestly, I wish I knew how to get a Nielsen box.

[Duelist925]

I don't know what it is. It's like, if I LIKE a show, it doesn't make it past a season.

Alcatraz--fucking excelent series, SO damn intrigueing, and such a cool mystery--fucked.

Terra Nova--Awesome sci fi, time travel, DINOSAURS, more mystery!--fucked.

V--it got TWO seasons! I thought it was safe! it was GOOD for a remake! --fucked late.

I was fucking shocked that Grimm got a second season.

it's gotten to the point where I'm starting to not want to watch new shows for fear of being screwed over by it getting cancelled.

[Nekojin]

Wait until it hits Season 7, and pick up the boxed sets?

(Bones says, come watch me!)

[Andara Bledin]

Alcatraz--fucking excelent series, SO damn intrigueing, and such a cool mystery--fucked.

This one wasn't the strongest, but it was damned interesting and I was pissed it got canned. I wanted to see where the hell they were going with it. But it was on Fox, so it was pretty much doomed.

Terra Nova--Awesome sci fi, time travel, DINOSAURS, more mystery!--fucked.

Terra Nova, however, was fan-fucking-tastic, and there was no reason not to keep it. It had good ratings. Fox are bastards.

I was fucking shocked that Grimm got a second season.

Hey, now. Don't be hating on Grimm.... That's one of my faves from last season and I'd miss it were it gone. NBC doesn't suck.

And with how crappy ABC has been, I'm actually surprised that Castle is still on. I love that show. And they kept Once Upon a Time, too. I think they might have been lynched if they hadn't.

^-.-^

[Sarah Valentine]

Gcb

GCB was a good, funny show it only ran for one season. It was based off the book Good Christian Bitches and it's basically Desperate Housewives in a very, VERY heavily christian Dallas. (the religious part is played for comedy because it was pitched and marketed that way) I was waiting for a second season only to find out it was canceled so I look further and see it was so popular it had 12 million viewers, to me that didn't make sense so I look further still and find that a small group of religious nutbags thought that a religious comedy was too offensive and insulting. They went even further and said they would never let their kids watch such horrible trash and that it had to be canceled immediately! It came on at 9 at night on a sunday, it was created to be a comedy and was marketed that way, from what I read they wanted the show canceled halfway through the season I thank the network for having the balls to finish the season. However I hate the network for giving in and canceling the show anyway.

[Andara Bledin]

GCB was on the late Sunday slot on ABC. What is it with ABC and the late Sunday slot?

^-.-^

[Sarah Valentine]

Maybe they like making 1 season shows? If so they should just advertise them as such, my mom liked 666 Park Avenue I never got into it though.

[AdminAssistant]

Terra Nova, however, was fan-fucking-tastic, and there was no reason not to keep it. It had good ratings. Fox are bastards.

I think the issue with Terra Nova was cost. It didn't matter that it had high ratings, it still wasn't profitable because it was so expensive to make. I guess they didn't think they could pull a Walking Dead season 2 and spend half a season pretending the dinosaurs didn't exist.

The thing is - we aren't network TV's demographic. They want old people and families. Those are the people the advertisers want, so those are the people the network wants. They know single people or DINK's in the 18-35 age group are more likely to watch cable or stream. It doesn't explain why the put the show on in the first place, but there it is. I haven't watched network TV in years (outside of Animation Domination); the last series I watched regularly was NCIS, and that stopped during season 6 or 7. (I saw some newer episodes on USA recently, and was shocked at how not terrible they were, but not enough to watch CBS for an hour on Tuesday).

[bara]

Firefly.

Thats all I can add to this thread.

[Gravekeeper]

I really didn't understand cancelling Terra Nova. I only just recently watched it all on Netflix. I was expecting it to turn into a suck fest or something to explain why it was cancelled. But aside from a few weak moments in the middle, it was a solid show with an interesting premise.

Sure, the premier cost a lot, but by the end of S1 they had cut off any need to have any more scenes in the future. If the BBC can churn out decent raptors for Primeval, surely Fox can pay for a Triceratops now and then. Its not like every episode was 45 minutes of dinosaur money shots or anything. They were fairly judicious with them and they already had the whole set built. Other than that, they're running around in the jungle.

Lots of intial investment, sure. But once it was all up and running, what was the problem?

[siead_lietrathua]

Firefly.

Thats all I can add to this thread.

QFT. at least they made Serenity to kinda make a close to the series, but i'm still a sad panda they won't make any more.

[HYHYBT]

The timeslot thing, partly, is a variation on self-fulfilling prophesy.

Every slot must be filled, and there are always shows that almost didn't get picked up at all. Combining the two means being able to put the shows you're sure of at times people are available to watch... and if you're lucky enough that swarms of folks take to the other show, well, even better.

(I don't quite understand why so many like Firefly; I just couldn't get into it. And most of the shows mentioned in this thread I've never seen. But I'm suspicious of any show that, as Alcatraz is described here, *appears* to have a mystery or secret going on. Not only because premature cancellation too often means never finding out what's going on, but because in too many cases, even when the show is allowed to run its course, it turns out not to have been thought out. If you're going to make such a show at all then, while it's good to keep the audience in the dark for a while, three things: 1) the mystery, underlying secret, whatever needs to exist and be known to the creators, writers, etc all along, and 2) it should be revealed to the audience by the planned end of the series and, in case of premature cancellation and a lack of being picked up elsewhere, at least summarized on the show's website or something.

No exceptions.

[Andara Bledin]

I think the issue with Terra Nova was cost. It didn't matter that it had high ratings, it still wasn't profitable because it was so expensive to make.

Except that the majority of the cost with TN was building the sets, which was why the initial order was for an entire season as opposed to a pilot with an option on the season. The longer the show ran, the less it would cost to make.

Yeah... what Gravekeeper said.

Firefly.

Fuck Fox. They're the worst about giving up on great shows.

The timeslot thing, partly, is a variation on self-fulfilling prophesy.

It's like how publishers are the ones who decide which books are best-sellers; you can't have a best-seller if you don't print enough books, but if you print enough books, you're guaranteed that you'll have a best-seller (it's based on sales to resellers, not to actual readers). It's really depressing, to be honest.

I don't quite understand why so many like Firefly; I just couldn't get into it.

I can see how it wouldn't be for everyone, but the world-building was solid, and the plots and characterization were extremely well-done. Plus, it had Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin.

But I'm suspicious of any show that, as Alcatraz is described here, *appears* to have a mystery or secret going on.

Alcatraz was all about the secret and mystery. And I'm fairly certain that the writers knew where they were going. Unfortunately, it didn't quite have the chemistry it needed to get enough viewers on board, so those of us who did enjoy it are left wondering.

....it should be revealed to the audience by the planned end of the series and, in case of premature cancellation and a lack of being picked up elsewhere, at least summarized on the show's website or something.

No exceptions.

This is something I completely agree with.

When The Nine Lives of Chloe King got the axe after one season (ABC... again) and left it on a major cliffhanger, I wasn't too upset because it was based on a series of books I could pick up and read to know how it all ended. However, The Gates had no such reference, so we have no idea how they planned to resolve the cliffhanger of that last episode. >_< At the very least, the rough script should be released so the fans have a sense of closure.

^-.-^

[Duelist925]

This one wasn't the strongest, but it was damned interesting and I was pissed it got canned. I wanted to see where the hell they were going with it. But it was on Fox, so it was pretty much doomed.

While your right, it wasn't the strongest, I do think it was one of the more original mystery ideas I'd seen in awhile. And damn if I didn't want to know wtf was going on.

Fucking Fox. As bara said: Firefly. Man I wanna catapult badgers at Fox headquarters.

Terra Nova, however, was fan-fucking-tastic, and there was no reason not to keep it. It had good ratings. Fox are bastards.

Honeybadgers. RABID honeybadgers.

Hey, now. Don't be hating on Grimm.... That's one of my faves from last season and I'd miss it were it gone. NBC doesn't suck.

Not hating on it! Hell, I love the show. Thats why i was so damn surprised it got a second season. but, true, it is on NBC.

And with how crappy ABC has been, I'm actually surprised that Castle is still on. I love that show. And they kept Once Upon a Time, too. I think they might have been lynched if they hadn't.

^-.-^

damn I need to catch up on castle. I saw the last half of last season while living with gma, and bloody hell I want the rest. And yeah, OUAT woulda got a few buildings burned down had it been cancelled.