MONDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars”
10:00 p.m. “Castle”
With Castle in the 3 range consistently in the last part of the season, this night should continue to be strong.
TUESDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Last Man Standing”
8:30 p.m. “Man Up”
9:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show”
10:00 p.m. “Body of Proof”
ABC putting 2 comedies before DWTS and Body of Proof.
WEDNESDAY: 8:00 p.m. “The Middle”
8:30 p.m. “Suburgatory”
9:00 p.m. “Modern Family”
9:30 p.m. “Happy Endings”
10:00 p.m. “Revenge”
With Cougar Town moved to midseason, Happy Endings takes the post-Modern Family slot. Interesting choice.
THURSDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Charlie's Angels”
9:00 p.m. “Grey's Anatomy”
10:00 p.m. “Private Practice”
Charlie's Angels is either going to flop or become really popular, so we'll have to see what happens.
FRIDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”
9:00 p.m. “Shark Tank”
10:00 p.m. “20/20”
SATURDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Saturday Night College Football”
SUNDAY: 7:00 p.m. “America's Funniest Home Videos”
8:00 p.m. “Once Upon a Time”
9:00 p.m. “Desperate Housewives”
10:00 p.m. “Pan Am”
ABC launching a pair of dramas around Desperate Housewives.
Showing posts with label ABC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ABC. Show all posts
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Recapping last week's cancellation bloodbath
Mid-May is an important time for television executives, producers, and viewers alike. Upfronts are coming up and some shows just have to go. With natural expectations that a show should continue until a proper, definitive ending, most television fanatics end up disappointed. This year in particular was very bloody and almost assuredly left many irate fans. But among the shows left on the side of the road, there were glimmers of hope.
NBC
The network in the deepest hole the past few years has been NBC. There was the Leno debacle and many failed shows or shows that declined greatly over time. Most notable, NBC did not have a new scripted show that was a hit. Even its comedy lineup, while critically acclaimed, did not have a legitimate hit other than The Office, which is in its seventh season. NBC again tried to make its scripted lineup, ordering several shows which could have succeeded. But alas things did not work out again. Chase was initially given extra episodes but was shuffled off to Saturday, The Cape flopped quickly, Outsourced started strong but faltered, and Perfect Couples was DOA. NBC’s big thrust, though, was The Event.
The Event was this year’s FlashForward. It was supposed to be the next Lost, NBC pouring in advertising money and giving it a big budget; instead, it flopped. People attributed the demise to a number of things—the wonky flashbacks, among others. In my opinion, it was simply because the writers couldn’t sustain the energy of the better episodes and didn’t develop the characters enough to make us care when the plot was not going full-speed ahead. But that’s just conjecture. One factor that assuredly did not cause the demise of The Event, however, was the long hiatus. It’s easy for fans to blame networks for a show not working (“Fox only cancels good shows!” “You moved it to Monday!”), but the facts are facts—The Event was doing badly before the hiatus. The last episode before the hiatus, airing on November 11, was already down to 1.9 in the demo, a far-cry from the 3.6 which began the series. Sometimes shows just don’t work.
Law & Order: LA was one of those shows that had disaster written all over it. It was picked up for a 13-episode season even before the pilot was done. All the series had was the Law & Order tag and Los Angeles name. Unlike other L&O iterations—Special Victims Unit, Criminal Intent, and Trial by Jury—this one was pretty vague. The show was retooled, returning on April 11, but the ratings was even lower than where they were. Despite Dick Wolf’s best efforts, another Law & Order was unable to flourish, and with the original cancelled, Criminal Intent in its final season, and SVU on its last legs, the franchise may well be becoming to an end soon.
The notable renewal was Chuck, which renewed for a fifth and final 13-episode season to my delight. It’s not that I particularly like Chuck or was too surprised by the renewal, but its run has been nothing short of amazing. Chuck was renewed for a third season after a vigorous fan campaign—which may or may not have been a big contribution to the renewal, though NBC executives claimed it was. The ratings for the season started decently, but begun to drop. But NBC, as a whole, was doing terribly. What would be low ratings on another network was the norm on NBC, and Chuck was doing fine.
Now in its third season, Chuck’s ratings are again down—to the low 1s, quite a bit lower than the previous season—but lo and behold, NBC’s primetime ratings are even lower. Suddenly, Chuck looks pretty good compared to the likes of The Event and LOLA. In each renewal, Chuck was only given a 13-episode season—accounting for the numerous potential series finale episodes. However, NBC, in its misery, actually gave Chuck additional episodes in both instances. We don’t know the specifics of this new deal—how low WB offered to get Chuck to syndication, whether there are budget cuts—but the saga of Chuck continues for at least one more season.
Looking ahead, NBC remains in trouble, but we shouldn’t count it out just yet. Its Thursday comedy lineup remains fairly robust, especially for NBC standards, the cancellation of Outsourced and 30 Rock returning at midseason allows for the new blood of Whitney to be injected in there. Parenthood, which hung in there against such competition as The Good Wife and Body of Proof, was renewed and should remain stable given its adverse situation this season. Harry’s Law proved to be a surprise, hanging in against Castle and Hawaii Five-0, and was given a renewal even though it skews quite old. NBC’s biggest new show, The Voice, was not only a hit compared to the network’s other paltry shows, but also a hit in general. Debuting with an astounding 5.1 (my reaction: “People choosing to watch NBC?!?), it represents the perfect opportunity for NBC to launch new shows next season.
Fox
Fox has been having troubles lately as well. Outside of perennial stalwarts American Idol, the Sunday animated comedy lineup, Bones, and newcomer Glee, the network hasn’t had much success. Comedies failed and new scripted content during the summer just didn’t work. However, the network renewed several dramas last year—Fringe, Human Target, Lie to Me—beyond their first season (in the case of Human Target) and even into their third (Fringe and Lie to Me). After a retooling of Human Target and Shawn Ryan’s departure from Lie to Me, the two did not meet ratings expectations and were canceled earlier this week. And of the new comedies—Raising Hope, Traffic Light, Breaking In, and Running Wilde—only Raising Hope survived.
The Chicago Code was one of those shows, like Lone Star, which critics liked but television viewers didn’t necessarily gravitate to. The ratings started decently and appeared to stabilize in the low 2 range, before dropping off into the 1s. The reason for the failure of The Chicago Code is hard to pinpoint. Its creator, Shawn Ryan, is undeniably a master when it comes to popularity and quality, as he helmed The Shield to unprecedented heights. But that was on cable, where the standards of behavior were more lax. The Chicago Code was not about tough, head-bashing cop/vigilante work but the police department tackling city corruption. I guess viewers didn’t see the appeal.
Out of the canceled dramas came one survivor, Fringe, which was renewed several weeks ago. Moved to Friday nights, Fringe was in a tough spot and many people predicted it would not survive. Along those same lines, lots of people blamed Fox for putting it in the time slot, going back to the same complaints we’ve heard through the decade about Firefly, Wonderfalls, Dollhouse, and Dark Angel. It’s hard to have too much animosity against Fox, though. Fringe was given great chances at the beginning—plum post-Idol slots and post-House slots, but the ratings kept falling. As the show became more serialized, viewers dropped off. Still, Fox renewed the show for a fourth season and everyone should be grateful for that.
Fox may not have as many problems as NBC, with several strong shows and only two hours of primetime to fill per night, but its inability to get a comedy block and launch new dramas is certainly troubling. Fox has not released its 2011-2012 schedule yet, so I won’t be able to comment too much on future prospects yet.
ABC
In the current television climate, ABC is doing reasonably well compared to the other networks. It launched the hit Modern Family last season, which led to great stability in ABC’s Wednesday comedy block with The Middle and Cougar Town reaping the benefits, not to mention the usual rocks—Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Dancing With the Stars, Castle, and Desperate Housewives. Despite this, ABC has its own share of growing pains, My Generations and The Whole Truth getting cancelled almost instantly. In terms of total cancellations, the numbers alone look ugly. Off The Map, Better With You, No Ordinary Family, V, Mr. Sunshine, Detroit 1-8-7, and Brothers & Sisters (without a proper conclusion)—all gone.
Of these, No Ordinary Family stands out. I remember watching the pilot at Comic-Con and the loud reception it got. I wasn’t entirely sure why people liked it (I think it was the jokes I found clichéd), but clearly people liked it. The ratings started quite strong and waned over time. For those who watched the show, it seemed like the writing was the biggest problem, with the plot going in every which direction and the sheer weight of teenage clichés that weighed everything down. By the end of the season, the show was all but forgotten.
Between these cancellations, only two shows have survived—Body of Proof and Happy Endings, the latter of which was somewhat of a surprise. ABC has not released next season’s schedule, but I have a couple things on my mind. (1) Could Castle be moved off Monday so a new show can reap DWTS’s lead-in? Castle has been steady 3.0s in the past few months while other shows in the same timeslot have declined. Surely ABC wants Castle to succeed, but maybe the show can survive on its own while a new show is bolstered by DWTS into ratings success. (2) Could the The Middle get the slot after Modern Family? Anyone who’s looked at Wednesday ratings would notice how small Cougar Town’s ratings look compared to Modern Family while The Middle does just fine by itself. I don’t want to be a stringent retentionista (as TVBTN coins it), but that’s something to consider.
CBS
CBS is currently the most stable network, and for good reason. It has the CSI franchise, the JAG/NCIS franchise, the burgeoning Criminal Minds franchise, a solid comedy lineup on Monday, and The Big Bang Theory to anchor Thursday. But like the other networks, it has had its share of problems this year. Although CBS has not released too much information about cancellations or renewals, here’s what we definitely know: Mad Love, $#*! My Dad Says, and The Defenders are cancelled. Those should not be a surprise to anyone and the writing has been on the wall for a while. The definite renewals that have not been announced yet are The Mentalist, CSI, Criminal Minds, Mike & Molly, NCIS: Los Angeles, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami, Hawaii Five-0, and Two and a Half Men.
The fate of a number of shows remain up in the air, however, and it is hard to say what CBS will do. In the forefront of my mind is The Good Wife. It has been doing poorly, garnering ratings in the low 2s, far from the 3s of its lead-in, NCIS: LA. Still, The Good Wife is the only drama on the network that gets any attention from the award shows and the critics love the show. Does this publicity make up for a lack of ratings? A pair of spin-offs, CSI: New York and Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, are also in trouble. They each have a saving grace, with CSI: NY not performing horribly and CBS’s desire to turn Criminal Minds into another big franchise. While almost every major TV site says that Blue Bloods is a lock for renewal, I have to question that. The ratings are decent for Fridays, but an absolute lock?
At the end of the day, CBS will remain in good shape even if it cancels all the aforementioned shows (which it probably won’t). The network remains as strong as ever and NCIS, in its eight season, was actually growing at the beginning of the season. There are warning signs on the horizon, however, as CSI dropped perilously low in recent weeks while the Monday comedy block as a whole has been hitting lows.
To wrap up, this season of television has been horrible for new shows. We can literally count the number of new shows that survived the season on our hands while our hands and feet wouldn’t even cover all the canceled shows. With the networks gearing up a new development slate, we’ll be seeing a lot of new shows in the next week, and yes, most will be canceled by this time next year.
NBC
The network in the deepest hole the past few years has been NBC. There was the Leno debacle and many failed shows or shows that declined greatly over time. Most notable, NBC did not have a new scripted show that was a hit. Even its comedy lineup, while critically acclaimed, did not have a legitimate hit other than The Office, which is in its seventh season. NBC again tried to make its scripted lineup, ordering several shows which could have succeeded. But alas things did not work out again. Chase was initially given extra episodes but was shuffled off to Saturday, The Cape flopped quickly, Outsourced started strong but faltered, and Perfect Couples was DOA. NBC’s big thrust, though, was The Event.
The Event was this year’s FlashForward. It was supposed to be the next Lost, NBC pouring in advertising money and giving it a big budget; instead, it flopped. People attributed the demise to a number of things—the wonky flashbacks, among others. In my opinion, it was simply because the writers couldn’t sustain the energy of the better episodes and didn’t develop the characters enough to make us care when the plot was not going full-speed ahead. But that’s just conjecture. One factor that assuredly did not cause the demise of The Event, however, was the long hiatus. It’s easy for fans to blame networks for a show not working (“Fox only cancels good shows!” “You moved it to Monday!”), but the facts are facts—The Event was doing badly before the hiatus. The last episode before the hiatus, airing on November 11, was already down to 1.9 in the demo, a far-cry from the 3.6 which began the series. Sometimes shows just don’t work.
Law & Order: LA was one of those shows that had disaster written all over it. It was picked up for a 13-episode season even before the pilot was done. All the series had was the Law & Order tag and Los Angeles name. Unlike other L&O iterations—Special Victims Unit, Criminal Intent, and Trial by Jury—this one was pretty vague. The show was retooled, returning on April 11, but the ratings was even lower than where they were. Despite Dick Wolf’s best efforts, another Law & Order was unable to flourish, and with the original cancelled, Criminal Intent in its final season, and SVU on its last legs, the franchise may well be becoming to an end soon.
The notable renewal was Chuck, which renewed for a fifth and final 13-episode season to my delight. It’s not that I particularly like Chuck or was too surprised by the renewal, but its run has been nothing short of amazing. Chuck was renewed for a third season after a vigorous fan campaign—which may or may not have been a big contribution to the renewal, though NBC executives claimed it was. The ratings for the season started decently, but begun to drop. But NBC, as a whole, was doing terribly. What would be low ratings on another network was the norm on NBC, and Chuck was doing fine.
Now in its third season, Chuck’s ratings are again down—to the low 1s, quite a bit lower than the previous season—but lo and behold, NBC’s primetime ratings are even lower. Suddenly, Chuck looks pretty good compared to the likes of The Event and LOLA. In each renewal, Chuck was only given a 13-episode season—accounting for the numerous potential series finale episodes. However, NBC, in its misery, actually gave Chuck additional episodes in both instances. We don’t know the specifics of this new deal—how low WB offered to get Chuck to syndication, whether there are budget cuts—but the saga of Chuck continues for at least one more season.
Looking ahead, NBC remains in trouble, but we shouldn’t count it out just yet. Its Thursday comedy lineup remains fairly robust, especially for NBC standards, the cancellation of Outsourced and 30 Rock returning at midseason allows for the new blood of Whitney to be injected in there. Parenthood, which hung in there against such competition as The Good Wife and Body of Proof, was renewed and should remain stable given its adverse situation this season. Harry’s Law proved to be a surprise, hanging in against Castle and Hawaii Five-0, and was given a renewal even though it skews quite old. NBC’s biggest new show, The Voice, was not only a hit compared to the network’s other paltry shows, but also a hit in general. Debuting with an astounding 5.1 (my reaction: “People choosing to watch NBC?!?), it represents the perfect opportunity for NBC to launch new shows next season.
Fox
Fox has been having troubles lately as well. Outside of perennial stalwarts American Idol, the Sunday animated comedy lineup, Bones, and newcomer Glee, the network hasn’t had much success. Comedies failed and new scripted content during the summer just didn’t work. However, the network renewed several dramas last year—Fringe, Human Target, Lie to Me—beyond their first season (in the case of Human Target) and even into their third (Fringe and Lie to Me). After a retooling of Human Target and Shawn Ryan’s departure from Lie to Me, the two did not meet ratings expectations and were canceled earlier this week. And of the new comedies—Raising Hope, Traffic Light, Breaking In, and Running Wilde—only Raising Hope survived.
The Chicago Code was one of those shows, like Lone Star, which critics liked but television viewers didn’t necessarily gravitate to. The ratings started decently and appeared to stabilize in the low 2 range, before dropping off into the 1s. The reason for the failure of The Chicago Code is hard to pinpoint. Its creator, Shawn Ryan, is undeniably a master when it comes to popularity and quality, as he helmed The Shield to unprecedented heights. But that was on cable, where the standards of behavior were more lax. The Chicago Code was not about tough, head-bashing cop/vigilante work but the police department tackling city corruption. I guess viewers didn’t see the appeal.
Out of the canceled dramas came one survivor, Fringe, which was renewed several weeks ago. Moved to Friday nights, Fringe was in a tough spot and many people predicted it would not survive. Along those same lines, lots of people blamed Fox for putting it in the time slot, going back to the same complaints we’ve heard through the decade about Firefly, Wonderfalls, Dollhouse, and Dark Angel. It’s hard to have too much animosity against Fox, though. Fringe was given great chances at the beginning—plum post-Idol slots and post-House slots, but the ratings kept falling. As the show became more serialized, viewers dropped off. Still, Fox renewed the show for a fourth season and everyone should be grateful for that.
Fox may not have as many problems as NBC, with several strong shows and only two hours of primetime to fill per night, but its inability to get a comedy block and launch new dramas is certainly troubling. Fox has not released its 2011-2012 schedule yet, so I won’t be able to comment too much on future prospects yet.
ABC
In the current television climate, ABC is doing reasonably well compared to the other networks. It launched the hit Modern Family last season, which led to great stability in ABC’s Wednesday comedy block with The Middle and Cougar Town reaping the benefits, not to mention the usual rocks—Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Dancing With the Stars, Castle, and Desperate Housewives. Despite this, ABC has its own share of growing pains, My Generations and The Whole Truth getting cancelled almost instantly. In terms of total cancellations, the numbers alone look ugly. Off The Map, Better With You, No Ordinary Family, V, Mr. Sunshine, Detroit 1-8-7, and Brothers & Sisters (without a proper conclusion)—all gone.
Of these, No Ordinary Family stands out. I remember watching the pilot at Comic-Con and the loud reception it got. I wasn’t entirely sure why people liked it (I think it was the jokes I found clichéd), but clearly people liked it. The ratings started quite strong and waned over time. For those who watched the show, it seemed like the writing was the biggest problem, with the plot going in every which direction and the sheer weight of teenage clichés that weighed everything down. By the end of the season, the show was all but forgotten.
Between these cancellations, only two shows have survived—Body of Proof and Happy Endings, the latter of which was somewhat of a surprise. ABC has not released next season’s schedule, but I have a couple things on my mind. (1) Could Castle be moved off Monday so a new show can reap DWTS’s lead-in? Castle has been steady 3.0s in the past few months while other shows in the same timeslot have declined. Surely ABC wants Castle to succeed, but maybe the show can survive on its own while a new show is bolstered by DWTS into ratings success. (2) Could the The Middle get the slot after Modern Family? Anyone who’s looked at Wednesday ratings would notice how small Cougar Town’s ratings look compared to Modern Family while The Middle does just fine by itself. I don’t want to be a stringent retentionista (as TVBTN coins it), but that’s something to consider.
CBS
CBS is currently the most stable network, and for good reason. It has the CSI franchise, the JAG/NCIS franchise, the burgeoning Criminal Minds franchise, a solid comedy lineup on Monday, and The Big Bang Theory to anchor Thursday. But like the other networks, it has had its share of problems this year. Although CBS has not released too much information about cancellations or renewals, here’s what we definitely know: Mad Love, $#*! My Dad Says, and The Defenders are cancelled. Those should not be a surprise to anyone and the writing has been on the wall for a while. The definite renewals that have not been announced yet are The Mentalist, CSI, Criminal Minds, Mike & Molly, NCIS: Los Angeles, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami, Hawaii Five-0, and Two and a Half Men.
The fate of a number of shows remain up in the air, however, and it is hard to say what CBS will do. In the forefront of my mind is The Good Wife. It has been doing poorly, garnering ratings in the low 2s, far from the 3s of its lead-in, NCIS: LA. Still, The Good Wife is the only drama on the network that gets any attention from the award shows and the critics love the show. Does this publicity make up for a lack of ratings? A pair of spin-offs, CSI: New York and Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, are also in trouble. They each have a saving grace, with CSI: NY not performing horribly and CBS’s desire to turn Criminal Minds into another big franchise. While almost every major TV site says that Blue Bloods is a lock for renewal, I have to question that. The ratings are decent for Fridays, but an absolute lock?
At the end of the day, CBS will remain in good shape even if it cancels all the aforementioned shows (which it probably won’t). The network remains as strong as ever and NCIS, in its eight season, was actually growing at the beginning of the season. There are warning signs on the horizon, however, as CSI dropped perilously low in recent weeks while the Monday comedy block as a whole has been hitting lows.
To wrap up, this season of television has been horrible for new shows. We can literally count the number of new shows that survived the season on our hands while our hands and feet wouldn’t even cover all the canceled shows. With the networks gearing up a new development slate, we’ll be seeing a lot of new shows in the next week, and yes, most will be canceled by this time next year.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
ABC 2010-2011 Schedule and Thoughts
MONDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars”
10:00 p.m. “Castle”
No changes here.
TUESDAY: 8:00 p.m. “No Ordinary Family”
9:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show”
10:00 p.m. “Detroit 1-8-7”
ABC is trying to launch 2 new shows around DWTS, but with the declining ratings of the results show and heavy competition, they could be in trouble.
WEDNESDAY: 8:00 p.m. “The Middle”
8:30 p.m. “Better Together”
9:00 p.m. “Modern Family”
9:30 p.m. “Cougar Town”
10:00 p.m. “The Whole Truth”
The Middle moves to 8 for Better Together and The Whole Truth gets the 10pm slot which did horribly for ABC this year.
THURSDAY: 8:00 p.m. “My Generation”
9:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy”
10:00 p.m. “Private Practice”
FlashForward and The Deep End didn't work out in the slot, so ABC is trying about with My Generation.
FRIDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Secret Millionaire”
9:00 p.m. “Body of Proof”
10:00 p.m. “20/20”
SATURDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Saturday Night College Football”
SUNDAY: 7:00 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos”
8:00 p.m. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”
9:00 p.m. “Desperate Housewives”
10:00 p.m. “Brothers & Sisters”
10:00 p.m. “Castle”
No changes here.
TUESDAY: 8:00 p.m. “No Ordinary Family”
9:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show”
10:00 p.m. “Detroit 1-8-7”
ABC is trying to launch 2 new shows around DWTS, but with the declining ratings of the results show and heavy competition, they could be in trouble.
WEDNESDAY: 8:00 p.m. “The Middle”
8:30 p.m. “Better Together”
9:00 p.m. “Modern Family”
9:30 p.m. “Cougar Town”
10:00 p.m. “The Whole Truth”
The Middle moves to 8 for Better Together and The Whole Truth gets the 10pm slot which did horribly for ABC this year.
THURSDAY: 8:00 p.m. “My Generation”
9:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy”
10:00 p.m. “Private Practice”
FlashForward and The Deep End didn't work out in the slot, so ABC is trying about with My Generation.
FRIDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Secret Millionaire”
9:00 p.m. “Body of Proof”
10:00 p.m. “20/20”
SATURDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Saturday Night College Football”
SUNDAY: 7:00 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos”
8:00 p.m. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”
9:00 p.m. “Desperate Housewives”
10:00 p.m. “Brothers & Sisters”
Sunday, September 27, 2009
ABC's V remake dead on arrival?
In the past month there has been a spate of news about V that could be interpreted as imminent failure. While the season premiere is still a month away, I have an uneasy feeling from these reports that V may not last very long.
First there was the news of a halt in production. There was a couple ideas out there. One was that the producers for the remake wanted to take Ken Johnson, the original creator of V, off the credits which would save them money. The thought was the the new show is so different that it can't be considered a remake. Supposedly the the WGA resolved this by deeming it a remake, forcing them to pay Ken Johnson royalties.
The other idea which seems to have more credibility was to allow the writers to beef of their scripts. After an amazing well-received pilot episode, you'd think the writers would have everything set, but ABC seems to think the following episodes won't live up to expectations or simply aren't good. Filming has continued, but if ABC thought the scripts needed to be improved, that certainly is something to worry about.
Then there was news the other day of a major scheduling change by ABC. The premiere is still set for November 4, but they are going to only show 4 episodes and then air the rest after the Winter Olympics. There is a rationale for this. The last of the 4 episodes will probably have a huge cliffhanger that will keep everyone talking. Viewership goes down in the winter and ABC will be able to promote the show heavily during Lost and Flash Forward.
Here's the problem though. This move indicates a lack of confidence from ABC. How many people want to watch a show with a huge possibility of cancellation? How many viewers will want to come back after several months and only 4 episodes? The 4 episodes will have to really grab people so they will come back after such long of a layoff. Many series that have extended breaks are established shows with solid fan bases. I doubt V can get very many dedicated fans with just 4 episodes.
If ABC is having trepidation about the show, why don't they move the series premiere after the Winter Olympics? They can air the series continuously without breaks and keep the the viewers from the first episode to the last. My hope is that they play the 4 episodes before the show comes back in 2010. If not, people might not want to watch without knowing what's going on. Whatever their thinking is, expect heavy promotion on ABC in an attempt to salvage the series. ABC better have an amazing plan or I predict a cancellation. I'm not being negative, in fact, I watched the original miniseries, The Final Battle miniseries, and even the crap TV series, so I am a fan of the franchise. Don't get me wrong, I'm just looking at reality and it does not look good.
With a star studded lineup, experienced crew, and an exceptional first episode (hearsay), the show should have had no problems. But here we are, the show is clearly in trouble and we'll have to deal with it. Assuming the writing isn't that great, the cast should be able to carry the show to a certain extent. Just the cast of Elizabeth Mitchell, Morena Baccarin, and Scott Wolf should keep people interested. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Since we've on the topic of V, I'm supposed to be writing reviews for V on BSCreview.com. Nothing is official yet, but I've exchanged emails from them, so if all goes well, look for my reviews there.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
ABC's Flash Forward the next big hit
With all the promotion ABC had for this show, I had no doubt the first few episode would have huge ratings. After watching the pilot, I am convinced this show will have huge success. Is this the next Lost and the network has been promoting it? I hate comparing shows directly, but I think Flash Forward can replicate the ratings and the sense of mystery.
The pilot is paced a little unevenly and the episode is mostly just exposition, but the suspense and cinematography blew me away. The first act in which the whole world blacks out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds is simply amazing and looked very expensive to produce. I loved the kangaroo that runs down the street and everyone is too busy to care.
There are many characters, and therefore many flash forwards to explore. Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) is the main character and is an FBI agent. In the future, he has relapsed and is drinking while investigating the event through something called Mosaic. At the end of his vision, people with guns or at least laser scopes enter the room he is in which is located in the FBI office. His wife Olivia (Sonya Walger) has a very disturbing flash forward. In it, she is with another man, someone she has never seen before. We soon learn that he is one of her patient's father, though they are oblivious to the fact by the end of the episode.
I thought it was premature to show who the man was, since they would have to meet in the next episode which could pose several problems. That being said, I can imagine many ways it could work, and I trust that the writers have a good plan.
Aaron Stark (Brían F. O'Byrne) is Mark's sponsor and sees his daughter, who supposedly is dead. This sounds very interesting, since he would want the vision to become true to most. Janis Hawk (Christine Woods) is an FBI agent that sees herself pregnant even though she has no boyfriend. So far, she is ambivalent about it, so we don't really know where this story stands. Demetri Noh (John Cho) is Mark's partner and going to be married, but has no vision of the future. Immediately he suspects it is because he is dead which of course has huge psychological recourse. Bryce Varley (Zachary Knighton) is Olivia's intern and is about to kill himself before the flash forward. After, he wants to live.
And there you have it, all the characters and flash forwards so far. There's going to be more characters and flash forward introduced as the series progresses; there is endless material to work with. At the end of the episode, Janis is going through surveillance camera tapes. Everyone slumps over at exactly the same time, except in one, an awesome looking guy with a black trench-coat strides along. Will this show work? I hope so.
Score: 9.5/10
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Predictions For New Fall 2009-2010 TV Shows, part 5 (ABC)
This is the final part as I am not doing cable, so enjoy.
Flash Forward
ABC has been promoting this show like crazy and trying to make it seem like the next Lost. This show definitely has the most buzz out of the new shows, but the first episode will get huge ratings. I wouldn't be surprised if it got over a 4.5 for 18-49. The trailers look pretty good, but I'm not sure if the producers will be able to milk 6 seasons out of this like the producers of Lost did. People blackout out for 2 minutes 17 seconds (the trailers have ingrained that into my brain) and see 6 months into the future. People deal with what they see or didn't see. The problem I see is that 6 months is such a short time, that it would be weird if a couple seasons happened in that amount of time. Maybe the show will extend beyond the 6 months so we see if the visions are actually true. There's lots of directions to go in, so we shouldn't be too worried. Expect a renewal here.
V
I will probably be reviewing the show for BSCreview.com, so check out my reviews there when the show starts in November. I'm a fan of the original miniseries, The Final Battle (the second miniseries), and I watched the original series which admittedly is pretty bad. Instead of the in your face Nazi allegory of the 80's, the remake seems to be focusing on faith and devotion. With a cast geared toward scifi fans (Elizabeth Mitchell, Morena Baccarin, Laura Vandervoort), the show will gain a loyal following, but will the mainstream follow? Perhaps the show is too science fiction with the aliens and spaceships, but the trailers were simply epic. The trailer was the most amazing one if seen in years. I want to believe in a renewal, so I'll have to say this will be renewed.
Eastwick
Based on a film and book of almost the same name, this show features Rebecca Romijn as the main character. The trailers weren't very impressive and I don't like the concept at all. Maybe the show will get a high female demo, but other than that I will horrible ratings here and an early cancellation.
The Forgotten
This has been promoted a fair amount, but the response has been tepid at most. Jerry Bruckheimer has another crime drama and this time it's not about police or FBI!! Just a bunch of amateurs trying to do good in the world. I may be the only one slightly interested in this show. I was watching the trailer and didn't care much for it until they showed the part with the guy taking a picture inside a store. I'm not sure what, possibly the dialogue, but I became interested. I'm expecting so-so ratings, so it will be somewhere in the canceled to on the bubble area.
The Deep End
It's not scheduled for the fall, so I'm guessing there's no much confidence from the network. I haven't heard much about the show and the trailer was uninspiring. It's a little too early to make any judgments yet, but if I had to choose, I would go with cancellation.
Happy Town
Looks like a modern day Twin Peaks, so it should be interesting. The problem is that trailer was bland. I don't really see the appeal of the show except for Amy Acker who deserves to be the star of her own show. Hopefully the show is better than the trailer indicates, because this is heading for bad ratings.
Cougar Town
ABC trying to build a comedy block on Wednesdays, but will it succeed? Courteney Cox stars in this show about...cougars. Does that seem plainly self-indulgent to anyone? I thought the trailer was average and I'm not seeing lots of talk about the show. I don't think ABC's comedy Wednesdays will succeed and neither will this show. Verdict: Cancellation is on the horizon.
Hank
Kelsey Grammer is back in a comedy about a rich guy who loses it all. There seems to be a lot of bad reviews for the pilot, and the trailer wasn't too funny. Also a cancellation.
The Middle
There is one word to describe the trailer: annoying. Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn are big in the comedy TV world, but this was the best the producers could come up with? ABC's comedy block looks to be a failure with yet another cancellation here.
Modern Family
Out of ABC's new comedies, Modern Family has the best chance to survive. Critics love it and there is substantial buzz for the show. I've already reviewed the pilot, if you want to see my thoughts on it. I'm guessing this show will be on the bubble and will go either way.
Predictions For New Fall 2009-2010 TV Shows, part 4 (CBS)
Predictions For New Fall 2009-2010 TV Shows, part 3 (NBC)
