Just got back from ...
Question: Just got back from Blockbuster with the free NBC-preview DVD, which includes the pilot episodes of
Life,
Journeyman and
Chuck, as well as a two-minute trailer for
Bionic Woman. I've only watched
Journeyman so far but will probably watch the others before their official premiere. My questions are: Why don't the other networks do this? Although we would have probably tuned in to
Journeyman anyway (my wife liked it better than I did and we are both fans of
Heroes), we are looking at the others, something we may not have done without the DVD. I'd think that all of the networks would want to follow suit. Also, what did you think of
Journeyman? I kind of liked the star and the concept, and it will go on the DVR list, but I did think it was a bit slow. And finally, should I read anything into the fact that this DVD
only had a trailer for
Bionic Woman and not the complete pilot?
Answer: Each network has its own way of promoting its new shows. NBC is especially aggressive this year with making its pilots available, but not everyone wants to give it all away up front. At this time of year, it's all about making people aware of the new shows, but there may be a downside in making them
too available. Marketing experts are learning as they go along in an age of digital downloads and sneak-peek DVDs and public screenings, and it will be interesting to see how they approach it a year from now. To your other questions: I was less than blown away by
Journeyman. I liked
Kevin McKidd on
Rome, but I thought his character, his actions and the consequences of his time travel weren't nearly developed enough in this show. It didn't make a lot of sense to me, and I doubt I'll be compelled enough to stick around to find out why this is happening to him. As for
Bionic Woman: The pilot has gone through some significant revision and recasting, I believe, which is probably why they didn't want to release the unfinished version.
