Question: Why is it that networks rarely grab each others' shows after they are canceled? This year there were a few cases where this would have made a lot of sense. For example, a show like The Class had average ratings, but it was canned because CBS didn't have many hours available. Wouldn't it have made sense for ABC, which is starving for even a marginal comedy, to pick it up instead of renewing According to Jim or Notes from the Underbelly? Traveler and Masters of Science Fiction are other shows that I think have some cult following despite the lack of network support and might prove profitable elsewhere. Why do networks put their faith in ratings-challenged or untested shows rather than something that can obviously improve their present situation?
Answer: The reason this rarely happens is the same reason situations like Jericho's (being resurrected after cancellation) are so rare. When a show fails on one network, there usually isn't a clamor elsewhere to keep something alive that
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Two of my first Trivial Matt'rs blogs were dedicated to my early thoughts on the 2006-07 TV season, and at long last I have a few minutes here to revisit that "forecast" and see how I did. This is literally the first time I have looked back at those blogs, so here we go.Brothers & SistersI said: "Expectations were modest" given "foreboding backstage shuffles," but "by the end I was pulled in." Outcome: Lotsa critical acclaim and an early Season 2 pickup by ABC!The ClassI said: "The cast threatens to be unwieldy, but... I smell another [How I Met Your] Mother." Outcome: Some avid fans, some "decent" ratings, but no renewal yet. (Oh, and they shed one cast member.)RunawayI said: "The concept is nifty" and "good casting."Outcome: Far from a runaway hit, it was shelved after just a few airings.VanishedI said: "I need more answers, or at least hints of answers." Outcome: Fox's answer was, "Nope," and Vanished... quickly did just that.HeroesI said: "This show will be full of surprises...
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Question: After reading all the speculations regarding the current CBS Monday night sitcoms, I just had to write. First, why would a network pull the plug on a good show just to fill it in with a new sitcom in the fall? Ever heard of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"? I was shocked to hear that How I Met Your Mother could even be remotely considered to be taken off the air. It's bad enough that The Class was sent packing too soon and will likely not return because Rules of Engagement had a following. How does eliminating a really great sitcom (Mother) for a more mediocre one (Rules) benefit the network? It surely would not benefit us viewers. Second, since CBS seems to have more sitcoms than time slots, did the powers-that-be ever stop to consider rotating the shows? I would vote yes to more new episodes (not just during sweeps months) of any sitcom they have than to suffer the loss of any of them. Why not alternate The Class with Rules instead of bumping one for the other? I am quite ...
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Question: Regarding the debate on what should air after Heroes or why nothing has thrived after Lost, I really think the networks are airing the wrong type of program after those shows. My second job has me busy most Monday nights so frequently I was TiVoing How I Met Your Mother, The Class, Heroes and Studio 60. When I got home each night, I always tried to watch the show that the typical watercooler buzz would otherwise ruin for me. So I'd watch Heroes, then I would be so tense that I would unwind by watching Mother and/or The Class. I didn't want to think so hard anymore — I just wanted to be entertained. Is there some sort of unstated industry guideline against airing half-hour comedies at 10?
Answer: More like a tradition. The conventional wisdom about a schedule's flow is that you start early with lighter, happier fare and then end on the drama. It probably harks back to the "family hour" days, when sitcoms ruled the early hours and the more "adult" dramas closed the night. There
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Question: As a person who has been in and around the TV industry as long as you have, I am hoping that you might be able to shed some light on the issue of what drives a network to renew shows that aren't huge hits but smaller cult and/or critical favorites, such as Friday Night Lights, Supernatural, Veronica Mars and The Class. Is it really just ratings and demographics, or do other factors such as merchandise and future marketability go into the thought process as well? Also, do you foresee a change in the current (and in my opinion, antiquated) ratings system in light of the onslaught of TiVos and other DVR systems?
Answer: Wow, you make me sound like a graybeard. (Maybe if I grow one, I'll be one.) I'll duck the larger ratings question. I really can't say where audience measurement is heading, but for now, we seem stuck with this system. On the renewal issue, when a network takes a chance on a marginal performer, it often says more about the network than it does the show. For the
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Question: Do you think that producers are in deep denial over the survival chances of their shows? The Class went out on a cliff-hanger when they could have easily tied up loose ends that still led to more stories if a second season should occur. The unfortunate truth is that a sophomore year is probably not in the cards for the show. Why can't they acknowledge this and satisfy an audience that has been very loyal to them? The same goes for Veronica Mars. Rob Thomas has said that he won't end the season as if it could be the end in an attempt to make it more difficult for the network to cancel them. It's not as though a show has never gone out on an unresolved cliff-hanger, or that the network would shudder at the thought of doing so. Joss Whedon always ended his seasons as a closed book with a potential sequel, and it always worked. In the likely chance that Veronica Mars does not get its much-deserved fourth season, then we won't receive any closure to these beloved characters that ...
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Question: I just watched the season finale of The Class, and I loved it. I know that CBS still hasn't announced if it's canceling the show or not, but if it does, do you think there is a possibility for another network to pick it up? It was reported that all the networks put in a bid for the show during development season last year. Do you think either ABC or NBC will pick up the show if CBS cancels it, seeing that NBC aired David Crane's Friends and that the show averages at least eight million viewers every week, which, compared to ABC's comedies, is good enough to renew for a second season?
Answer: I addressed The Class' iffy situation at CBS in a Dispatch earlier this week, but in the larger picture, if CBS passes, no one's likely to come to the rescue. I guess I can't say often enough that such a move is beyond rare, and almost never occurs for a show that didn't exactly pop either in the ratings, in buzz or in the critical press. (I liked the show but still acknowledged that it
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This Monday's notable numbers:8 pm/ETTrailing Deal or No Deal, Prison Break (9.73 million total viewers) was up 340K week-to-week. CBS' The Class was dismissed by a typical audience of 8.77 million.9 pmThe conclusion of Heroes' second arc (14.9 million, up 630K) — and the last fresh episode until, like, forever — delivered the series' largest audience since Dec. 4, outdrawing both a Two and a Half Men repeat and a thus-handicapped Rules of Engagement (12.6 million, down 1.1 mil). Fox's 24 (13.01 million) was up 200 thou.10 pmPlacing well behind a CSI: Miami repeat (14.27 mil), NBC's The Black Donnellys (7.04 million) lost 1.38 mil from its premiere, but is still 600,000 above Studio 60's last tally. What About Brian had one of its weaker outings, with an audience of just 4.78 mil (slipping 620K).
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For months, the thing about Heroes that bothered me most was Milo Ventimiglia’s hair: specifically, that dreaded dangling forelock Peter Petrelli kept playing with, as if in thrall to a fetish. I’ve long wanted the boy to get a haircut. But not like this!Quite the horrifying climax to the March cliff-hanger (no new episodes until April 23), as Sylar pinned that dupe Mohinder to the ceiling while slicing into Peter Petrelli’s skull to see why Peter ticks like Sylar, only less murderously. Blood drops from Peter’s forehead onto the floor, followed by that hank of hair. I cringed, then I cheered. Well done.The episode was a crackerjack thrill ride with one reversal after another. Simone rising from the dead? Shut up! It’s really Candice, the slinky shape-shifter! Mrs. Bennet betraying her hubby, in cahoots with The Company? Shut up! It’s really Candice, the slinky shape-shifter! What fun.By the way, I love how the writers have evolved HRG from sinister man...
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It's really a shame that this was the final episode of the season for The Class. I really think it has hit its stride now. It seems like the writers have finally found the pairings that work and have been able to mix a slight bit of drama into the comedy (and do it well). I've been consistently entertained throughout the last month or two. Personally, I'm disappointed it's going to leave the lineup. Some good laughs before the 24 bloodbath have been good for my Monday nights. We all talk a lot in this blog about the missing people from the show. Holly and Fern didn't show up again. Aaron finally came back, though that certainly could have been a hair double that Kyle was hugging at the end. The one person that never gets mentioned, however, is Penny! I completely forgot about Yonk's daughter. I probably said this the first time she showed up, too, but what did Yonk previously marry to produce that? I'm glad she's not full time as she's a one-joke, evil eating machine, but once every...
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