GCB's US ratings really annoyed me. I didn't watch the first episode because its ratings were okay-ish, but I thought they would drop after that. The ratings actually went up in the second episode, so I didn't think it would be cancelled so I started watching it, only after the ratings started dropping and then it got cancelled.
Also sad about Ringer and TSC. Mainly TSC, because it was obvious Ringer wasn't coming back, but I thought TSC had a chance, its ratings in the US weren't that bad and were definitely better than Nikita and Hart of Dixie.
I think they kept Hart of Dixie because it was attracting an older audience and they are trying to branch out a bit from purely showing teen friendly shows.
I do wonder why the UK dont hold off to see if a show is a hit before buying it from the US. if i had paid out loads of money for a show and they they cut it I inkow i would ask fo some of my money back.
They used to do that IIRC. Things used to arrive a year or so later and be hailed as "US smashes" or whatever but now the channels compete to find the next big thing before the others and so they buy anything hailed as "the new Lost" or whatever only to find it flunk within a matter of weeks.
And the rise in internet downloaders means they're pressured into showing things as fast as possible.
I think they kept Hart of Dixie because it was attracting an older audience and they are trying to branch out a bit from purely showing teen friendly shows.
Wasn't Ringer also attracting an older audience as well, though?
I think they ought to at least negotiate better and get themselves a deal that guarantees a partial refund for an incomplete season for example.
IIRC when a show gets cancelled overseas broadcaster who bought rights to full series get a deal on the next year's crop
granted this isn't always a success, as they could be buying one flop after another.
I think UK (and other overseas) broadcasters should look into do more shared ownership deal. Similar to the deal which saved Baywatch back in the 90's. That show was middling successful in America but a big hit in UK, so LWT (along with a few other broadcasters) pitched in and guranteed funding.
When looking at the latest upfronts tv buyers should offer to part fund on the gurantee there will be at least 2 years worth of episodes. The cost is spread and the US networks might not get so jumpy and dump things
Nice idea in theory, but prone to ability of buyers to spot decent product in a sea of dross
Wasn't Ringer also attracting an older audience as well, though?
But Ringer realistically didn't have potential for longevity in it's plot, and was likely to only get lower and lower in the ratings as it became more convoluted and ridiculous.
Hart of Dixie has, well, heart, and could potentially bring on board more viewers. It won't matter if they didn't see any of the first season because the plots aren't dependent so much on a week to week element.
There's also the fact that the Hart of Dixie cast were acting and the Ringer cast, well, um... at times I laughed myself stupid at the line delivery.
I think UK (and other overseas) broadcasters should look into do more shared ownership deal. Similar to the deal which saved Baywatch back in the 90's. That show was middling successful in America but a big hit in UK, so LWT (along with a few other broadcasters) pitched in and guranteed funding.
Yes- I remember that now you mention it. The trouble is that America shows here are mostly bought by cable companies, predominantly, but not exclusively, Sky. They will never get the kind of viewing figures that the terrestrial channels get, so I don;t see that there will ever be the numbers to back such a move again in the future.
I have Firefly syndrome, I never try new shows now until they've been on for a few years with the exception of Dollhouse and this year Ringer - i'm not all that bothered that it was axed tbh.
I didn't see Awake on that list, what is the fate of that excellent show?
Awake has sadly gone, it's such as same as i was begining to really love this show.So much better that this csi stuff that seems to run and run. AMC or showtime please rescue it please
I liked Flashforward and the Event, and resented the time I put into watching them, with no story closure, recently I had 8 episodes of Alcatraz to watch but deleted them as soon as I heard the show was cancelled.
IIRC when a show gets cancelled overseas broadcaster who bought rights to full series get a deal on the next year's crop
granted this isn't always a success, as they could be buying one flop after another.
I think UK (and other overseas) broadcasters should look into do more shared ownership deal. Similar to the deal which saved Baywatch back in the 90's. That show was middling successful in America but a big hit in UK, so LWT (along with a few other broadcasters) pitched in and guranteed funding.
When looking at the latest upfronts tv buyers should offer to part fund on the gurantee there will be at least 2 years worth of episodes. The cost is spread and the US networks might not get so jumpy and dump things
Nice idea in theory, but prone to ability of buyers to spot decent product in a sea of dross
But regardless of the funding, there would be barely any profit to be made for them as a business if the ratings continued to slide over those 2 years and they are left with no advertisers wanting slots.
They will want to give the slot in the schedule to a money maker.
Today the 3 main U.S. programmes I watch:
The Simpsons
Criminal Minds
Alcatraz
Those first 2 have been renewed but the 3rd one is cancelled, which is a shame really as I am enjoying it at the moment. I did watch Flashforward when it was on and was surprised it only lasted for 1 season. LOST had a good run I think but I found it got a bit boring after Season 3.
I was one of the people who watched flash forward and even though i knew it was cancelled i still watched it till the end. Have to say that the season finale set it up for another whole season, maybe even a few more, thats how good the season finale was and that just left me with no closure. Usually what i do now is wait a few years until i watch a tv show.
For example i watched Chuck when season 4 was airing and it was cancelled after 5 seasons so it wasn't that bad because i could see it was going downhill and knew it would end after 5 seasons. I have seen a few new shows like Last Man Standing, but thats because Tim Allen is in it and well if that got cancelled (which it hasn't) then i'd probably be in the same position as i was with flash forward. Probably not as much though as FF was story driven where as LMS is a sitcom.
Talking about TV shows leaving you with no closure, Criminal Minds Suspect Behaviour. It ends with a black screen and a gunshot and we have no idea who did the shooting and who got shot :mad:
Things used to arrive a year or so later and be hailed as "US smashes" or whatever but now the channels compete to find the next big thing before the others and so they buy anything hailed as "the new Lost" or whatever only to find it flunk within a matter of weeks.
I think I'm right in saying that "Pan Am" premiered on the BBC to lots of hoo-hah and was given the front cover of Radio Times the same week it was cancelled in the US - ouch. Mind you, the US suffers too - Paul Reiser was still on the chat show circuit promoting his sitcom when it was pulled after 2 episodes - double ouch.
The non-endings of Alcatraz and Ringer this year are really making me think twice about watching any new series until I know they're going to last more than one season... I still have episodes of GCB and Awake to watch, but probably can't be bothered!
Funnily enough, the best season-ending I've seen this year has been Once Upon A Time, which was actually renewed, but could have easily been turned into a "proper" ending just by editing out about 90 seconds of footage.
It's not something which bothers me too much. Very few shows get properly wrapped up. Some are cancelled mid-season and others are simply not renewed. Some go on too long and with many others the viewer just gives in. And even when there is a proper finale many will just criticise it.
So, I'm struggling to think of many shows which had a good run, finished at the right time and had a good finale that left most people satisfied.
Any nominations? Buffy? West Wing? These were probably my two favourite US shows ever and I think both finished at about the right time and ended having told a story.
It's not something which bothers me too much. Very few shows get properly wrapped up. Some are cancelled mid-season and others are simply not renewed. Some go on too long and with many others the viewer just gives in. And even when there is a proper finale many will just criticise it.
So, I'm struggling to think of many shows which had a good run, finished at the right time and had a good finale that left most people satisfied.
Any nominations? Buffy? West Wing? These were probably my two favourite US shows ever and I think both finished at about the right time and ended having told a story.
Friends - until it was killed by endless repeats and Syndication
I'm struggling to think of many shows which had a good run, finished at the right time and had a good finale that left most people satisfied.
Any nominations?
The Shield had a great ending, absolutely appropriate to all we'd seen before. I hated the Angel finale at the time, but have grown to quite like it.
What I don't like about all the "non-endings", is that I become more and more convinced that writers never actually know how they're going to end things, and are just taking the audience for mugs, like starting a (long) joke without knowing the punchline...
I have been guilty of deleting off a series if I found out it had been cancelled, particularly if I was struggling with it.
I was enjoying the Ringer but that season went on far too long & it got really ridiculous so I've deleted off 5 of the last 6 episodes & just left the last one!
Coincidently, I didn't realise that Alcatraz had been cancelled so I'm glad I deleted that off too!
On the subject of good endings, I agree with the Shield. I also think that ER was tied up nicely & I'm hoping that One Tree Hill gets the send off it deserves next week
Any nominations? Buffy? West Wing? These were probably my two favourite US shows ever and I think both finished at about the right time and ended having told a story.
For the first few seasons Buffy struggled to stay on air thankfully they managed to get through, I also agree that Buffy ended at the right time.
Comments
Also sad about Ringer and TSC. Mainly TSC, because it was obvious Ringer wasn't coming back, but I thought TSC had a chance, its ratings in the US weren't that bad and were definitely better than Nikita and Hart of Dixie.
They used to do that IIRC. Things used to arrive a year or so later and be hailed as "US smashes" or whatever but now the channels compete to find the next big thing before the others and so they buy anything hailed as "the new Lost" or whatever only to find it flunk within a matter of weeks.
And the rise in internet downloaders means they're pressured into showing things as fast as possible.
Wasn't Ringer also attracting an older audience as well, though?
IIRC when a show gets cancelled overseas broadcaster who bought rights to full series get a deal on the next year's crop
granted this isn't always a success, as they could be buying one flop after another.
I think UK (and other overseas) broadcasters should look into do more shared ownership deal. Similar to the deal which saved Baywatch back in the 90's. That show was middling successful in America but a big hit in UK, so LWT (along with a few other broadcasters) pitched in and guranteed funding.
When looking at the latest upfronts tv buyers should offer to part fund on the gurantee there will be at least 2 years worth of episodes. The cost is spread and the US networks might not get so jumpy and dump things
Nice idea in theory, but prone to ability of buyers to spot decent product in a sea of dross
But Ringer realistically didn't have potential for longevity in it's plot, and was likely to only get lower and lower in the ratings as it became more convoluted and ridiculous.
Hart of Dixie has, well, heart, and could potentially bring on board more viewers. It won't matter if they didn't see any of the first season because the plots aren't dependent so much on a week to week element.
There's also the fact that the Hart of Dixie cast were acting and the Ringer cast, well, um... at times I laughed myself stupid at the line delivery.
Yes- I remember that now you mention it. The trouble is that America shows here are mostly bought by cable companies, predominantly, but not exclusively, Sky. They will never get the kind of viewing figures that the terrestrial channels get, so I don;t see that there will ever be the numbers to back such a move again in the future.
Awake has sadly gone, it's such as same as i was begining to really love this show.So much better that this csi stuff that seems to run and run. AMC or showtime please rescue it please
But regardless of the funding, there would be barely any profit to be made for them as a business if the ratings continued to slide over those 2 years and they are left with no advertisers wanting slots.
They will want to give the slot in the schedule to a money maker.
The Simpsons
Criminal Minds
Alcatraz
Those first 2 have been renewed but the 3rd one is cancelled, which is a shame really as I am enjoying it at the moment. I did watch Flashforward when it was on and was surprised it only lasted for 1 season. LOST had a good run I think but I found it got a bit boring after Season 3.
For example i watched Chuck when season 4 was airing and it was cancelled after 5 seasons so it wasn't that bad because i could see it was going downhill and knew it would end after 5 seasons. I have seen a few new shows like Last Man Standing, but thats because Tim Allen is in it and well if that got cancelled (which it hasn't) then i'd probably be in the same position as i was with flash forward. Probably not as much though as FF was story driven where as LMS is a sitcom.
The non-endings of Alcatraz and Ringer this year are really making me think twice about watching any new series until I know they're going to last more than one season... I still have episodes of GCB and Awake to watch, but probably can't be bothered!
Funnily enough, the best season-ending I've seen this year has been Once Upon A Time, which was actually renewed, but could have easily been turned into a "proper" ending just by editing out about 90 seconds of footage.
So, I'm struggling to think of many shows which had a good run, finished at the right time and had a good finale that left most people satisfied.
Any nominations? Buffy? West Wing? These were probably my two favourite US shows ever and I think both finished at about the right time and ended having told a story.
Friends - until it was killed by endless repeats and Syndication
What I don't like about all the "non-endings", is that I become more and more convinced that writers never actually know how they're going to end things, and are just taking the audience for mugs, like starting a (long) joke without knowing the punchline...
I have been guilty of deleting off a series if I found out it had been cancelled, particularly if I was struggling with it.
I was enjoying the Ringer but that season went on far too long & it got really ridiculous so I've deleted off 5 of the last 6 episodes & just left the last one!
Coincidently, I didn't realise that Alcatraz had been cancelled so I'm glad I deleted that off too!
On the subject of good endings, I agree with the Shield. I also think that ER was tied up nicely & I'm hoping that One Tree Hill gets the send off it deserves next week
For the first few seasons Buffy struggled to stay on air thankfully they managed to get through, I also agree that Buffy ended at the right time.
Though I'm still upset about Firefly.