Parallels all over the place.
I was reading (I know, a nasty habit that I have been so indulgent in) another article on www.cnn.com when I happened upon some interesting thoughts.
It was an article written on Sept 23rd, about the incredible ratings that the series opener of the TV show "Lost". It was a great episode, but I was surprised that it managed to tally up 23.4 million viewers. It still seems like a rather large figure to me.
But the factiod that got me thinking was in the article's third paragraph about some show named "Head Cases". I never really heard that much about this show, all I knew was that it was really new. But when it was pummelled so soundly (like ALL the other networks) it was cancelled. It had only aired two shows! It is a big circle, and exactly why people don't bother watching new shows unless everyone knows it is spectacular, even before the premiere. Audiences are sick and tired of finding and developing an attachment to a TV show, only to have it ripped away from them by network executives that are so impatient that they can't allow a solid show to build an audience and find genuine relationships with the viewers. The TV watching community is now savvy enough that they know if a show rates poorly it will be cancelled, and they aren't going to watch shows that have that stink about them (Kevin Hill, Joan of Arcadia's 2nd season, Blind Justice, et al). So that causes dissappointing ratings, and then the networks knee-jerk reaction is: "cancel, cancel, cancel. Start with something fresh". And that just fosters the next round of dissappointing shows and quick kills.
There is an episode of Red Dwarf, in which Lister finds out (insert some great sci-fi geekiness here) and they talk about this mythical creature Ouroboros. A giant snake that perpetually lives by feeding off of itself. Living life in a circle. Whenever I find a situation that vaguely fits that description I chuckle.
It was an article written on Sept 23rd, about the incredible ratings that the series opener of the TV show "Lost". It was a great episode, but I was surprised that it managed to tally up 23.4 million viewers. It still seems like a rather large figure to me.
But the factiod that got me thinking was in the article's third paragraph about some show named "Head Cases". I never really heard that much about this show, all I knew was that it was really new. But when it was pummelled so soundly (like ALL the other networks) it was cancelled. It had only aired two shows! It is a big circle, and exactly why people don't bother watching new shows unless everyone knows it is spectacular, even before the premiere. Audiences are sick and tired of finding and developing an attachment to a TV show, only to have it ripped away from them by network executives that are so impatient that they can't allow a solid show to build an audience and find genuine relationships with the viewers. The TV watching community is now savvy enough that they know if a show rates poorly it will be cancelled, and they aren't going to watch shows that have that stink about them (Kevin Hill, Joan of Arcadia's 2nd season, Blind Justice, et al). So that causes dissappointing ratings, and then the networks knee-jerk reaction is: "cancel, cancel, cancel. Start with something fresh". And that just fosters the next round of dissappointing shows and quick kills.
There is an episode of Red Dwarf, in which Lister finds out (insert some great sci-fi geekiness here) and they talk about this mythical creature Ouroboros. A giant snake that perpetually lives by feeding off of itself. Living life in a circle. Whenever I find a situation that vaguely fits that description I chuckle.
posted by Tim @ 5:31 PM
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