They are doing them a favor.

Yea, the show was terrible, but it's not like NBC has got a blockbuster waiting in the wings to replace it. All this means is more "Biggest Loser" or some shit like that.

Seriously, that dude was like a SNL skit doing a Bond parody. He tried SO hard to channel Sean Connery, but came off like Steve Martin playing it straight.

unique said:

unique said:

Who would dare destroy such art!

728huey said:

And for all the hype over J.J. Abrams, his most succesful show on TV was Lost, and he only had a marginal influence on that show after the initial pilot. His other shows (Felicity, Alias, Fringe) managed only to draw niche audiences, and he has had his share of flops as well.

Felicity, Alias, and Fringe may have only reached niche audiences, but all three are great shows. Regardless, the pilot of Lost is a masterpiece that should keep him employed as long as he wants.

Undercovers wasn't great, but I also doubt NBC has anything better. I really wish they gave shows more time to find an audience. This season's best show was on cancellation watch right after it first aired and pulled after episode 2 (Lone Star).

Times are changing, that's for sure. Seems like nowadays a new show is on probation before it even airs, as if "OK, you've got a month to establish huge numbers and a giant following otherwise you're gone".

Your best bet is to find a paid-cable series that you like. They don't cancel those very often because they're not paid for by commercials . . . they're paid for by subscriptions.

Se7en said:

Times are changing, that's for sure. Seems like nowadays a new show is on probation before it even airs, as if "OK, you've got a month to establish huge numbers and a giant following otherwise you're gone".

Your best bet is to find a paid-cable series that you like. They don't cancel those very often because they're not paid for by commercials . . . they're paid for by subscriptions.

Yeah that is so true. They have a month to proove they are worthy of getting to 13 episodes. If you pass that hurdle you awarded the full 22 episode (like Hawaii 5-0 got). Remember the days when a tv show got cancelled and the network would still air all the episodes. Who's the Boss which was a big hit in the eighties would not have survive in todays tv battles. Who's the Boss in it's first season had bad ratings. Since the network had nothing to replace the network kept it on the air. During the summer when everything was a repeat for the third time, Who's the Boss ratings went up because people who were not watching it early on got a chance later on.

kpowers said:

Se7en said:

Times are changing, that's for sure. Seems like nowadays a new show is on probation before it even airs, as if "OK, you've got a month to establish huge numbers and a giant following otherwise you're gone".

Your best bet is to find a paid-cable series that you like. They don't cancel those very often because they're not paid for by commercials . . . they're paid for by subscriptions.

Yeah that is so true. They have a month to proove they are worthy of getting to 13 episodes. If you pass that hurdle you awarded the full 22 episode (like Hawaii 5-0 got). Remember the days when a tv show got cancelled and the network would still air all the episodes. Who's the Boss which was a big hit in the eighties would not have survive in todays tv battles. Who's the Boss in it's first season had bad ratings. Since the network had nothing to replace the network kept it on the air. During the summer when everything was a repeat for the third time, Who's the Boss ratings went up because people who were not watching it early on got a chance later on.

Seinfeld had pretty bad ratings too at the beginning, iirc. Up against Tim Allen's show, it was having a hard time. Sometimes shows just need a while to improve, too--the writing and acting get better and the rhythm of the show solidifies.

Still, what determines a hit show and what gets a show picked up for a full season all involve complicated mathematics that are way beyond me. It's not about huge numbers at all; it's about huge numbers in key demographics, and then it matters how much audience you lost or gained from your lead-in, and other fuzzy dynamics that confuse me.

There's 80 gajilion networks now, all sharing the same ad revenues that were previously split between the big three. That was the biggest hurdle for Fox's success at the beginning. They had to FIGHT to get real sponsors to move their money from ABC, NBC and CBS. These days there are many cable shows pulling the same ratings as all but the top shows on the major networks. Not to mention more people watching more sports on TV than ever before. If a show isn't pulling ratings, it won't get good ad revenue, so the networks stand to make more money by pulling it. Either by replacing it with another lame but highly watched reality show, or by releasing it on DVD/BluRay.

Cerebus said:

There's 80 gajilion networks now, all sharing the same ad revenues that were previously split between the big three. That was the biggest hurdle for Fox's success at the beginning. They had to FIGHT to get real sponsors to move their money from ABC, NBC and CBS. These days there are many cable shows pulling the same ratings as all but the top shows on the major networks. Not to mention more people watching more sports on TV than ever before. If a show isn't pulling ratings, it won't get good ad revenue, so the networks stand to make more money by pulling it. Either by replacing it with another lame but highly watched reality show, or by releasing it on DVD/BluRay.

Conversely, you have a situation where the networks will stick with a marginally rated program based on several factors; whether they have anything of value to replace it, whether it is near syndication, whether the network owns the show or not (in-house productions save $$$ and are more likely to be kept), what is its ratings in the 18-49 demo, and what night of the week the show airs on. Lone Star (FOX) and The Whole Truth (ABC) got cancelled early because not only were their shows failing badly when they had much higher-rated shows leading into it, but they also had available shows ready to replace them. Chase, on the other hand, has ratings which have fallen as disastrously low as the two aforementioned shows, yet shockingly NBC gave it a full season order. Since NBC was the lowest rated broadcast network last season, they have little to replace it with, and they don't want to go to the well too early to replace all of their failing shows.

Now as far as the night of the week is concerned, the networks are more likely to stick with a low rated show that airs on Friday night, since all of the networks have much lower ratings on that night then they do from Sunday-Thursday. The networks have given up running anything original on Saturday nights, with the spots saved for reruns save for the reality TV crime duo on FOX (Cops, America's Most Wanted) and college football on ABC in the fall.

Efan said:

kpowers said:

Yeah that is so true. They have a month to proove they are worthy of getting to 13 episodes. If you pass that hurdle you awarded the full 22 episode (like Hawaii 5-0 got). Remember the days when a tv show got cancelled and the network would still air all the episodes. Who's the Boss which was a big hit in the eighties would not have survive in todays tv battles. Who's the Boss in it's first season had bad ratings. Since the network had nothing to replace the network kept it on the air. During the summer when everything was a repeat for the third time, Who's the Boss ratings went up because people who were not watching it early on got a chance later on.

Seinfeld had pretty bad ratings too at the beginning, iirc. Up against Tim Allen's show, it was having a hard time. Sometimes shows just need a while to improve, too--the writing and acting get better and the rhythm of the show solidifies.

Still, what determines a hit show and what gets a show picked up for a full season all involve complicated mathematics that are way beyond me. It's not about huge numbers at all; it's about huge numbers in key demographics, and then it matters how much audience you lost or gained from your lead-in, and other fuzzy dynamics that confuse me.

Also if the Networks are behind the show even with bad ratings they may renew it.

728huey said:

Cerebus said:

There's 80 gajilion networks now, all sharing the same ad revenues that were previously split between the big three. That was the biggest hurdle for Fox's success at the beginning. They had to FIGHT to get real sponsors to move their money from ABC, NBC and CBS. These days there are many cable shows pulling the same ratings as all but the top shows on the major networks. Not to mention more people watching more sports on TV than ever before. If a show isn't pulling ratings, it won't get good ad revenue, so the networks stand to make more money by pulling it. Either by replacing it with another lame but highly watched reality show, or by releasing it on DVD/BluRay.

Conversely, you have a situation where the networks will stick with a marginally rated program based on several factors; whether they have anything of value to replace it, whether it is near syndication, whether the network owns the show or not (in-house productions save $$$ and are more likely to be kept), what is its ratings in the 18-49 demo, and what night of the week the show airs on. Lone Star (FOX) and The Whole Truth (ABC) got cancelled early because not only were their shows failing badly when they had much higher-rated shows leading into it, but they also had available shows ready to replace them. Chase, on the other hand, has ratings which have fallen as disastrously low as the two aforementioned shows, yet shockingly NBC gave it a full season order. Since NBC was the lowest rated broadcast network last season, they have little to replace it with, and they don't want to go to the well too early to replace all of their failing shows.

Now as far as the night of the week is concerned, the networks are more likely to stick with a low rated show that airs on Friday night, since all of the networks have much lower ratings on that night then they do from Sunday-Thursday. The networks have given up running anything original on Saturday nights, with the spots saved for reruns save for the reality TV crime duo on FOX (Cops, America's Most Wanted) and college football on ABC in the fall.

All very true with existing shows. But new shows (on the major networks) have almost no chance if they don't get decent ratings right out of the box and show at least marginal growth. That 18-49 demo has become such a huge issue, though. It can save or kill pretty much any show at this point.

Comedies seem to do far better -- and have longer lifespans -- than action or drama series. There were some BAD comedies in the 2000s that made you think "WTF" but they were still on. They're fun, but really not "good" shows. Examples: According To Jim, Yes Dear, My Wife And Kids, Reba, George Lopez, etc. Formulaic canned-laughter stuff.

First, comedies are a 1/2 hour so it's easier to keep attention spans. Also, they can squeeze 2 shows into the slot that 1 drama would fill.

Second, comedies air earlier in the night so they become something the whole family can watch.

BklynBabe said:

I bet if they made them into vampires, ratings would go up

Sad but true. I hope you didn't just type it into existence.

I don't watch much tv at all these days, but I tried to sit through an episode of this with a friend, and it was BY FAR one of the most boring, uninspired shows I've seen in a long time...The premise wasn't bad, but the execution was really weak.

BklynBabe said:

I bet if they made them into vampires, ratings would go up

Hey, here's an idea for next season:

Coming this fall:

She's a brilliant doctor who saves the lives of those patients with no hope....and she's got a thirst for blood! Her loving husband is a former Navy SEAL who is a top investigator at the NIS, investigating crimes among the armed forces. But when the moon rises, the fangs come out, and the claws come reaching! Together, this sexy vampire doctor and werewolf federal agent are going undercover to stop terrorists, while still saving time to teach choir practice at their local church. From the producers of House, True Blood, NCIS and Glee come this season's most inventive new show....Barking At The Moon.

728huey said:

BklynBabe said:

I bet if they made them into vampires, ratings would go up

Hey, here's an idea for next season:

Coming this fall:

She's a brilliant doctor who saves the lives of those patients with no hope....and she's got a thirst for blood! Her loving husband is a former Navy SEAL who is a top investigator at the NIS, investigating crimes among the armed forces. But when the moon rises, the fangs come out, and the claws come reaching! Together, this sexy vampire doctor and werewolf federal agent are going undercover to stop terrorists, while still saving time to teach choir practice at their local church. From the producers of House, True Blood, NCIS and Glee come this season's most inventive new show....Barking At The Moon.

C'mon now, you had up til the church part. That's where my suspension of disbelief stops. Ain't no vampires runnin' up in no church.

nursev said:

It was terrible I watched it a couple of times trying to give Boris a chance, but it was whack and the lady is a Kerry Washington look alike

Come to think of it, they do look alike. And they're both stunning.

JohnFrancisDooley said:

nursev said:

DesireeNevermind said:

Aw hell let's quit playing shall we?

HERE!!!!

I need to kidnap him for like 20 minutes.

[img:$uid]http://www.takegreatpictures.com/app/webroot/content/2010_images/2004/10/28/tip1_5034.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://www.televisioninternet.com/news/pictures/boris-kodjoe-sophie-spina-bifida.jpg[/img:$uid]

I don't normally find light skinned dudes cute, but damn he is fine!

Not that I don't find light skinned dudes cute. Many are. It's just that me being light skinned, I'm attacted to opposites. The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice!

Yeah, ole yella is foine. If he were my man, I'd just wish he were darker!

Maybe his member is dark skinned.

DesireeNevermind said:

Maybe his member is dark skinned.

You so crazy!

BklynBabe said:

I bet if they made them into vampires, ratings would go up

I think they would also need some Zombies, Killer Robots and be set 700 years into the future to make this show any good.

Forget Boris. Where do I go now to get my Gugu Mbatha-Raw fix?

The show looked pretty bad, and if I believe the people here it actually was pretty bad.

But they didn't give it much of a chance either. Seinfeld was not as good in the very beginning as it was later.

If it sucks, why put it on in the first place? And if it's decent, give it a chance. I hate that networks cancel good shows that don't take off right away.

WELL...

Boris will find another job. That actress is going to have a hard time though.