I think that Americans are going to have to get used to this kind of thing. I see a lot more TV going to this 'british' style of seasons. Some of it is because of importing shows, but a lot is because of things like American Idol and Survivor have made it more viable to the US audience.
I tend to prefer the staggered new episodes. Less pressure on my TV time, because the series are spread apart. You also don't have that crap with reruns in the middle of 'seasons'. You get the new episodes all in a row, then done until next time.
Yes, if you like a show, you want to see more of it. But to me, 20 episodes in a row is REALLY fatiguing. It makes me more likely to drop a show.
Staggering them a bit is cool but what SciFI wants to do is stupid. 8 episodes in 2008? What, we get new episodes in January and February and then that's it for 10 months? And even then it's only 10 episodes?
This reminds me of a MadTV skit about The Sopranos. Essentially, they were making fun of HBO's attempt to stretch out the final season a few years with the last episode airing in 2012 or something.
SciFi is doing the same thing. This is the lst season, everyone knows it's the last season. Why not be as loyal to the fans as they've been loyal to you? Give them the close they've been looking for in one year.
SciFi doesn't know SH*T about what to do with a good show or a successful show. Witness Painkiller Jane and The Dresden Files. Both scrapped. For what? A pathetic version of Flash Gordon?
This behavior is nothing new for SCI FI, which regularly screwed over Farscape, it's top-rated show at the time. They split up FS's episodes all the time, as you can see by the long stretches in between episodes, here. The run from the first half of Season 3 was the worst; we went from August to April of the following year with nothing, then had only 4 episodes, then had a hiatus until June before the bulk of Season 4 ran. Needless to say this scheduling was difficult on the viewers and made building or sustaining any kind of ratings very difficult.
Write away, but don't expect any changes. SCI FI is notoriously thick-skulled when it comes to managing their critical darlings.
It doesn't bother me that much - I'll still watch the episodes whenever they finally broadcast - but it is a pretty shoddy way to treat the fans. It's obviously an attempt to milk a successful show for as long as possible.
I think there's something to Dan's theory. Or maybe we're reaching the point where DVD sales after the series concludes are more important than "realtime" viewings and ratings.
It seems bad to you because that's not what the past model of American TV has been. But it's far friendlier to the networks, producers, actors, etc. They get to work all at once on a show, then be done with it for a significant amount of time (to work on other stuff).
I think the rise of DVD's does have a bit to do with it, and there are lots of people who would much rather watch all the DVD episodes than wait each week for the broadcasts (I did this with Dr. Who Season 2). No commercial breaks, can watch 2 in a night, or one each night of the week, or whatever you want.
Two of the three shows you mention are British. This isn't England. They also don't have commertial breaks in their programs but we do.
And yes, there are shows that only air a few episodes a seaon. Eureka is one. The 4400 is another. Except with those shows they didn't actually film, say, 20 episodes in a run and then cut that number in half to make two seasons.
They do 10, 11, 13 or whatever and they're done until they're picked up for a new season.
And why do you bastards have to mention The Dresden Files and Farscape? Why do you have to open those wounds? Though, I can get my Dresden fix by reading the novels (which are quite good). And, saints be praised, Farscape is coming back as a web-series. I have no idea what it'll look like but the original writes of the show areinvolved so it shouldn't suck.
It could be that they're putting pressure on RDM &Co. to fine-tune the storylines and not give us "Black Market"-style crap in a 20 episode arc. I wouldn't mind a season 4 and season 4.5 if it meant more quality. What I don't understand is why the hell we have to wait until 2008 for the new season to begin (I'm not counting the prequel movie as the start).
Yeah, Kevin, when I say that they're moving toward the 'British' style of seasons, I'm probably going to mention British shows. They're also shows that have been shown on Sci-Fi channel. That's exactly the point.
So if they are moving to that style of scheduling, for consistency, wouldn't they want to take a 20-show season they've got, and break it up the same kind of way?
But neither SciFi nor NBC has ever stated that was their intent. That is, to move their whole programming schedule to reflect the British model. And this is the only show they've done it to. Ever.
You keep trying to draw a parallel where there is none. BSG is done with this, the 4th, season. Or 5th is SciFi has it's way. There will be no new season pickup. They're not doing this to give the actors, producers, writers or anyone else a break. There is simply no parallel between what's happening to BSG and the British style of television making. I don't know why you keep trying to draw a line.
Matthew,
Blackmarket was an episode demanded by SciFi in the hopes that a self-contained episode would draw more viewers. I'm pretty sure it didn't. Splitting the season 4 episode count wouldn't ensure higher quality episodes because most of the 20 episodes, if not all, are done shooting. They're in the can more or less. To make it more clear: The last 10 episodes of the psuedo 5th season were written at the exact same time the previous 10 were written.
It's a completely artificial cut. Nothing at all prepared for by the writers and producers of BSG.
It's like taking a theatrical film that runs 120 minutes and the studio decideds to cut it in half and sells the final 60 minutes as a sequel when the film itself was never written or prepared to be shown as such.
Again, a completely artifical cut to make more money.
SciFi has been scheduling things like this for the last two years. They've had recurring summer shows, fall only shows, spring only shows. So maybe they had an order for 20 shows, and wanted to do the same thing with it.
Flash Gordon, a current Sci-Fi series, has 11 episodes. Ghost Hunters, in its third season, had 6 last fall, and then 11 this summer/fall (so BSG is NOT the 'only show they've done it to'). Mind Control has 6 episodes. Who Wants to Be a Superhero has 8 episodes. Destination Truth has 6 episodes. The Gift has 6 episodes.
Of the 12 shows listed on TVRage for SciFi current running series, 3 have seasons longer than 13 episodes. The rest are all as I've described. So based on the evidence I'm seeing, they're moving to shorter, contiguous seasons. As for them not telling you about it, maybe you're not on the memo CC list for NBC/SciFi?
Of all the wonderful shows you've mentioned Ghost Hunters is the only show that had it's run cut. And even that cut wasn't made to create two seasons out of one!
So, again, you've given us really nothing to support you're supposition that what SciFi has done to BSG is common in the English model of television making.
And it's far more likely that SciFi is ordering so many shows with so few episodes each season as to lessen the financial impact should a show get cancelled. Better to lose money on 13 episodes than 22.
Aditionally, all the shows you've mentioned air on the less popular, more financially risky, cable networks. We see nothing like that really happening on the major networks like ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX.
Where those networks can better take the financial hit of losing a show after ordering a whole season their cable counterparts cannot. So, lower episode orders is, well, the order of the day.
SciFi doesn't know SH*T about what to do with a good show or a successful show. Witness Painkiller Jane and The Dresden Files. Both scrapped. For what? A pathetic version of Flash Gordon?
Made me laugh.
And yes, Sci-Fi is terribly mismanaged when it comes to product/asset presentation. It's not only the scheduled season changes, the good shows which are dropped for no reason (Dresden Files -which was not only cleverly written most of the time but extremely well acted and was getting ever better til canceled), it's the moving around of time slots, and so forth and so on. People must be pretty desperate for Sci-Fi and Fantasy themed material overall for that channel to even still be in business. They run that operation (regarding their properties) like it is a third tier comic book publisher, or a dime novel fantasy imprint.
I think the same folks who run CBS news must run Sci-Fi scheduling. But, c'est la vie I reckon. It is TV after all, which means little common sense anyways. The entertainment industry as a whole isn't real big on deep thought and the long run.
9.21.2007 9:55am
Commenting on Dean's World is a privilege, not a right. Dean is your host, you are his guest, and you should behave in that fashion. Dean is not your babysitter, nor is he your punching bag. Please remember this. In general, you are free to disagree with anyone on any subject you wish, but abusive behavior will not be tolerated.
Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.
Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.
I tend to prefer the staggered new episodes. Less pressure on my TV time, because the series are spread apart. You also don't have that crap with reruns in the middle of 'seasons'. You get the new episodes all in a row, then done until next time.
Yes, if you like a show, you want to see more of it. But to me, 20 episodes in a row is REALLY fatiguing. It makes me more likely to drop a show.
Staggering them a bit is cool but what SciFI wants to do is stupid. 8 episodes in 2008? What, we get new episodes in January and February and then that's it for 10 months? And even then it's only 10 episodes?
This reminds me of a MadTV skit about The Sopranos. Essentially, they were making fun of HBO's attempt to stretch out the final season a few years with the last episode airing in 2012 or something.
SciFi is doing the same thing. This is the lst season, everyone knows it's the last season. Why not be as loyal to the fans as they've been loyal to you? Give them the close they've been looking for in one year.
Write away, but don't expect any changes. SCI FI is notoriously thick-skulled when it comes to managing their critical darlings.
For the love of Hugo Gernsback, finish the story.
I think there's something to Dan's theory. Or maybe we're reaching the point where DVD sales after the series concludes are more important than "realtime" viewings and ratings.
Red Dwarf: 6-8 episodes per year of a 1/2 hour show
Doctor Who (New Series): 13 episodes per year
Eureka: 12-13 episodes per year
It seems bad to you because that's not what the past model of American TV has been. But it's far friendlier to the networks, producers, actors, etc. They get to work all at once on a show, then be done with it for a significant amount of time (to work on other stuff).
I think the rise of DVD's does have a bit to do with it, and there are lots of people who would much rather watch all the DVD episodes than wait each week for the broadcasts (I did this with Dr. Who Season 2). No commercial breaks, can watch 2 in a night, or one each night of the week, or whatever you want.
Two of the three shows you mention are British. This isn't England. They also don't have commertial breaks in their programs but we do.
And yes, there are shows that only air a few episodes a seaon. Eureka is one. The 4400 is another. Except with those shows they didn't actually film, say, 20 episodes in a run and then cut that number in half to make two seasons.
They do 10, 11, 13 or whatever and they're done until they're picked up for a new season.
And why do you bastards have to mention The Dresden Files and Farscape? Why do you have to open those wounds? Though, I can get my Dresden fix by reading the novels (which are quite good). And, saints be praised, Farscape is coming back as a web-series. I have no idea what it'll look like but the original writes of the show areinvolved so it shouldn't suck.
So if they are moving to that style of scheduling, for consistency, wouldn't they want to take a 20-show season they've got, and break it up the same kind of way?
But neither SciFi nor NBC has ever stated that was their intent. That is, to move their whole programming schedule to reflect the British model. And this is the only show they've done it to. Ever.
You keep trying to draw a parallel where there is none. BSG is done with this, the 4th, season. Or 5th is SciFi has it's way. There will be no new season pickup. They're not doing this to give the actors, producers, writers or anyone else a break. There is simply no parallel between what's happening to BSG and the British style of television making. I don't know why you keep trying to draw a line.
Matthew,
Blackmarket was an episode demanded by SciFi in the hopes that a self-contained episode would draw more viewers. I'm pretty sure it didn't. Splitting the season 4 episode count wouldn't ensure higher quality episodes because most of the 20 episodes, if not all, are done shooting. They're in the can more or less. To make it more clear: The last 10 episodes of the psuedo 5th season were written at the exact same time the previous 10 were written.
It's a completely artificial cut. Nothing at all prepared for by the writers and producers of BSG.
It's like taking a theatrical film that runs 120 minutes and the studio decideds to cut it in half and sells the final 60 minutes as a sequel when the film itself was never written or prepared to be shown as such.
Again, a completely artifical cut to make more money.
Flash Gordon, a current Sci-Fi series, has 11 episodes. Ghost Hunters, in its third season, had 6 last fall, and then 11 this summer/fall (so BSG is NOT the 'only show they've done it to'). Mind Control has 6 episodes. Who Wants to Be a Superhero has 8 episodes. Destination Truth has 6 episodes. The Gift has 6 episodes.
Of the 12 shows listed on TVRage for SciFi current running series, 3 have seasons longer than 13 episodes. The rest are all as I've described. So based on the evidence I'm seeing, they're moving to shorter, contiguous seasons. As for them not telling you about it, maybe you're not on the memo CC list for NBC/SciFi?
So, again, you've given us really nothing to support you're supposition that what SciFi has done to BSG is common in the English model of television making.
And it's far more likely that SciFi is ordering so many shows with so few episodes each season as to lessen the financial impact should a show get cancelled. Better to lose money on 13 episodes than 22.
Aditionally, all the shows you've mentioned air on the less popular, more financially risky, cable networks. We see nothing like that really happening on the major networks like ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX.
Where those networks can better take the financial hit of losing a show after ordering a whole season their cable counterparts cannot. So, lower episode orders is, well, the order of the day.
Made me laugh.
And yes, Sci-Fi is terribly mismanaged when it comes to product/asset presentation. It's not only the scheduled season changes, the good shows which are dropped for no reason (Dresden Files -which was not only cleverly written most of the time but extremely well acted and was getting ever better til canceled), it's the moving around of time slots, and so forth and so on. People must be pretty desperate for Sci-Fi and Fantasy themed material overall for that channel to even still be in business. They run that operation (regarding their properties) like it is a third tier comic book publisher, or a dime novel fantasy imprint.
I think the same folks who run CBS news must run Sci-Fi scheduling. But, c'est la vie I reckon. It is TV after all, which means little common sense anyways. The entertainment industry as a whole isn't real big on deep thought and the long run.
Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.
Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.