Ratings and Cancelation
I was scouring the internet tonight after I finished the Journeyman series tonight on Hulu. I stumbled across this article, and thought they had some valid points: The system used for calculating ratings is retarded.
I can't help but notice that countless good shows get canceled. I'm talking Firefly, Studio 60, Journeyman, and so many others. A common theme throughout all of these series is the intelligent level of writing and development which they receive. Yet curiously, networks claim bad ratings and cancel them, one after another. Never mind that each of these series have been backed by people who have critical acclaim from previous projects. Studio 60 was from Aaron Sorkin, who brought us The West Wing and Sports Night; Journeyman was from co-producer of The West Wing and Sports Night as well, and winner of 3 Emmys. I don't have to remind most of you about Joss Whedon.
Why do these shows get the brush while other, less quality shows, such as Lipstick Joungle get renewed? Well I have a few theories, because there are a few other things these shows also share. First of all, Two of the three of these shows are sci-fi, and as is pointed out, Sci-Fi shows are not so cheap to make. The third, Studio 60, had the name Sorkin behind it, and was able to get a huge budget, along with expensive stars, making it less attractive to more cheaply developed reality shows.
Additionally, I feel that shows that need several episodes to develop their characters seem to fair poorly with the attention span of modern-day Americans. Journeyman was one such show, as was Studio 60. It takes a huge stroke of luck, or talent, to sneak a character-developed show through those first weeks of coveting viewership. Lost managed to pull it off quite well, although JJ Abrams has not fared so well with his newest show Fringe.
I can't say that I'm not a culprit of this quick judgment, nor can Apples, who dismissed Journeyman as a bad 'Quantom Leap rip-off.' I did as much with Fringe, tired of seeing yet another 'detective show.' Perhaps I owe Abrams another shot.
In the meantime, what will it take to stop the dumbing down of American television? I can only rewatch the canceled classic so many times. I only hope that as everything moves to the internet, that the networks get some better polling data on exactly what people like. That, and do a better job promoting their projects for quality, rather than just for a quick buck.
I can't help but notice that countless good shows get canceled. I'm talking Firefly, Studio 60, Journeyman, and so many others. A common theme throughout all of these series is the intelligent level of writing and development which they receive. Yet curiously, networks claim bad ratings and cancel them, one after another. Never mind that each of these series have been backed by people who have critical acclaim from previous projects. Studio 60 was from Aaron Sorkin, who brought us The West Wing and Sports Night; Journeyman was from co-producer of The West Wing and Sports Night as well, and winner of 3 Emmys. I don't have to remind most of you about Joss Whedon.
Why do these shows get the brush while other, less quality shows, such as Lipstick Joungle get renewed? Well I have a few theories, because there are a few other things these shows also share. First of all, Two of the three of these shows are sci-fi, and as is pointed out, Sci-Fi shows are not so cheap to make. The third, Studio 60, had the name Sorkin behind it, and was able to get a huge budget, along with expensive stars, making it less attractive to more cheaply developed reality shows.
Additionally, I feel that shows that need several episodes to develop their characters seem to fair poorly with the attention span of modern-day Americans. Journeyman was one such show, as was Studio 60. It takes a huge stroke of luck, or talent, to sneak a character-developed show through those first weeks of coveting viewership. Lost managed to pull it off quite well, although JJ Abrams has not fared so well with his newest show Fringe.
I can't say that I'm not a culprit of this quick judgment, nor can Apples, who dismissed Journeyman as a bad 'Quantom Leap rip-off.' I did as much with Fringe, tired of seeing yet another 'detective show.' Perhaps I owe Abrams another shot.
In the meantime, what will it take to stop the dumbing down of American television? I can only rewatch the canceled classic so many times. I only hope that as everything moves to the internet, that the networks get some better polling data on exactly what people like. That, and do a better job promoting their projects for quality, rather than just for a quick buck.