Commentary on the Artistic Backlashes in Media
It's been a strange year for television. Hollywood's Writer's Guild was on strike for 3 and a half months and that pretty much destroyed the whole season. There was nothing to watch from November to now, and it's too late in the season to restart big shows like Heroes or Law and Order. In fact, Heroes ran out of scripts around Christmas and could only make half a season. The story suffered and even the creator admitted this second season was sub-par and apologized for it. The strike ruined the second season, forcing the artistic talent behind the show to compromise, which destroyed the show for me. I join a legion of fans now skeptical about a third season's success.
The artistic stifling doesn't end there though. I think we all have shows in mind that have suffered for one reason or another this last year. One of those shows is Jericho. Now, you may remember the last time I mentioned this show in May of '07 when CBS relented to fan criticism about canceling the show after one season. They agreed to a short 7-episode second season to run as a midseason replacement. Those seven episodes have been airing recently and, despite ratings that would be phenomenal for any cable show, CBS once again cancelled Jericho. Because the strike didn't allow them to produce new shows, CBS doesn't have a strong programming lineup for this coming fall season. Jericho is one of the last hits that channel has and they're tossing it. I fear for their 2008-2009 season. Jericho fans are hoping to get the show picked up for a third season by the Scifi Channel or even the CW. My point is, the ratings were good (Considering they were up against American Idol) and it's not like they have anything else in the pipe. Why kill a hit?
The decisions of people in charge who don't know art when they see it carries over to film as well. There's an article up today on the IMDB about a movie called Fanboys that's been floating around for years without a release date. It's a movie about some Star Wars super-fans who decide to break into Skywalker Ranch in California and steal a print of Episode I before it's released in 1999. As the film gained interest (Even Lucas gave it his "stamp of approval"), they were given more money for reshoots and the release date was continually pushed back. Now, when a studio gives you money to make a film, what do you suppose happens? That's right, they suddenly want a say in the film's production. Sure enough, The Weinstein Company tapped some mana and decided to make a second version of the film which removed one character's cancer illness and with it, the heart of the movie. Fans revolted and have decided to boycott this weekend's opening of Weinstein's Superhero Movie (Which looks dumb anyway). This could get interesting.
Bottom line, I hate to see artistic creation die because of production politics and a faulty, outdated ratings system. But, it's good to know that fans are more vocal than ever and sometimes, as was the case with Jericho, can actually save a show. Tonight at 10 PM on CBS is Jericho's very last new episode with an ending filmed specifically to wrap the series up. I'll be there watching as yet another good show slowly dies a fate it didn't deserve.
The artistic stifling doesn't end there though. I think we all have shows in mind that have suffered for one reason or another this last year. One of those shows is Jericho. Now, you may remember the last time I mentioned this show in May of '07 when CBS relented to fan criticism about canceling the show after one season. They agreed to a short 7-episode second season to run as a midseason replacement. Those seven episodes have been airing recently and, despite ratings that would be phenomenal for any cable show, CBS once again cancelled Jericho. Because the strike didn't allow them to produce new shows, CBS doesn't have a strong programming lineup for this coming fall season. Jericho is one of the last hits that channel has and they're tossing it. I fear for their 2008-2009 season. Jericho fans are hoping to get the show picked up for a third season by the Scifi Channel or even the CW. My point is, the ratings were good (Considering they were up against American Idol) and it's not like they have anything else in the pipe. Why kill a hit?
The decisions of people in charge who don't know art when they see it carries over to film as well. There's an article up today on the IMDB about a movie called Fanboys that's been floating around for years without a release date. It's a movie about some Star Wars super-fans who decide to break into Skywalker Ranch in California and steal a print of Episode I before it's released in 1999. As the film gained interest (Even Lucas gave it his "stamp of approval"), they were given more money for reshoots and the release date was continually pushed back. Now, when a studio gives you money to make a film, what do you suppose happens? That's right, they suddenly want a say in the film's production. Sure enough, The Weinstein Company tapped some mana and decided to make a second version of the film which removed one character's cancer illness and with it, the heart of the movie. Fans revolted and have decided to boycott this weekend's opening of Weinstein's Superhero Movie (Which looks dumb anyway). This could get interesting.
Bottom line, I hate to see artistic creation die because of production politics and a faulty, outdated ratings system. But, it's good to know that fans are more vocal than ever and sometimes, as was the case with Jericho, can actually save a show. Tonight at 10 PM on CBS is Jericho's very last new episode with an ending filmed specifically to wrap the series up. I'll be there watching as yet another good show slowly dies a fate it didn't deserve.