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Originally posted here, copywrite me, used here with my permission. Go nuts, everybody.
quote: It has been said, and I will proudly parrot this, that if you had a cable channel that showed only shows that had been cancelled by Fox and the SciFi channel, you could have one of the best lineups on television ever. I wish I knew who to give credit for pointing this out, but it was a random forum or chatroom thing a while back, so I really have no idea at this point. Think it over. We'll come back to it in a moment.
Network television executives are concerned about technology and advertising. One is making it so the other isn't working so well anymore. People can easily Tivo away commercials from their favorite shows, so what's a money-hungry bastard going to do? One of the solutions is more product placement in the shows themselves. This seems to work best for cars, because plenty of shows heavily featured driving about in cool cars anyway. So you get some cash for using a particular brand of cool cars, whatever. There's a limit to what kinds of products this works for, but it's something. The executives have been looking for other ways to keep advertising more profitable, but they've have got to be thinking about other ways to get money out of tv shows as well. Hmmm... File that thought away for now, too.
Recently I was thinking about my obsessiveness pertaining to DVDs. I was watching a show on network tv and thought to myself "I want to get the boxed set of this! The show's smart, funny, sexy, and has consistently good writing. Only natural that I'd want to be able to watch all the old episodes I'd missed. No big deal, right? That show was Grey's Anatomy. It's been on for less than a season and I've seen every episode! It's ridiculous, but I want to own it, not to watch it over and over, just to assimilate it into myself by including it in my DVD collection. This is a little sick. Everything's coming together in just a second here, folks.
What do most of the must-have TV-series DVD sets have in common? The shows were cancelled. Usually when they were on there was a diehard core audience who kept watching despite inconvenient airtimes, schedule changes, and a general lack of promotion or support from the network. There are plenty of examples I'd like to talk about, but let's focus for a moment on two of the most notable success stories: Family Guy and Firefly.
Family Guy was on the edge of cancellation during most of its original run, and if I remember correctly was rarely on at the same time for more than three episodes. After it was cancelled DVD sales were so good that Fox actually has recently brought the series back, a first in the history of TV.
If you know what Firefly is, you know this story. Aired out of order, advertised as something it's not, canceled just as it was getting going, Firefly is everybody's favorite show that they never watched on TV. A very dedicated fan base ensured that it's now orders of magnitude more popular on DVD than when it was actually on the air. There's a movie coming out now. They wouldn't even have to advertise this thing for it to be a success, they'd just have to post the opening date on the internet and we'd all go.
Those were both on Fox, and they're far from the only ones. How many times did Fox pre-empt Simpsons or Futurama for football? Something horrible occurred to me today. What if... What if Fox has got it all figured out? Advertising dollars are slowing down, cable and satellite tv are bigger competitors every day, but every decent show that Fox screws over and cancels does fantastic on DVD! By making themselves the badguy it turns fans in the most dedicated viral marketting machine ever, and it's all free. But wait... What if it isn't intentional after all? What if Fox network executives haven't figured out this pattern of success in the new media age? What will television be like WHEN THEY DO?
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Funny you should mention Ad Placement in tv shows. There's a show coming out in the fall about four guys living in Chicago, and all they basically do is sit around and talk about the things they bought during the week. Like an hour long comedy/advertisement.
Strangely, I sort of agree with the premise, as guys really do tend to do that a lot. Still, I hate the obvious attempt to force me to think something is so cool I have to have it.
As for the plot, a remarkably small percentage of people in America actually have access to a form of TiVo. They'd make far more money by taking a popular show for a five season ride and then selling five seasons worth of DVDs, and getting a larger base to watch a feature film based off the show than by creating half a season or whatever and then cancelling it.
Besides, they brought Family Guy back didn't they? And my guess is there will be an attempt to bring back Firefly as well if the movie does well. It'd be one of the only shows to be spawned back from a movie that comes to mind, even though it was already a tv show first I know. Stargate is the only thing that comes to mind as a movie that was turned into a show. But it's proven successful in the past.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Do that many people even watch Reality TV anymore?
I watch maybe one, possibly two shows that could be classified as Reality TV, but not on a regular basis. Extreme Home Make Over, and Real World vs. Road Rules challenge.
As a rule I dislike Reality TV though.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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The FOX theory only works if Fox is also the producer of the show. The network buys from the producer only the rights to two showings on the network. The DVD rights belong to the producer.
Strong as Firefly's sales are on DVD - and deservedly so, it's a great show - they would have been FAR stronger had the show been given even one full season on the air. So while the show has a well-deserved following on DVD, nobody in the network would have preferred this method to the normal one.
Network execs have to make decisions; they are responsible to the stockholders to maximize profit. If a show does not SEEM to be building a following, for whatever reason, then you have to pull the plug sometime. Now and then - VERY rarely - a show that seemed to the execs to be a flop will prove that it had legs after all. So the execs were wrong. But most of the time when they cancel a show, they're absolutely right, and the incredible thing is that they put on such worthless dreck in the first place.
As for reality shows ... the word is that they seem to be waning. As with everything on TV, the market can be glutted when (a) the audience's curiosity is satisfied or (b) the producers run out of ways to create product distinct enough that the audience can tell them apart.
A new storytelling paradigm - the 24/Lost combination of strong continuing character stories combined with intense action and suspense - is likely to be more and more imitated. And, of course, most of the imitations will be dreadful, until we're sick of those, too.
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I am awed and humbled at the intelligent and thoughtful responses to my silly little conspiracy-theory thread.
My interest in reality-tv shows has been waning since the concept was first invented. TV is for escapism and should stick with it! I used to be able to say I'd never watched a reality tv show, but I have now caught the tail end of extreme home makeover with my parents, so I guess I have.
2-1/2 Men is a funny show. I've only seen a few episodes because it's not on at a good time for me, but it did make me actually laugh out loud.
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Remember that most reality shows are, in fact, either scripted or so heavily edited as to amount to the same thing. They're fictional, to all intents and purposes; the only difference is that the performers are such bad actors we believe that they're "real."
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
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Fox fall programing woes can be explained in one word: Baseball. The MLB playoffs reck havok on Fox's tv scedule, pretty much any show that starts in the fall for Fox is destined to fail. Fox has to pre-empt shoes for the playoffs, there is nothing they can do about it. That's why most of Fox's top shows don't start until Jan. (American Idol, 24)
Posts: 796 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Sci-Fi Channel just picked up Firefly, and will be running the eps up through the release of SERENITY!
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You know, watching the commentaries on the DVDs of Firefly, Freaks and Geeks, and Carnivale, three of the best-short-lives series ever, you can tell that everyone involved in those shows really believed in it, and knew they were in something special.
I wonder how many shows that cast members feel this way, instead of just thinking of it a 'work with a lot of fun people'.
Posts: 2689 | Registered: Apr 2000
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I still curse the regime change that lead to Mystery Science Theater 3000 losing the home it had found at Sci-Fi.
Plus, thanks to the complicated tangle of movie rights, we'll _never_ see "The Complete MST3K Season ____" boxed set.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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If I get the Firefly DVD, will the shows be in the right order or the order they were aired in? I'd like to watch it before Serenity comes out.
Also, the minute Briscoe comes out on DVD I'll buy it. What's wrong with these people - I don't need special features. Just give me surround sound.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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quote:You know, watching the commentaries on the DVDs of Firefly, Freaks and Geeks, and Carnivale, three of the best-short-lives series ever, you can tell that everyone involved in those shows really believed in it, and knew they were in something special.
I can't stand audio commentaries, as a rule, because I tend to get caught up in the onscreen action, and lose the train of thought being expressed in the commentary, which leads to confusion and boredom and ultimately my turning off the TV. However, I absolutely ADORE the episode commentaries on Firefly, the only time it's ever happened, precisely because of the sheer love you can hear in the voices of the commentators. Everyone on the DVD set, from the lead actors to the teleplay writers to Joss Whedon himself, clearly believed they were working on the best damn show ever made, and their enthusiasm is extremely infectious. Plus it helps that they're all incredibly funny people- I laughed as much during Nathan Fillion and Joss Whedon's commentary for "Serenity" as I did for the episode itself.
Whedon's commentary for the episode "Objects in Space" is also particularly interesting, as he goes beyond the usual anecdotes and jokes, and discusses the philosophical intent behind the episode. It's made very clear that creating "Objects in Space" was an extremely personal experience for Whedon, moreso than any of his other shows. Even as someone who doesn't entirely agree with his existentialist view of the universe, I found the commentary very illuminating, and made an episode that I already loved for its wit, drama, and visuals even better.
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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I love listening to the comentary. I turn the subtitles on so I can still tell what's going on on screen and listen to what the creator/director/etc intended. I've never been to film school but I can imagine this is what it's like. It also helps with just plain writing because the writer will tell you why certain things are important. Any comentary by Joss is great for this.
Plus on one of the Wonderfalls comentaries you can hear half the cast sing along (off key) with the opening theme music. You can tell they all loved the show and each other.
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