AndrewCrossett
Satsu Otaku
Change comes hard. But until it does, it will continue to be very, very difficult for shows like this to succeed.
Is Dollhouse Doomed? 7 Trouble Signs
- Thread starter Buffy Summers
- Start date
I'm not saying it won't happen, I'm saying it won't happen right now.
US goes all digital in February I think. Which my brother-in-law who works for GE tells me is just a ruse to sell televisions 😀
E
Edmund Blackadder
Of course it is, its positive economic growth factored in my Governments who win with taxation and VAT. In 10 years time we'll have the next step,probably HD related
Airam
Zen baby.
Are ratings still based solely on households with a nielsen box or have they managed to find a way to factor in DVR usage and online viewings? I've always found the ratings thing really confusing... I mean they say it is but to me selected households with a nielsen box is just not representative of everyone.
AndrewCrossett
Satsu Otaku
They track DVR usage, but those aren't considered "real" ratings because most DVR users skip the commercials.
The networks do take the DVR ratings into account somewhat, especially in shows that appeal to a younger demographic (like Joss's shows do), but high DVR ratings will not be enough to save a show with low Nielsen ratings. The sponsors don't care who watches the show... they care who watches the commercials.
PurplePoof
Surgeon Of Mean
AndrewCrossett
Satsu Otaku
The latest comments from Kevin Reilly, Fox entertainment president, regarding Dollhouse:
"We're going to let the show play out for 13 episodes. If we can do some business there it will be a great thing for the future."
So in other words... it better get big ratings in its impossible timeslot, or it's toast. Which means Joss was mistaken when he thought Fox now understood the new "modest front-end, huge back-end" model that scripted television needs to follow now, and that his shows in particular pull off very nicely.
At least we're guaranteed a full 13 broadcast episodes, which is more than "Firefly" got. And we'll have the lovely DVD set and maybe some comics.
I predict there will be no such thing as scripted shows on the networks five years from now. Look to cable and (most importantly) the Internet. The "Dr. Horrible" business model is Joss's future.
"We're going to let the show play out for 13 episodes. If we can do some business there it will be a great thing for the future."
So in other words... it better get big ratings in its impossible timeslot, or it's toast. Which means Joss was mistaken when he thought Fox now understood the new "modest front-end, huge back-end" model that scripted television needs to follow now, and that his shows in particular pull off very nicely.
At least we're guaranteed a full 13 broadcast episodes, which is more than "Firefly" got. And we'll have the lovely DVD set and maybe some comics.
I predict there will be no such thing as scripted shows on the networks five years from now. Look to cable and (most importantly) the Internet. The "Dr. Horrible" business model is Joss's future.
Friendly Lurker
Scooby
Not every network is as retarded as Fox so there's hope yet. But like you said, Joss might be quite keen to make more internet stuff in the future. I hope he'll stick with TV unless he can make a full-fledged series without a network. Dr. Horrible is nice and all but proper series are what I want. 😉
Buffyverse Fan
* The 28th *
Personally I think this show will be quite similar to "Chuck" & "Burn Notice". Two new shows that have seen relative success.
I don't know if that's a strike for or against Dollhouse's survival.
I imagine it'll be much darker than Chuck, again, don't know if that will hurt or help it.
The problem with comparing it to "Burn Notice" is that Burn Notice isn't expected to be a "ratings juggernaut" because it airs on USA Network (cable).
I don't know if that's a strike for or against Dollhouse's survival.
I imagine it'll be much darker than Chuck, again, don't know if that will hurt or help it.
The problem with comparing it to "Burn Notice" is that Burn Notice isn't expected to be a "ratings juggernaut" because it airs on USA Network (cable).
Which is where Joss needs to go. The trouble is you dont get as big of a budget. I still think Joss' shows belong on premium cable. A show like firefly was always meant to be a little darker and can totally see it on HBO, and they tend to give a bit better budget then regular cable.
As for Dollhouse, success or failure will come down to how FOX promotes it and nothing to do with the quality of a show. I can say that with certainty based on their past.
Buffyverse Fan
* The 28th *
That's just ridiculous. There's a reason that Major Networks refer to that timeslot as the "death slot." Just ridiculous. Even mainstream shows that turn into big hits often take more than one season to become successful (Seinfeld anyone? Took YEARS!). I have to agree that a S2 sounds extremely unlikely unless they lax expectations until episode ~30 AND give it a proper time slot.
AndrewCrossett
Satsu Otaku
I don't know how many good shows are going to have to die before the networks come to the realization that timeslots are a stupid, anachronistic idea and all TV shows should be presented in an "on-demand" format.
For an industry that supposedly thrives on creativity, television is incredibly conservative and hidebound and resistant to change. But until it does, it's highly unlikely that many new scripted shows of any kind are going to survive from here on out. We're at the point where getting a full season is considered a major victory.
For an industry that supposedly thrives on creativity, television is incredibly conservative and hidebound and resistant to change. But until it does, it's highly unlikely that many new scripted shows of any kind are going to survive from here on out. We're at the point where getting a full season is considered a major victory.
Buffyverse Fan
* The 28th *
AndrewCrossett
Satsu Otaku
Still requires you to remember to take action (programming) before a certain time, and is liable to user error or machine error or power failure, and requires you to use up resources (disk space) if you want to keep the episode, and once you've deleted it it's gone if you decide you want to see it again.
There are still lots of ways to miss a show with DVR. With on-demand, there aren't.
Just do it like Hulu.com, except on the TV screen instead of the computer screen. Choose premium view (small fee per view, but no commercials) or commercial-supported view (free, but with non-fast-forwardable commercials.) Watch episodes from any TV at any time. Never have to worry about remembering to do anything... watch it whenever the notion strikes you. No more bad time slots, no more shows dying because they're on against more popular shows.
This has to happen eventually, but it's happening too slowly.
That was the stupidest most ridiculous articles I've ever read.
90% of this information is based off the trailer. Have any of you seen
one of the old 90's Buffy trailers before it aired? Not too good.
Whoever wrote this obviously needs a life and just wanted to act like a Joss expert.
loser.
90% of this information is based off the trailer. Have any of you seen
one of the old 90's Buffy trailers before it aired? Not too good.
Whoever wrote this obviously needs a life and just wanted to act like a Joss expert.
loser.
Randy Giles
Two sides to every soul.
The idea of having television on demand in a total form where there's no such thing as live TV will probably NEVER happen, nor should it. But the networks have seemed to be being more patient with shows lately. Last season FOX didn't make any unfair cancellations. And all across the board the networks have lowered their expectations a bit.
One of the network presidents, I forget who, recently said something about Nielson being an outdated system. Maybe it was Steve McPherson.
One of the network presidents, I forget who, recently said something about Nielson being an outdated system. Maybe it was Steve McPherson.
B
Buffyverse Fan
[No message]
Airam
[No message]
AndrewCrossett
Satsu Otaku
There may still be live TV, but all scripted and pre-recorded TV will be on-demand. I believe this is absolutely inevitable if scripted television is going to survive at all. (But who knows... it might not survive.)
Randy Giles
Two sides to every soul.
Why wouldn't it survive? It doesn't show any signs of being in danger. There are more entertainment options and therefore the broadcast networks show declining ratings, but tons of cable channels hit new viewing records all the time. There are just more channels so viewership is spread out. Television viewing as a whole as gone UP, people are watching MORE TV than ever, not less.
It's obvious that on-demand services are just gonna get more popular but I don't believe for a second that all live TV will be on-demand and not aired on a weekly schedule as well. At least not for SEVERAL decades, but I really just don't see that EVER happening. And if it did, watercooler talk would cease to exist, too, and who would want that? I think people enjoy watching TV live overall and then discussing it with their friends the next day.
It's obvious that on-demand services are just gonna get more popular but I don't believe for a second that all live TV will be on-demand and not aired on a weekly schedule as well. At least not for SEVERAL decades, but I really just don't see that EVER happening. And if it did, watercooler talk would cease to exist, too, and who would want that? I think people enjoy watching TV live overall and then discussing it with their friends the next day.