Wonderfalls:Cancelled
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WatcherWes
When we were muck
look, the show was boring. If you liked it, you should be grateful to Fox that they chose to run at least a few episodes.
ana8
Missing you....
'Wonderfalls' takes the fall in tough TV season
'Wonderfalls' takes the fall in tough TV season
The voice mail message is succinct: "You've reached what used to be the `Century City' production office. We are closed."
That's the epitaph a canceled series gets, one also due Fox's fanciful drama "Wonderfalls." Like CBS' "Century City," "Wonderfalls" aired only a handful of times before it was axed last week.
Some observers say the casualty toll indicate a weak field of midseason shows, including such struggling efforts as ABC's "Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital" and CBS' "The Stones."
Todd Holland, a creator and executive producer of "Wonderfalls," thinks the analysis misses the point. What's happening, he says, reflects a sea change in entertainment in general -- and not for the better.
Studios write off movies that don't "open big," with an impressive debut tally, just as networks hastily dump shows that don't make an immediate and serious dent in the Nielsen ratings, Holland said.
"You really have a hard time commanding a network's patience and attention, the same way you do a movie studio's patience and attention," Holland said.
He recalled the fate of "Krippendorf's Tribe," the 1998 film he directed and which starred Richard Dreyfuss.
"I got a call Friday night, opening night at 7 o'clock, and the president of Touchstone told me, 'Sorry, we just couldn't open the picture,"' Holland said.
That meant marketing quickly was abandoned, along with any chance for the film to build an audience. In TV terms, "Wonderfalls" got roughly the same bum's rush.
To start with, the series required careful handling. A comic drama about a discontented young woman (Caroline Dhavernas) who lives near Niagara Falls, works in a souvenir shop and starts hearing directives from tacky animal figurines, it obviously wasn't a cookie-cutter entry.
(Holland says he and co-creator Bryan Fuller came up with the idea at the same time "Joan of Arcadia" was created, but the hit CBS series about a teenager who hears from God made it to TV first.)
"Wonderfalls" also needed the right time slot to attract the young demographic that Fox courts and for whom the show seemed designed. And, finally, it needed breathing room to establish itself.
In the current fashion of network TV, it got none of the above.
The series was stranded at 9 p.m. EST Friday, when a chunk of the typically elusive young audience tends to be out, with an excursion to Thursday -- against NBC's powerhouse reality series "The Apprentice."
(Fox, which declined to comment, gets some credit for teaming "Wonderfalls" with a spiritual partner on Thursday: It followed "Tru Calling," about a young woman who hears calls for help from the dead.)
Expansive marketing was lacking. "There is a correlation between advertising and promotional spending and return," observed Holland.
Two Fox shows that received elaborate brass-band welcomes, "Malcolm in the Middle" (said to be the beneficiary of a $6 million launch in 2000) and newcomer "The O.C.," are thriving.
"Everyone knows that hits are made, that you nurture a show ... you give it a great time slot and a lot of promotion, and then the show has to earn its audience, to keep it," said Holland, whose extensive credits include "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The Larry Sanders Show."
Maybe "Wonderfalls" eventually could have drawn viewers by virtue of what Holland calls its "wicked bad-boy comedy, but with heart," which he saw as very Fox-friendly in the spirit of "The Simpsons."
Four episodes, however, and it was over. Holland's pleas for one more airing were rebuffed by Fox.
Patience is not a virtue these days, particularly when networks can get easy, immediate ratings gratification from reality shows.
The rapid turnover in scripted series makes their failure a self-fulfilling prophecy, Holland suggested. Network reluctance to give shows time to grow makes viewers skittish about committing to shows that are unlikely to last.
Networks could find themselves stocking up on reality fare but also acquiring a sameness that erases their identities, Holland said. Will viewers who think of NBC as the comedy destination for "Friends" link the network as closely to "The Apprentice"?
Ultimately, the loss could be even bigger, Holland said.
"I feel like the sort of wonder you can create from small worlds of fiction is totally in danger of extinction because people -- the audience or the networks -- don't have the patience to nurture that kind of journey," Holland said.
"Anything you don't nurture and feed, withers. Our imaginations, our dreaming spirits, are in danger of giving up."
SOURCE
'Wonderfalls' takes the fall in tough TV season
The voice mail message is succinct: "You've reached what used to be the `Century City' production office. We are closed."
That's the epitaph a canceled series gets, one also due Fox's fanciful drama "Wonderfalls." Like CBS' "Century City," "Wonderfalls" aired only a handful of times before it was axed last week.
Some observers say the casualty toll indicate a weak field of midseason shows, including such struggling efforts as ABC's "Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital" and CBS' "The Stones."
Todd Holland, a creator and executive producer of "Wonderfalls," thinks the analysis misses the point. What's happening, he says, reflects a sea change in entertainment in general -- and not for the better.
Studios write off movies that don't "open big," with an impressive debut tally, just as networks hastily dump shows that don't make an immediate and serious dent in the Nielsen ratings, Holland said.
"You really have a hard time commanding a network's patience and attention, the same way you do a movie studio's patience and attention," Holland said.
He recalled the fate of "Krippendorf's Tribe," the 1998 film he directed and which starred Richard Dreyfuss.
"I got a call Friday night, opening night at 7 o'clock, and the president of Touchstone told me, 'Sorry, we just couldn't open the picture,"' Holland said.
That meant marketing quickly was abandoned, along with any chance for the film to build an audience. In TV terms, "Wonderfalls" got roughly the same bum's rush.
To start with, the series required careful handling. A comic drama about a discontented young woman (Caroline Dhavernas) who lives near Niagara Falls, works in a souvenir shop and starts hearing directives from tacky animal figurines, it obviously wasn't a cookie-cutter entry.
(Holland says he and co-creator Bryan Fuller came up with the idea at the same time "Joan of Arcadia" was created, but the hit CBS series about a teenager who hears from God made it to TV first.)
"Wonderfalls" also needed the right time slot to attract the young demographic that Fox courts and for whom the show seemed designed. And, finally, it needed breathing room to establish itself.
In the current fashion of network TV, it got none of the above.
The series was stranded at 9 p.m. EST Friday, when a chunk of the typically elusive young audience tends to be out, with an excursion to Thursday -- against NBC's powerhouse reality series "The Apprentice."
(Fox, which declined to comment, gets some credit for teaming "Wonderfalls" with a spiritual partner on Thursday: It followed "Tru Calling," about a young woman who hears calls for help from the dead.)
Expansive marketing was lacking. "There is a correlation between advertising and promotional spending and return," observed Holland.
Two Fox shows that received elaborate brass-band welcomes, "Malcolm in the Middle" (said to be the beneficiary of a $6 million launch in 2000) and newcomer "The O.C.," are thriving.
"Everyone knows that hits are made, that you nurture a show ... you give it a great time slot and a lot of promotion, and then the show has to earn its audience, to keep it," said Holland, whose extensive credits include "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The Larry Sanders Show."
Maybe "Wonderfalls" eventually could have drawn viewers by virtue of what Holland calls its "wicked bad-boy comedy, but with heart," which he saw as very Fox-friendly in the spirit of "The Simpsons."
Four episodes, however, and it was over. Holland's pleas for one more airing were rebuffed by Fox.
Patience is not a virtue these days, particularly when networks can get easy, immediate ratings gratification from reality shows.
The rapid turnover in scripted series makes their failure a self-fulfilling prophecy, Holland suggested. Network reluctance to give shows time to grow makes viewers skittish about committing to shows that are unlikely to last.
Networks could find themselves stocking up on reality fare but also acquiring a sameness that erases their identities, Holland said. Will viewers who think of NBC as the comedy destination for "Friends" link the network as closely to "The Apprentice"?
Ultimately, the loss could be even bigger, Holland said.
"I feel like the sort of wonder you can create from small worlds of fiction is totally in danger of extinction because people -- the audience or the networks -- don't have the patience to nurture that kind of journey," Holland said.
"Anything you don't nurture and feed, withers. Our imaginations, our dreaming spirits, are in danger of giving up."
SOURCE
nerd4hire
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In general the reviews for Wonderfalls were resoundingly positive. My impression from what I've read on message boards is many people who were lucky enough to see the show, loved it.
The way the show was presented to the public was handled badly. I've not heard anyone even try to deny that.
The original Star Trek failed to draw a large audience in it's first run for similar reasons. Did that mean it was a bad show? The story of M.A.S.H and other first run failures that went on to be successes is the same.
If we fail to support intelligent programming, we doom ourselves to watching reruns of "Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance" in the future.
The way the show was presented to the public was handled badly. I've not heard anyone even try to deny that.
The original Star Trek failed to draw a large audience in it's first run for similar reasons. Did that mean it was a bad show? The story of M.A.S.H and other first run failures that went on to be successes is the same.
If we fail to support intelligent programming, we doom ourselves to watching reruns of "Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance" in the future.
Kevin
Love me up.
WatcherWes said:
In YOUR opinion.
Wonderfalls was critically aclaimed by just about every single critic that reviewed it. That never happens. At all.
Here's some quotes from the reviews;
TV GUIDE (3/13-19), Matt Roush
"Ironic and romantic, WONDERFALLS is a true original. Surrender to its charms."
PEOPLE (3/22), Terry Kelleher
"The reason to watch WONDERFALLS is Dhavernas. With a star like this, a series doesn't really need a gimmick."
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (3/19), Ken Tucker
"A-" "...a revelation - a blessing, even.... Each of the four episodes I've seen is better than the one preceding it."
USA TODAY (3/12), Robert Bianco
"WONDERFALLS is such an unexpected treat"
LOS ANGELES TIMES (3/12), Robert Lloyd
"WONDERFALLS is so well done, so fresh and unpredictable, and so little in thrall to conventional virtues as to make the weary reviewer prostrate with joy... everything clicks here"
NEW YORK TIMES (3/12), Virginia Hefferman
"Beautifully shot and written with wit... Dhavernas is delightful."
NEWSDAY (3/12), Noel Holston
"the best pilot of the 2003-2004 season... Dhavernas is a find, a marvelously understated comic actress and her supporting cast is impeccable"
CHICAGO TRIBUNE (3/12), Steve Johnson
"the series looks and feels like nothing else on television... it all remains, almost magically, in balance, a delicate, roadside-attraction wonderland where mysteries of the cosmos, lowbrow popular culture, family dysfunction, longing and, mostly humor can coexist."
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (3/12), Tim Goodman
"unquestionably the best new drama series of the 2003-04 season... this is your time to love TV"
WASHINGTON POST (3/12), Tom Shales
"WONDERFALLS is wonderful... a prime example of risktaking originality, a brassy blast of fresh air any way you look at it."
BOSTON HERALD (3/12), Amy Amatangelo
"Executive producers Todd Holland, Tim Minear and Bryan Fuller have created a show unlike any other on television."
THE GLOBE AND MAIL (3/12), John Doyle
"WONDERFALLS is the best new drama in ages... Caroline Dhavernas is impeccable"
US WEEKLY Â John Griffiths
"The writing is deliriously clever, the plots strangely Zen and uplifting, and Dhavernas is beyond winning as the loser-stamped Jaye. A fun, wild free fall."
POPGURLS (3/12), Allyson A Popgurl
"...get together with some friends, order in some Chinese, watch Wonderfalls at 9pm on FOX this Friday, and then go out to your favorite dive bar and snark with each other. Make it a regular Friday thing. You'll be happier for it."
...You didn't like it? You didn't like it. I'm not glad at Fox at all, because I, like many people, loved the show.
Here's another spin on it - Wonderfalls achieved higher ratings on Fox than Buffy ever did. No, really. If Buffy was cancelled after 4 episodes and you liked the show, and I had said it's rubbish, would you like that?
WatcherWes
When we were muck
Of course it got better ratings than Buffy, Fox has many more affiliates than the WB or UPN have.
AngelicSlayer00
Angelic
i just don't understand who watches crap like "the swan" shows just reinforce the idea that women need to have surgery to look good. now wonderfalls was funny and cynical and much more viewer friendly if you ask me.
nerd4hire
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All the counter-arguements to your "Wonderfalls sucks" arguement, and that's the best you can come up with.
C'mon Watcherman you can do better than that. I have faith in you.
Do you honestly believe the producers of Wonderfalls, and the fans of the program owe Fox a debt of gratitude for giving them 4 episodes of air time, when they seemed to be promising them support for at least 13.
All evidence seems to suggest the series had promise, plus Tim Minear tells us the best episodes were already in the can, and waiting to be shown.
Television history has shown us some of the best series are created when a promising series receives support in spite of less than satisfactory opening numbers.
C'mon Watcherman you can do better than that. I have faith in you.
Do you honestly believe the producers of Wonderfalls, and the fans of the program owe Fox a debt of gratitude for giving them 4 episodes of air time, when they seemed to be promising them support for at least 13.
All evidence seems to suggest the series had promise, plus Tim Minear tells us the best episodes were already in the can, and waiting to be shown.
Television history has shown us some of the best series are created when a promising series receives support in spite of less than satisfactory opening numbers.
WatcherWes
When we were muck
sorry if you can't handle my logic, but yes, I really do feel that wonderfalls fans owe Fox a debt of gratitude. Do you have any idea how much money they're gonna lose because of Wonderfalls' failure? The TV industry isn't a charity, and Fox is well within their rights to cease airing a show that isn't delivering for them. They took a risk in greenlighting the show in the first place. I highly doubt any of the other networks would have taken it. CBS already has Joan of Arcadia, NBC wouldn't take a show like that, it's too sarcastic and sullen for ABC, UPN isn't about to take a Buffyish show after the poor ratings Buffy go, and the WB is too in love with bad reality shows and teen dramas. Fox was Wonderfalls only shot, and it failed to deliver. Don't blame Fox for the show's shortcomings.
nerd4hire
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WatcherWes said:
I'll be honest. I'd have less of a problem with it, if it didn't sound so much like unbalanced, and unsubstantiated opinions.
Opinions are fine, I just prefer them not to be presented as the necessary, and one true light of truth on earth.
Your interpretation of what the other networks may or may not have taken for instance, and your seeming insistence that Wonderfalls could never have been economically viable, sound sound so much to me like opinions.
I like opinions that differ to my own. They challenge my thought process.
You know all you would have to do to win this debate is simply say, "In my opinion". I couldn't argue with that. You have the right to yours.
(Also HitToMe, your point escapes me. Are you saying Farscape was a failed series, and yet here it is?)
WatcherWes
When we were muck
I'm not saying Wonderfalls never could've been a boon to the network, I'm saying that the episodes aired weren't good enough, and that Fox is allowed to cancel shows as they desire.
nerd4hire
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Oh my God... I can't believe what I just did Watcher Wes.
I was so enjoying our little discussion, I completely lost track of what I was doing, screwed up, and clicked on the wrong button. I was trying to quote you, and instead I edited your post. I saved as much as I could.
If anyone else is reading this, I can only tell you Watcher Wes making some great points, and now they're lost forever because of my bonehead mistake.
I am so sorry Watcher Wes. What I did was beyond incompetence. My only excuse would be I'm new at this moderator job and I didn't realize the power I had.
Please accept this public apology. I'm going to PM you and apologize in private.
I was so enjoying our little discussion, I completely lost track of what I was doing, screwed up, and clicked on the wrong button. I was trying to quote you, and instead I edited your post. I saved as much as I could.
If anyone else is reading this, I can only tell you Watcher Wes making some great points, and now they're lost forever because of my bonehead mistake.
I am so sorry Watcher Wes. What I did was beyond incompetence. My only excuse would be I'm new at this moderator job and I didn't realize the power I had.
Please accept this public apology. I'm going to PM you and apologize in private.