Moving to Friday's at 8pm!

[Syncos]

How is it an odd decision, they want to develop a new show that will hopefully generate big ratings. Smallville ran out of ideas 2-3 seasons ago and is running on fumes and only on the air still because CW can't get another show with same ratings. Using your logic you'd want Smallville to stay on as long as possible, maybe Clark will finally become Superman then in his 30 or 40s, not to help people, but because he's having a midlife crisis.

Clark - "Chloe what should I do, it's almost my 40th birthday I'm getting a little worried about getting older"
Chloe - "I don't know maybe get a sports car or something, I know you'll never be proactive with your powers, there's still that whole flight power you know about, but won't use"
Clark - "Actually Chloe you might be on to something, maybe I start wearing a costume and helping people other than just you and Lois"
Chloe - "Thank god Clark, I thought you'd never get there, here Oliver made you this costume 15 years ago when he first started the Justice League, he even came up with a code name Superman, by the way, we thought it'd be best if you started wearing glasses to disguise yourself, since you're getting up there in age, we redesigned them as bifocals."

If that's supposed to be witty, It's an epic fail.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

How is it an odd decision, they want to develop a new show that will hopefully generate big ratings. Smallville ran out of ideas 2-3 seasons ago and is running on fumes and only on the air still because CW can't get another show with same ratings.

It's an odd decision because you dont develop shows in the 8 PM Thursday Night timeslot. That's the money slot where the corporate ad execs, like the ones I work with, all pay the big bucks for and where the competition is the most fierce for ratings. Shows are typically moved to Thursdays after they've proven their mettle on other nights, as Smallville did. Take all the Big 4 Networks Thursday 8 PM shows for example. None of them started out on that night, they were all moved there after proving successful. CSI, Bones, etc.

Opinions on the quality of the content are irrelevant since the ratings in the key demos are what matters when they slot these shows. You're exactly right, CW can't get another show with the same ratings,and if established shows of their's that have somewhat of a following can't do it, what's the odds that a brand new one will? Especially given the track record of CW's Pilots the past few years. From a pure business standpoint alone, it's a foolish decision. Just because people like True Blood and Twilight doesnt make vampire shows based on novels a shoe in for success.

Using your logic you'd want Smallville to stay on as long as possible, maybe Clark will finally become Superman then in his 30 or 40s, not to help people, but because he's having a midlife crisis.

What in the sam hell are you talking about with "my logic?" I didnt comment at all about the show's longevity or whether or not I thought it should remain on the air. For the record, while I've enjoyed most of the past few seasons, I thought the show would've been better served running it's course in 5 years, per the original plan.

 

[ironmaidenrules]

I hope they cancel it midseason and then cw will have one less teen drama on tv.

 

[Sam Fisher]

I hope they cancel it midseason and then cw will have one less teen drama on tv.

Why not not coming in here and insulting the show if you don't like it.

 

[Gmanofsteel]

Dawn Ostroff doesn't realize it yet, but she's about to run her network into the ground, once Smallville and Supernatural are gone, so will the CW be.

 

[Catman]

I remembered when Smallville went from Wednesday to Thrusday, the most competitive night of the week and everybody said Smallville had run its course: surprise, it improved on its ratings...

Friday ain't Thursday. The ONLY shows to have success on Friday are the family-oriented ones. Hence why ABC had so much success back in the `90s. Smallville's target audience is teenagers. Teenagers! Teenagers aren't home on Friday night. So, this isn't the same as moving the show to Thursday. Yes, Thursday is SUPER competitive but it's not like Smallville beat the competition. It did well for the channel and for the demo and that's it.

 

[TheAQU4M4N]

yeah from what i can tell if anyone cares for smallville, they will tune in and i feel that since most networks don't have really any shows to compete with the likes of smallville it should have average ratings

 

[heliorei]

Friday ain't Thursday. The ONLY shows to have success on Friday are the family-oriented ones. Hence why ABC had so much success back in the `90s. Smallville's target audience is teenagers. Teenagers! Teenagers aren't home on Friday night. So, this isn't the same as moving the show to Thursday. Yes, Thursday is SUPER competitive but it's not like Smallville beat the competition. It did well for the channel and for the demo and that's it.

Smallville's target is teenagers? I thought it was the 18-34 demo...Nowadays, Smallville is hardly targeted at teenagers anymore: none of the characters is a teenager anymore and unless you point out the Lana issue in this past season, we didn't get any sort of teen angst on this show. Heck, does Smallville even get promotion?

Now, unless you go out for dinner, I bet at 8 PM, most are at home and since nowadays, the world economical crisis is affecting everyone, I bet people don't go out as much as before.

Although I don't like CW's president i can see in a way why she's doing it: Friday's nights are a loser for CW and if any CW's scripted show is able to stand on its own on Friday's nights, is Smallville. There isn't any show which can do that, not even SuperNatural. And even if Smallville fails in that task, it's quite simple for the Cw's President: old show is got to go, expensive, blah blah blah... Smallville in the eyes of Dawn Ostroff is a bastard son much like SuperNatural and so she doesn't really care about them: if Smallville stands on its own, great, she has Friday's nights winner and if not, it's one less expensive old show for them and then she has time to make one more reality show or a new "Gossip Girl", "Melrose Place" or "90210"...

But if you ask about pairing Smallville with reruns of American Top Model is stupid, then I have to agree. Heck they could have renewed Reaper for 13 episodes and put it with Smallville...

 

[lespaul59]

I'll be DVRing Smallville myself because of high school football. I mean as I said before in the season 9 thread I work home high scholl football games at my local high school and more than likely will be going to all of the away games. Right now it looks like I probaly wont be able to watch SV untill Sunday sometime if they stick with the Friday time slot.

 

[Catman]

Smallville's target is teenagers?

It's the CW. Their target demographic has always been teen girls. This goes back to the early days with Dawson's Greek and Felicity.

 

[Eric Brooks]

why does everyone keep saying Dawson's "Greek"

it's CREEK

don't insult us Greeks

 

[04nbod]

I hope they cancel it midseason and then cw will have one less teen drama on tv.

and it will be replaced by yet another one

 

[Zing79]

In all seriousness Dawn should lose her job for this move.

Smallville was already doing well in the demo she so desperately wants, with one key different (when compared to all the other shows she pushes down our throats). Smallville also attracts the most important demo to advertisers. 18-34 yr old males - something only one other show on the CW even remotely does well in (SP).

This new Vampire show will not attract as many overall viewers as SV. It will not attract ANYWHERE near the same 18-34 demo SV was attracting, and it's going to attract a lot less ad revenue then SV period. With the added bonus of driving down Supernaturals ad revenue as well.

How she keeps her job in the face of those financial loses will be an impressive feat to me.

 

[Phatman]

Friday Nights aren't gonna bring in big ratings for SV. The only people home on Friday nights are small children and old people. Oh and angry loners. The kids and angry loners will be watching WWE SmackDown! the old people the CBS block of Ghost Whisperer, Numb3ers and that other CBS Show. or Wife Swap/SuperNanny/20/20. Most of SV's audience will be out doing fun stuff like dating, hanging out and going to the movies.

I really hate the way SV is being treated by the CW. Like Reba and WWE Smackdown! before it The CW is dumping its highest-rated show in favor of crap NO ONE watches to get a teen audience that well- doesn't watch these shows. If this is truly the last season, for Smallville, it should be getting a Seinfeld or Cheers type sendoff with huge network support and a huge cross-promotion with DC Comics. Instead they get the worst timeslot on the schedule and a slashed budget. Great way to treat your best product CW. The Jamie Foxx Show, Gilmore Girls Unhappily Ever After, Sister, Sister and Steve Harvey got big sendoffs; As the top-rated show on the network currently Smallville deserves one too.

As I stated earlier, this is all part of Ostroff's boneheaded master plan to turn CW into Lifetime Lite. She did the same thing on UPN and drove that network into-well we know what happened to UPN. Once SV leaves the schedule, I'm done with CW.

 

[Eric Brooks]

I'm an angry loner and I'll be watching Smallville NOT Smackdown

get it right

 

[04nbod]

At this point I think Ostroff is trying to generate an excuse to cancel smallville. When it is canned you'll hear how ratings dived rather than the move that made the ratings dive in the first place. The whole strategy makes no sense.

Supernatural finishes its cycle next year so why didn't Dawn arrange to end that show like Kripke and the stars want and introduce something like Vampire Diaries in the 2010/2011 season as a replacement. Give their highest rated show the extra year they want and use it to lead in to this new show.

Also take into account that Supernatural and Smallville are merchandise shows, that means they sell more than DVD sets. To sabotage them in favour of shows like gossip girl and 90120 with their fickle fanbases is madness.

 

[Zing79]

Also take into account that Supernatural and Smallville are merchandise shows, that means they sell more than DVD sets. To sabotage them in favour of shows like gossip girl and 90120 with their fickle fanbases is madness.

See this is what I don't understand. How is WB (at least their TV division) not violently pissed about this?

CW doesn't see money from DVD sales, and merch. Yet WB is letting CW sabotage both of those tidey profit centers for them. It's made even worse by the fact that WB owns a stake in CW.

But of course we all know that WB is run by idiots

 

[triplet]

I don't know, I guess we'll have to see how things shake out, but now that both of my babies will be in Marching Band next year, I'll probably be seeing more football games so I may not be able to watch a single episode as it airs.



I'm not sure it's the death knell everyone is supposing, some shows do really well on Fridays, even if only relatively.

Numb3rs has been on Fridays its entire run and it got renewed, as did Ghost Whisperer.

*shrug*

 

[JackMercy]

See this is what I don't understand. How is WB (at least their TV division) not violently pissed about this?

CW doesn't see money from DVD sales, and merch. Yet WB is letting CW sabotage both of those tidey profit centers for them. It's made even worse by the fact that WB owns a stake in CW.

But of course we all know that WB is run by idiots

Well, Zing... [sigh]...maybe there are some who are...!

But...

Such is the nature of long-running episodic television...someday the piper's gonna call -- it's just that over at Smallville, they've always surprised the skeptics...and sometimes, even themselves...

Let me tell you the absolute gold-diggers' truth: ideally, no one wants to see an active, continuous profit-maker die. And the only ones you're currently hearing predict Season 9 to be the "Final" are the trades -- and they've said that before, haven't they?

However (and this is where I begin to sound like Gandalf), it shouldn't be surprising to anyone here to note that Smallville has always been a "special case" with other forces at work...in its creative, production, and broadcast nature. It's a little like another franchise currently out there... "a child of two worlds," you know...

All said, this show has done pretty well for itself...it's survived a network death (and merger), constant and often bewildering "creative sanctions," major cast departures, its creators' exit, and finally, critical indifference -- and its still one of the most profitable genre hours on T.V. (in terms of marketability and ancillary revenue) -- especially good for a show that gets virtually no P.R. these days...and with a star who likes to keep an exceptionally low profile.

But even with all this, there are sometimes...other considerations.

Someone may just want to...eh...clear the decks, per se...

And on the rest, I'll remain diplomatic...for now.

 

[Zorex]

Ah, it's like... poetry.

Yes, true, it's all been the trades speculating (or stating) that this could/would/will be Smallville's final season, which, also true, has been said before.

I'm a little foggy, though, on the Star Trek reference. Anyone want to clarify for me?

And Jack, you sum up the difficulties Smallville has had to face quite well. It's a nice reminder to try and value what we do end up getting... even if what we end up getting is often annoyingly lower in quality than I would want.

 

[triplet]

Well, after UPN moved Star Trek Enterprise to Fridays, Paramount basically cut its fee to the network (which was weird, since UPN was a unit of Paramount, or so I thought) in order to get the show into its fourth season.

It got them a full season order, but the show still died a slow lingering death. However, that had more to do with the inconsistant storylines than anything else that last season.

Not sure how, exactly, that applies here, but if WB's Video unit wants them to complete full season badly enough, they may do something similar if The CW really wants to cancel the show.

If they cut the fee they charge the net for new episodes, it may not cover production costs, but WB TV will probably more than cover any losses with DVD sales.

 

[Zorex]

I... think I understand. Thanks, trip.

 

[triplet]

I... think I understand. Thanks, trip.

Yeah, well...

Jack's posts aren't usually all that clear, but that's the only way that I can think that anything having to do with ST would apply to this situation.

*shrug*

 

[AgentPat]

I'm a little foggy, though, on the Star Trek reference. Anyone want to clarify for me?

What "Star Trek" reference?

 

[triplet]

What "Star Trek" reference?

"Child of two worlds" is a line from the new ST movie referring to Spock, child of Vulcan and Earth....