Serial Dramas Become a Tough Sell

[SoulManX]

Serial dramas are suddenly finding audiences steering away from them, with CBS yanking Smith, starring Ray Liotta and Virginia Madsen, from its schedule, NBC moving Kidnapped, starring Jeremy Sisto and Delroy Lindo, to the graveyard of Saturday night and ABC losing five million viewers for Lost. San Francisco Chronicle TV columnist Tim Goodman observed today (Monday) that ABC's plan to put Lost on hiatus for 13 weeks beginning next month in order to avoid repeats might backfire. (It's being replaced during that period by yet another serial drama, Day Break, starring Taye Diggs and Adam Baldwin.) "What if five million more people don't come back?" Goodman asks.

 

[JLBats]

****. But serials are so much better.

Stupid tv audience.

 

[SoulManX]

Not good at all...

 

[Tempest19]

Yah!!!! More reality television!!! Yes!!! Great news....

JK..... this SUCKS. American audiences are officially stupid- reality television usually in the top ranking spots. WTF is wrong with this world?!!!

 

[imdaly]

The unfortunate side-effect of great serialized shows are that you really can't truly enjoy the show unless you've seen the whole story (read: every previous episode) up to that point.

Really, aside from a small handful of people, it's very hard to attract new viewers to such type of show. With a show like "LOST", someone who just jumps in at any random spot is not able to appreciate the mysteries and the character development of the show, simply because they're not "in the know" about what the show assumes you already know. The mysteries are already confusing enough (which is not a bad thing. It's part of the fun of the show, actually), but without experiencing the trail of clues that have happened in previous episodes, the average new viewer will be even MORE confused and be turned off of a show that they very well might've loved, had they watched everything previously (a very bad thing).

So producers of the show have a very tough decision to make. Do they simplify the show, and spoonfeed what's going on to the viewers as to not turn any newbies away? Well doing so would be very dangerous and could be seen as a sell-out and a slap in the face to those loyal viewers who have been there every step of the way (See: "Alias")

Or do they continue on with the path and format the show has always taken, and hope that newer viewers would either be interested enough to find out about what happened previously in another way? This is the best way, IMO, as it doesn't insult the already installed viewership, and doesn't sacrifice a great part of what made the show so fantastic in the first place. The problem with this is that it relys on new viewers doing their own homework to fill in the missing gaps. Read up on the show on the internet, in magazines, or best yet....buy and watch the DVDs. This is why it's no suprise to see some of the best serialized shows out there being in just about every media format you can find. The producers can't MAKE you recap yourself on what's happened already, but they can give you no excuse to not be able to find a way. (See: "LOST")

So yeah, it's a tough side-effect of having a great serialized drama. You pretty much start out with the audience you begin the show's lifespan on and slowly dwindle down as time goes by and as the show's history gets deeper and more complex. Either we eventually get the cliched "reset" button partway though the series to give new viewers a good hopping-on point and simplifing the show, or we do our best to get the word out to our friends and relatives about how great our favorite shows are, and pass around those DVDs we have to help get them caught up!


I know, I myself have gotten at least 8 or 9 people hooked on "LOST".

 

[SoulManX]

The unfortunate side-effect of great serialized shows are that you really can't truly enjoy the show unless you've seen the whole story (read: every previous episode) up to that point.

Really, aside from a small handful of people, it's very hard to attract new viewers to such type of show. With a show like "LOST", someone who just jumps in at any random spot is not able to appreciate the mysteries and the character development of the show, simply because they're not "in the know" about what the show assumes you already know. The mysteries are already confusing enough (which is not a bad thing. It's part of the fun of the show, actually), but without experiencing the trail of clues that have happened in previous episodes, the average new viewer will be even MORE confused and be turned off of a show that they very well might've loved, had they watched everything previously (a very bad thing).

So producers of the show have a very tough decision to make. Do they simplify the show, and spoonfeed what's going on to the viewers as to not turn any newbies away? Well doing so would be very dangerous and could be seen as a sell-out and a slap in the face to those loyal viewers who have been there every step of the way (See: "Alias")

Or do they continue on with the path and format the show has always taken, and hope that newer viewers would either be interested enough to find out about what happened previously in another way? This is the best way, IMO, as it doesn't insult the already installed viewership, and doesn't sacrifice a great part of what made the show so fantastic in the first place. The problem with this is that it relys on new viewers doing their own homework to fill in the missing gaps. Read up on the show on the internet, in magazines, or best yet....buy and watch the DVDs. This is why it's no suprise to see some of the best serialized shows out there being in just about every media format you can find. The producers can't MAKE you recap yourself on what's happened already, but they can give you no excuse to not be able to find a way. (See: "LOST")

So yeah, it's a tough side-effect of having a great serialized drama. You pretty much start out with the audience you begin the show's lifespan on and slowly dwindle down as time goes by and as the show's history gets deeper and more complex. Either we eventually get the cliched "reset" button partway though the series to give new viewers a good hopping-on point and simplifing the show, or we do our best to get the word out to our friends and relatives about how great our favorite shows are, and pass around those DVDs we have to help get them caught up!


I know, I myself have gotten at least 8 or 9 people hooked on "LOST".

Nice Post.

 

[imdaly]

Nice Post.

Thank ya, buddy!

 

[GoldenAgeHero]

Yah!!!! More reality television!!! Yes!!! Great news....

JK..... this SUCKS. American audiences are officially stupid- reality television usually in the top ranking spots. WTF is wrong with this world?!!!

wow probably the most stuopidest comment I've heard hear so far. What he posted did'nt even mention reality tv shows, yet you made a huge prejudice rant about it. are you from the UK? never heard big brother? thats a baded UK show and im pretty the UK and plenty of other europen counteries watch reality tv. dumbass.



BTW, im not really a fan of lost, its a pretty good show, but i have never watched a full episode, just does'nt grab my interest. 24 on the other hand is a brilliant show, that does'nt even need to be as complex as lost. 24 has gained more viewers then before. i was seriously glued to the show since season 1. "Lost" on the other hand, ehh.

 

[amazingfantasy15]

The problem is there were just too many serialized shows that started this season and a lot of them have been lame. I've tried a lot of the new shows this year here's a brief rundown on why I think some are and some aren't working:

Kidnapped and Friday Night Lights - Both these shows brought nothing new to their genres. They rehashed plots points from a bunch of different movies from the past 10 years. You need to bring something new to the table, I knew everything that would happen in the pilots before the credits played.

Vanished - It tried to use Lost as a model and introduce a whole bunch of mysteries right off the bat, but none of them were really interesting because there were too many. Lost started slow building up the mysteries over the course of the show, it's very complex now, but didn't start out that way.

Jericho - Not sure how this show is fairing, but while I'm watching it, it's not really that interesting only because it's too safe. It doesn't have any danger, I really think they need to kill off a couple characters, give it some danger.

Heroes - This is great, it has a sense of danger, is building some great mysteries, plus I can already see that it can work like 24, a new story each season. Which is why 24 is getting more attention, you can start a new season without needing a lot of back story because each season is a new story.

The Nine - Another great one, the danger isn't really there, but the mystery is great, really interested to see what happened in the bank. Only problem, can't see it working more than one season.

 

[Tempest19]

wow probably the most stuopidest comment I've heard hear so far. What he posted did'nt even mention reality tv shows, yet you made a huge prejudice rant about it. are you from the UK? never heard big brother? thats a baded UK show and im pretty the UK and plenty of other europen counteries watch reality tv. dumbass.

Dude, wtf?! Seriously. I'm a ****in american, you ****in' dumbass.

Check Nielson ratings- reality shows are at the top. Always. Reality and ****ty game shows, such as Deal or No Deal being ****in' first for it's space. How ****in' pathetic is that? You want to see one of the reasons for the fate of these shows? It's the type of audience that TV now has to play to (those who, for the majority, watch ****ty reality television). So, no- my previous post didn't come out of ****in' no where.

You want to see one of the reasons why TV is in the state it is right now? Because these shows go up against reality TV.

Some fans of 'House' have been known to state that the reason Fox gave it a chance, gave it time, was because it was a good follow up to 'American Idol'.

Guess what 'Heroes' is a follow up for? 'Deal or No Deal'.

Coincidence???

So, shut the **** up. I'm American and I can say whatever I want about Americans. Heck, look at movies such as 'Little Man' being made and making money. American audience is in a ****ed up state right now, and there is alot of evidence that points back to that.

Do you just ignore that? Or are you one of those who loves reality TV and can't get enough of it? Won't make generalizations about you- you want to know why? Because then, if I'm wrong I'd look like a dumbass. Just like you.

Vanished - It tried to use Lost as a model and introduce a whole bunch of mysteries right off the bat, but none of them were really interesting because there were too many. Lost started slow building up the mysteries over the course of the show, it's very complex now, but didn't start out that way.

Heroes - This is great, it has a sense of danger, is building some great mysteries, plus I can already see that it can work like 24, a new story each season. Which is why 24 is getting more attention, you can start a new season without needing a lot of back story because each season is a new story.

Agree with you on those points.

Jericho is actually a hit, which I'm surprised about due to it's subject matter- perhaps being too soon? But, it has become a hit. Definitely like this show because it's interesting and original.

The Nine- hate it. The first episode was terrible. Going to give it a couple of episodes though, hopefully it will improve. But, right now it feels more like a soap opera than anything. And browsing forums, I'm not the only one who thinks so.

FNL and Kidnapped- great shows. Both topics have, yes, been covered in MOVIES before- but was never a ground, as far as I know, that was covered in a TV series. So, while some of the plots may be reminiscent of films of that genre (same could be said for 88% of films of that genre) it follows through on the stories really well and make me want to see where these characters end up.

 

[The Squirrel]

.
BTW, im not really a fan of lost, its a pretty good show, but i have never watched a full episode, just does'nt grab my interest. 24 on the other hand is a brilliant show, that does'nt even need to be as complex as lost. 24 has gained more viewers then before. i was seriously glued to the show since season 1. "Lost" on the other hand, ehh.

See, I have the opposite reacton. LOST is an amazing show and 24 has never really grabbed my interest. I've watched a few episodes here and there and I just never really cared that much for it.

 

[KenK]

I mean, hell, I didn't start watching Law & Order until Benjamin Bratt came on. Not to mention the number of episodes since I started that I still haven't seen. I never fee lost watching L&O, 'cause the nature of the show is such that you don't have to worry about following the development of the characters. We don't get into the personal lives of the main characters, so you only focus on the self-contained stories. SVU's a little different, 'cause we get more bits of the characters' lives, and there are recurring bits referring back to their lives.

I know I'll never get into a show like Lost. Seeing clips of what's going on now, it's just too damn confusing. I think even the makers of the show admit they're just making it up as they go along.

 

[imdaly]

I know I'll never get into a show like Lost. Seeing clips of what's going on now, it's just too damn confusing. I think even the makers of the show admit they're just making it up as they go along.

This is exactly what I'm talking about in my first post in this thread. A show like this is just too difficult to jump in midway, not to mention it spoils a LOT of the MANY plot twists that happened earlier on in the show. A show like "LOST", or "Alias", or "4400", or whatever is simply very very tough to get into unless you start at the very beginning. Try that out, and you'll get a wholllle new feeling for the show.

"24" has the advantage of having an excuse to press the "reset button" at the start of every season. Sure the character growth and a couple subplots carry over season-to-season, but anybody at all can jump on at the beginning of whichever season they wish and not feel like they can't understand what's going on until they watch the previous seasons. But even then, if you try to jump in anywhere in the middle of a season, you'll be just as lost on what's going on. So it's serialized season-by-season, whereas "LOST" for example is serialized completely.



Oh, and btw, the makers of "LOST" know exactly where they're heading, they just haven't decided completely on the exact route they'll take to get there. You can have faith in that.

 

[amazingfantasy15]

I know I'll never get into a show like Lost. Seeing clips of what's going on now, it's just too damn confusing. I think even the makers of the show admit they're just making it up as they go along.

The creators of Lost know where they're going, they have an overall "skeleton", they know what the major events will be. They are filling in the blanks as the seasons progress, but the overall framework is down. The only way these can work is to have a few seasons mapped out from the begining.

 

[Shifty]

The unfortunate side-effect of great serialized shows are that you really can't truly enjoy the show unless you've seen the whole story (read: every previous episode) up to that point.

Really, aside from a small handful of people, it's very hard to attract new viewers to such type of show. With a show like "LOST", someone who just jumps in at any random spot is not able to appreciate the mysteries and the character development of the show, simply because they're not "in the know" about what the show assumes you already know. The mysteries are already confusing enough (which is not a bad thing. It's part of the fun of the show, actually), but without experiencing the trail of clues that have happened in previous episodes, the average new viewer will be even MORE confused and be turned off of a show that they very well might've loved, had they watched everything previously (a very bad thing).

So producers of the show have a very tough decision to make. Do they simplify the show, and spoonfeed what's going on to the viewers as to not turn any newbies away? Well doing so would be very dangerous and could be seen as a sell-out and a slap in the face to those loyal viewers who have been there every step of the way (See: "Alias")

Or do they continue on with the path and format the show has always taken, and hope that newer viewers would either be interested enough to find out about what happened previously in another way? This is the best way, IMO, as it doesn't insult the already installed viewership, and doesn't sacrifice a great part of what made the show so fantastic in the first place. The problem with this is that it relys on new viewers doing their own homework to fill in the missing gaps. Read up on the show on the internet, in magazines, or best yet....buy and watch the DVDs. This is why it's no suprise to see some of the best serialized shows out there being in just about every media format you can find. The producers can't MAKE you recap yourself on what's happened already, but they can give you no excuse to not be able to find a way. (See: "LOST")

So yeah, it's a tough side-effect of having a great serialized drama. You pretty much start out with the audience you begin the show's lifespan on and slowly dwindle down as time goes by and as the show's history gets deeper and more complex. Either we eventually get the cliched "reset" button partway though the series to give new viewers a good hopping-on point and simplifing the show, or we do our best to get the word out to our friends and relatives about how great our favorite shows are, and pass around those DVDs we have to help get them caught up!


I know, I myself have gotten at least 8 or 9 people hooked on "LOST".

I wanted to watch Lost, but I missed the premiere (in the hospital) and just missed every chance at the start of the season. So I decieded it was for the best not to jump on. I was already a huge fan of 24 and the premise had me looking forward to it but I didn't want to be spoiled. I meant to rent the first season DVDs this summer but that never happened. Now who knows when I'll watch, I'm sure when the show ends, the media will have all the spoilers in the headlines. Maybe next spring I'll rent the DVDs.

Prison Break is one show that I was able to watch the pilot (only missed a few first season episodes in the spring) and continued watching. Outside Rescue Me they do the best "perviously recap" for fans who may have missed one episode.

 

[maxwell's demon]

two things-

one- i DO think the American attention span is pathetic. And for networks to be feeding the ADD instant gratification tendencies of their audiences is short sighted and bad for society on so many levels that' it's sort of frightening.

but two- part of the reason alot of these shows might be losing viewers is that people aren't connecting with the characters. Most serial dramas tend to be plot device/ concept driven. That can only last so long. It's character (and character development) that keeps people faithful to a show, and the younger crop of writers, for all their nerdy brilliance, sometimes forgets that.

 

[SoulManX]

two things-

one- i DO think the American attention span is pathetic. And for networks to be feeding the ADD instant gratification tendencies of their audiences is short sighted and bad for society on so many levels that' it's sort of frightening.

but two- part of the reason alot of these shows might be losing viewers is that people aren't connecting with the characters. Most serial dramas tend to be plot device/ concept driven. That can only last so long. It's character (and character development) that keeps people faithful to a show, and the younger crop of writers, for all their nerdy brilliance, sometimes forgets that.

Well put MD