Post by exit151 on Aug 16, 2008 3:44:34 GMT -5
Hey there.. 1st and foremost, have to say, not a fan of the name of the site, but am a HUGE fan of the work you've done here. It's great (well sad, actually) to see one place with a ton of info on our (former) favorite shows). I have a public rant to share. One that I almost considered getting a website for, because it's worth the registration fee to me. And I see that you dont' necessarily have many posters on the forums (most posts are from 2006), but still - you're site IS the perfect medium for my post.. So here goes...
Hi. I am a dad of 3, and happily married husband. This rant/story is about the wonder that is television, more specifically, the NETWORKS. To get an understanding of where I'm coming from, the following are a list of shows, that my family (mostly my wife and I, and my oldest son) watched without fail week to week:
Carpoolers, Lost, Chuck, Grey's Anatomy, Bionic Woman, Big Bang Theory, Terminator: TSCC, Journeyman, Back to You, Reaper, Moonlight, Painkiller Jane. On Sci-Fi reruns you can add (to our WHY did these shows not last) such titles as: The Dark Angel, The Sentinel, Roswell, Tru Calling, which we catch on occasion whenever they do one of those full day of a show presentation) as well as our (literally) all-time favorite show, Jericho (which is in re-runs on Sci-Fi atm, but I don't think they are picking up new episodes of it). And just for a little trivia, back when 8 Simple Rules started there was a pilot that ran maybe 5 episodes (wish I taped them) called Lost At Home, which was quite the sit-com itself, which never made it to season 1 even
That's pretty much the new and repeat shows we watch on network TV. Now, we also get our every-few-days fixes of Everybody Loves Raymond and Seinfeld, and King of Queens courtesy of TBS (well, and FOX for Seinfeld). But of the "new, once a week" shows, do you notice something funny? Just about EVERY show that we watch, that wasn't already established (Grey's, Lost).
So there. Now not counting all the re-runs shows, do you notice an odd trend with my show list? For any household (and yes, there are many) who do NOT watch stupid reality-scripted shows, these shows were VERY popular. My wife's and my offices were full each day of work with the talk of the night before's shows. Our local radio DJ's discussed many of these shows as well. There was plenty of buzz and plenty of people watching them. So why the axe? Well from what you read everywhere, because the ratings (Neilson and other) were too low..
Ever look into this 'fictional' Neilson ratings system? Oh, it exists. And if you're a member, you cannot tell anyone. Rumor says about (a staggeringly low) 200k people make up this esteemed bunch who supposedly either write in and mail weekly their watching habits, or have a box hooked up to their tv which sends the data automatically. Then there's the cable company. "Yes, we networks get data from the cable company all the time". Funny. I called my current and past cable company provider to ask about this. They both said similar things. It's possible, but they've been in no contact with any network for such data. And (as is widely over the internet) if you use a DVR/PVR some digital method to record your favorite shows (as we do ALOT), it won't get those, either. Cox Communications told me there is absolutely no way to log the channel info for the secondary tuner). Now Tivo might be different, I don't' know (don't have one!).
For the first time in my life, I took a stand last year. Jericho compelled me that much that I really felt SOMETHING needed to be done. And with it, and my nicely sized purchase of peanuts, I THOUGHT we made some headway. After all, it 'DID' come back. Now, not only with it being canceled AGAIN and nothing really being done this time, I sit here and struggle with what to do to get the message across to the networks. A summer of not watching CBS didn't help during Jericho's cancellation time. So I have turned to, well, this forum. Something needs to be done, people. Maybe the networks need to stop taking in so many new shows, and allow each at least a few seasons (unless it's a total bomb) to mature, grab the crowd, etc. ESPECIALLY IF THAT YEAR HAS A WRITER'S STRIKE WHICH (POSSIBLY) RUINED IT FOR MANY A SHOW. Common sense, people... Furthermore, the networks need to take notice that not every American out there lives for stupid (sorry, my opinion) reality/fame/fake/scripted shows. I get it that their cheap (relatively anyway, I'm sure the actors get paid crap, their in it for the screen time), but why are they so bent on stuffing that reality junk down our throats? What Neilson family is eating that crap up??
I'll tell you what needs to be done. And I don't think I have the resources or know-how to DO so - But someone needs to step up and create a new rating system. One that includes ANYONE who wants to be in it. One that hides nothing, but revels the truth. Did you watch it live? Did you PVR it? Why did you PVR it (not too interested in it, the TIME it is on, etc..). To get people to be "honest", and to encourage them to vote, you make them register with paypal, and only established members (this will cut down on someone making 10 accounts to vote for their favorite show). You offer incentives.. Every day you vote enters you for a chance to win $x dollars (sent directly to their paypal account of course). The more that vote, the higher your possible payout, minus the small percentage to keep the 'system' self-sufficient. Monies come in either from ad-based sponsors. We don't want to make the networks pay for the data, because then they would have an excuse NOT to view it ('We don't want to pay for ratings information we can acquire elsewhere'). Is it perfect? I doubt it, I'm sure there are things I'm not aware of that would complicate things, but it 'COULD' be done.
In any case, whether someone reads this and thinks, "I'm going to do that!", or not, fellow watcher of canceled shows, SOMETHING needs to be done. We need to stand up and let them know that whatever or however it is the networks are getting their data, it is NOT accurate.
And if you don't care, that's fine. Someday, you'll be looking on the lists here and see YOUR favorite new, or semi-established show and then you'll understand.
Hi. I am a dad of 3, and happily married husband. This rant/story is about the wonder that is television, more specifically, the NETWORKS. To get an understanding of where I'm coming from, the following are a list of shows, that my family (mostly my wife and I, and my oldest son) watched without fail week to week:
Carpoolers, Lost, Chuck, Grey's Anatomy, Bionic Woman, Big Bang Theory, Terminator: TSCC, Journeyman, Back to You, Reaper, Moonlight, Painkiller Jane. On Sci-Fi reruns you can add (to our WHY did these shows not last) such titles as: The Dark Angel, The Sentinel, Roswell, Tru Calling, which we catch on occasion whenever they do one of those full day of a show presentation) as well as our (literally) all-time favorite show, Jericho (which is in re-runs on Sci-Fi atm, but I don't think they are picking up new episodes of it). And just for a little trivia, back when 8 Simple Rules started there was a pilot that ran maybe 5 episodes (wish I taped them) called Lost At Home, which was quite the sit-com itself, which never made it to season 1 even
That's pretty much the new and repeat shows we watch on network TV. Now, we also get our every-few-days fixes of Everybody Loves Raymond and Seinfeld, and King of Queens courtesy of TBS (well, and FOX for Seinfeld). But of the "new, once a week" shows, do you notice something funny? Just about EVERY show that we watch, that wasn't already established (Grey's, Lost). So there. Now not counting all the re-runs shows, do you notice an odd trend with my show list? For any household (and yes, there are many) who do NOT watch stupid reality-scripted shows, these shows were VERY popular. My wife's and my offices were full each day of work with the talk of the night before's shows. Our local radio DJ's discussed many of these shows as well. There was plenty of buzz and plenty of people watching them. So why the axe? Well from what you read everywhere, because the ratings (Neilson and other) were too low..
Ever look into this 'fictional' Neilson ratings system? Oh, it exists. And if you're a member, you cannot tell anyone. Rumor says about (a staggeringly low) 200k people make up this esteemed bunch who supposedly either write in and mail weekly their watching habits, or have a box hooked up to their tv which sends the data automatically. Then there's the cable company. "Yes, we networks get data from the cable company all the time". Funny. I called my current and past cable company provider to ask about this. They both said similar things. It's possible, but they've been in no contact with any network for such data. And (as is widely over the internet) if you use a DVR/PVR some digital method to record your favorite shows (as we do ALOT), it won't get those, either. Cox Communications told me there is absolutely no way to log the channel info for the secondary tuner). Now Tivo might be different, I don't' know (don't have one!).
For the first time in my life, I took a stand last year. Jericho compelled me that much that I really felt SOMETHING needed to be done. And with it, and my nicely sized purchase of peanuts, I THOUGHT we made some headway. After all, it 'DID' come back. Now, not only with it being canceled AGAIN and nothing really being done this time, I sit here and struggle with what to do to get the message across to the networks. A summer of not watching CBS didn't help during Jericho's cancellation time. So I have turned to, well, this forum. Something needs to be done, people. Maybe the networks need to stop taking in so many new shows, and allow each at least a few seasons (unless it's a total bomb) to mature, grab the crowd, etc. ESPECIALLY IF THAT YEAR HAS A WRITER'S STRIKE WHICH (POSSIBLY) RUINED IT FOR MANY A SHOW. Common sense, people... Furthermore, the networks need to take notice that not every American out there lives for stupid (sorry, my opinion) reality/fame/fake/scripted shows. I get it that their cheap (relatively anyway, I'm sure the actors get paid crap, their in it for the screen time), but why are they so bent on stuffing that reality junk down our throats? What Neilson family is eating that crap up??
I'll tell you what needs to be done. And I don't think I have the resources or know-how to DO so - But someone needs to step up and create a new rating system. One that includes ANYONE who wants to be in it. One that hides nothing, but revels the truth. Did you watch it live? Did you PVR it? Why did you PVR it (not too interested in it, the TIME it is on, etc..). To get people to be "honest", and to encourage them to vote, you make them register with paypal, and only established members (this will cut down on someone making 10 accounts to vote for their favorite show). You offer incentives.. Every day you vote enters you for a chance to win $x dollars (sent directly to their paypal account of course). The more that vote, the higher your possible payout, minus the small percentage to keep the 'system' self-sufficient. Monies come in either from ad-based sponsors. We don't want to make the networks pay for the data, because then they would have an excuse NOT to view it ('We don't want to pay for ratings information we can acquire elsewhere'). Is it perfect? I doubt it, I'm sure there are things I'm not aware of that would complicate things, but it 'COULD' be done.
In any case, whether someone reads this and thinks, "I'm going to do that!", or not, fellow watcher of canceled shows, SOMETHING needs to be done. We need to stand up and let them know that whatever or however it is the networks are getting their data, it is NOT accurate.
And if you don't care, that's fine. Someday, you'll be looking on the lists here and see YOUR favorite new, or semi-established show and then you'll understand.
