As you all know there are numerous Series that get the axe really quickly and it is becomming more and more frequent. I have noticed that all over the net people are really getting ticked off. Shows ending (especially on cliffhangers) with no resolutions. It is starting to become the expectation of many people. So why bother watching at all. I personally don't watch anymore and will wait and see what transpires. If it's a hit and is renewed then I will buy the DVDs to catch up. If not, at least I didn't waste my time.

Don't the networks realize that eventually this will reach a breaking point and it will really come back to haunt them. They are already losing viewership at an alarming rate (at least that's what I hear) and this, IMO, is going to make it worse.

And it can't be good for DVD sales either. Why buy an unfinished series. It's like buying a movie with no ending.

So I was thinking. Why not do series intentionally designed for one season. A beginning, middle, and end. And if the series is a hit then a second season can be done, using the same formula. If it doesn't do well then it gets the axe after the first season but at least the story is done. People may not be happy with the cancellation but at least they are not left hanging. And many of those people that did like the show will probably buy the DVD.

Opinions? Suggestions?

James

Here's a solution. Don't do what you said you do and maybe your favorite shows will last. Imagine if everyone did this. Why should the networks keep up with the show if nobody is watching?

Because I am the customer. If they don't produce a product I want I am not buying into it. I have already been burned (Surface and Dresden Files for example). I wasted my time. And I will not be buying the DVDs.

I refuse to just accept whatever the Networks throw at us and just take it.

What I am saying is that I am noticing this same reaction more and more. Don't the networks see this trend as well? I am just giving a suggestion as to what I think they should do so that people will watch new Series. And then buy the DVDs.

James

I would like shows to at least finish the seasons. Then the episodes can be exclusive to DVD. Not any of that 'never before seen eps', but eps that would never even be made, otherwise.

Ex, Las Vegas. Film 1 more episode to tie it up, and put it exclusive on the DVD.

Networks should order fewer pilots but make better commitments to the shows they do pick up. Ask the producers to give you an at least semi-contained arc of 6, 13, or 22 shows and commit to both making and airing those episodes. If you don't want the show after that, too bad.

The idea of making a wholly self contained show can backfire. I remember ABC had some crime show that went, if I have it right, from crime to verdict over the course of a season. The first season was a sensation. The second was an afterthought. It's not too much to ask the networks to commit to leaving a show at a point that is at least somewhat palatable to the viewer, though.

I really wish that network shows would go to the cable/BBC model and make the full seasons at most 13 episodes. Most series only get that for an initial order anyway and most do not get ordered as a full 22 episode season. They should also go to a year-round model and if a show is a hit, they can run one full season in the fall and then bring it back for a new season in spring, etc.

That way the storylines are more contained when series go on that long hiatus over the holidays. You could still have cliffhangers and serialized type shows, but I think the shows would be better if the producers and writers plan out the entire, shorter season. I think it is one reason that HBO and other cable shows are better quality. They aren't trying to fill out 22 episodes every year.

ABC tried that last season with Day Break as a 13 week filler while Lost went on hiatus. Obviously it didn't work as the show was cancelled after 7 episodes, but the season was self contained and the remaining episodes were posted online. The entire series comes on DVD tomorrow.

But, I have to agree with you that serialized dramas are falling victim to the axe quite frequently. I tried watching Vanished 2 seasons ago, the show was cancelled and then the remaining produced episodes were posted online, but was sorely disappointed with the lack of an ending.

Honestly, IMO watching TV is really hit or miss. You really can't tell what shows will click with the Nielsen families. Obviously serial dramas are a tougher sell to them.

I think a TV writer/producer who wants to sell a network a serial drama needs to map out a story arc for an entire season with a plan to shoot a series finale ending and a season finale ending. They need to be better prepared to shoot an ending after 13 episodes as well. If the show gets axed after 5-6 episodes, then this won't matter. But, this is almost impossible to do as alot of networks won't make a decision on the show's fate until after the finale airs.

TV's a democracy. If more people watched your show, it'd still be in the air.

Unless you are a Neilsen viewer it really doesn't matter. Until they start counting DVR viewings on a large scale and incorporating them into the stats Farrow is in the right.

I check out maybe 2-3 new shows a year for the same reason. 90% (wild guess) will fail. I'll wait until most get a 2nd season renewal to go back and watch the first and get caught up.

Let's keep in mind that "public" in these cases usually means a "very devoted few."

Cancelled series and pissed off fans is nothing new.

This is what bothers me. Time and again fans of a canceled show blame the network, instead of the production team. A vocal minority is not representative of the public.

I think they are trying to validate their choice. "If I like a show and very few else do, then someone must be conspiring to prevent them from watching it".

Yes, better planning (shorter initial arcs) would help the alienation that fans feel when their series is canceled.

The arc based drama is suffering due to the success of other cheaper to produce genre. I don't expect it to get better anytime soon, but I could see arc based dramas switching over to the internet.

So if everyone is like you, and does not watch until it gets renewed...would anyone watch TV?

Ahh, yes... spring of 1974 and the great backlash against The Brady Bunch's cancellation.

"No conclusion!"
"How can they end it with the hair dye episode?!"
"Sherwood Schwartz raped my childhood!"

I know if I had a Nielsen box, I'd be making a serious effort to watch shows that I like and want to keep around, or shows that am interested in in some way. You know, imposing my will upon everyone else, who doesn't like that?

There is a huge difference between being a Nielsen household and not.

Statistically, though, Nielson ratings are supposed to be pretty accurate, right? I never understood the math myself.

I wonder if the production costs are too high for some of these shows. They should be able to put the show on another part of the schedule, but a lot of these shows are budgeted for prime time, and they probably have to be pulled quickly if they're not getting the viewers... otherwise, advertisers won't bite.

While I especially hate when shows are pulled after one episode, the last such show that was done to had something like the lowest ratings in that timeslot ever.

I agree with the shorter seasons, even though I don't like them once they're collected... it gives the creative team more of a focus on the fewer episodes they have, it hopefully keeps the budget lower, and it gives it a chance at resolution.

Ratings seem to indicate that part of the ticked-off public stops watching. After all, in some cases networks are pulling the plug on their most passionate viewers (who then look for other options -- cable, the net, games, DVDs ...). Which may explain why a lot of replacements fail to do as well as the yanked series. The only other profession I cab think of that is so well paid for making bad guesses is, of course, meteorologists.

Quarterlife. Watching the last episode right now that I saved on my DVR when Bravo ran them all a few weeks ago.

More than likely life would go on since everyone like me doesn't own a Neilson box. What I watch, when I watch and how I watch it have zero bearing on a show's lifespan. Like the OP, I'll continue to wait until a show is renewed before getting vested in it.

They say those numbers are fairly accurate but do the top rated shows actually align with the top recorded shows on Tivo? How about correlating to top downloads from iTunes? What about views from the network's own websites? I don't think so. So until those numbers are factored in how I watch my tv doesn't affect your favorite new show getting canceled.

Part of my point. Less and less people are watching. Less people watching, = lower ratings. Lower ratings = pull the plug on some series. They pull the plug more = less people watch. It's a vicious circle they are getting themselves into. And, IMO, sooner or later, it will hit a breaking point. Hence my suggestion, and requests for suggestions.

I am not blaming the networks. If a show is not generating enough ratings to attract advertisers then it's strictly a business dicision. Completely understandable.

But if they want to get out of this rut I feel they are in they have to do something to give people confidence that they are not wasting their time watching something that will not have an ending and tick them off.

James

There are some shows that have seasons that are pretty freestanding. Dexter for example. You easily could have skipped Season 1 and been able to jump into Season 2 without missing much. By the same token, had there been no Season 2, Season 1 would still have been very good television.

I was going to post a poll about TV watching habits, but this thread has pretty much answered my question(s).

I really used to hate it when GREAT TV that I liked went unnoticed (Michael Madsen in "Vengeance Unlimited", anyone?), but I moved into a home with satellite TV and no local channels 4 years ago. I rigged up some rabbit ears so I could catch local news and some PBS, but I quit watching network shows cold turkey. And now, I cannot BELIEVE all the time I've wasted watching TV....just because something/anything was on. "World's Wildest Police Chases". "When Animals Attack". "My Two Dads". "Melrose Place". I'm so ashamed. I could've been doing something constructive with all that time, LOL.

Like posting on a TV forum

I also don't commit to network shows anymore, though IMO 99% of them are boring or suck hard anyway.

The only CBS show I watch regularly right now is The Unit.

The only NBC show I watch regularly is The Office.

The only ABC show I watch regularly is Lost.

That's it. Everything else I like is on cable.

Frankly, I don't care if I get into any new series in the next 5 years. I've got so many of my favorite shows to re-watch again on DVD (Sopranos, 6FU, X-Files, ST: TNG, ST: DS9, The Shield, Battlestar Galactica, Deadwood, etc), I could easily find plenty of non-film content to keep me busy if network shows just died.

I want Lost to be concluded which I'm sure is in no danger of being cancelled.

The Office is funny but if it ended soon it wouldn't be a huge deal to me.

I'd like to see The Unit keep going, but I don't know how much more they can do with the current stories unless they shake things up quite a bit.

I wish I had a Nielsen box so I could make sure not one second of "reality" TV was ever watched through it.

I think a network should try to go to a completely on demand schedule. Would require the help of the cable companies but would be worth it. Seems like total households would be easier to track this way.