The Dumming down of Alias
 

http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?29131

This is not a good sign.

Bad ratings due to plots being too complicated?

The plots are way more simpler than the X-files in its heday. That show which started with low ratings soon became a top 20 show.

Maybe a silly Disney type movie as a Lead-in and /or a diluted Practice is the cause for lower ratings.

It is the shows intellingence which gives the show a loyal following.

I can see a 5 minute intro so every in the world can catch up. And a yearly rehash episode ( much like the one where the FBI caught Sydney).

Llyod Braun is a moron to think that the overnight success of Millionaire and The Bachelor leads to quality TV and long term ratings growth.

What a ****ing jackass. Sundays at 9pm is <I>the</I> most hotly contested timeslot in television. <I>The Sopranos</I>, <I>Malcolm</I>, <I>Angel</I>, <I>L&O: CI</I>, and <I>Alias</I>. It's insane to expect any show to grab huge ratings in that slot, and if the show weren't as smart as it is, no one would have watched in the first place.

ABC frequently has their heads firmly implanted in their ass, from cancelling <I>SportsNight</I> for a 4th night of <I>Millionaire</I> to 7 timeslot changes of <I>Once & Again</I> to zero confidence in <I>Philly</I> ... they've had some of the finest shows on television in the last 5 years, and they do everything in their power to ruin them. To be honest, it amazed me that they kept <I>Alias</I> after last season. The show is smart, funny, ground-breaking, touching, and completely engaging in every possible way. It's precisely the type of show ABC tries to kill. Guess it took them a half-season too long to figure out this show was too damn good and needed to be destroyed.

das

-rolleyes-

Who said television shows have to cater to the lowest denominator? Not every single show needs to be "Friends". For a "comic book"-style action drama, I don't think is terribly complicated, or even that far-fetched. It's not as if anybody needs to take notes for what's going on. Plenty of dramas have complex storylines, and why should "Alias" be any different?

Hey das - if ABC drops it, maybe Sci-Fi will pick it up...? ;)

<BLOCKQUOTE> • Quoth Rogue588 •<HR SIZE=1>Hey das - if ABC drops it, maybe Sci-Fi will pick it up...? ;) <HR SIZE=1></BLOCKQUOTE>

The horror ... the horror.

das

P.S. Interesting how Sci-Fi kills the best Sci-Fi television show on TV the same calendar year that ABC (Di$ney) kills the best Family television show on TV (<I>Once & Again</I>). Hypocrisy ... ain't it grand.

Best line:

"We have to make the show more receptive to non-viewers"

What an idiot. ABC? Seriously, I really could run the network better. Give me a call.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Draven
Best line: "We have to make the show more receptive to non-viewers" What an idiot. ABC? Seriously, I really could run the network better. Give me a call.

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Man...between boneheaded "executive" decisions & sh*tty DVD cover art, I say all [well, most :)] DVDtalkers storm Hollyweird and take it over. Besides most of us showing more common sense then most TV execs have in their pinkies, i've seen cover art here that buries most studio releases.

Ya know what? Now that I think about it, we should take over the RIAA and the comic book industry.

There. All forums covered. :D

Non viewers means they are not watching it period!! This is a quality show and deserves better than having morons make deceisions about its future!!

For the most part they've eliminated the cliffhangers which was mentioned as the reason they weren't drawing viewers. If they can't get viewers in now I don't know what they will do. They should try switching it with the Practice for a few weeks and see what happens. It's obvious alias isn't going to bypass L&O:CI in the ratings, might as well try something else.

Just a note -- it's spelled "dumbing"...

:D

Sad that more people watch crap like Survivor, The bachelor and Fear Factor than great shows like Alias where you actually have to use your brain.

Maybe the best solution is to change the day and the time it's shown. There is just too many shows on Sunday to draw good number of audience.

Maybe the guest appearance by Ethan Hawke will help brings fans? Yeah right...

I watched the first five or six episodes of the first season, and then I gave up on it. I found it too confusing, and it was on at a bad time for me. After the end of the first season, I noticed how a lot of people were still raving about it, so I decided to go back and finish watching all of season one (with the help of mIRC). I was hooked. After I watched all of them, I couldn't wait for the season to start. I guess my point is that even though watching it is a bit more work than most shows, ultimately, it pays off, since it is one of the best shows on TV now.

The constant cliffhangers ticked me off, and it took me a little while and a little time online to figure out how the CIA and SD-6 were related (or not related), and that most of the SD-6 operatives had no idea that they are the "bad guys"... but after all that was resolved, I was able to totally get into it.

Definitely a show that has earned a place on my TiVo, and not because it was totally easy to grasp in five minutes.

Exactly my point. People dont like to have to work, they just want to watch stupidity in most cases. Reality shows arent work at all and thats why they are so popular and we keep getting more and more and more....

Well, I hate people

Don't say that. This is ABC we are talking about. They'll move it to Thursday night and put it up against Friends or CSI.

The problem with the show is they need to focus more on the action parts and less on the emotions. Am I the only one sick of seeing Sidney crying every episode? It's really getting on my nerves. For such a 'tough' person she sure does bawl a lot.

Despite seeing every episode and continuing to watch it, I still feel its a watered down version of La Femme Nikita, which was superior to this show in every aspect.

I am not liking this season as much as last season. Last season it was great; it was an action show with just enough drama thrown in. This year, it seems like mostly a drama with just a little action.

I had read they were already dumbing down the show this season and I attributed the changes to that.

It is odd that they would de-emphasize the action this season. While last season's Rambaldi plots were probably too dense for the casual viewer, I 'm thinking that that constant action would be easier to break into instead of all the heavy drama they've had this season.

I still watch the show and enjoy it, but this season just doens't leave me breathless anymore.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Jadzia
I still watch the show and enjoy it, but this season just doens't leave me breathless anymore.

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Definitely. 24 & Buffy have assumed the gauntlet this season.

For me, it is a top three - 24, Buffy, and Alias (probably in that order, although it is very close between 24 and Buffy).

Is it wrong that I hope this Lloyd Braun's career goes the way of that fictional Lloyd Braun of Seinfeld fame? ;)

~wis