The CW Slump

When people think of the CW they think of melodramatic teen dramas that seeming plague teenagers ability to appreciate quality television.  The CW has ratings that would make any advertiser run screaming the other way, but why can’ the CW get decent ratings above 3 million.  The highest ratings score for the dismal network average around 2.3 to 2.5 in millions.  In comparison the Fox Network gets rating around 20 million.  Most would say the CW gets these depressingly low ratings because it’s programming is the worst.  I used to agree but I have recently changed my mind.

The CW is a new network and the ratings that it gets are not related to the quality of the programming. The fact that all of the other networks have been around for so long indicates that they have been able to establish a larger audience.  The fact that it used to be the WB network with Warner Brothers an then merged with CBS to become the CW probably did not help much. There was confusion of the name of the network, which made the current shows lose viewers. Even though I would’ve though that The CW’s affiliation with CBS would have helped, it did not really have an effect.  The WB and changed to The CW and many did not make that connection and thought that it was a whole new network. 

All of the CW shows rating's would guarantee a cancellation if it were on any other network. So does this mean that The CW television shows stupid and low quality? That is a matter of opinion. I don’t think that it can be determined for sure, but many “elite” and “sophisticated” television viewers would argue yes.  The shows “The Secret Circle” and “The Vampire Diaries” are looked at as only playing off of the “Twilight” and “Harry Potter” type of hype that are presently around teens.  I do believe that this is true, but I still think the creativity that goes behind each script uses just as much originality and imagination as a CBS crime procedural or one of ABC’s comedies.  Whatever genre you think is better depends on you’re interests.  Maybe you only like Comedies.  Maybe you only like Dramas.  Maybe even, you only like Reality Shows.  Judging by what you like and dislike is not always an accurate interpretation of is what is a high or low quality show.  I know that some shows that I like are not necessarily “quality” programming but that does not mean that I don’t think that they are entertaining.  You have to be very careful about how you define a good and bad Television show, or any aspect of entertainment, because at the end of the day it’s not supposed to be anything else but entertainment.  And if people were to look closer at what The CW has to offer, I think they would see some shows that they would find entertaining.

The CW is known for it's overly dramatic but always playing programing.

The Emmy Award winning  “American Horror Story” is just as ridiculous as “Supernatural.” Critically acclaimed show “The Walking Dead” have disturbingly melodramatic situations similar to that of the drama series “90210.”  Don’t get me wrong, I love “American Horror Story” and “The Walking Dead,” but the styles in television stories can be similar in a lot of ways. The writing of The CW’s programming is often looked at as being poorly written and overly dramatic; and people assume that is the reason that the ratings are so low.  “Pretty Little Liars,” the hit show of ABC Family is written in the same style as many of The CW’s teen dramas.  Clearly the writing quality or the premises of the shows are what is bringing The CW Network down.  I believe that what is keeping The CW does, is promotion.  Promotion and exposure are very important for any Television network, because that is how it gains advertisers, thus funding for there shows.  The CW seems to be realizing that extra advertisement is the best way to stay alive.  The have begun to gain fans through Facebook and Internet competitions.  Teenagers and early twenties is definitely the network’s target demographic.  Because the younger generation is using all of these social networking sites and is so exposed to Internet media and advertisement of all kinds, it makes sense that they should use these tools as major efforts to increase their viewing audience.  Exposure and promotion is The CW’s biggest problem that is causing it’s low ratings, not the quality of it’s shows.  It is on the right track by using the Internet to draw in it’s target demographic to get the ratings it wants.

SAVE OUR SEEKER: Power of the Fans

Many, including myself feel the hopelessness of when their favorite shows are cancelled or are beginning to receive low ratings.  However, many people are not even aware that their shows are in danger of never returning to the small screen again after the season’s end.  The show whose cancelation really had a big impact on me was Sam Raimi’s “Legend of the Seeker.”  “Legend of the Seeker” was very refreshing to see on television because there had not been anything like it before.  It was compared by many of other fans as “Lord of the Rings” but for TV.  It was based off the New York Times Best Seller “The Sword of Truth” series by Terry Goodkind, which I did not read until after the show had run it’s course.  The show definitely was successful in it’s own terms, because it was a syndicated show rather than having a specific time slot and network that would premiere it weekly.  It averaged about 2.5 million viewers a week from each episode, which was very good for a syndicated television show.  Unfortunately, the Tribune Company that had financed the show unexpectedly went bankrupt, so it was not able to continue.  The Sci-Fi channel was going to pick it up, but it did not want to give a big enough budget, so the show slowly faded away.

After the announcement that this show would not be returning for a third season, I felt as though I had no one to discuss it with and no one else who saw and understood what a big loss of a television show this was.  After listening to a fan podcast about the show I learned about the online activity that was beginning to make waves in the press and with the different television networks.  A fan of the show had created a movement through the Internet to create awareness for “Legend of the Seeker”.   There was a site created called “Save Our Seeker” where fans would post news and plan upcoming promotions to help the season come back for another season.  The leaders of this site also connected to fans using Twitter, Facebook, as well as the podcast.  The site has currently risen up to 39,000 dollars for the shows promotion and to get DVDs to many Libraries in well-known cities across the United States.

This is a video made by the fans for the "Save Our Seeker" Campaign. 

Though the efforts of Save Our Seeker did not result in a third season of “Legend of the Seeker,” they certainly show how much work fans can put into something once they are connected through the Internet.  I think that an Internet fandom for a TV show, book, or movie series is very important to have because it can make publishers and producers aware of how many fans there actually are, thus creating more advertisement opportunities and a reason for the show to stay on the network.  If all future television show can start Facebook fan pages and websites to promote their show, the more viewers it is likely to gain.  Networks have even been creating official Facebook pages for the show, so that people will be able to “like” and share with their friends.  It is important for fans to stay connected.  It allows the shows to go beyond the screen and take on a life of their own.  

Pan Am Plunder

Pan Am is and was a great show.  According to “TV By The Numbers” this show is cancelled, but it I believe that the season is still worth watching.  Honestly I am confused as to if this show is cancelled, will be cancelled, or won’t be cancelled. Regardless, this show is brilliant.  It was quite sad to see Pan Am ratings go from 11 million to 3 million.  With the success of “Mad Men” it was thought that Pan Am would receive high praise and big numbers in ratings.  What fell flat after the first couple episodes?  The show had elements of drama and romance as well as mystery and suspense.  I honestly think that the show was too much for people to take in.  So much happened in each episode that I could see that it was confusing for people and a little bit unbelievable.  I think it’s discouraging to think that people don’t have enough brain function to keep up with intriguing plots and characters, but can certainly keep up with the Kardashians.  And I’m not trying to offend any ‘Kardashians’ fans but I’m just saying that you need to keep your sources of entertainment.  Like with food, you wouldn’t eat beef jerky and potato chips all month; sometimes it’s good to consume a well prepared steak and puréed potatoes.

            Pan Am is definitely an ensemble piece.  One of the characters of the show is depicted by Christina Ricci who I used to watch as Wednesday Addams in “The Adams Family.”  I was used to her playing deranged and slightly insane characters so it was actually kind of amazing to see her playing a confident and intelligent female character.  I think that the depiction of females in this show could have attracted viewers, but at the same time it could have pushed some away.  I suppose many people see the Pan Am “stewardesses” as one of the roadblocks in the women’s rights movement.  In my personal opinion, I believe that the writers tried to show the strength and intelligence that these flight attendants possessed.  Looking past their position as Pan Am stewardesses, these female characters out smart as well as physically fight the antagonists of this show.  All of the characters have depth and intelligence.  The point is that this show is more than an aesthetic spectacle. It has some of the most interesting and complex characters that have been on television in the past decade. 

            As I am writing this now, I am now certain that this show has been cancelled.  The season finale premièred last night and it certain presented a lot of material in an hour of television.  It certainly was entertaining.  At times it felt like an epic romance.  At other times, it felt like a Government thriller mystery.  Having all of these elements may have brought this show to its demise, but I say that it was the shows best quality.  This show is a great twist on previous television dramas.  It was stolen from primetime networks too soon, in my opinion.  Even though this show is not returning for a second season, it is definitely worth checking out and I hope to see more shows like it in the future of television.

Once Upon A Time: Live Or Die?

Despite the previous failures of Science Fiction and Fantasy television shows, ABC’s “Once Upon A Time” has taken off to a fairly promising start.  It has been able to hold it’s average rating from when it aired till now.  The question is if this show will last more than two seasons.  Though fantasy shows do have freedom for writers to create intrigue, sometimes the mystery of the plot drive viewers away.  That is why we have 5 seasons of “Jersey Shore.”  Now that people have much faster lives and have so little time, campy and brainless fun is more enjoyable than a clever and intricate storyline.  Reality shows do not make you suspend your disbelief, which is why they are so popular.  It is harder now for people to appreciate imaginative ideas, because we feel as if we are so in touch with the real world.  Because of the Internet, we have been able to take more or ownership in the world because we feel we know so much more about it.  The question is why TV viewers are turned away from fantastical premises of TV shows because of this. 

The previous episodes of “Once Upon A Time” have taken childhood fairytales and twisted them in to something so different that many viewers have “given up” on the show.  With this attitude the show will probably not have long to get to it’s happy ending.  People need to appreciate the cleverness of what the writers have done with the childhood stories.  During the most recent episode of “Once Upon A Time” the writers spun the traditional story of “Beauty and the Beast” into something that fit the TV Show’s characters.  In “Once Upon A Time” The story lines of the characters from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves to “Rumpelstiltskin” intertwine to create new stories.  It is almost as if all of the fairytales ever written were all apart of one world, but through the process of these stories being recorded they were spun to be simpler and cleaner.  While watching the show, you get to see the writers’ interpretations of familiar characters.  Reading and hearing these stories as a child, I don’t recall that I really cared about the characters.  As children, it is the overall story that is captivating. As adults, the character development is most important.  This show could seem like it is very cheesy and campy, but there is so much more to this show than the effects and costumes.  Viewers get to see how Cinderella would lead her life if she did not have a fairy godmother.  Viewers get to see the darker situations and problems of life that these fairytale characters might have endured that were not written in the storybooks. 

Though this show is still very likely to be renewed for next season, it is hard not to think that people’s lack of interest in the fantasy genre will put this how in danger.  I am aware of the success this show has had in the last 3 months.  It is one of the ratings toppers for the ABC network.  My past experience of shows like this, usually end with a huge ratings drop in the second season.  The thing that this show has going for it, is that it is using characters that people have loved and remembered since childhood.  This show requires you to suspend your disbelief and appreciate interesting and lovable characters.  I truly hope that “Once Upon A Time” has a long and prosperous life on network television, because it is one of the better shows that are currently on TV.

The Murder of Television

It has been very clear that the age of television is dying.  It's slow and painful, but it's happening. With more shows being put onto network sites and websites like Hulu.  It is easy to understand why television ratings sink lower and lower, with people having the option to watch their TV shows later.  I am not blaming the viewers for the cancelations of higher quality shows, but I am blaming the way networks calculate their number of viewers.  The Nielsen’s ratings system is flawed in so many ways.  This ratings system is centered on the ads that are being watched.  So if you are a viewer that fast-forwards through commercials or DVR’s your show, are not being counted as a viewer.  No one watches commercials on television anymore.  In my experience, the most commercials I have seen were when I was watching on a website.  On websites the ads are usually forced to play after sections of the episode.  They only way someone would be able to avoid the advertisement is if you muted the sound and looked away from the screen. 

 

Due to the incapable rating system I have lost dearly loved shows that deserved more then their short-lived existence.  Shows such as “Firefly,” “Heroes,” “Dollhouse,” “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” “Legend of the Seeker,” etc… have been lost to the Nielson black hole of death.  These shows are destroyed without any hope of the resolution to story lines of characters that viewers have become invested in and attached to. I have experienced a lot of frustration on many different things including viewers’ taste in shows, the writing, and even the budget given to the shows by producers.  I have found myself trying to justify a show’s lack of success by blaming it on whatever I can, but at the end of the day I have to just enjoy the show while it’s airing and mourn the loss later.  Many people who have experienced deaths of their favorite shows tell me that they will not even watch a show if it’s ratings are low, even if they really like it.  A part of keeping a show alive is actually sitting down and watching it.  If everyone has the attitude to not bother with a low rated show, then mostly like shows ratings numbers will continue to fall.  There is hope with shows such as CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory,” which pulls in ratings averaging 5.5, with 15-16 million viewers.  Any other networks’ total number of viewers is around 5-10 million, which is around CBS’s demo ratings.  CBS is clearly the King of the ratings, but does it necessarily have the best programming?  I don’t think that really matters, because everyone has different tastes in television. 

Ending with a period of mourning, I want to talk about the real reason I’m going to be writing these posts. Personally I have enjoyed recent shows such as “Pan Am,” “The Playboy Club,” “V,” and “Charlie’s Angels.”  All of these have gotten the ax from their home network.  Some could argue that some of these shows were bad by using the ratings as the evidence.  I say that they left to early.  "Pan Am" definitely had to short of a life, just because I would like to have a break from the medical and forensic procedural shows that dominate TV.  I want to create awareness of under appreciated shows and to create a gathering place for fans to come together.  I have am not biased in my opinions, because I literally love every television show there is.  My taste in television shows includes shows such as “The Walking Dead” on AMC to “Dance Moms” on the Showtime network; and I’ll even admit to watching “The Clone Wars” on Cartoon Network. The time has come to save the underdog programs of television.