Re: Rangers - can fans affect decisions?

Well, that was certainly my first suspicion on reading.

However, always willing to learn, that's me...

Ro

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I have no surviving
enemies. At all.

Galen

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bakana:
To put it in perspective, the best known fan letter writing campaign was the one for Trek TOS. It was the first time the networks had ever seen such a thing, so it made a Lot of news.

The thing about it was, the TV execs of the time Knew before the campaign that the show had a large audience. Their decision to cancel wasn't based on poor ratings.

It was based on the Demographics of that audience.
Most were under age 25.
A large percentage in their Teens.
As far as the Maketing people were concerned that was a Terrible audience because, in those days, people under age 25 didn't have Money to spend.
And very few products aimed at teens sponsored TV shows.

It wasn't a lack of Audience.
It was the Money Honey.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I've suspected as much for quite some time. Seriously! Sometimes when I wrote letters to try to save "Crusade" I was tempted to claim I was a 16 year-old boy. Just because I know all of science fiction seems to be aiming at this crowd!

In THESE DAYS they have PLENTY of money to spend!

I can't tell you how many of my student's have cars worth twice what mine is worth. Cars worth about my year's salary! Of course, these same students get FINANCIAL AID to go to colllege.

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"I do not believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense,
reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."-- Galileo

One of the more interesting things I ever heard was an interview with one of the Network Presidents talking about this very subject.

He told the interviewer that it was Always the Money. And illustrated that by saying that a show that had recently been cancelled was actually his own Favorite show. One of those situations where a really Good show was just not catching an audience.

Often it's just a matter of Timing.

For instance, "All In The Family" would probably not have worked at all even 5 years earlier. The American TV audience just wasn't ready for that much honesty.

I also don't think any other Actor could have made Archie Bunker work. Carrol O'Connor was absolutely wonderful.

And, five years later might have been Too Late.



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Yes, I like cats too.
Shall we exchange Recipes?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>For instance, "All In The Family" would probably not have worked at all even 5 years earlier. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

All in the Family almost didn't work then and certainly wouldn't work today. It got marginal to poor ratings during its first season run. In today's market it would have been cancelled within a few weeks. In those days network executives who believed in a show could keep it on the air, and that's what happened with All in the Family. During the summer rerun season millions of people who had been watching other shows in the fall and spring discovered the show. It found and audience and it started its climb to the top of the ratings the following fall.

Something similar happened wth M*A*S*H. Today no one allows a show time to find an audience. (With seemingly random schedule changes, they often make it hard for the audience to find the show.) Chris Carter's post-Millenium series (I'm drawing a blank on the name) was cancelled after only three episodes. If you're not doing well out of the gate you're dead. (Sometimes, if you're not predicted to do well out of the gate you can be dead. TNT just cancelled another series without airing it, and this one it will probably never air, because they figure they'll make more on the write-off than they would from advertising revenue. )

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Chris Carter's post-Millenium series (I'm drawing a blank on the name) was cancelled after only three episodes. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That would be Harsh Realm, I believe.

Ro

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I have no surviving
enemies. At all.

Galen

The 3 ep cancelled Chris Carter series was Harsh Realm, and the 6 remaining eps eventually were ran on FX.

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Sheridan: Are you trying to cheer me up?
Ivanova: No sir, wouldn't dream of it.
Sheridan: Good, I hate being cheered up. It's depressing.
Ivanova: So in that case we're all going to die horrible, painful, lingering deaths.
Sheridan: Thank you, I feel so much better now.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Joseph DeMartino:
The fact that some shows he likes get cancelled. Obviously the ratings can't be accurate for these shows. They are only accurate for the shows he likes that stay on the air, or for shows he doesn't like that get cancelled.

Regards,

Joe

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

nah not really, but I don't really feel like explaining it. lol

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Noone here is exactly what he appears.
Babylon 5
G'Kar - Andreas Katsulas

All in the Family *definitely* wouldn't make it today--it would be considered too controversial.

Tammy

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"We're in here! Can anyone hear us?"
"I hear you." [giggle, laugh]
"In here!"
"We are here." [giggle, laugh]
-- Londo and G'Kar in Babylon 5:"Convictions"

Tammy's Station
http://community.webtv.net/gkarfan/TammysStation

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>All in the Family *definitely* wouldn't make it today -- it would be considered too controversial.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

In the age of N.Y.P.D. Blue, Jerry Springer and Presidential penis jokes on the evening news? Hardly. If anything it would be too tame. It really seems rather quaint (though at the same time loud and abrasvie) if you look at it today. It was so "of the moment" that it doesn't hold up very well. Too many topical references that anyone under the age of forty would need to look up. Only the performances make it remotely watchable. (Its spin-off and mirror image, Maude had a good cast, too, but not the kind of iconic performances, so it has aged even worse.)

By contrast something like The Dick Van Dyke Show is still funny, and you can watch it without keeping a reference book handy.

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Technomage Roanna:
Now there's a sweeping, unsupported generalization if ever I saw one...[/quote

well I do love to generalize.

[bWhat's your evidence to support this statement?

Ro[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

it's just my own little theory for right now.

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Noone here is exactly what he appears.
Babylon 5
G'Kar - Andreas Katsulas

Click to expand...

Sorry Joe, I'm gonna have to disagree with you. Sure, TV is full of explicit sex and violence, trash, and shock value. But none of it is about race or gender. The media environment is extremely PC. Can you imagine Archie Bunker making a joke about black people? Al Sharpton would be holding a picket line outside of the studio in a second.

TV shows can have people eating worms for money, but not making the same types of jokes that most people do when they have a few drinks with their buddies.

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"You do not make history. You can only hope to survive it."