Royal Genes


Safe For Kids





SERIALS FLOP (canceled)



20 Nov 2006 11:25:25 -0800 rec.arts.tv
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telenovels...


Invid Fan...
I assume you'd classify any novel where the characters go on various
side adventures not really related to the main plot a collection of
short stories :)


nightbird...
But even the stand alones had plenty of references to the ongoing story
line. Most of the episodes of S6 and 7 lead one to the other and if
you hadn't seen the previous one, you missed a lot of the meanings.

Also, during the 80's Thirtysomething was an on going serial without
standalones or any particular breaks between episodes. And it was a
big hit.

Valerie the Nightbird


adamaant...
So is Battlestar Galactica. I say if 1/3 of the story relates to past
episodes it is still a serial. I think some shows do both. Remeber
XFiles? There were "Monster" shows and there were "mythology" shows.
Mythology shows were part of the ongoing story arc, while Monster shows
weren't. Still a serial in my book. B5 was like this too.
Last year:
CBS - threshold
NBC - surface
ABC - invasion
FOX - reunion

This Year:
CW - Runaway
CBS - Smith
NBC - Kidnapped
FOX - Vanished
NBC - Studio 60 (probably soon-to-go)
NBC - Friday Night Lights (probably soon-to-go)

Steven L....
NBC has just announced that Studio 60 and Friday Night Lights have
received full-season orders.


Rob Jensen...
Sorry to burst your bubble, but both have full-season orders.

telenovels...
Didn't know that.
Although it doesn't really matter. If they cancel after only 1 year,
you still end-up with an Incomplete Story (like Surface or Invasion
from last year, or NBC's Earth2 a few years earlier). And given the
ratings, I'm sure this will be their only year.

Jason Maxwell...
Why are you putting Studio 60 in the same serialized category as Invasion
and Lost? While there are some continuing background storylines, every
episode is self-contained. If Studio 60 is a serial, so was Friends.

telenovels...
Ooops. My mistake. I thought Studio 60 was a continuing story like
Heroes or Jericho.


Rob Jensen...
To Troy, it's a serial when he says it's a serial and it's not a
serial when he says it isn't. (rolls eyes)

-- Rob


-- Rob

ABC - Daybreak (probably soon-to-go)
.

I don't think we'll be seeing many new serials in Fall 2007. One,
maybe two, and that's it. The networks probably wish they'd never

glassman...
I don't know about that. With the above failures, there's still lots of
others going strong. Lost, BSG, Smallville, Housewives, The Nine, The Unit,

Steven L....
The Unit is not a serial.

Heroes, too many more to remember.

heard the word serial or telenovela (mynetworktv). ----- "Vanished
and Kidnapped tried to add layers of conspiracy and complexity to their
stories, but in the end, many viewers probably felt they were being
sold confused, over-extended versions of 'Without a Trace'. You get a
missing person on that show, too - along with better acting, better
writing and a weekly resolution.

"Which means the only thing the crime serials really added to the
procedural mix was delayed gratification. In America, that's more of a
detriment than a draw."

"If you want people to commit upfront to watching your show on a weekly
basis, which is what a serial asks, you'd better give them something
they can't get from CSI or Law & Order. Certainly the two shows that
inspired this flood, Lost and 24, fill the bill. Lost offers a sweeping
combination of adventure, suspense, and visual splendor. 24 audaciously
uses time as an engine to propel a story that annually puts the world
at risk." -

Steven L....
That wouldn't explain why Studio 60 and Friday Night Lights are
struggling. Neither is a crime show. They're both literate,
well-written, sensitive. But viewers aren't interested.

I maintain it's aimply the premise: In the 1990's, before all of
today's cop procedurals, a serial like Vanished or Kidnapped might have
been a hit. The problem is simply that today there are too many crime
shows on TV already. Serial or procedural, we just don't need any more
crime shows. I doubt that a new flavor like "CSI: Albuquerque" would be
a hit either.

We've already discussed the problems with the premises of Studio 60 and
Friday Night Lights several times before, so I won't go over them again
here.
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