Why ABC didn't hold off the Greys and Lost repeats this strike season is confusing, but shouldn't Greys Anatomy have been the show airing 2 hour repeats on Thursdays the past few weeks and not Lost or Desperate Housewives? I'm not expecting much for next week's returns although the addition of Lost at 10pm should keep ABC in the running for first. Eli Stone ended on a slight up note, but let's face it, Boston Legal and WMC are stronger shows and deserve renewal first.
Aside from the Office, NBC will continue to struggle mightily on Thursdays next year. ER is all but dead.
Fox has some success opposite the repeats.
Survivor continues to drop and those were far from convincing wins for CSI and WAT repeats especially demo wise. We'll see what happens once everything is back to being all new next week. Stable Smallville and Supernatural repeat for Cdub.
Originally posted by robert: I like ES a lot but there's not a single reason why this show should be renwed
The growth out of the lead in is positive but ABC should just cut their losses here and move on. The only way it should return in the fall is if they don't have any new dramas and then it could fill a hole on either Monday or Friday.
Originally posted by robert: I like ES a lot but there's not a single reason why this show should be renwed
The growth out of the lead in is positive but ABC should just cut their losses here and move on. The only way it should return in the fall is if they don't have any new dramas and then it could fill a hole on either Monday or Friday.
I'm with you two and let me lay out an angle I haven't heard yet.
People point to Berlanti's involvement but why would ABC want one of their favorite showdogs wasting his time with this??
Posts: 2849 | Location: Western Pennsylvania | Registered: 13 December 2006
Eli Stone had it's best Thursday rating without an original leading into it. Grew from the LOST repeat and according to The Futon Critic actually grew on the half-hour which would have been a first. I think it will be back in the fall.
ER isn't posting great numbers, but it's one of their least concerns. Right now they have to focus on turning around 30 Rock, Earl, Lipstick Jungle, Life, and somehow get people to watch Kath and Kim with a bad script review, Knight Rider despite getting horrible movie reviews is somehow going to series, and Crusoe who doesn't even have a lead. Right now their plate is full and ER can just coast to its final season.
The positive news for 30 Rock, of course, was growth of 8 percent out of My Name is Earl. But, let’s be honest: this is no big hit. And it never will be.
Let's be more honest--it's a flop. Arrested Development with a lot fewer Emmy awards, and a premise that simply doesn't appeal to people. And Fey, while certainly talented and appealing, has been criminally overhyped and overexposed. She just ain't all that.
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First in the hour among adults 18-49 were NBC sitcoms The Office (Viewers: #2, 9.81 million; A18-49: #1, 4.9/13) and Scrubs (Viewers: #3, 7.31 million; A18-49: #1, 3.7/10). Worth noting for The Office, of course, was growth out of 30 Rock of a hefty 75 percent in the demo.
The difference between pretending to be clever, and actually being clever. Not that clever is the best way to top the Nielsens. Never said that.
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But after watching, and loving, last week’s dinner party themed episode, the problem with last night is why the show itself is not a mass appeal hit. There is no one to like on The Office. Steve Carell as Michael is completely obnoxious and the employees of Dunder Mifflin leave very little to be desired. Then again, can you really blame them while working in an environment like that?
I don't think that's enough of an explanation. We have embraced unlikeable protagonists in the past--Michael is certainly no more obnoxiously self-involved than George Costanza (though George was perhaps a tad more self-aware). And Pam and Jim are extremely likeable--that is, in fact, their function on the show. They watch their co-workers with the same bewildered amusement as the audience. Our stand-ins. And it works. But it doesn't make The Office a big hit--just a solid success.
Serialized storylines. A large cast of characters, many of whom are physically unattractive (translation: normal-looking) in a way that American TV audiences have become unused to. And a criminally weak Thursday slate to support it. A network that doesn't know how to sell the show, and doesn't have the right shows to put alongside it. That, to me, explains it better. I actually do like most of the characters. But yeah, some people would find it all too abrasive and offputting. 75% fewer people (in the demo) than find that to be true of 30 Rock. Damned if I'm going to watch unlikeable people who don't make me laugh.
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Last was the season, or series-finale of ABC’s Eli Stone at 6.13 million viewers and a 2.0/ 6 among adults 18-49. Based on the results, I predict this is the last we will see of Eli Stone.
And only the after-effects of the strike, combined with ABC's penchant for becoming attached to the wrong shows, could prove you wrong--but not for long.
I wouldn't be surprised if ER drops to a sub-2.5 rating in the demo next week.
If NBC was smart (and since they've already renewed ER for next year) they would move the show out of this time slot. Put a new high-profile series here next season. ER is a wasted lead-out for the office (just like scrubs is right now). Why use such a time slot on a declining show that will end after this or next season?? I don't get it.
I disagree. I think Eli Stone should be back. Is the show a "self-starter"? No, of course not. But not many shows are. Neither for that matter is Brothers and Sisters, Samantha Who?, or countless other shows. What Eli Stone does well is hold on to a pretty decent size of its lead-in, when given a lead-in, as evidenced by last Sunday night after Desperate Housewives, or earlier when Lost was new. It gets a higher percentage of higher income viewers, similar to Friday Night Lights. And on these last few Thursdays without new Lost, it has consistently grown in the hour. Take last night, it grew over 1.5 million viewers and .5 in the demo. Finally it is an ABC in house production, so the costs to ABC are lower.
Besides the show really hit it's creative stride in the last 5 weeks. This has been a wacky season with the writers strike. ABC would be stupid not to bring it back for at least 13 more episodes. If I were them, I would start it in the fall on Thursday after Grey's. Let it run until January when Lost returns. Give it time to mature and grow. Sometimes shows take a while and they turn into big hits.
Remember Grey's was reliant on Desperate Housewives at first. But eventually it became a bigger hit, and now look at it. The problem is networks don't give enough time to grow.
One more thought. Last season ABC first had "Men in Trees" after Grey's and it got decent ratings. Later it was "October Road", which got even better ratings. What did ABC do with both, renew them, but ship them to Friday and Monday respectively where they went on to die. For a change, ABC should stick with a show at 10 PM on Thursdays that gets decent ratings and see if it continues to grow instead of renewing it and moving it to a death slot like Monday at 10.
I say renew Eli Stone and keep it on Thursday, 10 PM.
