Sweet...FOX is starting to get the picture by Gorramreavers

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Sweet...FOX is starting to get the picture

POSTED BY: GORRAMREAVERS
UPDATED: Thursday, February 17, 2005 19:02
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VIEWED: 6300
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Monday, January 24, 2005 7:38 AM

Fox exec faces reality tv : Wasn’t network’s best tactic
From Nydailynews.com - 2005-01-24th

LOS ANGELES - A fall schedule heavy on reality shows yielded "mixed results" for Fox, said Gail Berman, the network’s president of entertainment.

"I think we had a substantial amount of our schedule be unscripted and certainly that was problematic for us," Berman told members of the Television Critics Association yesterday. "I think...we relied too much on the unscripted side."

More than half of Fox’s fall schedule was reality fare and much of that did not click with viewers - including "The Next Great Champ" and "Richard Branson’s Quest for the Best."

Berman blamed those failures in part on a TV landscape that is awash in reality programming.

"I do think that oversaturation in the marketplace of any form is going to have audience rejection," she said. "It happened in drama. It happened in comedy. And it happened in unscripted. The best generally survive and others get just swept away."

Indeed, Fox’s attempt at reuniting adoptees with their birth fathers was a colossal blunder. The network filmed six episodes of "Who’s Your Daddy?," in which an adopted woman tries to guess which of eight men is her birth father. The show drew the ire of adoption advocates and was rejected by viewers. Fox now has no plans to air the remaining episodes.

But Berman defended the show.

"I don’t think ’Who’s Your Daddy?’ was a mistake," she said. "You put all kinds of programming on and you try things. I think the audience expects loud things from Fox. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. And in the case of this particular show, it just didn’t work."

Berman pointed to Fox’s signature reality series "American Idol" as an example of what is working.

"[’American Idol’] is a very big and important part of our schedule," she said. "We anticipate a good return for ’Idol.’"

She also held up scripted series, including the Golden Globe and Emmy-winning "Arrested Development"; "Point Pleasant"; "24" and "House" as examples of the network’s commitment to "quality" scripted television.

"..it is my very favorite gun."

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Monday, January 24, 2005 7:47 AM

EMBERS

so she figures she has 5 good shows....
and there are seven days in a week?

she doesn't admit that there might be a problem there?

Personally House has definitely made it to my 'never miss' list,
but I'm not watching anything else on Fox with any regularity.

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Monday, January 24, 2005 8:11 AM

GORRAMREAVERS

Quote:
Originally posted by embers:
so she figures she has 5 good shows....
and there are seven days in a week?

she doesn't admit that there might be a problem there?

Personally House has definitely made it to my 'never miss' list,
but I'm not watching anything else on Fox with any regularity.

I have yet to watch 'House'. I cant get interested from the commercials. '24' seems like a great show but, again, never seen it. I have watched 'Point Pleasant' and I will keep watching even though it still needs to get its footing. That and Richard Burgi (from Firefly fame) is in it. I also think im getting a TV star crush on the female lead.

"..it is my very favorite gun."

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Monday, January 24, 2005 8:31 AM

EMBERS

Quote:
Originally posted by Gorramreavers:

I have watched 'Point Pleasant' Richard Burgi (from Firefly fame) is in it.

OMG! I can't believe I missed Richard Burgi, [edited to add, I THOUGHT he looked familiar!]

Personally I think that PP really sucks,
but I'm going to hang in there hoping for a Ben Edlund episode...

and my love of 'House' mainly comes from a huge love of Hugh Laurie, who is brilliant.

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Monday, January 24, 2005 9:14 AM

BADGERSHAT

Quote:
Originally posted by Gorramreavers:
... Berman pointed to Fox’s signature reality series "American Idol" as an example of what is working.

"[’American Idol’] is a very big and important part of our schedule," she said. "We anticipate a good return for ’Idol.’"

A friend of mine described it best:

"American Idol is like ratings crack for FOX. They see the ratings, and they just lose control and overdose."

Idol will be airing like 3 episodes a week this season... sick...

--Jefé The Hat

***************************
--Don't bother trying to predict, figure out, second guess, criticize, or suggest anything that comes from the mind of Joss Whedon, for you shall usually be wrong, and shall find out the Truth and Purpose in due time.
(This is the Truth of Whedoning)

"I like smackin 'em"--Jayne

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Monday, January 24, 2005 9:36 AM

CAITE

Well thank goodness they decided not the air the rest of the episodes of Who's My Daddy! At least they finally got something right.

Quote:
Originally posted by Gorramreavers:
Fox exec faces reality tv : Wasn’t network’s best tactic
From Nydailynews.com - 2005-01-24th

LOS ANGELES - A fall schedule heavy on reality shows yielded "mixed results" for Fox, said Gail Berman, the network’s president of entertainment.

"I think we had a substantial amount of our schedule be unscripted and certainly that was problematic for us," Berman told members of the Television Critics Association yesterday. "I think...we relied too much on the unscripted side."

More than half of Fox’s fall schedule was reality fare and much of that did not click with viewers - including "The Next Great Champ" and "Richard Branson’s Quest for the Best."

Berman blamed those failures in part on a TV landscape that is awash in reality programming.

"I do think that oversaturation in the marketplace of any form is going to have audience rejection," she said. "It happened in drama. It happened in comedy. And it happened in unscripted. The best generally survive and others get just swept away."

Indeed, Fox’s attempt at reuniting adoptees with their birth fathers was a colossal blunder. The network filmed six episodes of "Who’s Your Daddy?," in which an adopted woman tries to guess which of eight men is her birth father. The show drew the ire of adoption advocates and was rejected by viewers. Fox now has no plans to air the remaining episodes.

But Berman defended the show.

"I don’t think ’Who’s Your Daddy?’ was a mistake," she said. "You put all kinds of programming on and you try things. I think the audience expects loud things from Fox. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. And in the case of this particular show, it just didn’t work."

Berman pointed to Fox’s signature reality series "American Idol" as an example of what is working.

"[’American Idol’] is a very big and important part of our schedule," she said. "We anticipate a good return for ’Idol.’"

She also held up scripted series, including the Golden Globe and Emmy-winning "Arrested Development"; "Point Pleasant"; "24" and "House" as examples of the network’s commitment to "quality" scripted television.

"..it is my very favorite gun."

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Monday, January 24, 2005 10:50 AM

TOMANTA

I said from the start that reality TV* was a fad, was going to be overpushed and shoved down America's throats and they'd get sick of it, then come crying back to the quality scripted television community. Unfortunately, they drove us further and further into cable TV.

This year has ultimately been a step in the right direction. The last couple of years there has been NOTHING new that interested me (except Wonderfalls). This year I've been hooked on several of the new shows, many of which look like they'll be back for a second season. Reality TV is NOT as cheap to produce as it is thought (it is cheaper in comparison, but not by much) and has drawbacks such as having to constantly come up with new shows (reruns don't work that well) and loose out on the ever-growing DVD market.

It seems that network TV doesn't have any long-term strategy to regain their dropping share of the market.

* In the "what the hell is real about this" sense that has emerged. Early reality TV, NOT in the "my sister slept with my mother's transvestite boyfriend" sense but ala COPS, isn't that bad.

"FOX! Where the shit hits the fans." - Tim Minear

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Monday, January 24, 2005 11:10 AM

OLDFAN45

Quote:
Originally posted by embers:
so she figures she has 5 good shows....
and there are seven days in a week?

she doesn't admit that there might be a problem there?

Personally House has definitely made it to my 'never miss' list,
but I'm not watching anything else on Fox with any regularity.

Agree with that entirely. House has promise and, whatever power controls TV execs' minds, please let it stay on the air.

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Monday, January 24, 2005 12:24 PM

TENTHCREWMEMBER

Could you please just make it stranger? Stranger. Odder. Could be weirder. More bizarre. How about uncanny?

Quote:
Originally posted by embers:
so she figures she has 5 good shows....
and there are seven days in a week?

she doesn't admit that there might be a problem there?

...and 24 hours in a day...365 days in a year...and what am I doing? Watching Angel, Buffy and Firefly on DVD. Hell, I ain't asking FOX to make every show the "best" show, just make it worth watching.

...and contrary to popular belief, American Idol is not worth watching most nights, and the, ahem, fans know this, whether they admit it or not.

FOX has got a looooong way to go to regain my viewership. Not even the Simpsons can save them now (sorry Gojiro!). Just my wooden nickel's worth.

Cilantro!
TCM

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Monday, January 24, 2005 2:30 PM

MANOFSTEEL25

Agreed Hugh Laurie is quite brilliant and its wonderful to see him getting work but golly I wish he'd do another comedy series.... with or without Stephen Fry....

I wonder what happened to his sequel or film adaption to the Gun Seller?

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Monday, January 24, 2005 5:15 PM

BENCHCOAT

I'm still hoping that Serenity will be such a box office hit that Fox comes crawling back to Joss to try to do something with the TV rights.

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Monday, January 24, 2005 5:23 PM

KNIBBLET

The ONLY time it's worth watching at all is the first episode in each city. Watching people completely free from the burden of talent make complete asses of themselves is always a hoot.

It's also very "Fox" isn't it? Firefly being the exception.

Quote:
Originally posted by TenthCrewMember:
...and contrary to popular belief, American Idol is not worth watching most nights...

"Just keep walkin, preacher man."

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Tuesday, January 25, 2005 4:26 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

Quote:
LOS ANGELES - A fall schedule heavy on reality shows yielded "mixed results" for Fox, said Gail Berman, the network’s president of entertainment.

The sound you hear is the world's smallest violin playing just for Fox.

Sorry, it couldn't happen to a more lame network than Fox. You crank out garbage, eventually even the so called "reality" show viewers will get tired of it.

Quote:
"I think we had a substantial amount of our schedule be unscripted and certainly that was problematic for us," Berman told members of the Television Critics Association yesterday. "I think...we relied too much on the unscripted side."

Who does she think she is kidding? "Unscripted"? Please! It is obvious to anyone who is not blind and mentally challenged that "reality" programming has more than its fair share of scripting going on.

Relied too much on reality shows? NO! Really? You think? More than 50% of that garbage they call a "schedule" is "reality" shows and she thinks they relied too much on the "unscripted" programs?

Wow. She should change her name to Captain Obvious.

Quote:
More than half of Fox’s fall schedule was reality fare and much of that did not click with viewers - including "The Next Great Champ" and "Richard Branson’s Quest for the Best."

You would think they would run out of ideas for this trash they crank out.

Guess the American viewing public does have a saturation point for mindless garbage.

Quote:
Berman blamed those failures in part on a TV landscape that is awash in reality programming.

"I do think that oversaturation in the marketplace of any form is going to have audience rejection," she said. "It happened in drama. It happened in comedy. And it happened in unscripted. The best generally survive and others get just swept away."

So even now, when the writing is right in front of her in black & white, it is not Fox's fault? She tries to lay the blame for her networks inability to come up w/ fresh ideas rather than rehashing the old "reality" show idea a thousand times over. Way to pass the buck Gail.

Quote:
Indeed, Fox’s attempt at reuniting adoptees with their birth fathers was a colossal blunder. The network filmed six episodes of "Who’s Your Daddy?," in which an adopted woman tries to guess which of eight men is her birth father. The show drew the ire of adoption advocates and was rejected by viewers. Fox now has no plans to air the remaining episodes.

When I saw ads for this show all I could do was laugh at the idiocy that Fox continues to churn out. I was saddened too that someone in America might actually tune into this offal instead watching a quality program or reading a book. Ruttin' hell, watching paint dry would be more productive than watching a "reality" program.

Quote:
But Berman defended the show.

"I don’t think ’Who’s Your Daddy?’ was a mistake," she said. "You put all kinds of programming on and you try things. I think the audience expects loud things from Fox. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. And in the case of this particular show, it just didn’t work."

So even though the numbers show the show blew and no one is watching, she defends it. Too bad she didn't show the same consideration to a show about a ship & crew we all know & love.

Mistakes? Fox is full of them.

Quote:
Berman pointed to Fox’s signature reality series "American Idol" as an example of what is working.

"[’American Idol’] is a very big and important part of our schedule," she said. "We anticipate a good return for ’Idol.’"

Sometimes I feel that I am the only person that does not watch this drivel. People at work talk about it and all I can do is shake my head. It seems the best part for people is making fun of the people who have no talent at all. Apparently Fox makes sure they bring in plenty of people who couldn't carry a tune in an earth mover so all of America can point, laugh, and ridicule. I guess most people were bullies in school and pulled the wings off of flies for fun.

Quote:
She also held up scripted series, including the Golden Globe and Emmy-winning "Arrested Development"; "Point Pleasant"; "24" and "House" as examples of the network’s commitment to "quality" scripted television.

I can't speak for any of these shows as I don't watch Fox anymore and have no intentions of doing so w/ the exception of Adam in the new series "Insider". Other than that I have no use for Fox whatsoever.

__________________________________________

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Meet Up:
http://firefly.meetup.com/9/boards/

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Tuesday, January 25, 2005 10:21 AM

SPOOKYJESUS

You reap what you sow.

That's all I have to say about it.

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Tuesday, January 25, 2005 10:58 AM

KNIBBLET

I'm a singer. When I'm somewhere and the singer makes a mistake, I wince with them and want to cry for them. I never pulled the wings off of flies.
HOWEVER, on the first night of American Idol when some foghorn gets up and starts to screech like a banshee ... I laugh my ass off. I cover my ears and laugh my ass off.
I do wonder about the Idol singers who will declare that 'everyone I know tells me I have a gorgeous voice.'. I figure they must live in the land of the tonedeaf.
When it's so bad that my puppy comes into the room and begins to growl, bark and howl at the TV, how can you NOT laugh?

Quote:
Originally posted by BrownCoat1:
It seems the best part for people is making fun of the people who have no talent at all. Apparently Fox makes sure they bring in plenty of people who couldn't carry a tune in an earth mover so all of America can point, laugh, and ridicule. I guess most people were bullies in school and pulled the wings off of flies for fun.

"Just keep walkin, preacher man."

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Tuesday, January 25, 2005 11:48 AM

MONTANAGIRL

Quote:
She also held up scripted series, including the Golden Globe and Emmy-winning "Arrested Development"; "Point Pleasant"; "24" and "House" as examples of the network’s commitment to "quality" scripted television.

Commitment to Arrested Development?!? What planet is she on? Fox has not supported it at all, and the only thing that brought it back for a second season was the fact that it won an Emmy. I'm not holding my breath that they'll give it a third season.

Packer fans welcome.
All others tolerated.

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Wednesday, February 16, 2005 2:28 PM

SAMWIBATT

Sigh...

Quote:
"I think...we relied too much on the unscripted side."

This is as close as you'll ever find to a corporate flack admitting they made a mistake. Fox certainly won't go as far as reinstating any of the gems they diddled when they couldn't shovel reality crap onto the airwaves fast enough. Putting "Firefly" or "Wonderfalls" back on the air would be an admission that the ivory tower made a non-infallible pronouncement.

Consumerist groupthink, thy name is Fox.

I mean really! I've been experiencing a fresh wave of outrage over all this this week, now that I scored the Wonderfalls DVDs and realize - they didn't cancel this for a reality show, they cancelled this for reruns of a reality show! For RERUNS of the most Stepford-Wifish BS!

Since I'm a glutton for this sort of anger, I'm rewatching Firefly again after the Wonderfalls-fest is over.

Phew. Thank you for your time.

Sam

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Wednesday, February 16, 2005 5:31 PM

ATILLA

Does it bother anyone that these TV executives drive cars?

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Wednesday, February 16, 2005 9:57 PM

BLINKER

Quote:
"I think we had a substantial amount of our schedule be unscripted and certainly that was problematic for us"

RIVER [faraway look]: My crap is problematic.

SIMON [gently admonishing]: I told you not to have that second ice planet...

_________
Sliders: Gate Haven - http://slidersweb.net/blinker

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Thursday, February 17, 2005 3:37 AM

EMBERS

Quote:
Originally posted by benchcoat:
I'm still hoping that Serenity will be such a box office hit that Fox comes crawling back to Joss to try to do something with the TV rights.

actually I am with you BenchCoat:
I want Serenity to be so brilliant,
and such a big hit, that Fox crawls on their collective knees to Joss
begging him to let them rewrite the contracts and bring the show back on the air.

Contracts and agreements can always be rewritten...

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Thursday, February 17, 2005 6:02 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

Welcome to the site SamWibatt! Glad to have you w/ us.

You will find that nearly everyone here feels the same as you. Still can't figure out why Fox cancelled Firefly, but I think that the future is looking bright for our cast and Joss, so I believe it will all work out in the end.

My belief is that we will all know the satisfaction of pointing at Fox in the near future and laughing. We told them all along that Firefly was a cult hit waiting to happen, but they couldn't wait for it to build. Ours will be the last laugh.

__________________________________________

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Meet Up:
http://firefly.meetup.com/9/boards/

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Thursday, February 17, 2005 6:12 AM

STEVETHEPIRATE

Fox

already more-or-less admitted to one big mistake - canceling Family Guy - and is attempting to rectify that decision by returning it to the air. Little to no chance that they'd do that for any other series.

Of course, I figure it will happen this way - to make way for Minear's new show The Inside, Point Pleasant (which is better than it gets credit for, if you ask me) will get canned. A month or so after Fox

remembers Minear as "that friend of Whedon's who had something to do with one of those other shows we canceled - what was it called again? Fruitfly? I can't remember," The Inside gets canned. Then we get to watch Richard Branson drop his pants, sit on a corn cob and spin, 'cause Fox

thinks people like that kind of stuff.

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Thursday, February 17, 2005 6:43 AM

SAMWIBATT

Quote:
Welcome to the site SamWibatt! Glad to have you w/ us.

Thanks! Happy to be here. Long time lurker, first time poster and all that.

Quote:
I think that the future is looking bright for our cast and Joss, so I believe it will all work out in the end.

I believe so, and I look forward to helping by going and seeing the movie repeatedly.

Quote:
My belief is that we will all know the satisfaction of pointing at Fox in the near future and laughing.

I already laugh at Fox, but it's not without some bitterness - maybe it shows. :)

I think that there must be some TV industry fairy tale, told to executives' little tykes as they're bundled up in their flannel 3-piece-suit jammies, which goes something like this - one day, one golden, shining day, we will be free from the tyranny of "content" and viewers will sit passively watching nothing but advertising from sunup till sundown. On that day, we can finally rid ourselves of those troublesome creative types and giggle at them as we step over them in the gutter. Maybe keep a couple of them around and force them to caper amusingly for bread crumbs. And we live happily ever after.

It has to be something like this - nothing else makes sense. Occasionally someone like our Ms. Berman thinks that at last the Day has arrived, or at least it's time to make a significant step "forward". Decisions like this are hailed by an enthused gaggle of yes-men around the boardroom table. "And if the viewers don't like it? Screw 'em! What are they gonna do? Stop watching TV?"

Well, yes. At least your dorky channel.

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Thursday, February 17, 2005 11:21 AM

SAMWIBATT

Quote:
Originally posted by Atilla:
Does it bother anyone that these TV executives drive cars?

I'm not sure what you mean by this - I'm guessing you're rightly frightened of the dangers of having such droolers operate motor vehicles. But I think it's both better and worse than that - some of the top bigwigs probably have chauffeurs. I doubt any of the lower-echelon people drive anything other than SUVs, which is really scary.

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Thursday, February 17, 2005 7:02 PM

ATILLA

Actually, it is almost as bad for quality TV if the firefly movie is good. Since these yahoos are not driving themselves, they could last forever.

I new a guy that heard in a bar one night that he could get girls if he had a hot car. Not being very bright he says, "giv me a zample" (not very sober either). His friend says, "A beemer."

So, next week he drives in with his new BMW. It is chartreuse with a yellow racing stripe.

Think about Firefly in the dramatic equivalent of chartreuse with a yellow stripe.

Just think about it ...

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