S60 to end after summer run..

[Alfer]

or so says USAToday TV reviewer...

NBC says "Studio 60" will be back, though it's looking now like the return has been delayed until the summer. And now the bad news: It won't be back for a second season, or not without divine or corporate intervention. NBC was getting far too little bang from very big bucks.

[Aniketos]

Is the Black Donnellys doing better than S60? I have no plans on watching the show, just wondering about the ratings.

[Alfer]

No..they're even worse off than S60.

[Mikeyis4dcats]

Black Donnellys was officially cancelled today

[LoadStar]

Originally Posted by Alfer2003

or so says USAToday TV reviewer...

Well, frankly, this is unsurprising. At the same time, it's completely unofficial, and completely unsubstantiated, and really says nothing that hasn't been said by some reporter or reviewer since the series left the air. This is a classic "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead" story.

[LoadStar]

Originally Posted by Mikeyis4dcats

Black Donnellys was officially cancelled today

"Hiatus," not canceled yet. (Hiatus, in this case, is as good as canceled.)

[mwhip]

They will end up moving Medium back to Mondays where it did better than both those shows and better than where it is now. My prediction is Donnelly's and S60 will not be back.

[gchance]

Originally Posted by mwhip

They will end up moving Medium back to Mondays where it did better than both those shows and better than where it is now. My prediction is Donnelly's and S60 will not be back.

You sure? My wife would be happy about that one.

Greg

[windracer]

Well, at least we'll get to see the rest of the S60 episodes.

[mwhip]

Originally Posted by gchance

You sure? My wife would be happy about that one.

Greg

That is only a prediction but it makes sense.

[jgerry]

I still think that Studio 60, for all its issues, would have done better if they had at least tried to move it to a different time slot. 9 pm instead of 10 pm, some other day maybe. Anything up against CSI: Miami is suicidal, even if the audiences are totally different.

[LoadStar]

The three things that would have saved S60:
- Better time/night
- make the series essentially an hour-long Sports Night. More quippy, brighten everything up, make it a little more fun to watch (at least at first - they could darken the tone after they've grabbed the audience, like they did with Sports Night)
- either don't show any of the sketches (at all) or actually hire sketch comedy writers to develop some decent scripts for them and show more of them. One of the two. (People focused too much on the sketch snippets that we saw, not understanding that they really weren't the point of the show at all, and also you can't get a good feel for "funny" from 5-10 seconds of a sketch.)

[Alfer]

I still contend that 100% of the reason it failed was due to the subject matter..
an overly dramatic show about a show making an SNL style show is not tops on the American viewing publics "Must See" list IMO. The SNL train left the station long ago so the relevance wasn't there anymore.

No different time, station etc would have saved it...the topic was uninteresting to many folks..hence the small ratings. The first weeks spike in rating was IMO SOLEY because folks thought Mattew Perry was gonna be in another "fun" NBC show..at least that's pretty much how NBC sold it via clips of it that ran prior to the premiere...once they realized what a downer it was to watch and the topic was so blah, they bailed in large numbers.

Maybe NBC learned a big (pricey) lesson on this one.....doubtful, but one can hope.

[stalemate]

Originally Posted by LoadStar

- either don't show any of the sketches (at all) or actually hire sketch comedy writers to develop some decent scripts for them and show more of them. One of the two. (People focused too much on the sketch snippets that we saw, not understanding that they really weren't the point of the show at all, and also you can't get a good feel for "funny" from 5-10 seconds of a sketch.)

You can when the skit is Santa Claus getting caught on To Catch A Predator. That was hilarious.

[TAsunder]

Eliminate danny and harriet from the show, make timothy busfield the main character, and only show skits discussed on the show. I'd love S60 then...

[Steveknj]

Originally Posted by Alfer2003

I still contend that 100% of the reason it failed was due to the subject matter..
an overly dramatic show about a show making an SNL style show is not tops on the American viewing publics "Must See" list IMO. The SNL train left the station long ago so the relevance wasn't there anymore.

No different time, station etc would have saved it...the topic was uninteresting to many folks..hence the small ratings. The first weeks spike in rating was IMO SOLEY because folks thought Mattew Perry was gonna be in another "fun" NBC show..at least that's pretty much how NBC sold it via clips of it that ran prior to the premiere...once they realized what a downer it was to watch and the topic was so blah, they bailed in large numbers.

Maybe NBC learned a big (pricey) lesson on this one.....doubtful, but one can hope.

I agree, and it even went and overdid the subject matter with so much "inside" stuff about the inner workings of TV, that NOBODY either understood or cared about. Sports Night had a bit of that, but I think the subject matter was more interesting and Sorkin was new. That said, even Sports Night was more of a cult show than a real hit.

As for the spike in interest at the beginning, I think it was three things:

1) Matthew Perry, as you mentioned
2) Most critics (including TV Guide) gave it rave reviews, so people's interest was piqued
3) It was on after Heroes which was a hit, so for the first week or two, those folks stuck around.

I agree also that a better time slot would have helped. The folks how like Heroes I wouldn't think would be the same core audience who would like S60. I'm not saying you can't like both...I did, but it's just a different core audience.

[cwoody222]

Originally Posted by mwhip

They will end up moving Medium back to Mondays where it did better than both those shows and better than where it is now. My prediction is Donnelly's and S60 will not be back.

While I agree S60 and Donnelly's are both history for next season, I'm not sure about moving Medium back.

I wager they would still like to use Heroes heat to launch a new show.

Assuming they keep Heroes where it is - which is a perfect slot for it because it avoids 24 until 2008 and even holds it's own when 24 returns. (assuming 24 stays put too)

Lots of assumptions!

[reddice]

Any show after Heroes just like any show after Lost ends up getting cancelled so they should just do what they did with Lost and move Heroes to 10 pm next season so it won't conflict with 24 anymore.

[drew2k]

Originally Posted by mwhip

They will end up moving Medium back to Mondays where it did better than both those shows and better than where it is now. My prediction is Donnelly's and S60 will not be back.

What about moving Vegas back to Monday's?

[mwhip]

Originally Posted by drew2k

What about moving Vegas back to Monday's?

Vegas is kicking butt on Friday's and is the first show in long time for NBC to do so.

I think NBC is disappointed in how Medium is doing on Wednesday's and with the rumors that Lost is going to be "24" style next year (starting in January and having a 24 week uninterrupted run) that leaves the first half open for a new series to try and prove its self against at least another new show by ABC.

[DevdogAZ]

I don't get the sentiment that the show was a downer. I've really enjoyed it and liked almost all the characters. I never expected it to be funny or to see much of the actual sketch show. I was very interested in the "behind-the-scenes" aspect of the show. I think the only two mistakes made were:

1. The timeslot was wrong and NBC should have tried to remedy that situation as soon as it became apparent that it wasn't going to take a bite out of CSI: Miami.

2. The entire notion of the Matt/Harriet relationship was completely misplaced. For some reason, Sorkin seemed to think that people would care about these characters being together and he'd be able to capture a "will they or won't they" type of mentality. However, he made the Harriet character so unlikeable that most people watching the show wanted Matt to run as far away from her as possible.

[TAsunder]

So let me get this straight, they are putting a reality show on in that time slot (Real Wedding Crashers)? Does that mean heroes will be between Deal or No Deal and a Reality Show??

[reddice]

Just what we need, more reality crap.
Reality TV needs to die a slow death.

[Mr. Soze]

I just got bored with this one. 3 eps still unwatched on the Tivo. Ah well.

[Bierboy]

Originally Posted by reddice

Just what we need, more reality crap.
Reality TV needs to die a slow death.

that'd be real

[drew2k]

But would you watch it if it was televised?

[marksman]

I heard NBC is going to do a combination new show that will actually be two different casts on a similar bent. You know the old detective runs they would have and throw in a columbo here and someone else next week? Or how about the Law and Order Criminal Intent, where you have two different central casts rotating.

Regadless, NBC is ramping up a behind-the-scenes behind-the-scenes. The first week will start with a fictional cast going through the every day rigors of creating and executing Studio 60. You will follow the drama as the show gets bashed in the media, as fans exile, and how a fellow freshman show named "Victors" steals all the limelight and puts Studio 60 and its crew squarely behind the 8-Ball. They plan 12 episodes for next season to follow this story line. Alternating with this story will be a behind the-scenes behind the-scenes look at 30 Rock. You will have a very confusing portrayal as Tina Fey portrays herself playing herself playing Liz Lemon. Mad cap hilarity ensues as the real Ratchel Dratch is once again edited out of this show, and how this unlikely show and crew goes from fatality, to frivolity. The plan to offer 10 episodes of this show.

Working titles still pending.

[Shaunnick]

Originally Posted by marksman

I heard NBC is going to do a combination new show that will actually be two different casts on a similar bent. You know the old detective runs they would have and throw in a columbo here and someone else next week? Or how about the Law and Order Criminal Intent, where you have two different central casts rotating.

Regadless, NBC is ramping up a behind-the-scenes behind-the-scenes. The first week will start with a fictional cast going through the every day rigors of creating and executing Studio 60. You will follow the drama as the show gets bashed in the media, as fans exile, and how a fellow freshman show named "Victors" steals all the limelight and puts Studio 60 and its crew squarely behind the 8-Ball. They plan 12 episodes for next season to follow this story line. Alternating with this story will be a behind the-scenes behind the-scenes look at 30 Rock. You will have a very confusing portrayal as Tina Fey portrays herself playing herself playing Liz Lemon. Mad cap hilarity ensues as the real Ratchel Dratch is once again edited out of this show, and how this unlikely show and crew goes from fatality, to frivolity. The plan to offer 10 episodes of this show.

Working titles still pending.

WTF?

[drew2k]

Originally Posted by Shaunnick

WTF?

Read back a few posts. 2 + 2 = ?

(It's all about the context.)