Game of Thrones seems to be doing pretty good at just 10 episodes a year, same for Orphan Black. The former has more than five books to work with, the latter is an original concept. Either way, I prefer getting the meat of the story without all the filler of a 20-24 episode season. In the case of Expanse, they have a lot of story to adapt for future seasons, so they have no reason to cram too much into the first one.
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The Expanse on SyFy: Discussion - Spoilers.
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This is a sticky topic.
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And Outlander which is also an adaptation of a many books series is also doing fine with a season of 16 episodes which is the adaptation of the first book. and why not make 2 books a season (there would be a midseason hiatus anyway) so you could get the meat of the story. Games of thrones is just one more example of how a channell tries to milk the cow for as many years as possible.
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The events of the first book would be stretched very thin imo if they tried to make 20+ episodes from the material. Admittedly they aren't doing a 100% faithful adaptation of the book as there is a character showing up in season 1 that doesn't appear in the books until book 2, but I would rather they stick as close as possible to the original story as I think the original authors are better writers than the show runners.
This opinion is largely shaped by my dislike of all the changes that the show runners of "Game of Thrones" have been making to the original story. So far this season they have all pretty much been for the worse.
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Originally posted by Wyrminarrd View PostThe events of the first book would be stretched very thin imo if they tried to make 20+ episodes from the material. Admittedly they aren't doing a 100% faithful adaptation of the book as there is a character showing up in season 1 that doesn't appear in the books until book 2, but I would rather they stick as close as possible to the original story as I think the original authors are better writers than the show runners.
This opinion is largely shaped by my dislike of all the changes that the show runners of "Game of Thrones" have been making to the original story. So far this season they have all pretty much been for the worse.
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I don't really believe that having lengthier seasons of any show would help with ratings. In fact, I would say the opposite is more likely. Television in 2015 is just not what it used to be. American audiences have indeed been "trained" to embrace 10-13 episode seasons, and while I'd have never said this the last time I made a post on GateWorld (which, for the record, was probably sometime in 2011) I've also come around to the idea. Sure, I wouldn't mind some more 22-episode fare, but that's quite a few weeks to ask modern audiences to keep up with. Quite a few, indeed.
Concentrate the quality writing; keep things focused, well-serialized. That's what audiences want from their genre TV outings these days, and it's easier to achieve with shorter orders. The Expanse's first book is 10 episodes long at best, too, I'd say. So it all works out rather nicely.
Nah, SyFy's ratings have tanked because a great many viewers abandoned the network in frustration. Also, due to the changing TV climate in general. It's a bad combination for the network, but I applaud its heads of programming for going all-in on efforts to recapture the glory days in the coming months and years. I'll be watching, and spreading word wherever I go. I'll of course wish the lineup included more Stargate, but them's the breaks.
EDIT: Phew, I just checked exactly how long it's been since my last post on GateWorld. February 2011... wow.If you've seen a Jeff O'Connor or a JeffZero or a Jeff Zero or a JeffZeroConnor elsewhere on the net, there's a considerable chance it's me.
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Originally posted by Jeff O'Connor View PostTelevision in 2015 is just not what it used to be. American audiences have indeed been "trained" to embrace 10-13 episode seasons,
Contrast this with cable networks, who only give even their very best shows half-seasons. Suits, Burn Notice (USA), Haven, Continuum (SyFy).
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Certainly true, but network ratings have sort of been freefalling for years. I don't think it's coincidental. The 1.5 Nielsen is the new 2.5, and all that jazz. With a few noteworthy exceptions (such as Empire, for a very recent example) everything's kind of down in the ditch, and networks have begun experimenting with shorter-order "event" shows more frequently as a result.
I see your point; there's still some room for a longer order on the television space. And I'm sure it wouldn't be an impossible task to get audiences more comfortable with the idea again. But TV is staving off threats from every corner, and 22-episode orders as the genre programming norm might not help matters.If you've seen a Jeff O'Connor or a JeffZero or a Jeff Zero or a JeffZeroConnor elsewhere on the net, there's a considerable chance it's me.
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I would prefer full seasons (22 - 26 eps) of any veteran series. And I don't think they have to sacrifice quality for length of run.
If they want to "try" a series with a 13 ep. order, I can understand that, but if a series does well enough to survive the trial, it ought to get a full order.
I don't really understand why they do the short orders anyway; if a series makes enough money to keep it on the schedule, wouldn't a longer run make more money?
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Originally posted by Jeff O'Connor View PostCertainly true, but network ratings have sort of been freefalling for years. I don't think it's coincidental. The 1.5 Nielsen is the new 2.5, and all that jazz. With a few noteworthy exceptions (such as Empire, for a very recent example) everything's kind of down in the ditch, and networks have begun experimenting with shorter-order "event" shows more frequently as a result.
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Originally posted by ecgordon View PostI would prefer another solid 13 episodes of 12 Monkeys, no more than that, then drop Olympus and develop another quality show.
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Originally posted by pakar View PostI have the impression that the current syfy executives doesn't have a clue what good science fiction or fantasy means. Dark matter (or something else) could be greenlighted 3-4 monthw earlier so it could started in april.
The problem is that the potential audience for "Good Science Fiction" isn't that large to begin with, and it's tough to draw enough eyeballs to satisfy the bean counters and advertising sales people. Good Sci Fi is also more expensive to produce.
For a number of years, SyFy tried to expand it's audience numbers by airing crappy but well-rated fare such as fake wrestling, reality shows and the like. That was their stated goal.
They have now stated that they want to return to airing scifi content. And from what I can see, they are trying. I don't see fake wrestling on their Fri. night schedule this week, and they did air 12 Monkeys in what used to be WWE's Friday night timeslot. They have a number of potential good sci fi shows in the pipeline. Granted, Ascension was a dud, most likely 'cause the bean counters nixed a real space show, due to cost. We haven't seen The Expanse or Dark Matter yet, so those are unknowns.
While 12 Monkeys did turn out to be good, it's ratings were rather poor. After the recent few years, I don't think they're going to get stellar ratings from anything they put up, they betrayed their target audience, and it will take time to win the audience back. They seem to realize that too, as they did greenlight a 2nd season for 12Monkeys even with the poor ratings for season 1.
I think we just have to be patient at this point, and wait to see if they are going to walk the walk, in addition to talking the talk.
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Annoyed, I know you have advocated longer seasons quite a few times. Way back in the 60s shows got 30 or more episodes a season, but they gradually were reduced year by year, down to the average of 22 for the most popular network shows, 24 for a few exceptions. But the expense of that is only justified for the powerhouse shows like NCIS, Big Bang Theory, etc. CBS has even dropped Person of Interest to 13 for what will likely be its last season. The new norm is 13, no matter what you prefer, so you're just going to have to get used to it.
I would much rather have four good 13 episodes shows a year rather than two mediocre filler-filled 26 ep shows.
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