S10: Critique & Contemplation

[Egraine]

Casual viewers--you can't even call them fans--do make up a large portion of the viewership of TV shows, not just Stargate. Ratings go up and down not based on what hardcore viewers do, but what casual viewers do.

That's why competition can matter. NBC this week totally rejiggled the Fall schedule they released last week. Why? Because a new show from Aaron Sorkin was going to get competition from both CSI and Grey's Anatomy and they want to give it a better chance against weaker competition.

TV Industry prognosticators are already predicting that CSI's ratings will go down too for no other reason than Grey's Anatomy is stronger competition than the show had this season. It has nothing to do with whether CSI will be better or worse. Nobody knows if it will get better or worse quality-wise.

I love that you have this "inside" perspective of ratings, viewership, etc. MS. It helps explain so many things.

BTW...I had decided to blow off the new Matthew Perry show (new show from Aaron Sorkin ) simply because it was up against two of my favs...Grey's and CSI. TiVo only handles 2. Now that it's switched, I'll tune in.

[ToasterOnFire]

TV Industry prognosticators are already predicting that CSI's ratings will go down too for no other reason than Grey's Anatomy is stronger competition than the show had this season. It has nothing to do with whether CSI will be better or worse. Nobody knows if it will get better or worse quality-wise.

And this is the reason why I take all TV ratings with a grain of salt. If I think a show is utter crap then it's utter crap, regardless of whether it has top ratings. If I think a show is great then it's great, even if the American public doesn't agree with me (unless ratings get so low as to warrant cancellation, of course ). High ratings != quality programming.

For me, SG1 has taken a quality dive in s9, or continued to dive, depending on how you look at it. The ratings could skyrocket in s10 (though I consider this near impossible), but if the quality doesn't improve then I'm not going to be watching anymore.

[Strix varia]

Casual viewers--you can't even call them fans--do make up a large portion of the viewership of TV shows, not just Stargate. Ratings go up and down not based on what hardcore viewers do, but what casual viewers do.

That's why competition can matter. NBC this week totally rejiggled the Fall schedule they released last week. Why? Because a new show from Aaron Sorkin was going to get competition from both CSI and Grey's Anatomy and they want to give it a better chance against weaker competition.

TV Industry prognosticators are already predicting that CSI's ratings will go down too for no other reason than Grey's Anatomy is stronger competition than the show had this season. It has nothing to do with whether CSI will be better or worse. Nobody knows if it will get better or worse quality-wise.

But really all this tells me is that when the ratings really tank next season ( ) all TPTB will do is blame it on the competition, rather than anything they could or should have done differently. After all, they didn't get any bad reviews from professional critics. What other reason could there be?

That's fine. Meanwhile, I'll just cling to my very uninformed view that a perceived decrease in the quality of the show resulted in a lot of viewers leaving to watch other things.

Of course, only will time will tell what the ratings actually do.

[the dancer of spaz]

But really all this tells me is that when the ratings really tank next season ( ) all TPTB will do is blame it on the competition, rather than anything they could or should not have done differently. After all, they didn't get any bad reviews from professional critics. What other reason could there be?

That's fine. Meanwhile, I'll just cling to my very uninformed view that a perceived decrease in the quality of the show resulted in a lot of viewers leaving to watch other things.

I'll be right along there with you, Strix.

Of course, only will time will tell what the ratings actually do.

I'm gonna go on a ledge here and predict some crazy fluctuations that have no true pattern (a high when RDA's there, a high when MS/AT are gone, a high when MS/AT are prevalent [HA!], etc). It'll be an interesting ride for those at the network who are in charge of monitoring the ratings. But I honestly don't think we're gonna see anything that distinctly points one factor out amongst the rest.

[smurf]

That may be your opinion, but it is not the opinion of the people at the network or the people at Sony or the producers of Stargate. Good reviews by PROFESSIONAL CRITICS matter to them.

You missed my point entirely.

The subject was why THEY don't admit to anything wrong. Not why you don't admit it. This whole segregated thread is a shrine to negative reviews by fans

Over the last few days, SciFi has been blitzing sites like the Hollywood Reporter with ads asking Emmy voters to consider BSG for an Emmy nomination. What do the ads say? They repeat quotes from professional critics about how good BSG is.

Get just one professional critic to write about how bad SG-1 has gotten and it would get more attention.

The problem is that what few things are said by them is positive towards the changes in the show.

THAT's why you aint going to get the producers to admit anything.

(Keep in mind that my own opinions of the season are irrelevant in this discussion. I'm only addressing the "why don't they admit they are doing something wrong" question)

Repeating quotes from (professional) critics is a marketing spin as old as creativity. Look carefully at who provides the quotes not the fact that it is a quote from a critic.
Many a film have boasted fantastic quotes from review outlets with knowledge of film spurious at best.
Incidentally, the fact that they do use this marketing ploy takes me back to the point that critics are no more immune from hype than anyone else. Otherwise why bother to try to sway opinion with someone elses words.

I'm not convinced a bad review by a professional critic will bother TPTB in the slightest.
Stargate SG-1 has been routinely critically ignored throughout it's 9 year life, so I can easily see them dismissing the review with; "They weren't interested before, so why should we listen to them now?"

The positive-ish professional reviews have, in the main, come as part and parcel of the arrival of BB and CB. They rarely review Stargate in context of itself, and the positivity is almost always tempered by its poor comparision to other sci-fi shows. Frankly, if TPTB put much store by those then it feels a mite desperate.

[Hubble]

Casual viewers--you can't even call them fans--do make up a large portion of the viewership of TV shows, not just Stargate. Ratings go up and down not based on what hardcore viewers do, but what casual viewers do.

That's why competition can matter. NBC this week totally rejiggled the Fall schedule they released last week. Why? Because a new show from Aaron Sorkin was going to get competition from both CSI and Grey's Anatomy and they want to give it a better chance against weaker competition.

TV Industry prognosticators are already predicting that CSI's ratings will go down too for no other reason than Grey's Anatomy is stronger competition than the show had this season. It has nothing to do with whether CSI will be better or worse. Nobody knows if it will get better or worse quality-wise.

OT, but do you have any clue why they do stuff like that? I love Grey's Anatomy, really want to watch the new Sorkin show and like CSI. What's the advantage in having all of those good shows opposite each other? Or do the TV execs just not know what the other station is going to do before they decide on their lineup?

[smurf]

OT, but do you have any clue why they do stuff like that? I love Grey's Anatomy, really want to watch the new Sorkin show and like CSI. What's the advantage in having all of those good shows opposite each other? Or do the TV execs just not know what the other station is going to do before they decide on their lineup?

Simply, money.
Each station wants to claim as much of the market share available. The more people watch, the more they can charge for advertising space. If they let a show on another network dominate a particular night (or set of nights), then they are not making as much money as possible.
Moving a strong programme around in an attempt to steal ratings from (and ultimately destroy) the competition gives them the opportunity to make more profit.

Of course, there are some shows you don't even try to compete against - such as American Idol - but CSI probably isn't as all dominating as it once was. That said, I hear fans of Grey's Anatomy are worried that putting it against CSI is still too risky.

[suse]

Oy. I copied a large chunk of this from the rage thread. I shouldn't be surprised, but I still sort of am...

Meh

Spoiler:

Now, I'm not going to deny the chemistry he's describing, because that would just be ludicrous. I've never seen an entire episode of that series in my life, and I can tell that they had it. It's clear that they had it. I may not be all that impressed with what I see in Vala and Cameron (because there are too many factors to mention as to why that is), but you can totally tell that Aeryn and Crichton were hot. No doubt about that.

But where does the rest of the cast of SG-1 fit into this little plan? What about cultivating the chemistry between them and the other actors? What about staying as faaar away from Farscape references as possible?

What happened?




/me kicks Skydiver for calling it long ago

Dang you and your prophecies, woman!

Oy. Copied from the "mey" link:

Spoiler:

I watched Farscape and loved Claudia Black and Ben Browder in it. Claudia is such a gifted actress, but I’d never really seen her do comedy”, explains Mallozzi. “Her character always tended to be serious in Farscape, and when she guest-starred on Stargate in Prometheus Unbound, as well as in the ninth season episodes last year, it was much the same.

If what Claudia was doing wasn'r burlesque comedy in her eps in S9, what exactly was it - high drama??

Spoiler:

She's only doing comedy in S10? I shudder to think how OTT this is going to be...

BTW, does anyone have TV Zone #203? Are any of the Big 3 even mentioned?

Suse

[ParadoxRealities]

No they did not trick Michael Shanks. Infact Michael Shanks was one of the people who played a key role in talking to Ben Browder, actor to actor, about working on Stargate SG1. Ben had been previously offered the role of Pete Shanahan and then the role of John Sheppard so everyone in the cast and crew knew the execs and show runners were looking to find a role to cast Ben Browder in.

Michael Shanks and his wife Lexa Doig were one of the first ones to greet Ben Browder when he came up to Vancouver after he joined the cast and they helped him hunt for a house to rent and get settled in.

Marla

ah hah, thank you. must go find that article then, eh?


<pulls up chair next to spazzy and strix to wait and contemplates why her name is not a cool as theirs>


I can see TPTB weighting what critics say more heavily, though it may just be so they can point out what a great job they're doing. but do they know (at least somewhat) which critics watch the show and which watch the cast list? because my current view is that they'll do anything to give themselves a pat on the back. they're like cats that way. i don't think a negative review would phase them because i don't think they actually care. and i haven't seen that many positive reviews aside from those heralding the arrival of BB and CB (and BeauB).

MS, what's your prediction for s10 ratings? (we can put you against sky. i have 100 on sky. ...and 50 on MS)

[SimilarCadence]

I don't suppose that there's any chance of them shifting BB and CB over to their third series and leaving SG-1 to the people who made it great.

Or moving AT, MS and CJ to the third series and letting SG-1 die out, taking Mitchell and Vala with it.

Those are good ideas, but being the realist (sounds better than pessimist) that I am, I doubt either will happen because, ultimately, SciFi is pulling the strings. They seem to be obsessed with BB and CB. I think our guys don't really matter much to them....

My hope for AT, MS and CJ is that once SG-1 is done, they'll each go on to bigger and better things. I may be a little prejudiced but I think they're an extremely talented bunch....

[ReganX]

I may be a little prejudiced but I think they're an extremely talented bunch....

I'm probably equally prejudiced, but I agree completely.

[LaCroix]

ah hah, thank you. must go find that article then, eh?


<pulls up chair next to spazzy and strix to wait and contemplates why her name is not a cool as theirs>


I can see TPTB weighting what critics say more heavily, though it may just be so they can point out what a great job they're doing. but do they know (at least somewhat) which critics watch the show and which watch the cast list? because my current view is that they'll do anything to give themselves a pat on the back. they're like cats that way. i don't think a negative review would phase them because i don't think they actually care. and i haven't seen that many positive reviews aside from those heralding the arrival of BB and CB (and BeauB).

MS, what's your prediction for s10 ratings? (we can put you against sky. i have 100 on sky. ...and 50 on MS)

Sorry, but GA won't have to be looking for that article. Here's the link for the
MS/BB thing. It's from Sony.

http://boards.sonypictures.com/board...ad.php?t=16382


It's in post number 2. Sorry folks. I tried to find the post at OS, but couldn't. I googled and found thus one. I hope that helps.

[the dancer of spaz]

Disclaimer: As usual, you can find portions of this post, or this post in its entirety, on the whingenuts and rage threads...

I dunno if this has been posted anywhere, but for those wondering what the newest TV Zone articles have to say, take a gander over at:

This Little Place Here

It's got a doozy of information there. Wanna peek?

Spoiler:

Outside on the Bridge Studios lot, SG-1 stunt supervisor Dan Shea, who also plays Sergeant Siler, is sitting in his office - a picnic table under the sun. He's reviewing the final details of a stunt in Memento Mori that is scheduled for filming this afternoon.

"In this particular scene, Mitchell commandeers a motorcycle and zooms through traffic and pops wheelies as he chases a car that has absconded with Vala," notes Shea. "In order to shoot this, we're taking over a major roadway, Highway 91. When I first heard this I thought, 'You've got to be kidding.' But, yes, we'll be taking over two lanes of this highway as I said, our hero will be popping wheelies and weaving around cars.

"At the end of the chase, which we'll be shooting on location on another day and at a different location, we're going to roll the car. The Vala character will be inside the car and she'll elbow the person in the backseat and then kick the guy in the front seat, causing him to lose control of the vehicle..."

Whoot.

Oh... And this is an honest mistake of course, but Beau Bridges evidenty thinks Carter is still a major. Now, it'd be different if he'd joined the cast during Season Seven, but that's certainly not the case here. Not the case at all. By the time he joined, the character had been a Lt. Colonel for a year. But I guess it can get a bit confusing when you have two Lt. Colonels on one team, and only one of them is being hamfisted into the lead role...

He says: "Of course, bringing Claudia Black in as a regular this year is a smart move [what with his extensive experience with the series and all]. She and I had some good scenes together last year and that's been true again so far this season. I'm pleased to say that my character and Ben's are interacting more in Year 10 as well [because they RARELY interacted last year]."

It just gets better and better.

[AGateFan]

Disclaimer: As usual, you can find portions of this post, or this post in its entirety, on the anti-s10 and rage threads...

I dunno if this has been posted anywhere, but for those wondering what the newest TV Zone articles have to say, take a gander over at:

This Little Place Here

It's got a doozy of information there. Wanna peek?

Spoiler:

Whoot.

Oh... And this is an honest mistake of course, but Beau Bridges evidenty thinks Carter is still a major. Now, it'd be different if he'd joined the cast during Season Seven, but that's certainly not the case here. Not the case at all. By the time he joined, the character had been a Lt. Colonel for a year. But I guess it can get a bit confusing when you have two Lt. Colonels on one team, and only one of them is being hamfisted into the lead role...

He says: "Of course, bringing Claudia Black in as a regular this year is a smart move [what with his extensive experience with the series and all]. She and I had some good scenes together last year and that's been true again so far this season. I'm pleased to say that my character and Ben's are interacting more in Year 10 as well [because they RARELY interacted last year]."

It just gets better and better.

So.....

Spoiler:

Is this Stargate or TJ Hooker?

[LaCroix]

Disclaimer: As usual, you can find portions of this post, or this post in its entirety, on the whingenuts and rage threads...

I dunno if this has been posted anywhere, but for those wondering what the newest TV Zone articles have to say, take a gander over at:

This Little Place Here

It's got a doozy of information there. Wanna peek?

Spoiler:

Whoot.

Oh... And this is an honest mistake of course, but Beau Bridges evidenty thinks Carter is still a major. Now, it'd be different if he'd joined the cast during Season Seven, but that's certainly not the case here. Not the case at all. By the time he joined, the character had been a Lt. Colonel for a year. But I guess it can get a bit confusing when you have two Lt. Colonels on one team, and only one of them is being hamfisted into the lead role...

He says: "Of course, bringing Claudia Black in as a regular this year is a smart move [what with his extensive experience with the series and all]. She and I had some good scenes together last year and that's been true again so far this season. I'm pleased to say that my character and Ben's are interacting more in Year 10 as well [because they RARELY interacted last year]."

It just gets better and better.

It's

Spoiler:

Sg-1 CHIPS. I can't belive I wrote that.