Fox's Kevin Reilly comments on Dollhouse's timeslot.
The network's entertainment president says "We're going to let the show play out for 13 episodes ... if we can do some business there it will be a great thing for the future." More positive comments over at SCI FI Wire.
There will be a Dollhouse panel starting at 3pm PT so expect coverage of that later on today.
January 13 2009
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J.I.G. | January 13, 11:31 CET
bubblecat | January 13, 11:32 CET
Looking forward to Dollhouse TCA panel. Cast are there, I think.
gossi | January 13, 11:34 CET
[ edited by pat32082 on 2009-01-13 20:36 ]
pat32082 | January 13, 11:35 CET
J.I.G. | January 13, 11:37 CET
bubblecat | January 13, 11:38 CET
I think the strategy is this:
- Run it on Friday. Limited advertising spend.
- If it tanks, limited loss.
- If it gathers a growing audience week to week, you know you have a show. Renew it for a second series, put it in a strong slot (e.g. post American Idol) and let it grow.
I don't know if it will work. It hasn't really in the past. So we'll see.
gossi | January 13, 11:40 CET
ETA For a show that has not yet even premiered?
[ edited by Pointy on 2009-01-13 20:45 ]
Pointy | January 13, 11:42 CET
library hooligan | January 13, 11:44 CET
JMaloney | January 13, 11:44 CET
They worry about it so much that they sometimes lose the regular viewers by switching it around too much to find what they perceive is the best result based on incomplete statistical data.
I understand balancing the show budget with the advertising dollars needed to air it, and rating are important to get the top advertising dollar. But the time slot is not that important. Stick it in a prime time slot where it is airing against a reality show and you are sure to get several viewers that want a scripted show.
They do need to come up with a better ratings system though. The statistical based one is too flawed to get real results.
Couldn't they coordinate with the cable/satellite providers and INTERNET streamers to get real numbers. You could even see who was recording it on their DVRs since they have 2 way comunication. Then you only have to estimate the numbers of over the air viewers with the Nielson Boxes and surveys.
I also wish they would stop saying American Idol is the most watched show on TV. While it might be, I have heard those numbers are based on the votes, and we all know one person calling in to bote for their neighbor's kid 50 times is still just one person watching.
Jayne's Hat | January 13, 11:50 CET
@theonetruebix | January 13, 11:58 CET
I'm not sure the commitment is that extraordinary, what would be extraordinary IMO is if the ratings are poor and they actually follow through and air all 13 episodes.
helcat | January 13, 12:14 CET
zeitgeist | January 13, 12:19 CET
Dana5140 | January 13, 12:26 CET
Sparticus | January 13, 12:28 CET
Donnie | January 13, 12:30 CET
I might not read it this way if they had given the show an actual promotional budget to take away the self-fulfilling prophecy that zeitgeist refers to by saying, "He should probably get the network to kick in more advertising for the show, though, or they might not see the numbers they want as quickly as they want."
But precisely because they don't appear to have given it real advertising, this is how I read these statements as well. It sounds kind of like, "It'd be great, but we're not going out of our way to try to make it happen."
[ edited by The One True b!X on 2009-01-13 21:32 ]
@theonetruebix | January 13, 12:31 CET
Worked for X-Files.
Mort | January 13, 12:48 CET
gossi | January 13, 12:49 CET
Saje | January 13, 12:51 CET
Sunfire | January 13, 12:54 CET
(I don't disagree with the main point, it was a long time ago and how people watch TV has changed a lot since then)
Saje | January 13, 12:57 CET
Friday Night Lights? While it's a great show, which I will be DVRing at the same time as I DVR Dollhouse, it has never done well in the ratings and now the most hardcore fans will probably have already seen it.
Septimus | January 13, 12:59 CET
pat32082 | January 13, 13:00 CET
Yes, that opening sentence is missing a word or two somewhere, but that's SCI FI Wire for you.
[ edited by The One True b!X on 2009-01-13 22:02 ]
@theonetruebix | January 13, 13:01 CET
Maybe Fox is limiting promotional money because they feel Joss's fanbase demonstrated over the summer how commercially successful we can make a film (Dr. Horrible) despite no advertising budget. I.e., have they delegated promotion to Joss's social-networking savvy fans?
SteveP | January 13, 13:02 CET
pat32082 | January 13, 13:02 CET
gossi | January 13, 13:05 CET
Is this really true? Putting my rose-colored glasses firmly to the side, I'd say that early buzz from critics has ranged from lukewarm to quite positive "at best," with a heavy helping of potential-seeing.
I resent the room "Fringe" has been given to grow and do its thing. So it took some time to find its storytelling footing, did it? Isn't that nice for it. I'm sooooo glad it got all that lovey dovey support. I'm being snide because I think it's a pretty mediocre show. I guess it's a ratings winner of a sort now, though, so I can just shove it, I suppose. Still, it's aggravating to compare the friendly attitude towards the "creative" aspects of "Fringe" with the assessment that Ron Moore's Virtuality is too "dense." Huh. And Joss "does a certain kind of show." Yeah, kinds of shows that are critically championed and the kind of show that right now is burning up Amazon sales as a DVD (Dr. Horrible) and made many "Best of 2008" lists.
Sight unseen, I'd take "Virtuality" and "Dollhouse" over "Fringe" any old day of the week. I'm up for "dense." I'm up for dark. I'm up for people doing their own thing. I guess that's why I have become a cable person, where the dense and dark are allowed to go and flourish and where mediocrity does not almost inevitably win out because it's more popular. Screw that.
Rant over. Reilly says some goodish-sounding things about Dollhouse, I suppose. No offense to him personally meant by my rant. Fingers crossed. (Although gossi's latest snark gives me pause. That *was* snark, right?)
Edited to add: That was an interesting comment from Reilly about the couple of false starts with Dollhouse. I wonder how much of these false starts he is ascribing to meddlesome network folk who hated the pilot, and how much to Joss? It seems a bit of the former if the remedy was to just let Joss alone to do his "creative guy" thing.
[ edited by phlebotinin on 2009-01-13 22:48 ]
phlebotinin | January 13, 13:26 CET
Of those, Flashpoint is the most competitive. It got 10m viewers with its return this past Friday (a series high). With that sandwiched between Ghost Whisperer and Numbers, CBS will likely be #1 for the whole night (which is pretty much what it has been in the past). Friday Night Lights has been getting viewers in the 5-6m range, and Supernanny even less than that.
JMaloney | January 13, 13:46 CET
That being said, I agree with your assessment/resentment of Fringe. I watched it for a while and it never caught my interest. It seemed like a warmed-over X-Files, 15 years too late.
As for the other competition. Well, I guess CBS may have the night locked up (though I'm uninterested in any of those). I can imagine a TSCC, DH, BSG evening going on in the more geeky households across the country, though...
[ edited by Septimus on 2009-01-13 22:49 ]
Septimus | January 13, 13:47 CET
zeitgeist | January 13, 13:55 CET
[ edited by phlebotinin on 2009-01-13 22:59 ]
phlebotinin | January 13, 13:56 CET
zeitgeist | January 13, 14:12 CET
phlebotinin | January 13, 14:15 CET
zeitgeist | January 13, 14:21 CET
I was being sincere about the leaving Joss alone thing, by the way. As soon as it moved to Friday nights, I came on here and posted a complete rant I later removed, and the point I was trying to make at the time was that Dollhouse risked turning into something not many people liked due to everybody trying to smash everything into it. My theory is that, obviously, network execs should be involved in shows, and in many cases they can be incredibly useful - but at the same time sometimes it risks everybody jumping in and trying to steer something, and they end up crashing into a wall before they've left the driveway. That's what I think happened to Drive. I didn't want that to happen to Dollhouse, and just wanted everybody to take a step back and make compelling TV, 'cos when it moved to Friday night I knew nobody was going to support it as TV's Hit Action Show Dollhouse, so let's see if it fly because it's Dollhouse.
gossi | January 13, 14:38 CET
So they basically stood back since the retooling and let it evolve? Could put an end to "they have dumbed it down"-talk.
wiesengrund | January 13, 14:52 CET
HitFixDaniel:
@theonetruebix | January 13, 15:43 CET
...none, probably.
Emmie | January 13, 17:00 CET
On one hand, the tone of his quote "let's see if we can do some business" seems to indicate that the bottom line will take precident over nurturing the show beyond 13 episodes.
However, on the other hand, there appears to be a commitment to play the entire 13-episode series February through April (uninterupted?) which is better treatment than Firefly received from the very same network.
Is the glass half full, half empty, or smashed on the table?
Time will tell!
Hjermsted | January 13, 17:12 CET
Dana5140 | January 13, 19:32 CET
Erm:
[ edited by The One True b!X on 2009-01-14 04:55 ]
@theonetruebix | January 13, 19:55 CET
Let Down | January 14, 01:31 CET
daylight | January 14, 03:27 CET
Though I am very, very worried about Virtuality after his comment. Here's hoping that the show can still make it to air, and not be interfered with too much.
Racoon Boy | January 14, 20:41 CET