Never goes smooth. How come it never goes smooth?

Mal ,'Safe'


The Minearverse 4: Support Group for Clumsy People  

[NAFDA] "There will be an occasional happy, so that it might be crushed under the boot of the writer." From Zorro to Angel (including Wonderfalls and The Inside), this is where Buffistas come to anoint themselves in the bloodbath.


Ginger - Jul 03, 2005 12:33:44 pm PDT #626 of 10001
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda

I think there might be a market for ice cream treats in that shape.

I'd love to hear the Allyson and Kristen show.


Tim Minear - Jul 03, 2005 12:35:24 pm PDT #627 of 10001
"Don' be e-scared"

Thanks, Matt. And yeah, while most of the reviews for "Wonderfalls" were really positive, the Hollywood Reporter and Variety both panned it. In fact, their pans for "The Inside" were actually more positive.


Polter-Cow - Jul 03, 2005 12:36:56 pm PDT #628 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

And yeah, while most of the reviews for "Wonderfalls" were really positive, the Hollywood Reporter and Variety both panned it.

How funny. The targets for the VM and FF SOS campaigns, respectively.


Kevin - Jul 03, 2005 12:38:45 pm PDT #629 of 10001
Never fall in love with somebody you actually love.

Allyson and Kristen should SO make a web-show thing. I'd do all the techie bits.

West Wing is aired on Channel 4 and E4 here, and does quite well. We have, off the top of my head, currently: Scrubs (on about 8 times a week now), Friends (on about 8 times a week STILL), Six Feet Under, Without A Trace, all the CSIs, Wonderfalls, Firefly, Dead Like Me, 24, X-Files, Huff, Law and Order and House.

Original drama wise, I'm currently watching "Sugar Rush", a UK thing about a 15 year old girl's life. It airs at 11pm, and there's no way it'd air in the US I suspect (she's Bi, does drugs, and is pretty much an a-typical UK teenager).

ETA: I just noticed how much current UK TV Tim has a hand in.


Ginger - Jul 03, 2005 12:42:36 pm PDT #630 of 10001
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda

I love a man who can say, "That pan was better than the last pan."

I'm not one to denigrate shows like Law & Order, which I also watch. It's tightly written and well acted. L&O: CI is actually pretty damn quirky. It's just that the focused stand-alone episodes are easier for the occasional TV watcher to watch. I'm not a reality show fan, because I like shows with actual writers and actors. If I wanted to watch unscripted stupidity, I could get to know my next-door neighbor better.


Matt the Bruins fan - Jul 03, 2005 12:45:43 pm PDT #631 of 10001
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand

If I wanted to watch unscripted stupidity, I could get to know my next-door neighbor better.

Amen. The place I lived post-college totally dissipated any appeal Cops might have had for me, as the guest cast seemed to live on my street.


Kevin - Jul 03, 2005 1:06:55 pm PDT #632 of 10001
Never fall in love with somebody you actually love.

One of the fans reactions to the news:

" I hope FOX gets eaten by a 900 lb cannibal. *fumes*"

Heh.


sfmarty - Jul 03, 2005 1:13:49 pm PDT #633 of 10001
Who? moi??

I liked some of the other shows from the UK too. (As well as all of the ones ita mentioned) Jonathan Creek, As time goes by (a sitcom starring Dame Judi Dench!), At Home With the Braithwaites (talk about dysfunctional families) etc.

Tim, do the networks decide that your shows are just adverts for the forthcoming DVDs? Pisses me off. Still, I will buy them. ESPECIALLY for the commentaries. (I have all of the aired eps on Do Not Delete on the Tivo.)


Nicklas - Jul 03, 2005 1:14:26 pm PDT #634 of 10001
"Either it's murder, or this library has a very strict overdue policy."

While FOX can be blamed a tiny bit for being impatient and wanting results now-now-now -- they're not alone in this as it's something in todays the television business at the moment -- really, I think they've gotten way better with their shows. Despite all things, didn't they actually promote the Inside unlike the other cancelled shows? And they gave it what appeared to be a good timeslot. If they majority of the viewers choose to watch people dancing for hours or a re-run of L&O, what can you do? Especially the dance thing, I can't believe they got that many viewers.


Tim Minear - Jul 03, 2005 1:31:25 pm PDT #635 of 10001
"Don' be e-scared"

Nicklas, you're half right. The on-air promos were quite good. The time slot, as it turned out, sucked, since we were up against what turned out to be the Idol-like hit of the summer. That may have worked out anyway, if the network had had the proper time to launch it. On-air promotion is one thing. It's one part of a show launch campaign. But it was the only thing we got. Unless there is enough lead time to really launch a show, with a real campaign to raise awareness, then the only people who will know about the show are those who watch Fox air. For instance, TNT brought a much larger audience to "The Closer." And one didn't need to be watching TNT to be aware of it. I was aware of it, and I never watch TNT. That's because they knew what their air date was going to be months in advance. We knew only weeks in advance. I drive down the street here in LA, and I see "the Closer" billboards on bus stops, Shield billboards, Rescue Me billboards. We had nothing other than the on-air promos. Bones and Prison Break are being promo-ed now, months before they air. And in places other than Fox air. You get my point. When the network finally decided they wanted to air spots elsewhere and in other media, they couldn't find anything, everything had already been pre sold.

I don't blame Fox at all for being impatient. But it's their job to bring the audience, it's our job to keep the audience and build on it, which is exactly what we've been doing.

This is really the only way this was going to shake out. Ask Allyson, I've been telling her this since they gave us the summer air date. The truth is, we were in a kind of box. Because of the storied history of the project known as "The Inside," if they'd held us until fall, they would have resented us, we would have had the stink of old goods that had been sitting on the shelf too long. By shoving us into the summer without the proper campaign, we were destined to flounder. Shrug.