Honestly? There's a reason that Joss got a series commitment and not just a pilot order. And I think the shows that already got series commitments are probably fine.
If I'm at Fox and I'm told to cancel half my projects in development, the first projects I cut are the script only orders, without penalties, that haven't been delivered yet. Then, I cut anything from a lower level writer, who has no track record as a creator, or the ones that have no one significant (actors, directors, etc.) attached.
The last projects I would consider cutting are the ones from the Joss Whedons, the JJ Abramses and the Shawn Ryans. Why? Because, even with a drastically reduced development season, they've got a better chance than some newbie of turning out a great show.
And I really don't want to be the guy who sent that potential hit to another network.
Huzzah. This makes me happy, Kristen.
Thanks, Strega.
That was kind of my thinking as well, Kristen. Thanks for articulating it.
About Journeyman, I missed it towards the end. Does anyone know if they had a chance to tie up ends before the end? I didn't like the concept of the show, but watched a couple of eps, and then the dang thing kept drawing me in more and more.
It pulled together some of the emotional ties, and did a good job of reseeding the field with new questions.
Thanks ita. I'll have to add it to my queue when (if) it becomes available.
The NY Times has an article about what TV might look like post strike:
Scripts have been junked, pilots have been canceled, deals with writers have been wiped off the books, and almost no one in the television industry has been able to make any plans during the past three months.
In an industry where business as usual means nobody knows anything, the three-month-old (and counting) writers’ strike has contributed a new state of uncertainty: Everybody knows even less.
Networks Ponder Poststrike Landscape
Audiences then often decide that the regular episodes fail to live up to the pilot. One recent example: “Bionic Woman,” NBC’s remake of an old series, which got off to a roaring start thanks to a film-quality pilot and never measured up again.
I'm not sure that was the problem with Bionic Woman.
What do you think was the problem?
That makes it sound like people thought the pilot was fantastic and then the quality dropped off. I thought the general response to the pilot was "That wasn't very good, but maybe it'll improve."
