Fox will Move TSCC to Fridays in February

[cyadon]

Nov 6, 2008 20:35:20 GMT -5 ultima7878 said:

Friday night television is what i call the kiss of death. But it isn't all that bad being on at 8. People don't really start going out until after 9. some shows like ghost whisper have managed to survive at 8 on Fridays. also, it is a good combination pairing it with a joss whedon show. Although it does make me nervous that fox hasn't even released a teaser trailer for the shows pilot. But, like everyone else on here my heart did sink when I heard of the move. We as a group should protest fox's lie detector show and hopefully get it canceled and then maybe we can get are show on Wednesday nights.

I've seen Dollhouse trailers on Fox. I watch football and they've been playing them during games.

[k8ie]

*twirls her moustache blade*

You will never triumph! NEVER!

Here are last Friday's numbers from TVbythenumbers:

8:00 CBS Ghost Whisperer 9.41 2.2/8
NBC Deal or No Deal 5.02 0.9/4
FOX Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader 4.60 1.0/4
ABC Wife Swap 3.59 1.1/4
CW Everybody Hates Chris 1.26 0.5/2

8:30 CW The Game 1.24 0.6/2

9:00 CBS NCIS (R) 11.21 2.3/8
FOX Don’t Forget the Lyrics 4.56 1.3/5
ABC Supernanny 4.17 1.3/4
NBC Crusoe 4.17 0.8/3
CW America’s Next Top Model (R) 1.06 0.4/2

SARAH CONNOR's worst numbers would put it second for the night in total viewers and tied for the demo and even a modest increase in viewers and demo would make it top for the night.

Advertising is crucial. Advertising and, while this is off topic, getting through the current unrelenting (if resplendent) grimness of the current storyline. A new night and a new winter premier is an opportunity to rebrand the show and rekindle interest.

Also, pairing with Dollhouse creates a block of programming - the shows are similar enough that they can be marketed with the same beats, the way Erika put together the "Smart Women, Big Guns" (hey, FOX you can have that one for free) campaign to move the show to Wednesday. And with BSG and Sanctuary, SciFi has shown that you can make Friday night a destination night for for SF fans (hey, in Ireland, no one even went out until 11 - there's plenty of time for clubbing AFTER SARAH CONNOR).

SARAH CONNOR never worked with Prison Break, which was a problem because networks really want to put together nights of complementary programming - House with Bones then Fringe had that mystery theme going. Ugly Betty/Grey's Anatomy has the soap/girlie night thing going. SARAH CONNOR and Dollhouse potentially creates a stronger attraction as a block of programming together than Dollhouse of SARAH CONNOR would after a high-rated but tonally opposite show.

Finally, I think there's a lot of bounce to SARAH CONNOR. Out of the competition with Chuck and Gossip Girl that can make it third choice even among fans who love the show, I think there's a lot of play to SARAH CONNOR against Ghost Whisperer, for example. It's wicked counter-programming and if Kevin Reilly actually puts FOX behind it, it could pay off big for the net on a night where even a small uptick can put the show top in the demo.

Realistically, I say the best night for TSCC would be 9 or 10 on a Sunday. For a show with lots of explosions, the ideas and challenges facing the characters are not superficial or even immediately obvious. It's not Chuck, which is the TV equivalent of potato chips, albeit gourmet chips, or Gossip Girl, which is a twinkie - nothing but empty calories. SARAH CONNOR doesn't always make you think but it's a show that rewards the attentive viewer. The best episodes keep you rapt with tension until the final moment - its not what you watch in the background while you IM your pals. It's a "SHUT UP, IM BIZ_E" show.

8 pm on Friday night is a timeslot fraught with risk but it's also a night where FOX thinks it can be a player. With marketing support, however, I sincerely believe the show can be a player or FOX wouldn't have renewed it. And I don't believe the renewal came without this move in mind. And while I don't think it's a huge factor at this point, remember that the future is unwritten. And that future involves a major Terminator movie starring the guy who's currently the biggest action movie star in Hollywood (not, not him. The other one) - there's no telling how valuable the Terminator brand could be come renewal time. And if the writers and the cast and crew deliver the show they're capable of, with episodes like "Samson&Deliah" and "Goodbye to All That" (which would have been perfect with a VO, I'm just saying) and, yeah, "Brothers of Nablus" (which I loved)... let's just say it far too soon to be hanging crepe, guys.

You want SARAH CONNOR to succeed, you know the drill - write FOX, write your friends, write your local TV critic, write TV Guide, for pete's sake, and ask them why they aren't covering the best scifi show currently on the air.

[cyadon]

Write Fox. Write the advertisers. Write your parents. Write your friends. Down with k8ie!

Keep all those things in mind!

And you're probably right. The 9 episode pickup was probably specifically with this move in mind. They had nothing to pair with Dollhouse that they liked and this was a smart and cost efficient move for them. Let's prove to them that they don't want to change this pairing going into the next season.

[k8ie]

For real, dude.

And I will cut the next person who says that FOX is trying to kill SARAH CONNOR. CUT. YOU.*

(Erika, we need a smilie with a sword to go with my iconic smilie)

Worse, I'll sick the intern on you. He's sad. He hasn't killed a human in weeks.

Meanwhile... ignore Cyadon - well not the part about writing people and encouraging people to watch the show (DVD sets are thoughtful and self-serving gifts in this circumstance) - MY TRIUMPH IS INEVITABLE!

Inevitable, I say.

*that's a joke, btw, just in case anyone didn't get it by the incredibly over-the-top italics.

[tom]

HAHA!
Are you familiar with the short guy called Napoleon?
And with Napoleon disease? ;D No?

K8ie- Napoleon disease, Napoleon disease -K8ie.
Have fun guys! ;D

[cyadon]

Nov 6, 2008 21:23:17 GMT -5 tom said:

HAHA!
Are you familiar with the short guy called Napoleon?
And with Napoleon disease? ;D No?

K8ie- Napoleon disease, Napoleon disease -K8ie.
Have fun guys! ;D

I honestly don't think k8ie is a short Corsican general. At least not two of the three.

Anyways. Just try to get the news out to everyone that you know so that they know so that we transition as much of the fanbase as possible. That will be very important.

[k8ie]

Nov 6, 2008 21:25:44 GMT -5 cyadon said:

I honestly don't think k8ie is a short Corsican general. At least not two of the three.

Indeed, I am two inches taller than Napoleon, not Corsican and would never try to fight a land war in Asia. Not to mention, je ne parle pas Francais tres bien. Et je ne parle le Corse de tout.

Basically, if you watch the show, talk about it. Online and elsewhere. Let people know and encourage others to watch. Especially in February.

[tom]

Indeed, I am two inches taller than Napoleon, not Corsican and would never try to fight a land war in Asia.

You rather fight a war against big bad corporate TV companies!
But if it's the right thing to do, do it together! (Shall I yell FORWARD, or you'll do it around February?)

I've got 6 friends who watch the show, I'll text them as soon as I finish chewing my dinner.

[k8ie]

Nov 6, 2008 21:45:22 GMT -5 tom said:

You rather fight a war against big bad corporate TV companies!

For Sarah, Johnny and King Josh?

;D

[xone93]

I know where I will be Friday nights watching Sarah Connor best damn show on television hands down

[terrasj]

Well, can a weekly timeslot on Friday night be any worse than every 2nd monday night, competing with the Fox sports fans? (and face the odd cancelation in lieu of whatever sports event that may possibly happen?)

Right now we're only getting 2 episodes per month at this rate. Even just looking at Fox's own forums - activity usually used to be buzzing each week, but now its only a bit of a frenzy for a few nights after the episode airs, then activity is minimal...

I myself almost forgot that it was on this monday, because it wasn't on last monday.

Would've BSG done as well as it has been if it was only airing once every 2nd week?

[vicheron]

If I remember correctly, Keen Eddie, Jonny Zero, John Doe, Fastlane, Firefly, The Lone Gunsmen, Brimstone, Harsh Realm, and Millennium all aired on Friday.

[k8ie]

Nov 6, 2008 23:07:52 GMT -5 vicheron said:

If I remember correctly, Keen Eddie, Jonny Zero, John Doe, Fastlane, Firefly, The Lone Gunsmen, Brimstone, Harsh Realm, and Millennium all aired on Friday.

New regime. New rules.

I say give them the benefit of the doubt. Friday was the only night open to create a block of programming and I think the fall has proven pretty conclusively that Mondays at 8 would kill Dollhouse.

[cyadon]

Nov 6, 2008 23:28:32 GMT -5 k8ie said:

Nov 6, 2008 23:07:52 GMT -5 vicheron said:

If I remember correctly, Keen Eddie, Jonny Zero, John Doe, Fastlane, Firefly, The Lone Gunsmen, Brimstone, Harsh Realm, and Millennium all aired on Friday.

New regime. New rules.

I say give them the benefit of the doubt. Friday was the only night open to create a block of programming and I think the fall has proven pretty conclusively that Mondays at 8 would kill Dollhouse.

They haven't done us wrong yet. They renewed us and they gave us a back nine. They're batting 2-for-2 so far.

I'm going to remain cautiously optimistic for a bit. We'll see how it goes.

(k8ie is teh debil!)

[vicheron]

You have to get behind someone in order to stab them in the back.