TV Rants thread (Show deaths, ratings, anger at networks etc.)

[eyesonfire]

Originally Posted by racefreak619

They should use torrent download numbers to determine how popular a show is, that would be much more accurate than the Nielsen numbers.

You're joking, right? Aside from the fact that the thought of television companies using illegal downloads to determine viewing figures is in itself all kinds of ridiculous, how exactly do you think it would it be more accurate?

Nielsen may only analyze the viewing habits of 25,000 households, but those households are chosen in a way that is designed to give a diverse overview that serves as a fair representation(how fair is arguable) of television audiences in the country. Something that can never ever be achieved by doing it the way you're suggesting. Let alone that there are no advertisements in illegal downloads.

The whole system may need an upgrade, but this certainly isn't the way to do it.

[Gamma_Winstead]

Groo, the answer is no. I'm going to create a "tv rants" thread. I'll move this guy there.

[Gamma_Winstead]

Pissed off? Need a place to vent your anger? Do it here!

[WyldeMan45]

Originally Posted by Blu Tide

ARGGGH.

Yes. I'm still bitter that NBC cancelled Life.

We must never give up that anger, NEVER!

[Mr_Bester]

Originally Posted by Alpha

I...And really, I don't think there's any other practical method to measure ratings besides DVR numbers.
....

Unfortunately, the current way to count DVR numbers is only those with Nielsen Boxes get their DVRs counted

[HockeySlasher]

Originally Posted by WyldeMan45

We must never give up that anger, NEVER!

Word.

[goresnet]

Originally Posted by Blu Tide

Wait, wait wait.

You guys are telling me that there is programming, outside of sports, on TV???

Crap.

Last fall, my wife and I decided to cut the cord on cable. Anything we wanted to watch (The Office, Amazing Race, Deadliest Catch), we pulled up on Hulu, or downloaded it else where. The funny thing is, when I was going over some of the shows that were cancelled, she summed it up best when she said "So, we really didn't miss anything, did we?"

It is so hard to invest time into any shows nowadays because if it isn't a instant hit, it will get cancelled within 2 or 3 episodes.

What ticks me off is that good shows (as in good acting, good writing, may require some thinking) get axed to make more room for Biggest Loser or So You Think You Can Dance or even CSI: Fargo.

ARGGGH.

Yes. I'm still bitter that NBC cancelled Life.

Hey Hey Hey Hey... Let's leave SYTYCD out of this. Best "reality" show ever! Only one I watch.

[SpaceDog]

Originally Posted by goresnet

Hey Hey Hey Hey... Let's leave SYTYCD out of this. Best "reality" show ever! Only one I watch.

Without passing judgement - SYTYCD isn't taking a slot from scripted programming. As a summer show, there really isn't a place to complain on this one.

[HDMe]

Originally Posted by eyesonfire

Nielsen may only analyze the viewing habits of 25,000 households, but those households are chosen in a way that is designed to give a diverse overview that serves as a fair representation(how fair is arguable) of television audiences in the country. Something that can never ever be achieved by doing it the way you're suggesting. Let alone that there are no advertisements in illegal downloads.

Obviously (I hope) counting illegal downloads and even DVR viewings wouldn't be helpful... since it would actually be counter-productive to networks being able to charge for ads...

But... I can't believe that 25,000 households (no matter how diverse) can in any meaningful way be extrapolated to the quarter billion or so potential viewers. That's just far too small of a sample size to be reliable... I don't care how they choose their representative families.

I went to a store and bought the Ten Commandments and the Omen box set on the same purchase... I like sports and classic movies. I don't fit into any of their traditional pigeon-holes and I know others who are similar.

Not going political (so please don't take it that way)... but what if instead of letting everyone vote... we just polled 25,000 people and decided that they spoke for everyone on all things? Nobody would go for that.

It was one thing when the population was lower and there were only 3 OTA networks and there wasn't any easy/inexpensive way to get info from people on their TV viewing...

But with modern technology, it should be a relatively simple thing to implement at least for anyone with any kind of set-top box and give them the option to enable/disable their "vote".

DVR-viewings should be counted, but I don't know how to weight them because while it shows interest in the show it doesn't help the network sell ads that the DVR viewer most likely skips.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Blu Tide

Wait, wait wait.

You guys are telling me that there is programming, outside of sports, on TV???

Crap.

Yeah, used to be if you were a Guy, you Watched Cable. End of story.
Only, like, chicks stayed home to get their weekly Buffy fix.

Well, we used to watch cable, anyway. Now the question arises, just when exactly did our faithful cable turn...so...GAY??
There used to be good programming on the Viacom channels like MTV, VH-1, and Nick TVLand, before they all became devoted to celeb-reality shows for aging pop-culture celebrities...What, do I LOOK like a Valley of the Dolls fan? Go listen to your Lady Gaga records, and give us a few classic reruns, darnit!
We can't even pick up a copy of TV Guide anymore; now it's just a celebrity magazine devoted to Idol updates, and the Guide Channel just shows Sex in the City with a lil' teeny schedule crawl at the bottom!

(I mean, when good heterosexual XY guys don't even have cable anymore, we either sell our sets, or just hook it up as a Netflix screen. )

[kernel_thai]

Originally Posted by WyldeMan45

There should be some kind of rating system, were you can score your thoughts on a star rating 1-5 at the end of an episode which is only accessible after you've viewed the entire episode. It would allow a proper rating based on people who actually viewed the series.

They arent interested in whether u like the show. Nielsen is about taking attendance. If ur set is on and set to ABC is all thats important. The fact that everyone is in the swimming pool is not a factor.

Originally Posted by Mr_Bester

Unfortunately, the current way to count DVR numbers is only those with Nielsen Boxes get their DVRs counted

Really, i thought all DVR were counted?

Originally Posted by HDMe

Obviously (I hope) counting illegal downloads and even DVR viewings wouldn't be helpful... since it would actually be counter-productive to networks being able to charge for ads...

But... I can't believe that 25,000 households (no matter how diverse) can in any meaningful way be extrapolated to the quarter billion or so potential viewers. That's just far too small of a sample size to be reliable... I don't care how they choose their representative families.

I went to a store and bought the Ten Commandments and the Omen box set on the same purchase... I like sports and classic movies. I don't fit into any of their traditional pigeon-holes and I know others who are similar.

Not going political (so please don't take it that way)... but what if instead of letting everyone vote... we just polled 25,000 people and decided that they spoke for everyone on all things? Nobody would go for that.

It was one thing when the population was lower and there were only 3 OTA networks and there wasn't any easy/inexpensive way to get info from people on their TV viewing...

But with modern technology, it should be a relatively simple thing to implement at least for anyone with any kind of set-top box and give them the option to enable/disable their "vote".

DVR-viewings should be counted, but I don't know how to weight them because while it shows interest in the show it doesn't help the network sell ads that the DVR viewer most likely skips.

Is that 25000 just the boxes. Nielsen also does diaries (which I have done) and there r many more diaries than boxes.

The simple truth is Nielsen doesnt rate tv shows. This is a misnomer. Nielsen doesnt care if Band of Brothers is on or the mating habits of the larch. Nielsen rates attendance during commercials. The shows that tricks the most people into watching the commercials get the highest ratings.

The problem is it plays to the least common denominator. The less technologically savvy u r, the more valuable u r to these people. If ur tv viewing consists of only turning the box on at 8 and off at 11 ur at the top of the food chain. Anyone who downloads or DVR shows r second class citizens and they discounted as such. If this was medicine then witch doctors would be at the pinnacle of medical society.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

I need to cancel my cable since any show I even half way watch gets cancelled quickly or only last a season or two:
Firefly (going back aways)
More recent and I know most weren't great and should have been canned but some were just fun:
Pushing Daisies
Reaper
Better Off Ted
My own worst enemy
Happy town
Flashfoward
Mr Sunshine
Breaking in
Mad Love
Outsourced
Dollhouse

[Mr_Bester]

Originally Posted by Dr.Zoidberg

I need to cancel my cable since any show I even half way watch gets cancelled quickly or only last a season or two:
Firefly (going back aways)
More recent and I know most weren't great and should have been canned but some were just fun:
Pushing Daisies
Reaper
Better Off Ted
My own worst enemy
Happy town
Flashfoward
Mr Sunshine
Breaking in
Mad Love
Outsourced
Dollhouse

Pushing Daisies and Better Off Ted were great shows, PD got killed by the writers strike(lost any momentum it had) and BOT was bounced around too much....

[kernel_thai]

I really think the pay channel model is the best one. They run their shows for 12 straight weeks. No hiatus, no repeats. Then they move on to the next show. It allows them to write a better quality product. Trying to write 22 weeks and spread those over eight months leads to weak and/or filler eps and endless opportunity for the audience to lose interest.

[Gamma_Winstead]

Originally Posted by goresnet

Hey Hey Hey Hey... Let's leave SYTYCD out of this. Best "reality" show ever! Only one I watch.

No way. That belongs to Survivor!

[ksalmon]

I am done watching anything new until it makes it to a season 3. Once I see it has made it that far I will spend the Summer before season 3 watching it on BluRay.

I am tired of devoting time and emotion into stuff that has no closure.

[STARSCREAM]

If it wasn't for sports, we would have already cancelled our cable. There is hardly a point anymore. Most shows just get cancelled during the first season. Plus now you can watch the shows via Netflix, Hulu, etc. Live sporting events are the only thing making me keep our cable at the moment.

[detective392]

Originally Posted by ksalmon

I am done watching anything new until it makes it to a season 3. Once I see it has made it that far I will spend the Summer before season 3 watching it on BluRay.

I am tired of devoting time and emotion into stuff that has no closure.

That's what I do for some shows. I'm not going to watch Fringe until it's all done and then I'll pick it up on bluray, was doing it for The Event and V both of which got canceled

[Tony208]

^ with that attitude, any show you'll want to watch will never make it to season 3 because of lack of viewers

please support original programming, don't let reality tv take over

[detective392]

Originally Posted by Tony208

^ with that attitude, any show you'll want to watch will never make it to season 3 because of lack of viewers

please support original programming, don't let reality tv take over

I don't have a ratings box so it doesn't matter if I watch it live or wait for the Blu/DVD.