I'm With Geek
  • Home
  • Geekery
    • TGH
    • Creative
    • IWGCast
  • Film
    • The Essentials
    • Hit Play/Hit Stop
    • Trailer Parks
  • TV
  • Games
  • Comics
  • Books
  • About
  • Our Team
  • Contact
  • Editors Blog

Where Did All The Good TV Shows Go?

5/17/2015

 
Picture
by Cookie N Screen 

Brace yourselves, TV show cancellation seasons is in full force. More brutal than a scene of Game of Thrones (which is staying so no worries there,) this time is fateful for the avid small screen lover who has invested so much into series and shows. As we grab our friends in woe, our stomachs coiled with fright as another studio executor, I mean executive, decides which shows are ill-fitting for our further consumption, it’s a hard and tentative few days of announcements as heads roll.

But why does it feel that this year, shows barely in fruition seem to be taking the chop like The Viking’s sacrificial virgins (which is another show that is staying)? Have we lost faith in originality? 


Picture
There is no denying that this time of year is particularly vicious. In 2014’s turn, the various networks killed over 40 shows. This year, channels such as NBC, FOX and Starz have already announced 25 series that have been chopped and 17 of them barely got out of the paddock. Alarmingly, whilst flawed shows such as Gotham rampage on, innovative, witty and enthralling ones such as Constantine and Marry Me were taken away from our television plate just as we were satisfyingly tucking in. Acclaimed shows such as Selfie, Weird Loner’s Forever and All About A Boy were wildly entertaining yet seemed incapable of escaping from the scorn of studio executives.

Then there were the truly bizarre shows that still had a bustling audience, aching for more to swallow. 
The Mindy Project, that had people constantly talking, was snatched away from audiences, depriving us of the vibrant personality and emotionality of lead Mindy Kahling, but was then picked up by Hulu. The Following, through dwindling statistics was still an evocative television show with a brilliant cast and Unforgettable still showed smatterings of its originality. Whilst we understand that shows long passed their expiration date had limped on foolishly, Two and a Half Men, The Mentalist and Glee to name but a few, there were some still in their heyday or early stages of brilliance.

Trying not to roar on about a subject that has been explored before but all this smacks of no faith or room to grow and prosper. Surely people FOX had learned from their Firefly antics? Joss Whedon’s sci-fi romp has had constant calls for a return as its audiences expands despite the show only having one season before cancellation. It all reeks of a lack of trust in showrunners to keep the seasons going.  This season of cancellations is nothing more than numbers, albeit probably not stellar ones, hanging over the heads and control the scenes rather than moving on with a show. 

Picture
And I get it. You know? Why order a bunch of episodes and funnel your money into it when it’s going to flag behind other shows? It’s a waste of money, especially when the audiences start complaining about the show. Yet it seems like more of a waste to drag shows out until they are thin versions of themselves, leaving the audience stuck with this stale energy that only love can keep them hanging on. Criminal Minds, Supernatural and heck, even Sherlock keeps banging out formulaic episodes and are left with abandoning their likeable characters to seem hip and shocking (buzzwords that I’m sure are bounced around a studio executive meeting).

What does seem to be off-kilter is the balance between shows cancelled and fresh ones ordered. Studios seem more immersed in rehashing other source material such as Scream and Minority Report or rebooting classic shows like Full House. Whilst this isn’t solely a TV venture, film is getting enough of the remake line that we’re, too, dismayed, it does irritate and hurt. Why invest in a tired old show that has been and gone or transform canon into something new when screenwriters and showrunners are trying desperately to bring us creativity? We know it’s there and supported, Jane The Virgin and Empire are prime examples. So why the others? Could we be to blame? Shoddy audience members who’d rather rise from the internet then invest in the show? The scorn of social media who tweet bullshit whilst the episode is screening? Or are the popular shows tapping into a cult of people with ingenuity and more. 

So perhaps it’s time for TV Executives to take notice. And showrunners too. Heck, even us as an audience. We need to start communicating with each other much more than a select audience sample. Why not? Let’s reach out to what is working and what’s not and instead of placing them in the guillotine, maybe we can which a harmonious relationship where thoughts and ideas are discussed before the dreaded execution.

Because television is not meant for a one quick insurgence, it’s meant to evolve. How can it if we are cutting it down before its prime?



Comments are closed.


    TV Editor: Graham Osborne
    Picture

    TV 

    Reviews on the best TV has to offer, as well as retrospective looks at the shows of yesteryear we miss so much. 

    Regular features include: 

    Have you seen...? - We take a look at TV shows you may not have seen, but should really check out?
    Retrospectives - We look back the shows that have ended.
    From the Trenches - Matthew Howe shares his hilarious experiences from the Trenches of the Media Industry.
    Catch it on Catch-Up - A run down of some quality TV that you may have missed first time around.
    Turn Off - The very worst that television has to offer.
    Doctor Who - The latest News, Reviews and features on the 50 year sci-fi giant!

    Email: tv@imwithgeek.com

    Categories

    All
    12-monkeys
    Adventure-time
    Agent Carter
    Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
    AKA Jessica Jones
    Alex Doust
    Almost-human
    Amazon Instant
    Amazon Studios
    American Horror Story
    Arrow
    Atlantis
    Avatar The Last Airbender
    BAFTA
    Banshee
    Bates Motel
    Batman
    BBC
    Ben Mapp
    Beth Rogers
    Better Call Saul
    Big Bang Theory
    Black Mirror
    Boardwalk Empire
    Breaking Bad
    Bring Back...
    Britta Lundin
    Broadchurch
    Callum Armour
    Catch It On Catch Up
    Catfish
    Catherine Wignall
    Chasing Life
    Childhood Tv
    Christian Kern
    Christmas
    Community
    Companion Faceoff
    Constantine
    Cookie N Screen
    Cookie N Screen
    Coupling
    Critics Choice Awards
    Cuckoo
    Cucumberbananatofu
    Daniel-franco
    Daredevil
    David Tennant
    Detestable Tv
    Dexter
    Discworld
    Doctor Who
    Doctor Who
    Downton Abbey
    Dracula
    DVD
    E4
    Elementary
    Emmy Awards
    Essentials
    Family Guy
    Fargo
    Father's Day
    Finale
    Firefly
    Flash
    Friends
    From The Trenches
    From The Trenches
    Galavant
    Game Of Thrones
    Game Of Thrones
    Gemma Williams
    Gemma-williams
    Georgia Thompson
    Girls
    Gloria Danielsmoss
    Gloria Daniels Moss
    Gotham
    Graeme-stirling
    Graham Osborne
    Graham Osborne
    Gravity Falls
    Grimm
    Halloween
    Hannibal
    HAPPYish
    Have You Seen
    Have You Seen...?
    Hayley Charlesworth
    Hayley-charlesworth
    Hbo
    Heather Stromski
    Helen Fulton
    Helen Langdon
    Helen Langdon
    Heroes-reborn
    Hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy
    Homeland
    House
    House Of Cards
    How I Met Your Mother
    ICYMI
    In Memoriam
    Inside-no9
    Interview
    In The Flesh
    I Survived The Zombie Apocalypse
    IZombie
    Jack Edwards
    James Morgans
    Jamie Kennett
    Jane The Virgin
    Jenny Mullinder
    Jo Johnstone
    Josh Crooks
    Julia Lawson
    Kim J Osborne
    Laura Weaver
    Leah Stone
    Leah Stone
    Legends Of Tomorrow
    Liam-bland
    Liam Murphy
    Mad Men
    Mahesh Subramaniam
    Marvel
    Matthew Battles
    Matthew Howe
    Max Bosshart
    Melissa Haggar
    Melissa Haggar
    Michael Wilkinson
    Monty Python
    Movies In Motion
    National Towel Day
    Netflix
    New Tricks
    No Spoilers Please
    Once Upon A Time
    Orange Is The New Black
    Orphan Black
    OUAT
    Outlander
    Paul Costello
    Paul Robert Scott
    Phineas And Ferb
    Quiz
    Red Dwarf
    Retrospective
    Ripper Street
    Robbie Jones
    Robbie Jones
    Scott And Bailey
    Scream
    Sense8
    Shakespeare Day
    Sherlock
    Sherlock Holmes
    Sherlock Week
    Sleepy Hollow
    Sons Of Liberty
    Spin-Out!
    Star Trek
    Star-wars
    Star Wars Rebels
    St Patrick's Day
    Supernatural
    Teen Wolf
    Teen Wolf
    The 100
    The Box Set
    The Flash
    The Following
    The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
    The Hour
    The Leftovers
    The Musketeers
    The Musketeers
    The Office
    The Originals
    The Originals
    The Simpsons
    The Sopranos
    The Spider
    The Tomorrow People
    The Vampire Diaries
    The-vampire-diaries
    The Walking Dead
    This-week
    Timmy Time
    Tomas Keavney
    Tom Sams
    Trends-in-tv
    True Blood
    True Detective
    Turn-off
    TV Awards
    Tv Intros
    Tv-intros
    TV Teaser
    TV Teasers
    TV Teasers
    Twin Peaks
    Valentine's Day
    Veep
    Verushka-byrow
    Vikings
    William John
    William John
    Witches Of East End
    Wizards Vs Aliens
    Wolfblood
    Xavier Gonne
    You Should Be Watching

    Archives

    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.