How long ' should ' a t.v. show last ?

POSTED BY: AURaptor
UPDATED: Tuesday, June 6, 2006 14:59
VIEWED: 6576
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LEAINA

Sunday, June 4, 2006 12:18 AM

I agree with the general number, five series, but I think the real problem is redefining the series MO as they progress. With Buffy and Angel they picked up more and more characters and more and more stories that needed to be dealt with which meant they moved away from their original episodic, stand alone nature. I know the last series of Angel moved back that way and I think it was all the better for it.

I guess the question is, at which point does it become just a soap? And thus, less likely to pick up more viewers (and all the time losing some). That's my theory, I could well be wrong.

I love Buffy, but I think it should have ended with The Gift, and Angel, although I seriously mourn its passing, I really subscribe to the theory "always leave them wanting more". I guess Firefly suceeded there. A little too much perhaps.

CHRISMOORHEAD

Sunday, June 4, 2006 1:43 AM

Untill it's on the verge of becoming boring and redundent.
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SIMONB

Sunday, June 4, 2006 1:45 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Dowie100:
I would say as long as there are on a creative high, i.e. not repeating themselves or dull.

Firefly would ideally have been 4-8 serie's.

"You can't take the sky from me"

I agree with that - as long as they are still fresh and enjoyable, and still have plenty of scope for untold stories without become dull, predictable etc then they should keep going. IMHO one such show doing just that is Stargate SG-1, which I am still loving 9 years on, and which, again IMHO, just gets better (though I know some will disagree with me on that one)

.

Most shows run for 5-7 years, something about having to pay actors more each new season until it gets to the point where the show becomes too expensive to produce - so the networks usually axe things around the end of the 7th year.

In an ideal world I would have loved to have seen 5-8 years of Firefly and then a trilogy of films...heck, even a quadrilogy (because I'm greedy like that) and because Firefly deserved so much more than what it got given. And sadly, I believe far too many great shows are now being killed before their time.

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That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die

REGINAROADIE

Sunday, June 4, 2006 2:14 AM

Certainly. There's definitly a list as long as my arm of shows that deserved to last longer than they did. Not to hijack this thread, but what was one show (other than the obvious) that you wish lasted longer than it did.

For me, one recent show that truly deserved a longer life was this show that actually came out at the same time as FIREFLY called BOOMTOWN. I'm not sure if any of you guys remember this, but it was a cop show that broke the mold. It borrowed the "multiple P.O.V." idea that RASHOMON had and told each of it's episodes from various points of view. Each of the characters were incredibly complex and had like a season long arc that paid off in the end. My fave was Neal McDonough's David McNorris, who has to be without a doubt the most fucked up character ever to appear on network tv. It did have a second season, but it only consisted of nine episodes, and the multiple POV's were cut down a bit. I'm still waiting for Lionsgate to issue a Season 2 DVD just so that I have the complete series in my collection.

I think it might have also been an issue of timing. It pre-dated LOST by two years, and if it came on after LOST, I think it would have been a smash instead of a flop. Or maybe it should have gone to cable instead of network tv. Either way, I'm eager as Hell to see what Graham Yost, the creator, will come up with.

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GWENHARKER

Sunday, June 4, 2006 6:12 AM

Actually Angel got cancelled before Joss could pull it back to how it was supposed to be. They didn't decide to end it.

CATHERA

Sunday, June 4, 2006 1:42 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by reginaroadie:

I think with a show like LOST, I think maybe they should end on a high note before they make the mythology of the show even more confusing and frustrate people to the point where they just don't give a damn and just want them to be rescued. You can only do so many flashbacks and whatever before you exhaust your avenue's of storytelling.

The creators of LOST have a five year plan. After that it's going to be how well the show is still doing.

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MAGDALENE

Sunday, June 4, 2006 2:07 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by reginaroadie:

For me, one recent show that truly deserved a longer life was this show that actually came out at the same time as FIREFLY called BOOMTOWN. I'm not sure if any of you guys remember this, but it was a cop show that broke the mold. It borrowed the "multiple P.O.V." idea that RASHOMON had and told each of it's episodes from various points of view. Each of the characters were incredibly complex and had like a season long arc that paid off in the end. My fave was Neal McDonough's David McNorris, who has to be without a doubt the most fucked up character ever to appear on network tv. It did have a second season, but it only consisted of nine episodes, and the multiple POV's were cut down a bit. I'm still waiting for Lionsgate to issue a Season 2 DVD just so that I have the complete series in my collection.

I, too, felt that Boomtown didn't ever receive it's due credit and I also thought Neal McDonough was brilliant, I especially loved the episode when he started to deal with his alcoholism and we 'saw' the breakdown from his POV - actually I was briefly and very subtly reminded of this episode when I first saw Serenity ptI & II because of the tiny flicks which Inara had during her 'session' with the young officer. We saw her bored for a moment even though she was charming and smiling for her client.

OK - my 5 cents worth - Most of my favourite shows have gone for 7 series - don't know why this is but it seems to make sense to me. Having said this I agree that if the creativity is there and it's fresh and stimulating to the audience and for the cast and crew to work on then it should be given the chance to reach it's full, creative potential. I think that in years to come the 'landscape' of series making with change and Firefly will often be held up as a huge error of judgement by industry analysts. I think the DVD market will be far greater than the free-to-air or cable TV market and somehow it will not matter what the ratings are... it will be the residuals for years to come which pay the dividend. Advertising will become limited to live sports events (and...*closes eyes and grits teeth as she utters the unforgivable phrase* "reality" TV)

Sorry about that - excuse my foul language there!

Love and Shiniest Firefly experiences - Magdalene x x x

"I love my captain!"

EST120

Sunday, June 4, 2006 3:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
So, is 5 years the target by which most shows idealy look toward ? Is 10 yrs too much ? Those who are Buffy/Angel fans, are 7 and 5 yrs about what you'd have expected ? Too long ? What do ya think?

I agree with most people that 5-7 years is best but it really depends on the show.

Angel, I think, did fine with 5 seasons and I think the end was satisfying. My complaint about the end is that they writers and producers were not told early enough that they had been canceled. Thus, I felt the end of the story arc for the show got compressed into probably 2 episodes short of what it should have been. I kind of wish the network had said "We are going to cancel your show but tell us how many episodes within reason you need to wrap things up". For a show that has been on for more than a couple seasons, I think this would be a nice thing because then the show can clear up things as much as they would like. So many good shows get canceled without much warning and do not get their "farewell" season like Buffy or Alias or Friends where the writers know a full season in advance that they are not coming back (either by choice or whatever).

Angel could not have gone on much longer. The mythology was starting to break down from factors beyond the control of the writers. Angel, obviously, was starting to look 5 years older. Being an immortal, this does not help! Plus, there is only so long that the Good versus Evil battle can rage on before the stories get repetitive.

GIXXER

Sunday, June 4, 2006 3:38 PM

Good to see "Boomtown" fans.

The guys from "Band of Brothers" were brilliant in that, and equally brilliant in "Boomtown".

I have to give a vote to Gary Basaraba.

I also liked "Homicide:Life on the Street" and the early "The Shield" when Vic wasn't a producer, meaner and less interested in going Arnie. (Big Man, in T2, you were a Terminator. What's with the not-killing-anyone stuff? Next thing you know, Vin'll be covered in dummies.) Oh wait...

As sidekicks go, Shane was a total effin' liability on a scale rivalled only by Billy Bob Thornton in "A Simple Plan."

That Captain Aceveda, though. He was always overdue a visit from Vera's Windowcleaning Contractors Inc.

Lost? Five Years?

It already feels a lot longer than that. However it's nice to see there is excellent dental care on the Island. Only the batty old woman in "The Devil's Rejects" sports a less implausible set of perfect gnashers.

(Declaring interest - I've never actually seen any of Lost, but the wall-to-wall trailers and blanket publicity mean that anyone not living in a cave can generally get what's going on.)

DATALESS

Sunday, June 4, 2006 4:59 PM

I find it very disappionting when a good show ends after 5 seasons or less. I feel that their is something left unsaid.

In the case of Angel that show did something very cool. Having the gang go from Angel Investigations to the Hell Inc. was an amazing move and that could have been a total new series lasting 7 years all on its own.

Alias is another she that is quiting to early after 5 years, It minimalizes what these shows were.

It's impressive to own the complete series of a Series like Buffy or Stargate SG-1 (not that you can own all of it now) but looking a the Babylon 5 complete dvd set or Angel isn't nearly as cool.

There should be no limit on a series either other than the writing (that includes a Movie series. Star Wars Ep 1-3, Why was he called Vader, what a story that could have been told "arrise Lord Vader" weak, Sorry.)

If the writing fails the show is over. Show like SG-1, Seinfeld, Simpsons (thought they have lost it lately) South Park seem to have the potential to go on forever and no get stale. The writing is the key to telling you how long a show should last.

If Lost is really going to be five years I think the show is weaker for it. The creators (producers, writers) aren't able to get 2 more years out of it. It's sad because that show has been amazing so far.

7-8 years for a sucessful series.

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