Welcome back to another Question of the Day.
This one comes from BubbleButtFan who asks.
"Why do you think there aren't any monster hits like 'Lost' anymore?
The 2004-2005 TV season was the last to create 'monster' hits - 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Desperate Housewives', as well as 'Lost'. All of these shows were consistently above 20 million at some points, and were sometimes even able to hit as much as 30 million viewers. This was only a few short years ago - since then shows like 'Glee', 'Heroes', and 'Modern Family' haven't even come close.
Is it because shows just aren't as good quality anymore? Is it because today's shows try too hard to clone past hits? Is it because the storylines just aren't as gripping? Is it because people just aren't as willing to invest so much of their time into shows anymore? Is there still a huge audience out there for new monster hits, and the networks just need to greenlight the right show?
What are your thoughts? "
For me personally, I believe it's the changing the landscape of TV/Internet and Technology and the outdated Neilsen System.
I don't know about you, but I find myself, Downloading, Streaming and Recording a lot more shows than I did 3-4 years ago. People no longer have to watch shows live and can now watch them at their convenience. One of the few shows that I made a real effort to watch live was LOST.
Also people are spending more and more time on the Internet as well as streaming media. This in conjunction with the outdated Nielsen system means that the results are getting very skewed.
The other thing to consider is that Reality shows are taking over many of the Prime-time schedules, they draw huge audiences and are cheaper and easier to make.
So what about you? Are the numbers dwindling due to changing technology mediums or are the results just not getting recording accurately, or are the shows just not good enough? Do you think we'll ever see 25+ Million viewers for a scripted TV show again?
Sound off in the comments.
You can see previous Questions of the Day here.
it's not about LOST. it's not about the product. there's no formula for a smash hit show. it's about the artist. damon and carlton. whatever they do will be a smash hit.
ReplyDeleteI doubt that.
ReplyDeletethese days the networks produce too many series' and cancel 75% of them again. people don't get attached to a show or characters anymore that easily, because they don't want to be disappointed. At least that's why I don't watch new series before it's third season.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the 1st and agree with the 2nd...
ReplyDeleteIt is about the product... I connected to Lost not because of who was writing it (didn't even care at the beginning) but because of the product itself, the well-written script, the characters, the connections, the way it made me think and explore about every little reference, etc...
Then I became a fan of Damon and Carlton...
Now I know i'll be following them whatever they do, contributing to their success...
Thus agreeing with your second statement. ;)
I don't agree. Fringe, True Blood and other good TV shows started in 2008. In 2009 It were Castle, Glee, V and I can continue this list.
ReplyDeleteThere were a lot of interesting show in 2008-2009.
About Lost: It was very boring and uninteresting after 3rd season.
ReplyDeleteChanging technology! You hit the nail on the head, Spoiler Girl. "It's the changing landscape of TV/Internet....." In my case, for example, we only just recently had our DVR installed and already it's dramatically changed my viewing habits as I rarely watch a show when it's being broadcast. And I did watch missed episodes of Lost on Internet. Another big factor is the capability to wait until a season is over and watch the DVDs. We don't subscribe to the (very expensive) premiere channels like HBO as it's actually cheaper to buy or rent the DVDs. Boardwalk Empire is supposed to be so good, but we can wait. If my viewing style is at all representative, how can tracking be anywhere near accurate? I want to mention something else that's very strange lately: v-e-r-r-r-y long hiatuses. Will my quite high enthusiasm for The Walking Dead hold up when S2 starts a whole year after the S1 finale?
ReplyDeleteReality shows are on the wane I think (hope?) as they were a novelty.
DarthLocke: I think the problem lies in a few things....
ReplyDeleteAlthough LOST proved to have great viewership, the ending didn't sit well with everyone. I think some previous fans feel a sting--a type of betrayl. A lot of fans wanted specific answers and where left to their own interpertations to fill in there own banks to both scientific explanations and even specific philosophical-mythos to apply to the end. The fans that can't do that on there own, feel like that have been taken for a ride.
On top of which, every single time there is a show with mythological and human depth, the show doesn't last and that tells the TV people that, hey most people want to escape from complexities when I turn on the TV, not get submerged by being reminded of my own life. I want something funny and simple.
I for one am NOT one of those people. I love great depth in which I feel I can relate to those actors I watch every week. For me it's to know that I am not alone, rather than, leave me alone.
It seems the trend is stand alone funny-every day typical kind of shows.
Another reason is the echonomy. We are at a point where the networks feel they can't afford to let show runners try new things and give them time to find their foot holds. If it doesn't get high marks by the 6th episode, it seems the show is out. In addition perhaps the same for the mantalities of viewers who are struggling. TV just isn't that important to people who are about to loose their house...
But on a positive note perhaps the mood is going to change. Next falls slate looks like it has way more to offter in many genres. So I can only hope a few of them will really take off.
For one, does any show get 20 million viewers any more? People don't watch as much tv on tv as they used to any more, shows like Lost, Grey's & Desperate have 13 million viewers in the most recent series, and I'm from England, every single person I know streams Glee - shows have as much popularity, just not as much on the TV, in my opinion. Also, the dramas of the three aforementioned were the first of their kind, there was never a show like Lost, Grey's or Desperate before this, it was a new concept, I think that helped too.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but it's a procedural >:( how I hate them. They always seem to have way more viewers than proper drama / comedy :(
ReplyDeleteI agree with others it's about the technology the days when lost started internet downloading was something relatively new and the same with DV-R. People had to watch it live if they wanted to watch ensuring huge ratings because everyone sat down at the same time. Now i know personally that I have the mentality of why bother sitting down now when I record it or download it later at a time better suited to me.
ReplyDeleteI often download shows to go onto my ipod and watch on the train journey too and from work. I'm sure if illegal downloads factored into the ratings they would be far greater than they once were because of all the viewers outside the US.
I also think that there is far too much competition between networks and such a demand to produce as many shows as possible as fast as possible. Means that shows in the past that might have been given more of a chance to blossom are cancelled far quicker. We aren't able to connect with characters as much as we used to be able to.
I guess it's a bit of give and take between us and the networks if we watch by other means we are effectively screwing ourselves over because we are diminishing those once high ratings resulting in shows getting cancelled more easily. If we took the time and made the effort to sit down when a show airs again like we used to the networks would be more invested in keeping a show alive and injecting more quality into them.
Anyway i've probably rambled more than i should just wanted to share my 2 cents worth.
People like to blame iTunes, Hulu and illegal downloading, but when you actually look at the numbers, people are watching more television than ever today. But when you look at the major broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox), viewing is way down from even a few years ago (and way, way down from a few decades ago--the original incarnation of V in the early 1980s got 40 million viewers).
ReplyDeletePeople have a tendency to think that people are like them and by going online, you are naturally going to be interacting with a more tech-savvy crowd. Illegal downloading especially takes place mostly outside the United States. Look at the finale for the last episode cup run by DarkUFO. It got nearly 3000 votes, which is a tiny fraction of the American audience of Lost (14 million for the finale) and again, many of those, like DarkUFO himself, are not in the United States.
The media likes to blame the DVR and the Internet because network executives try to spin it like that--and those do account for some loss--but the largest factor is the rise of cable. The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, Jersey Shore, Burn Notice, The Closer, Top Gear, Deadliest Catch--these are big shows and none are on the big four. Granted, they are not as big as the big shows on the big four, but when you add them all together and account for the hundreds of other channels that are putting out original programming, everything gets diluted.
And of course, cable is also playing non-original programming. Look at NCIS, one of the most surprising success story of recent years. While the likes of Lost, Grey's Anatomy, CSI, House and Desperate Housewives were pulling 25-30 million five years ago and are down to 10-15 million today, NCIS has gone in the opposite direction. Around that same time, NCIS was pulling 11-14 million, which meant that it was successful enough to bring back year after year, but was not even in the top twenty. Since then, it has actually been growing. And why? The answer is cable. USA picked up the syndication rights and it became a massive success for them. Repeat episodes on the USA network are picking up 4-6 million on a nightly basis. New viewers found the show and gradually shifted over to watch new episodes as well. This is more a remarkable individual showing than indicative of the entire television landscape (not every show is going to be revitalized by repeats), but it does tie back into cable and I thought that it was worth sharing. NCIS is now the most-watched scripted show in total viewers and it has spent half of every season opposite American Idol.
DVR numbers are reported, by the way. The big shows typically gain around 3 million a week. And let's be extremely generous and say that illegal downloading adds another 1 million. We are now at 14-19 million for our big shows. That is nowhere close to 25-30. Do you really think that that many people are streaming? People are just not watching those shows anymore. But it is important that people understand that they have not left television. In fact, more people watched television than ever in 2010. They just have a lot more choices, so they are watching something else.
If anyone is interested in this, I recommend following tvbythenumbers.com, who have done a fantastic job compiling numbers, making sense of them and separating the spin from the facts.
What about Lindelof's years as a supervising producer on Crossing Jordan?
ReplyDeleteHow come it was not until his early thirties for Damon or his late forties for Carlton that each got by far his biggest success?
Seems to me that we lack innovative and creative writers and developers, that are able to get Network backing for new TV. Being an expensive medium seems to motivate networks to rehash old stuff or reality TV that is cheap to make.
ReplyDeletebasically it just comes down to more channels more choice..tv shows dont have to be superbly acted or have a real great script.. they just need to be fun, exciting and interesting..most tv shows atm are just rehashs of old shows...every new show just seems like a re-imagining of an older show, look at USA network, they have some of the best shows on TV IMO but would Burn Notice really work on fox , NO! it would get like 2million viewers and be slapped in the friday slot..CBS owns the US networks, i mean look at the Mentalist, is it really good?, is it really original?, does it have life after red john? or is it just a re-make of Columbo with more characters >?...here in the uk we regulary get like 13million viewers for x - factor and almost 9million for dr who, look at the size of the uk compared to USA and people moan when shows like Ghost whisperer get cancelled as its only getting 7million....we watch stuff like burn notice, Dexter on FX channel in the Uk and i dont think they get much more then 200,000 viewers..of all the US Networks i think NBC is the most rewarding.. they actually try to make their shows a hit, they go way over the top on promotion ( im thinking the event) and wont throw a bad show to the wolves.. they will air wat they payed for.. gotta respect them for that :)
ReplyDeleteIm just glad i get to travel (thanks to my Job) to the USA frequently so i get to watch the latest shows, god bless the USA lol!!
Lost spoke to its audience on a much more universal level then other programs do these days. It blended multiple culture's into a state of nature and explored not only the complex and conflicting personalities, but the underlying humanness that is inescapable. It explored life through different perspectives and made us wonder if we just weren't looking at things from the right point of view in order to understand the bigger picture. Lost was one of a kind because it was a brilliant combination of characters, mysteries, and mythology that also brushed upon the very fabric of our history as different civilizations and cultures. It didn't insist on anything as black and white and left its experience and the evaluation of the experience totally up to interpretation by means of its blatant ambiguity.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with thedemonhog. The rise of cable is a big factor why the 4 big networks are down in ratings. The Walking Dead alone reached 6 million and it's on AMC. More people resort to cable because they do want quality while spending the few hours they have which the 4 networks don't invest in. Those go for shiny things like Glee which ultimately end being a firework and their appeal wears off quickly.
ReplyDeleteA lot of networks on air have divisioned the ratings so naturally they are smaller.
We must never forget that shows like LOST, GA, House and Desperate Housewives did not have hit shows against them in the same timeslot so inevitably they were victorious in the rating hunt.
My thoughts are that LOST kinda took the 'Mystery Show' out of TV for a while.
ReplyDeletePeople (not me included) have liked to clear their mind with some less-serial shows. Plus recent attempts at shows like this have failed to deliver in terms of quality, intruigue and mass interest ala. Flashforward & The Event.
I don't think there's a science to it really though, and anyones guess is as good as mine. I like to think a ratings juggernought like LOST storytelling wise will come again tough :)
Fringe is close for me in terms of show, but never got the big audience and universal love.
What do I know :P
maybe ppl are just fed up with network tv telling you that u must watch us, we are the best etc... cable broadcast shows that are well written and made, networks broadcast shows that will get the most viewers, they dont care about quality just viewers..cable channels like the respect and awards -NBC, CBS, FOX etc.,. just want the viewers...
ReplyDeleteI think MANY factors come into why there has not been a mega-hit series in a few years. Firstly, Lost got lucky. The writers created their product and everyone liked their show from the start so they did not need to tweak it or adjust it. They got to be true to their original vision and run with it. VERY RARE these days.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I think there is more quality TV on right now than any other time before... and it is on more channels. When there was really no cable competition and only 3 or 4 major networks, everyone knew the shows on the air. Now, I have more time than most people, but I can't watch every new series each season. There is just too many shows and I have to pick and choose. I am missing some quality shows I know, but once a show has been on for a while I don't want to start mid way in... I will wait for DVDs when a season ends if I have time, or I will wait until the series ends and check it out then.
Thirdly, We watch TV differently than we use to. Sure some sit down at their TVs and watch "live" shows as they air each night, but not many people. I have not watched a TV show as it aired in 10 years probably... unless it was news or sports or I was at a friends house. Many people DVR episodes and collect seasons to watch over and over. Some have the ability to record shows on their home theatre PC and edit out commercials and archive, others download readily available shows because they do not get a channel or do not want to wait for DVDs. Some do not even watch on their TV anymore, they stream to their phone or PC. I am not sure "illegal downloads" affect DVD sales like some think (DVD sales -including purchased streaming content- are up for the most part), but it certainly affects TV ratings.
I think one of the main factors is too many writers and TV executives are trying to CREATE the next big hit rather than create a quality show in the first place. They decide before a show airs they are going to hype it as the next this show, or the next hit... and more often than not it fails miserably to live up to the hype. Good quality series (well made, well written and well acted) speak for themselves. Word of mouth, "water cooler" chatter they get promoted by the people watching and it is far more effective.
Lastly, shows simply do not get the time to evolve into a mature product these days. Many of the series cancelled after 4 or 6 episodes may have grown into solid ratings locks for their networks if given time! Case in point Seinfeld. IT was bad in its first half season... a mess at times. They had faith in it and let it continue and 9 seasons later... it is an iconic series, one of the best sitcoms of all-time.
its becuase it has been less then a year since losts departure its to soon to ask this question in my opinion
ReplyDeleteSame can be said about Castle, was almost cancelled but picked up midway through its second season and now look at it :D
ReplyDeleteDarq, your last paragraph tells the saddest story in all this. Because of all this ratings hunger, shows don't get a chance to evolve. Patience is especially necessary for serialized or partly serialized shows that need to lay out plotlines and backstories before they can take off. Related to that, the "water cooler" effect needs time to catch on.
ReplyDeleteNCIS is really something out of the ordinary. The thing that bothers me most about NCIS is that people keep saying "it's procedural" like it's such a bad thing, and yes, it is procedural. But that's not why people watch it. NCIS really have a way of combining the cases with the characters stories, showing more than just "the case of the week", - in a way that ever since I started watching it, I can't take 5 minutes of CSI anymore. I've always been a fan of cult shows like LOST, X-Files, FNL - I always liked to know that there's more to the story than we're seeing on screen, a little mistery, something in the air to keep us interested, and that is something that I've found in NCIS as well.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, Lost never really got the huge ratings like that. Lost flirted with high ratings with special episodes but did not consistently get those viewers. The season average for Lost never went above 16 million and the last two seasons only earned about 10-11 million. Average. Grey's Anatomy was much, much closer to the 20million average per season for the first few years, coming consistently above the 20 million mark, much like how NCIS does currently. It has nothing to do with DVR or any of those, it has to do much more with creating an hour of television that makes people want to sit down and tune in consistently. NCIS currently holds that distinction because it was given a significant amount of time to build audiences and when you tune in you know exactly what you are going to get. Conversely, Lost became a "smash" hit for the opposite reason; people tuned in because the viewer DIDN'T know what they were going to get.
ReplyDeleteThe numbers mean next to nothing now anyway because the big networks like ABC, FOX, NBC, and CBS are just not putting enough time, money or effort into their shows. For example, the smarter a show is, the more likely it is to be cancelled. The brilliant show of a few years ago, "Kings", was cancelled because it couldn't be marketed into a 30 second spot. Whereas more and more specialty channels are beginning to produce their own quality shows. For many years it was just the big 'networks' and HBO creating quality television, so they held sway. Now there are networks like Starz, Showtime, even AMC creating their own hugely successful shows of immense quality. Episodes of Spartacus: Blood and Sand drew what would be completely abysmal numbers for ABC but they were record breaking for Starz, proving itself worthy of renewal.
What it comes down to is that it's not truly about the numbers that we used to define television by anymore because of all the other networks. There is much more choice. So ultimately it comes down to not "can smash hits with huge, huge numbers be made anymore?" it's more "can the networks create compelling dramas that will pull in viewers over their cable competitors?"
IF YOU BUILD IT WELL, THE VIEWERS WILL COME BACK
Lost hooked me and a lot of other people because of the incredible character and story writing of the first few seasons. The flashback style was unique, and the emotional intensity of the episodes left you reeling at the end. The Hawaiian scenery and the bad-CGI smoke monster were just added benefits. I haven't seen that level of character buildup in any of the recent network attempts at next big hits. The acting on The Event was so bad that I couldn't watch it after a few shows. Not knowing anything about the background of the actors who played the lead young couple, my guess is that they were models who had never acted before. I've tried to watch V too, but again I can't seem to bring myself to care about the characters (It's not the acting in this case, but the writing and the whole premise which seems too 80s). I thought Flash Forward had more potential, but I also agreed with some of the criticism that they didn't do enough to make the characters interesting.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what shows have been rejected so I can't speak to whether the networks are picking the right shows, but I wouldn't be surprised if the cause behind this is an assumption in Hollywood (which may be true or false) that the younger twitter and smartphone generation has no attention-span for good character drama and is only interested in shock value and non-stop action.
As for some comments that it's about cable now, Lost and Desperate Housewives were only launched in 2004. We had Sex in the City, The Sopranos, and other big cable hits about 10 years ago, so I don't agree that competition from cable has changed the landscape that much. More people may be downloading shows, but I think there's still a significant block of the population that like to melt into the couch in front of the TV at the end of the workday and watch a good show. And the support of serial and reality shows indicate that there's still significant number of people who watch shows when they air. So I think there's an audience for a quality show if one would be approved and nurtured by the networks.
I can enjoy a good procedural, but it needs to be something unique to it. I LOVED the series "Life" with Damien Lewis an Sarah Shahi. It was pretty much a straight ahead police procedural, but it had a very unique lead character and a unique back story. I will always get into a serial more, but I can enjoy a well done, unique procedural.
ReplyDeleteThe patience for long term story arcs are dwindling because of "LOST". The series, thanks to Cuse and Lindehof's questionable writing, has erased the patience of a good number of television viewers. One, "LOST" should have ended by Season 3 or 4. Two, the series had so many questions and story arc left unresolved that television viewers simply don't have the patience to endure something similar. At least not now.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is not the quality of shows that are on the air right now. The problem is that the flaws of "LOST" have simply eroded the patience of television viewers to give such shows a chance.
Could not disagree more. IT was well-written until the very end and those "unanswered questions" were a creation of the viewer questioning, not the writers. The large majority of important questions got answered as the series went on or in the final 2 seasons. Imagine how many questions would NOT have been answered if it ended at season 4!
ReplyDeleteI would tune into a well made show that was as complex or more complex in a second, if it was as well written! I would bet the majority of lost fans would watch another complex layered serial as soon as humanly possible too.
just want to clarify, you're basically agreeing with me when you say that the script, characters, relationships etc. that Darlton came up with are the reason you liked the show. I'm not saying people liked the show because they liked Damon and Carlton personally. I'm saying ABC can't look at LOST and say well, I guess people like shows about people stuck on an island. Or, I guess people like shows that are mysterious. People like shows that are good, and good artists are the people that can make them. Therefore, the lack of good writers/true artists is why there "aren't any monster hits like 'Lost' anymore." Christopher Nolan, J.J. Abrams, Steven Spielberg or Darlton could write a screenplay under a pen name and it would still become huge because they know what's good and what's bad, and what makes a good story.
ReplyDeleteHaving only watched a small portion of Lost I can't really comment on the quality but I can say that I see another potential hit in The Walking Dead. From what I have seen and read Lost divided people into two camps, people who liked the direction the show took and those who wanted something more (ie people wanting to learn more about the mythology). Although the ratings aren't comparable on the main networks to basic cable I believe that if The Walking Dead gets more than 10 million regular viewers I would consider it a hit. AMC is doing what most of the other networks aren't, willing to take risks on stories that challenge the viewer to ask the question "What if...?"
ReplyDeleteI hate to be "that guy" but I think that some of what I said in this article is relevant:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.spoilertv.com/2010/12/television-serialization-copying-wrong.html
Obviously, this only refers to genre shows. Why haven't any big medical or lawyer shows blown up the way Grey's or House did? Hawaii 5-0 is doing fairly well, but it's no NCIS.
Maybe some of my argument about genre shows carries over. New procedurals keep cropping up all over the place. It's always "Grey's... In the Jungle!" or " Lawyer/Forensic/Mystery of the Week Show." With Reboot after Reboot being brought to the big and small screens as well as spin-offs and shows based on books coming into existance, it isn't difficult to argue that we may be going through some sort of creative dry spell where betting on an existing brand name is easier than new ideas.
Streaming and DVR are also definitely huge factors.
LOST was and still is a very unique show of the way it was structured with the flashbacks, flashforwards, time travel, and finally, flash-sideways.
ReplyDeleteI think because of that alone, shows that have a LOST-esque whiff to it will be too risky a proposition for a major network to get behind, both fiscally and creatively. Lloyd Braun, the Chairman of ABC who greemlit the LOST pilot for $11.5 million based on an outline, was fired b/c the higher-ups thought it was a waste of time and sure to fail. The closest thing to LOST that I can remember was FlashForward, which I think was a victim of both creative and network turmoil plus it got the LOST comparisons attached to it like a stigma that could never be shaken off.
On the other side of that coin, you have the viewing public who usually don't have the patience for this type of storytelling. Despite that, LOST found a core audience that even if they didn't love the show at times, they appreciated the approach to storytelling. Shows like CSI and NCIS are going to be higher-rated in the Nielsens b/c of their stand-alone quality.
In closing, LOST was more than a monster hit, it became integrated into our pop culture, just like other shows like Miami Vice or Twin Peaks before it.
I really don't think that it's fair to say that their projects always do well. Look at Undercovers and Fringe. Both are produced by Bad Robot/Abrams. Undercovers has already been canceled and, while Fringe is excellent, all that remains is the core devoted fanbase of 5 million ish. You bring up a very good point about good writing vs. concept execution that is worth exploring, but your initial general statement is a bit too general.
ReplyDeleteCause most people try and be the "next LOST" of their genre, lost just.. was.
ReplyDeleteIts like trying to recreate firefly, just wont happen and honestly it is stupid to try, the people who make the shows have to stop trying to one up the previous hit shows and just tell an original story with relatable characters
I think that a show just needs to be original. I want to watch something that brings me somwhere and shows me something I don't see very often. I liked getting surprised and excited about the characters and the places the show is going. I think that people just don't quite appreciate shows like that anymore, in general. Original shows always seem to be the last ones to get the viewers.
ReplyDeletebecause people saw how Lost ended and they don't wanna put that much time and thought into a show again just to get screwed over in the series finale
ReplyDeletei dont understand how so many people hated the series finale of lost, wat was wrong with it? i thought it was great and a beautiful way to end the series...
ReplyDeleteIt was a very good episode, and a nice cosy ending for our band of survivors...
ReplyDeletebut as far as the plot goes, you can't deny we were robbed.
What LOST had that other shows since haven't had is this in a nutshell: The element of surprise.
ReplyDeleteLost wowed us without warning, all we knew about it was minimal. There were no spoilers, no other shows it was being compared to, with the exception of maybe survivor (with a script). So to our surprise each new episode left us feeling a bit off, and wondering what could possibly happen next.
Since that very day, the advent of social networking, blogging, web capable phones, everyone is potentially a reporter, (also thanks to phones). Every show is scrutinized, at all hours of every day. Spoilers are being aggressively sought-after, with people planing full vacations around television shooting schedule's, just with some hope to get some spoilery pictures to post on a website so other spoiler addicts (myself included) will rate, look at, and comment on their posts. Constant theorizing and scrutinizing on themes and potential plotlines, reading, writing, commenting on, and debunking theories, and recaps are all part of a new worldwide pastime that I like to refer to as The Television experience. And I Love it all, and would have it no other way.
...But The Television Experience (and it's worldwide collective think tank of creativity), has made it very hard for any writer, or producer, or network for that matter to have the element of surprise anymore, and the only way to get around that in my book, is originality.
As long as every new show is compared to Lost in one way or another, we (The Television Experience) will have picked and prodded at it before the series premiere and none will ever live up to the hype, and we will some fall to the wayside, choosing to aggressively not watch a show, while others stick around with hope for the turn around of "The Next New Lost". Sadly most of these shows fail at their tasks.
I speak for myself here (though I'm sure some will agree) saying that I'm ready for something original, Something with that element of surprise. Something that makes me want to immediately re-watch it after its over.
Sorry big nutshell eh?
["What LOST had that other shows since haven't had is this in a nutshell: The element of surprise."]
ReplyDeleteThe element of surprise means squat to me, if it is not backed up with consistently good writing. Which "LOST" lacked.
"Lost" is unique. Ratings-wise it wasn't always such a monster hit, but its fan-base is outstanding. It's the rare show that can have such a huge cult following, particularly in the present day, as much cult shows are older than this one, like BtVS.
ReplyDeleteWatching the shows on TV during premieres and repeats, recording the chapters, downloading them, buying the DVDs, people always find a way of devoting time to their favorite series, which is why I honestly don't care so much about the Nielsen ratings. So a lot of people don't watch shows in real time anymore? Big deal. Doesn't mean they're not successful. Although sometimes it does appear as though those numbers are all some TV big shots care about... for shame.
Luckily, my favorite show, DH, has always been out of the danger zone and still is, despite the big ratings slip that's been increasing since the first season finale (watched by over 30 million people in its debut). That's three times the population of my country (Portugal) wanting to find out why Mary Alice killed herself. Amazing!
personally i think that everything is a lot more "global" now so people (in other countries other than the usa) watch things online legally or ilegally which may or may not make a difference. however if they factored in international viewing ratings im sure some of these shows could possibly be bigger than lost who knows.
ReplyDeletealso i think that because there are more channels now and therefore a lot more variety things generally dont get a larger amount of views because people can go and watch something that piques their interest more.
another thing is that the networks dont really give new shows a chance to get into their stride and pick up viewers.they're to quick to bring out the old hammer of cancellation and cancell thigs after a few episodes. there to bothered about ratings. i think this may factr into things as viewers dont want to invest time in shows when the networks can cancell it so quickly
It's simple: not nearly as many people watch tv live as they did before...Now we have hulu, netflix, etc. There's not nearly as much urgency overall to watch tv like there was. Most shows that are "Addictive, serialized, etc." like Supernatural and Fringe, True Blood, etc. are all shows with rabid compact fanbases. It seems now that most shows with lots of viewers (Glee, NCIS, etc.) are generically oriented to be viewed by the broadest audience available.
ReplyDeleteOOOH i get to play again :))
ReplyDeleteHAPPY NEW YEAR ALL <33
I LOVE this question and whoever thought of it......Well.....I kinda wanna steal your brain ;)
My answer is just gonna be NONSENSICAL RAMBLING cause it's a hard question to answer....I have lots of theories on this one :))
I think there WILL be another MONSTER hit like LOST again.....Just......Not for a little while....I think every couple of years....we get a show that we just can't put down....It gets into your brain and sits there tormenting you LOL
I compare LOST to The X-FILES personally......I know they are different shows, but i always come back to the X-FILES....That show grabbed me in the same way LOST did......I couldn't stop watching it....I adored it and when it ended....I said to myself......"GOD i'll never see a show like that again"
AND THEN LOST HAPPENED.......Different genre....diff show even.....but evoking the same feeling in me that the X-FILES did....I even said the same thing after LOST......Should really learn my lesson :))
MHO - I think it WILL happen again.......I won't be surprised, but i think there will be a GENERAL WARINESS to INVEST in a show like this again......I don't wanna start a LOST WAR here but LOST POLARISED FANS.
I loved the end, but i was also disappointed too, and i don't think i was the only one.....There was a SERIOUS LACK OF PAYOFF for many of us...and i think because of this, a lot of people are gonna steer clear of shows like this in the future which is sad :((
That NEXT BIG HIT could be out there and NOT BE ONE because a lot of us don't wanna get involved again :((
It also takes serious TIME AND ENERGY to invest in a show like LOST .....A lot of people lose interest early on and bow out...Others hang in there...also LOST had EXCELLENT ACTING and WONDERFUL WRITING for the best part, and was on a mainstream NETWORK and was RESPECTED and MARKETED accordingly, which reached viewers on a GLOBAL scale due to the above....It was able to BUILD an audience/ratings because of all this.......Kinda the PERFECT package.....Then just throw loads of QUESTIONS in there....WOW OBSESSION :))
I have to be HONEST.......I am WARY about investing in another show like LOST because of how it ended....I do want to find another show like LOST cause i LOVE being that EMOTIONALLY INVESTED in a show....I tried with FLASHFORWARD but i have NO COMMENT on that show.....I'm trying it at the moment with THE EVENT.... but it's just not grabbing me like LOST did...
but i don't doubt that it will happen again....A show will come along in the future, and SUCK me in again, and i'll be back to being exhilarated/tormented which is where i LOVE to be <3
I disagree with your assessment of cable because the shows that you're talking about were the only big ones on cable ten years ago and they came from HBO. When you looked at the emmy nominations, those were the only cable nominees compared to The West Wing, The Practice, et al; all network shows.
ReplyDeleteNow, for a network show to get nominated for a best drama series award is a pretty big deal as Big Love (HBO), Damages (FX), Mad Men (AMC) and Dexter (Showtime) are all leading the pack and there are even more channels like Starz churning out shows like Camelot which is likely going to be another big hit.
i think people jast wants to see something new executed in a way that wasn't familiar at all or similar to anything we've seen previously on tv.
ReplyDeleteshows that challenge the status quo are the ones that really matter.
Haha well could be but i dunno, i'm pretty sure whatever lindelof touches at this point will be gold but i could be wrong. we'll see i guess
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point that leads to another question: Is it necessarily bad that there are no megahits? "Generically oriented to be viewed by the broadest audience" suggests a show that is watered down, overly politically correct, and pandering.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me like we are over reacting just a tad. Maybe it's our desire for instantaneous gratification or something along those lines. Why aren't there any monster hits like 'Lost' anymore? Folks, Lost just ended a little over 7 months ago!! Did you expect the next monster hit TV show would shoot out of the hit show machine right away?? If we had monster show after monster show, season after season, they wouldn't be "monster" shows - they would just be the norm.
ReplyDeleteWith TV shows you're gonna get a lot of ok shows, a fair amount of "what the hell were they thinking" shows and then every now and again you'll have an amazing bit of television like Lost, Cheers, MASH, Cavemen, Baywatch Nights or Cop Rock (ok maybe some exaggerations in there). That's just the nature of making shows - or the nature of anything for that matter.
I liken this question to someone getting mad because a once in a generation quarterback doesn't come out of the draft every year. If it's a once in a generation anything, chances are one won't come along every day (or season for that matter). That's the reason it's called once in a generation or in this case it speaks to Lost's greatness and why it was a monster hit.
Everyone just calm down for a bit. The next great show will come along in time - Rome wasn't built in a day you know.
You misunderstand the question. Reread this part: The 2004-2005 TV season was the last to create 'monster' hits - 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Desperate Housewives', as well as 'Lost'. All of these shows were consistently above 20 million at some points, and were sometimes even able to hit as much as 30 million viewers. This was only a few short years ago - since then shows like 'Glee', 'Heroes', and 'Modern Family' haven't even come close.
ReplyDeleteThe fourth season was the same show, just at a faster pace. Less filler = less interesting?
ReplyDeleteHa, tell me about it :)
ReplyDeleteNCIS hit nearly 22 Million last night :)
ReplyDeleteNo, I think your missing the point. They are all good shows, but none
ReplyDeleteof them have hit ratings anywhere near 20 Million Plus.