Is this the logic for why Superman Returns tanked? The exsistence of Smallville on TV? I always thought it failed simply because it was a bad film.
I do recall reading that there was some belief put to Smallville may have weakened the film because of people going by the same reason Berman had TNG cancelled after season seven: why would people go see it if they can watch it from home for free?
Another possibility: how about THE ROSE AND THE THORN. A hot chick with two personalities fights crimes while engaging in GOSSIP GIRL style soap opera action. Seems perfect for the CW!
Smallville was only supposed to last for 4 years, and it has gone on way too long, renewed season after season and continually changing cast members like soiled underwear. Please let it drop and as Christopher (it really was him this time) said, let's try something different and not retread old ground. I'm all for a new superhero-type series, but why not go in for the Unbreakable-style hero. Something understated that really works well. Hancock may even work well as a series, if it doesn't go on for too long. The CW is a crap network with crap shows being watched by the dumbest people, and I make no apologies for that assertion as the fact that they continue to watch a series that jumped the shark five years earlier proves my point. If we want to replace Smallville, then let's replace it with a superhero, or even a hero, who hasn't had much screen time if any. Someone new. Surely the writers out there aren't that devoid of talent? Anyone second a motion for David Mack's The Calling to be made into a TV show? On CBS or ABC?
What???? Ending TNG was Paramount's decision because it got costlier to produce each season. Ending one show and starting another let them make new, more profitable deals, and a new cast meant smaller salaries. Actors get raises every season, so the longer a show stays on, the costlier it gets. That's why very few shows go beyond seven seasons, and those that do almost always have heavy cast turnaround (including Smallville, which has only two original cast members remaining).
I remember where I heard it. It was on that Behind the Scenes program E! used to way back when they first started. I just found the video (being a packrat is insane) and Berman says one of the reasons that TNG ended was they wanted to make it into a movie property and they were worried that being able to watch it on television would hurt ticket sales. It's during a scene where they show a behind the scenes clip from Lessons.
Nothing, especially if it will be like Smallvile - always dancing on the edges of the myth, but never fulfilling the fans dreams.
The end of TNG was probably a combination of a bunch of things, creative and financial, with several people involved in the decision.
A, that was just one of the considerations that went into the decision. And B, it wasn't just Berman's decision, it was the decision of the studio executives he worked for. I get sick of people online assuming that every single thing they don't like about Star Trek is the fault of either Berman or Braga or both rather than actually trying to get their facts straight.
You make an assumption about me: I don't blame Berman or Braga for anything that happened with Trek unlike many people first off. I also never say that was the only reason it was cancelled - if you read what I put he said one of the reasons - not the only one. I did, however, just reread my original post which does make it sound like I pinned it entirely on Berman to which I apologize.
To your first point: Realistically, I'm sure that some heroes would kill if they existed in the real world. And if you're familiar with the Manhunter series I spoke of, you'd see why it was a necessary evil for his character -- as well as odd, since many of the people he killed were his clones. As for Wonder Woman, you're right about the first season set in WWII. I do remember that first awful Wonder Woman flick with Cathy Lee Crosby -- Ricardo Montalban was the villain, too. I dug the WWII milieu for Wonder Woman, and thought they were a bit stronger than the modern-day eps. Red Rum!
I wouldn't mind a series where Phil Morris as Martian Manhunter (speaking of which he's been absent this season so far) plays mentor to a young Justice League. The Justice League would be comprised of Chloe (Watchtower), Green Arrow, Black Canary, Flash (Bart Allen who is revealed to be a young Bary Allen), Cyborg (Victor Stone), and Wonder Woman (who is introduced in the two hour pilot and is convinced by Olliver to join the League as a way to learn more about the nature of mansworld). They are funded primarily by Queen Industires but also from another mysterious benficator who is revealed at the season one finale as being Snapper Carr.