Happy Town on ABC [SPOILERS]

[JoeD80]

If I missed a thread for this show already, sorry about that. I'm posting this one in Sci-Fi and Fantasy because Happy Town seems to be going a"Twin Peaks" path with its story. Happy Town is on Wednesday night 10 PM EDT on ABC. We're only one episode in and there's already apparent ghostly kidnappings, possession of people, and mysterious connections between a perhaps-serial-killer and the sweet innocent girl who has moved to the small town in Minnesota. And what are the secrets of the Bread Factory that keeps the economy running? The first victim tested positive for baking flour. May is sweeps month so if people watch the upcoming episodes this show will have a chance to get a second season. Has anyone else watched this show? Thoughts?

[Mr. Adventure]

JoeD80 wrote:

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if people watch the upcoming episodes this show will have a chance to get a second season

Is that how it works?

[JoeD80]

Particularly because May is sweeps, which you so kindly cut out of the quote to change the context so you could make a sarcastic comment

[Obiwanshinobi]

Don't you know? the Internet breeds snarkiness. But yeah as I mentioned in the other thread in tv/media, Amy Acker is talented and hot, and I've been a fan of Steven Weber since his Wings days but that pilot just did not hold my interest (no pun intended)

[JoeD80]

ObiWanShinobi wrote:

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Don't you know? the Internet breeds snarkiness.

Of course. Been online since around '89/'90 back in the day of BBSing and FidoNET so I expect such, but I still reserve the right to roll my eyes when I see it.

ObiWanShinobi wrote:

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But yeah as I mentioned in the other thread in tv/media

Ah, I couldn't find that thread for some reason; I see it now.

[Mr. Adventure]

Sorry, feeling snarky today, but the point remains, if people wanted to they'd be watching. No one is going to tune in just because it's sweeps, they'll want whatever shows they normally tune in to get that benefit, and if they are already interested they'd be watching it.

Without having watched this why should I tune in? I guess because there's mysteries involved?

[JoeD80]

Mr. Adventure wrote:

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if people wanted to they'd be watching.

...

they'll want whatever shows they normally tune in to get that benefit, and if they are already interested they'd be watching it.

By this logic, shows could never increase their audience ever, because they'd already be watching it. What about the people that didn't manage to catch the first episode? The ones who haven't even heard of the show? The ones who forgot to set up their DVR? The ones who like to wait for reviews before committing to a series? Are they somehow barred from seeing the next episode?

Mr. Adventure wrote:

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No one is going to tune in just because it's sweeps,

The point is that if you are interested you should watch it now instead of waiting for the season to run and watching the online reruns afterwards or something so that the advertisers can see if there is interest before the commercial prices are locked in. If the low ratings continue through May and there's a jump in the audience afterwards, that won't help as much.

Mr. Adventure wrote:

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Without having watched this why should I tune in? I guess because there's mysteries involved?

I don't care why you watch it. I said what I thought was interesting. People either want to see that or they don't. Great either way, just that if you think you'll like it, you should make sure to watch.

[Lookingglassman]

It sounds interesting, but I will only watch it if it makes it to DVD and then after it has been on a couple of seasons. I stopped watching shows with all kinds of mysteries that drag on forever only to have the show cancelled and I am left with no answers.

[Temis the Vorta]

JoeD80 wrote:

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Particularly because May is sweeps, which you so kindly cut out of the quote to change the context so you could make a sarcastic comment

It's very doubtful the ratings will ever be better than the premiere. People give shows one chance nowadays, if that. When they bail, they don't come back. There have been rare exceptions - a big marketing push helped Chuck get a temporary bounce at the beginning of this season; Caprica's ratings went down and then back up, maybe through strong word of mouth? But I rarely see any pattern besides down, down, down.

Also, the way the show was scheduled is very suspicious. ABC held onto it until practically the end of the season. That smacks of ABC trying to bury a show they've decided is a dog. Which means that ABC won't lift a finger to try to save it, even if the ratings were semi-respectable, which they aren't.

My bet is that this show is done for. Too bad - I kinda like it.

[StarshipDefiant]

I like it as well, I intend to watch all eight episodes of the series, and if I like it well enough and it gets a DVD release, I shall get it then, to. Just a remark about the OP's flour comment, one of the characters in the show said that does nothing, the town is practically covered in flour (Actually, he said something about the back of his balls would test positive for flour).

[JoeD80]

Temis the Vorta wrote:

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It's very doubtful the ratings will ever be better than the premiere. People give shows one chance nowadays, if that. When they bail, they don't come back. There have been rare exceptions - a big marketing push helped Chuck get a temporary bounce at the beginning of this season; Caprica's ratings went down and then back up, maybe through strong word of mouth?

It's always interesting to see a declaration made followed immediately by counterexamples. Other shows have increased viewership after their initial episode (e.g. Big Bang Theory has shot way up in the ratings and continues to add viewers; Lost had higher viewership mid-1st season than its first episode although those numbers have dropped quite a bit since then). To assume that viewership can't increase after the first episode isn't really supported by the evidence, and again there are people who don't catch early episodes that may try a show later. Sure Happy Town appears to be sliding now, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will keep trending that way.

[StarshipDefiant]

It's a shame really, it's another show that I like, and it could look to not do that great. I personally think it's somewhat decent, but I may not know TV ratings to well, whatever. The problem with this stuff is "expectations" the suits at a studio expects half the nation to watch if it's something they think is cool, and when that doesn't happen: "It's a flop, pull the plug!"

I enjoyed the second episode well enough, even if a couple parts were predictable (either beforehand or through an afterthought), but overall? Good series to date, in my opinion (well, obviously, but still).

[Temis the Vorta]

JoeD80 wrote:

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It's always interesting to see a declaration made followed immediately by counterexamples. Other shows have increased viewership after their initial episode (e.g. Big Bang Theory has shot way up in the ratings and continues to add viewers; Lost had higher viewership mid-1st season than its first episode although those numbers have dropped quite a bit since then). To assume that viewership can't increase after the first episode isn't really supported by the evidence, and again there are people who don't catch early episodes that may try a show later. Sure Happy Town appears to be sliding now, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will keep trending that way.

I track a lot of shows just for fun. Of course there are counterexamples but the overall pattern in TV is either a slow or sharp drop-off from the premiere. The easy bet is to say any given show will follow the pattern.

HappyTown is no exception. 1.2/4 3.89M - yikes! That would get it cancelled on the CW!

And after watching the second episode, I'm starting to see why ABC shuffled this show off to die - serious writing problems are emerging already.

[Aragorn]

Happy Town has been yanked from the schedule. The remaining episodes will be burned off in June.

[Temis the Vorta]

Wow, this week's ep was a mess. Tonally, it's all over the place. Is this show trying to be serious, Twin Peaks-creepy or Pushing Daisies-goofy? I gave up at the half hour mark and deleted the show from my DVR schedule. ABC is pulling it to burn it off in the summer anyway so there will never be a resolution to the mystery. Why bother?

...judging from this thread, nobody is bothering. I guess I'm the last to get the memo.