Why are TSCC's ratings in decline?

[Andonagio]

There's a lot of talk on the board about the future of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. On the one hand, it's been falling in ratings this season (although it's picked up over the last couple of episodes). On the other hand, many claim that it's doing well with DVR recordings, internet viewings/downloads and product placement, which is helping the show survive. And just how will the move to Fridays affect the show?

With all this being said, why do you think the live broadcast ratings have been falling? Why aren't more viewers watching the show Monday night at 8:00 pm? Why are more fans of this show opting for alternative forms of viewing (again, DVR and internet) than fans of other shows? What happened to all of those people who watched the season 1 and 2 premieres?

 

[the Dagman]

Chuck is a cool show that is fun to watch. It's geek gratification.

 

[bigdaddy]

People are sick of TV except for a few shows and the CBS network.

I started watching it, I stopped caring. It's obvious that the world will end in 2011 or whenever this Judgment Day is. None of the main characters can die, so there is no drama.

Plus the show will not last past this season, so no point in liking a show that will clearly be canceled as soon as the movie comes out.

 

[Cicero]

I'd imagine my sister and I aren't the only first season fans losing interest. We each independently (2000+ miles apart) turned off "Brothers of Nablus" near the start of the last act, fed up with the writing of John and the writing and acting of Riley. It's become incredibly annoying. Much of what we both loved about the first season has moved to the background (John and Cameron) or disappeared. The show has also lost its previous sense of movement. In the first season, something was resolved in every episode. Now, plots are stringing along for months instead of a few weeks.

 

[Snaploud]

It's only chance to survive is as a cross-promotional tool for other Terminator material. The ratings certainly aren't going to keep it afloat.

 

[God Magnus]

I'm about two episodes behind, but there was a sense of urgency in the first season that I don't feel this season. Sure Cromartie found their house and there have been missions, but the various storylines seem to be separating rather than coming together (though i admit this will most likely change as the season moves along). I'll also echo the sentiment that whining John has gotten tiring. I want to see him grow into the future leader he should be, not someone whining about how unfair life is. You'd think the fact that he's fighting to save millions would give him some perspective, but nope.

I'm still watching the show, but I have to admit I've spent parts of some episodes quite bored.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I can tell you why I stopped watching: it started to bore me, maybe three or four episodes ago. You'd think with the future of the human race at stake, it could hold my attention, but it hasn't.

Not sure what they could have done instead. I was liking it okay until just recently when I found I no longer cared what happened. Maybe if there was some overall plan the Connors et al were enacting that I could follow along with. It just seemed to be run around and evade the Terminator, repeat indefinitely.

I know that Sarah, John and Cam can't die but untouchable lead characters in shows are common so that doesn't really bother me. I like Derek enough that I would be worried he might die, and they could rope in a few more killable secondary characters like that to amp up the drama.

It didn't help at all that John looks 25 and acts 12. They should have made John an unusually mature teen simply to cover for the fact that they hired an actor who is too old for the role. I'm willing to wink at that as long as he doesn't accentuate his age by acting too immature even for a 16 year old. And given his situation, why doesn't John act old beyond his years? The teen angst thing was terrible. He should be a teenager who can't relate to high school because he's already mentally and emotionally twice his literal age and fed up with all those whiny little twits at school instead of being a whiny little twit himself.

The subplot with the FBI agent and the redheaded Terminatrix totally bored me. I didn't see what the point was, and the characters were uninteresting.

Another thing that could have kept me watching: if John were starting to assemble the small group of friends who will become his future army. Even if his teen friends are whiny little twits, they can grow into something beyond that. It would be fun to see him trying to smack the little idiots into shape.

 

[nx1701g]

As some of said a lot of viewership for T:TSCC comes from online viewings, but that is not the only thing affecting it. Having it opposite football was a disastrous idea from the start. Many of the core demos are watching that instead of the show.

In addition many are having trouble with the storyline. Fox came in at the beginning of season two with a several hundred page document of changes they wanted to see made to the show. They wanted more self contained episodes, more terminators of the week, and John to have a love interest independent of the main story and they wouldn't take no for an answer. Recent developments in the show seem to be changing those directives. I'm spoiler coding them:

Spoiler: What are they

Cromartie being destroyed and attached to The Turk, the Resistance plot and assignment of personnel to the past in an effort to destroy Cameron, Sarah's cancer.

To be honest, from what I've been reading, the producers have been essentially promised a third season because the majority of their costs and advertising for Fox is being picked up by Warner Brothers themselves. This is - most likely - however in an effort to salvage Terminator: Salvation. If you go into the new film with the cloud of the show being cancelled DAYS before the premire it could be a disaster for the film.

 

[stj]

For what it's worth, the perspective of someone who couldn't hack but three or four episodes---first, it got off to a bad start with some really klutzy writing. The first scene in the series was a dream sequence. The first four hours were essentially some pile of rigmarole whose only real purpose was to reset the date to our present, from one of the movies.

Another big problem was that I just can't buy Thomas Dekker as 15-16 years old. Something like that is a matter of taste I suppose. But there's no arguing taste. He just makes it difficult to accept the story.

But there are some structural flaws. First, in Terminator 2, Linda Hamilton decided to change the future, and found Dyson. She chose not to kill him! Now, Lena Headey may still be struggling with her desire to kill someone to change the future, but that undoes Terminator 2. And not in a good way, either. Maybe somebody with a fixed ideological prejudice that the good society simply must be founded upon the noble sacrifices of the heroes ready to do the dirty work could enjoy this story, but I don't.

And, this is a biggie for me, if Sarah were to succeed in preventing the formation of Skynet, then how or why would Reece come back in time to co-create John in the first place? Basically, the woman is running around trying to perform a retroactice abortion. That might be an interesting story but the fact that she didn't realize this eventually just makes her too stupid to care about. In the short time frame of the T2 movie, we can take the point as overlooked by her (just as some---most?--- of us overlooked it until the movie was over.) In the TV series, which is supposed to span long periods of time this is really an insuperable difficulty.

 

[nx1701g]

But there are some structural flaws. First, in Terminator 2, Linda Hamilton decided to change the future, and found Dyson. She chose not to kill him! Now, Lena Headey may still be struggling with her desire to kill someone to change the future, but that undoes Terminator 2. And not in a good way, either. Maybe somebody with a fixed ideological prejudice that the good society simply must be founded upon the noble sacrifices of the heroes ready to do the dirty work could enjoy this story, but I don't.

Spoiler: Sarah Connor

Has never killed anyone either in the films or the show.

And, this is a biggie for me, if Sarah were to succeed in preventing the formation of Skynet, then how or why would Reece come back in time to co-create John in the first place? Basically, the woman is running around trying to perform a retroactice abortion. That might be an interesting story but the fact that she didn't realize this eventually just makes her too stupid to care about. In the short time frame of the T2 movie, we can take the point as overlooked by her (just as some---most?--- of us overlooked it until the movie was over.) In the TV series, which is supposed to span long periods of time this is really an insuperable difficulty.

Spoiler: Retroactive abortion

Was actually addressed in an episode and discussed.

 

[Lindley]

Another thing that could have kept me watching: if John were starting to assemble the small group of friends who will become his future army. Even if his teen friends are whiny little twits, they can grow into something beyond that. It would be fun to see him trying to smack the little idiots into shape.

There was the cadet at the military school a few episodes ago, so that's one. To really capitalize on it they'd have to bring him back at some point though.

But there are some structural flaws. First, in Terminator 2, Linda Hamilton decided to change the future, and found Dyson. She chose not to kill him! Now, Lena Headey may still be struggling with her desire to kill someone to change the future, but that undoes Terminator 2. And not in a good way, either. Maybe somebody with a fixed ideological prejudice that the good society simply must be founded upon the noble sacrifices of the heroes ready to do the dirty work could enjoy this story, but I don't.

I'm not quite sure what you're talking about. Sarah hasn't killed anyone in the show so far that I can recall. Derek Reese has, Cameron has of course, and even John has in one instance---in a struggle---but not Sarah so far. Even though her restraint in one instance led directly to Cromartie discovering their house.

And, this is a biggie for me, if Sarah were to succeed in preventing the formation of Skynet, then how or why would Reece come back in time to co-create John in the first place? Basically, the woman is running around trying to perform a retroactice abortion. That might be an interesting story but the fact that she didn't realize this eventually just makes her too stupid to care about. In the short time frame of the T2 movie, we can take the point as overlooked by her (just as some---most?--- of us overlooked it until the movie was over.) In the TV series, which is supposed to span long periods of time this is really an insuperable difficulty.

The most recent episode established that this show is working at least partially on the many-worlds principal of time travel, since Derek didn't remember being tortured even though his girlfriend (who was sent back after him) insisted that he was.

 

[Lord Garth]

The series is kind of there. It doesn't grip me to watch the next episode and it's not outrageously bad. It's just there. That's why I stopped watching. I have a hard time caring about what happens next.

The problem is we know how the series is supposed to end, Judgment Day will or will not be stopped. What has to make this series interesting is what happens in the middle. The "middle" just doesn't seem to be that interesting. To me it's just going through the motions from one thing to the next while we wait for John to grow up and for 2011.

 

[stj]

But there are some structural flaws. First, in Terminator 2, Linda Hamilton decided to change the future, and found Dyson. She chose not to kill him! Now, Lena Headey may still be struggling with her desire to kill someone to change the future, but that undoes Terminator 2. And not in a good way, either. Maybe somebody with a fixed ideological prejudice that the good society simply must be founded upon the noble sacrifices of the heroes ready to do the dirty work could enjoy this story, but I don't.

Spoiler: Sarah Connor

Has never killed anyone either in the films or the show.

And, this is a biggie for me, if Sarah were to succeed in preventing the formation of Skynet, then how or why would Reece come back in time to co-create John in the first place? Basically, the woman is running around trying to perform a retroactice abortion. That might be an interesting story but the fact that she didn't realize this eventually just makes her too stupid to care about. In the short time frame of the T2 movie, we can take the point as overlooked by her (just as some---most?--- of us overlooked it until the movie was over.) In the TV series, which is supposed to span long periods of time this is really an insuperable difficulty.

Spoiler: Retroactive abortion

Was actually addressed in an episode and discussed.

First, that early episode where she tucks her gun in her pants, then goes for a walk in the woods, is all about "Will she or won't she?" In the movie, she didn't. So, writing scenes like that undoes the movie it spent so much time fiddling a merely chronological continuity with. And, it's not a thrill to think, she might do it this time! For me, at least.

Second, "Better late than never" is a folk saying. For me, too late is as good as never.

Third, the problem with a many worlds rationale is that it doesn't have a dramatic impetus. The characters are explained to not really change anything. They merely escape into a different timeline. But, we are supposed to care about their success in winning, not escaping.

But of course these are reasons why I stopped watching, not reasons you stopped watching, no?

 

[Broccoli]

I have the episodes since the military academy episode on my DVR, but I have not watched them. I just don't care enough about the show to watch them. I really liked the first season. This season, with all the changes...blah.

The T-1000 chick and the FBI agent plot line could be interesting, but it was taking so friggin' long to get going that I stopped caring about it. How many episodes did it take him to say "yes" to her job offer? And how many episodes after that did it take him to actually start on it?

I still have them recorded, but I doubt I'll watch them unless maybe we get a snow day and I don't have to teach.

 

[nx1701g]

^ Mr. Ferguson is Ill Today and Complications are the only really strong episodes post Goodbye to All That. The others are ok.

 

[dru]

Another big problem was that I just can't buy Thomas Dekker as 15-16 years old.

Good grief, he's only 19!

 

[stj]

^^^Thomas Dekker's John Connor truly does not closely resemble the hundreds and hundreds of fifteen/sixteen year old boys I've seen five days a week for years.

The failure is not unique to Dekker. Whatever Hollywood producers think, there is a distinct difference between freshmen and even sophomores, and juniors and seniors.

 

[bigdaddy]

Well the fact Dekker can't act, and doesn't even come close to fitting the role doesn't help the show either. I wish I could find the (real) pictures of him wearing a pink girls shirt during a photo shoot. This is the same guy who left Heroes because he didn't want to be known as a gay character, yet he takes really femmy picture. I don't get it.

The kid from T2 was tuff and really "I need to do this!", but at the same time he loved his mom and went back for her. It was a great mix that the new boy can't come close to.

 

[Barbados Slim]

Overall for me it's timeslot. It's up agains HIMYM, which is one of my favorite sitcoms right now. Then there's a choice of SCC, Gossip Girl and Chuck.

Well, I like the toughness of the show. Derek and Cameron make the show worthwhile. And Jesse looks to step it up. And Cromartie had to grow on me but he was a good Terminator. Problem is the Connors. I would've liked them to use the dysfunctional Connors from T2. Sarah nearly insane and has to be talked down from doing something rash and crazy and a John who's a smartass, clever and has a moral center that hints at his future glory.

Dekker's doesn't have as much range as young Edward Furlong. The idea that he just wants a normal life is interesting but I think with their universe littered with terminators and freedom fighters from the future, John would be mature enough to know school and girlfriends are stupid pipe dreams. Plus they've paired him with a girl who is immediately annoying and not adorable at all.

I just wish the Connors's felt more desperate to hold it together as we witness the inevitability of their doomed lives.

 

[Cartoonist]

People are sick of TV except for a few shows and the CBS network.

I started watching it, I stopped caring. It's obvious that the world will end in 2011 or whenever this Judgment Day is. None of the main characters can die, so there is no drama.

Plus the show will not last past this season, so no point in liking a show that will clearly be canceled as soon as the movie comes out.

But the movie has nothing to do with the TV series. It's a separate continuity. I'm expecting it to be canceled too (I hope not, I like the show), but I don't think the movie has anything to do with that.