Is Smallville getting the death slot?

[23skidoo]

The timeslot is meaningless.

There are kids going into Grade 5 who weren't even BORN when Smallville debuted. Frankly, if the show doesn't have enough of a faithful audience by now who are willing to change their TIVO settings, then it's time to call it a day.

I'm rather annoyed at this whole "death slot" business. Friday's a death slot. Saturday's a death slot. Sunday's a death slot. I've heard Thursday's a death slot. They might as well cancel everything and put it all online where there ARE no death slots.

Or, better still, perhaps follow NBC's lead and except the fact that there are going to be fewer and fewer shows attracting 30 million viewers on network TV and be happy if you get 3 million.

Anyway, just ask fans of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse about what they think of Friday being a death slot.

Alex

 

[broberfett]

That Dollhouse show almost got the meataxe. I think only Joss Whedon's clout saved the show. It almost got deathslotted.

 

[gastrof]

No, "they" would "have to" do nothing.

If the show gets canned, then it gets canned. If that ends up being the case, hopefully the producers know in advance so things will be wrapped up enough. If it ends open-ended with plot lines/strings still dangling, then it could just end like that.

There is no guarantee whatsoever that a wrap-up movie would be made. True, it happened in Stargate's case, but SG is the exception, not the rule.

Time Warner, which owns both DC Comcs and the Warner Brothers production company owns half of the CW network.

The CW is the result of "The WB" network and CBS's "UPN" network merging.

If Time Warner wants SMALLVILLE to continue, or to have a wrap-up movie to follow up on the series, I'd say there's a very good chance of them getting what they want.

When you're half owner of a television network, you tend to have a say on what it airs.

 

[gastrof]

The timeslot is meaningless.

There are kids going into Grade 5 who weren't even BORN when Smallville debuted....

Recheck your math.

Kids tend to start first grade when they're about six.

This puts them 5 years beyond their grade number.

SMALLVILLE is starting its ninth season.

It first aired in 2001.

Kids in grade 5 now would have to be 10 years old.

The year 2001 wasn't 10 years ago.

Thanks for playing.

 

[Broccoli]

No, "they" would "have to" do nothing.

If the show gets canned, then it gets canned. If that ends up being the case, hopefully the producers know in advance so things will be wrapped up enough. If it ends open-ended with plot lines/strings still dangling, then it could just end like that.

There is no guarantee whatsoever that a wrap-up movie would be made. True, it happened in Stargate's case, but SG is the exception, not the rule.

Time Warner, which owns both DC Comcs and the Warner Brothers production company owns half of the CW network.

The CW is the result of "The WB" network and CBS's "UPN" network merging.

If Time Warner wants SMALLVILLE to continue, or to have a wrap-up movie to follow up on the series, I'd say there's a very good chance of them getting what they want.

When you're half owner of a television network, you tend to have a say on what it airs.

All true. But you are working on the assumption that Time Warner would believe the money they would put into such a project would be worth it. They may not think that, which was my point.

 

[gastrof]

...you are working on the assumption that Time Warner would believe the money they would put into such a project would be worth it. They may not think that, which was my point.

SMALLVILLE has been called 'their best show' by people AT the CW, and while I'm not sure about the UPN contributions to the CW lineup, I may be right that SMALLVILLE is the longest running show on the WB/CW network. It's something they've spent a lot of time and money on, and it IS about their money cow, Superman.

You don't really think they'd take a chance at offending all those fans out there who've watched the show all this time and may start reading Superman comics after seeing Clark become Superman when the show ends, do you?

Come on...

 

[Broccoli]

...you are working on the assumption that Time Warner would believe the money they would put into such a project would be worth it. They may not think that, which was my point.

SMALLVILLE has been called 'their best show' by people AT the CW, and while I'm not sure about the UPN contributions to the CW lineup, I may be right that SMALLVILLE is the longest running show on the WB/CW network. It's something they've spent a lot of time and money on, and it IS about their money cow, Superman.

You don't really think they'd take a chance at offending all those fans out there who've watched the show all this time and may start reading Superman comics after seeing Clark become Superman when the show ends, do you?

Come on...

Yes, because studio executives always reward the fans.

Get real. TV is all about money making. If Smallville is canceled by the network w/o enough time for the writers to wrap up the series, and Warners do not feel it's worth the investment to commission a wrap-up TV or Direct-to-DVD movie, then it won't happen.

There is also the possibility that various cast members wouldn't want to come back and they wouldn't be required to. I know the chance of that is probably low, but that still is a possibility.

If Smallville is canceled w/o things wrapped up, as a fan, I would want to see some sort of conclusion. But, you are talking like it would be a given. It is not.

If anything, Warners would probably focus their attentions to a Superman movie, which would be targeted and be seen by more people and bring in much more money than a Smallville TV movie would.

 

[23skidoo]

The timeslot is meaningless.

There are kids going into Grade 5 who weren't even BORN when Smallville debuted....

Recheck your math.

Kids tend to start first grade when they're about six.

This puts them 5 years beyond their grade number.

SMALLVILLE is starting its ninth season.

It first aired in 2001.

Kids in grade 5 now would have to be 10 years old.

The year 2001 wasn't 10 years ago.

Thanks for playing.

It's jerks like you that made me tell this forum to go to hell 2 years ago.

My PM to you sums up my opinion of your smartass response here.

Publicly, I'll just say "get a life" and be done with it.

Alex

 

[bigdaddy]

I'm sorry but he's right, just because he found a funny way to show you crewed up your math doesn't make him/her a jerk.

 

[gastrof]

The timeslot is meaningless.

There are kids going into Grade 5 who weren't even BORN when Smallville debuted....

Recheck your math.

Kids tend to start first grade when they're about six.

This puts them 5 years beyond their grade number.

SMALLVILLE is starting its ninth season.

It first aired in 2001.

Kids in grade 5 now would have to be 10 years old.

The year 2001 wasn't 10 years ago.

Thanks for playing.

It's jerks like you that made me tell this forum to go to hell 2 years ago.

My PM to you sums up my opinion of your smartass response here.

Publicly, I'll just say "get a life" and be done with it.

Alex

As said to you in PM, you shouldn't keep becoming angry each time you make a mistake in life.

My point was that you were wrong about something that you asserted with an air of superiority and distain.

If you left the forum in the past because people told you you're not perfect, and you can't accept being wrong about something, you'll simply continue to have problems like this.

Accept it when you're wrong, laugh about your error, and move on. I have a life, and doing as suggested will make yours better.

 

[gastrof]

Yes, because studio executives always reward the fans.

Get real. TV is all about money making. If Smallville is canceled by the network w/o enough time for the writers to wrap up the series, and Warners do not feel it's worth the investment to commission a wrap-up TV or Direct-to-DVD movie, then it won't happen....

If Smallville is canceled w/o things wrapped up, as a fan, I would want to see some sort of conclusion. But, you are talking like it would be a given. It is not...

Have to disagree with you. So many were upset over a number of things about Superman Returns, that it seems Singer may not be given another opportunity.

We may have seen the Routh Superman for his first and only appearance.

Who is it that's listening to the fans and making these choices?

The suits.

They know where their greenbacks come from, and they do not want to anger fans who've invested (soon to be) nine years supporting and following the series.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Some people can paint well and learn the birthday song straight out of the gate so they're put up a few grades when it doesn't really matter, come on there's so much padding in the first five grades you'd have to have been raised under high tension powerlines not to at least have skipped one of them?

 

[Broccoli]

Yes, because studio executives always reward the fans.

Get real. TV is all about money making. If Smallville is canceled by the network w/o enough time for the writers to wrap up the series, and Warners do not feel it's worth the investment to commission a wrap-up TV or Direct-to-DVD movie, then it won't happen....

If Smallville is canceled w/o things wrapped up, as a fan, I would want to see some sort of conclusion. But, you are talking like it would be a given. It is not...

Have to disagree with you. So many were upset over a number of things about Superman Returns, that it seems Singer may not be given another opportunity.

We may have seen the Routh Superman for his first and only appearance.

Who is it that's listening to the fans and making these choices?

The suits.

They know where their greenbacks come from, and they do not want to anger fans who've invested (soon to be) nine years supporting and following the series.

No. Superman Returns' low likely hood of getting a sequel is not because of fans bitching on the internet.

It is because it underperformed/didn't meet studio expectations at the box office. The over-all reviews were good enough to warrant a sequel (if studios were overly interested in such things), but the money simply didn't come in enough.

If it made mucho dollars to satisfy its budget, then we'd be seeing another Routh adventure, directed by Singer, featuring Jason.

To point out counter examples:

Fantastic Four and Transformers. Fans bitched and moaned about those movies and it got lousy reviews to back it up. However, they made lots of money, so a sequel was made.

Studios don't make movies specifically for fans of a franchise. That is too small a group. They make them for the public at large (which, of course, the fans are a part of).

Now, for the sake of argument, lets say you are right. That it was the general bad word of mouth (despite the 76% on RT) that sank the film. That bad word of mouth came from the wide-ranging movie going population.

A Smallville movie would appeal to a fraction of the crowd. What would be the point of doing a presumably low-budget Smallville movie to appeal to a small section of the viewing audience which was extremely small by the show's end causing it's cancelation (the whole premise of this thread) that'll probably only rake in a small profit compared to moving on a big-budget Superman movie for the masses?

Lets look at another example along these lines. Lois and Clark. It ended on a cliffhanger with no resolution. The Powers that Be didn't think it was worth it to do a follow-up TV Movie or direct-to-video thing (though D2V wasn't as common for TV shows back then). I suspect the same would be true for Smallville if it is canceled w/o some semblence of resolution.