Joss Whedon's S.H.I.E.L.D to ABC!

[Takeru]

^Yes, the Whedon fanbase isn't huge, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe fanbase is. And I doubt very many of the MCU fans are going to pass up watching a TV series created by the director of The Avengers and starring Agent Coulson because they'd rather watch NCIS. So even if you leave out the Whedon fanbase, the show still has a solid built-in audience.

Maybe, but success at the movies doesn't have to translate into a successful tv show, it certainly has a better chance than other shows but it's not guaranteed.
In the past there have been quite a few hyped shows that crashed and burned in the first season, remember Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip? Aaron Sorkin, great cast, lots of publicity, what could go wrong? We all know how it ended.

 

[wamdue]

^Yes, the Whedon fanbase isn't huge, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe fanbase is. And I doubt very many of the MCU fans are going to pass up watching a TV series created by the director of The Avengers and starring Agent Coulson because they'd rather watch NCIS. So even if you leave out the Whedon fanbase, the show still has a solid built-in audience.

Maybe, but success at the movies doesn't have to translate into a successful tv show, it certainly has a better chance than other shows but it's not guaranteed.
In the past there have been quite a few hyped shows that crashed and burned in the first season, remember Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip? Aaron Sorkin, great cast, lots of publicity, what could go wrong? We all know how it ended.

despite getting a second series T:SCC didnt do too well either.

 

[Christopher]

I'm just saying that it's got a built-in audience who will be bound to watch the show when it premieres. It goes without saying that if the show is a disappointment, like Studio 60, it will lose that audience, but they will be there to start with, and if it's a good show, there's a good chance they'll stick around.

I think TSCC was hurt by the writers' strike, which forced it to cut the number of episodes and spend a long time off the air, during which viewers lost track of it.

 

[judgeroy]

Guys, I'm not trying to diss the Shield show, I am excited for it myself and would love to see it succeed. I guess I'm just trying to temper hopes here a little, not destroy them. I am one of those in the target audience, but I am also a big fan of NCIS. TV Guide recently put out an article that said even the coveted 18+ group was a big part of their viewship. IMHO, given the current big shakeup cliffhanger at the end of this last season, fans, even casual ones, will be tuning in to see the end of it. However, I don't know if Nielsen counts DVR or online watching though. I know I plan on catching Shield the next day online.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Saw an ad during the NBA Finals, looks fun, I like that it doesn't look dark. I don't know how much Whedon is involved but I've liked every series he's been connected to so far so I'm hoping he keeps batting a thousand.

 

[FreezeC77]

Guys, I'm not trying to diss the Shield show, I am excited for it myself and would love to see it succeed. I guess I'm just trying to temper hopes here a little, not destroy them. I am one of those in the target audience, but I am also a big fan of NCIS. TV Guide recently put out an article that said even the coveted 18+ group was a big part of their viewship. IMHO, given the current big shakeup cliffhanger at the end of this last season, fans, even casual ones, will be tuning in to see the end of it. However, I don't know if Nielsen counts DVR or online watching though. I know I plan on catching Shield the next day online.

I have a hard time keeping interest in watching new episodes of NCIS on Tuesday Nights just because I know eventually I'll see it 20 times on USA Network in a year or so.

 

[Gaith]

Well, the outlook seems clear: if the show is good but fails, it'll be judgeroy's fault.

NCIS is now ten years old, and has an active spinoff. Just how much NCIS does the world need? I certainly can't imagine watching or even wanting ten years of SHIELD...

 

[Captaindemotion]

I don't really understand why scheduling any show opposite another is such a big deal in this era. I frequently watch one show while recording another, which is showing on a different channel at the same time. Or I catch the inevitable repeat a few days later.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Saw an ad during the NBA Finals, looks fun, I like that it doesn't look dark. I don't know how much Whedon is involved but I've liked every series he's been connected to so far so I'm hoping he keeps batting a thousand.

Whedon gives me hope. I don't think he's a supergenius, but I always find his work to be fun and witty. The show otherwise would make me nervous because it could easily involve generic guys in suits and not draw you into the Marvel Universe the way it should.

 

[judgeroy]

Gaith, thanks, now I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. Perhaps Atlas should shrug? LOL. Seriously, though NCIS is about the characters a much as anything else. And isn't that what keeps Star Trek going too, the characters?
Captain, as I said, I don't know if Neilsen keeps track of DVR and online watching, if so, then it shouldn't be a problem. And, yes scheduling something against something else very popular is still a big deal. I don't imagine Shield just catching on with younger folks either. C'mon guys, I'm very interested and I was collecting comics back in the days when you could still get Sgt Rock and Easy Co comics. Don't forget that this show will be based on a very well established (read old) comic entity. Nick Fury has been around since WWII.

 

[Christopher]

Don't forget that this show will be based on a very well established (read old) comic entity. Nick Fury has been around since WWII.

But Phil Coulson has only been around since 2008. Let's face it, this is really the Coulson spinoff that Clark Gregg's fans have wanted for years. Fury will at most have the occasional cameo or name drop. (Samuel L. Jackson has said he'd be willing to do it like Charlie on Charlie's Angels, just be the voice giving orders over the phone.)

True, the show's creator credits include Lee and Kirby, but they're being credited because of their creation of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agency itself in Strange Tales.

 

[Reverend]

I don't really understand why scheduling any show opposite another is such a big deal in this era. I frequently watch one show while recording another, which is showing on a different channel at the same time. Or I catch the inevitable repeat a few days later.

I think whether or not it is a bid deal or not rest on whether the powers that be are able/willing to track that people *are* recording and watching later.

I do recall some years back when BSG was still on the air that there was a lot of frustration from the show-runners that the network (and possibly by extension the advertising firms) were such dinosaurs in the way they gathered demographic and viewing data and thus getting very skewed results.

More recently I've been getting the impression that some companies are now paying attention to how many people record or stream, but some are still a little slow to wake up and smell the 21st century.

 

[wamdue]

Well, the outlook seems clear: if the show is good but fails, it'll be judgeroy's fault.

NCIS is now ten years old, and has an active spinoff. Just how much NCIS does the world need? I certainly can't imagine watching or even wanting ten years of SHIELD...

NCIS does it quietly, yes its ratings are strong, but its never a show that grabs the headlines, like SHIELD has, or will.

 

[Turtletrekker]

SLJ reiterates his desire to be involved with AoS, saying it would "legitimaize" the show, but apparently there are issues with such happening.

It would be cool if this were all mis-direction and he had a cameo in the pilot.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Don't forget that this show will be based on a very well established (read old) comic entity. Nick Fury has been around since WWII.

Continuity-wise, Nick Fury fought in WWII...but publication-wise, he was a creation of the early sixties, so the comic entity isn't quite as old.

 

[Captain Craig]

SLJ reiterates his desire to be involved with AoS, saying it would "legitimaize" the show, but apparently there are issues with such happening.

It would be cool if this were all mis-direction and he had a cameo in the pilot.

My layman's understanding would surmise that his 9-deal theatrical contract is an apple.

Doing something on TV, would be an orange contract. So broker a separate deal for TV.

Clearly it must be more complicated than that though.

 

[DEWLine]

SLJ reiterates his desire to be involved with AoS, saying it would "legitimaize" the show, but apparently there are issues with such happening.

It would be cool if this were all mis-direction and he had a cameo in the pilot.

You give him that on-screen cameo in the pilot, and the next thing you know, he's successfully pulled a "Jed Bartlet" on everyone...which could be a good thing, considering how it worked out with Martin Sheen.

 

[ATimson]

More recently I've been getting the impression that some companies are now paying attention to how many people record or stream, but some are still a little slow to wake up and smell the 21st century.

People who record the show (and skip the ads) don't count, and shouldn't count. Streaming, though (since that has ads which fund the network) ought to be incorporated nowadays. I'm curious as to whether they do or not...

 

[Turtletrekker]

^ Ha! I used to record shows on my DVR, let them play through once with the commercials while I was doing something else, and then watched the shows sans commercials afterwards just so I could support my shows (Dollhouse and Sarah Conner to be precise).

 

[Christopher]

Heck, it's not like I pay attention to the commercials when I'm watching live TV anyway. I either mute the sound, change the channel, or go over to the computer or out to the kitchen while an ad is on. I generally see all advertising as intrusive and annoying and try to avoid it as much as possible. Honestly, I don't understand why advertisers think shoving things aggressively in our faces will make us be more interested in them. It just alienates me and drives me away.