Why isn't there more sci-fi on American TV?

[Christopher]

^But Star Trek was created to be forward-looking and innovative, not a frozen relic of the past. It's not about aesthetics, it's about not letting the original period aesthetics blind you to the actual intention behind the series, which was to be a vision of the future.

 

[Awesome Possum]

Yes, and that's why future Star Trek productions will need to keep updating their portrayals of the future

Or you can just get off the endless treadmill of re-syncing the aesthetics to current fashion and call it a day on the basis that it's make-believe.

If you freeze stuff to a moment in time (like the LCARS of TNG or the buttons of TOS) then it just becomes its own thing, like Steampunk.

That becomes a problem when we have a better present than what is supposed to be the future. Steampunk is in the past and has a certain aesthetic, that's why it appeals to certain people and it can be expanded into any direction. There's normal steampunk, steampunk Star Wars and steampunk My Little Pony. Anything you can imagine can become steampunk. Star Trek doesn't even come close to being like that, the best you can do is slap someone in an uniform.

Every movie and series is a product of its time because it's supposed to reflect both the present and our vision of the future. TOS dealt with issues in the 60s, TNG dealt with issues in the 80s. Both have also become pretty dated as well, but its part of the charm. If they made a new Trek series it would probably bring up a lot of issues that we have now. So probably wars, drones, an increased security state and social inequality. Each series has certain elements that must always be there to some extent, but it's still Star Trek if the women don't wear miniskirts or the computers have a complicated touchscreen interface that was created before we invented a decent GUI for computers.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Yes, and that's why future Star Trek productions will need to keep updating their portrayals of the future

Or you can just get off the endless treadmill of re-syncing the aesthetics to current fashion and call it a day on the basis that it's make-believe.

If you freeze stuff to a moment in time (like the LCARS of TNG or the buttons of TOS) then it just becomes its own thing, like Steampunk.

But then it stops being Star Trek.

 

[RoJoHen]

This is one of the reasons I no longer watch any Sci-Fi series on TV.

Two series I was having a blast watching: V (the reboot) and FlashForward. And just when they start getting good, BAM! cancelled?

Fucking networks, how am I supposed to trust your "brand new show" that it won't leave me hanging the same way or worse than before?

I won't watch a show that is currently on the air. I wait until shows are finished, and then I watch them on Netflix.

I've been burned too many times by canceled shows, so unless I know that it's over and has a legitimate ending, I won't even waste my time anymore.

 

[Awesome Possum]

This is one of the reasons I no longer watch any Sci-Fi series on TV.

Two series I was having a blast watching: V (the reboot) and FlashForward. And just when they start getting good, BAM! cancelled?

Fucking networks, how am I supposed to trust your "brand new show" that it won't leave me hanging the same way or worse than before?

I won't watch a show that is currently on the air. I wait until shows are finished, and then I watch them on Netflix.

I've been burned too many times by canceled shows, so unless I know that it's over and has a legitimate ending, I won't even waste my time anymore.

But not watching shows when they air gets them cancelled.

At least that's how the ratings system is supposed to work. They could be cutting off chicken's heads and letting them run around and whatever show they land on gets renewed.

 

[Hound of UIster]

That is only true if you have a Nelson box.

 

[Greg Cox]

This is one of the reasons I no longer watch any Sci-Fi series on TV.

Two series I was having a blast watching: V (the reboot) and FlashForward. And just when they start getting good, BAM! cancelled?

Fucking networks, how am I supposed to trust your "brand new show" that it won't leave me hanging the same way or worse than before?

I won't watch a show that is currently on the air. I wait until shows are finished, and then I watch them on Netflix.

I've been burned too many times by canceled shows, so unless I know that it's over and has a legitimate ending, I won't even waste my time anymore.

But not watching shows when they air gets them cancelled.

At least that's how the ratings system is supposed to work. They could be cutting off chicken's heads and letting them run around and whatever show they land on gets renewed.

Yeah. It can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

People don't watch a show because they're afraid it might get cancelled.

The show gets cancelled because nobody watches it.

"See! I knew it was going to get cancelled. Good thing I didn't watch it!"

 

[RoJoHen]

This is one of the reasons I no longer watch any Sci-Fi series on TV.

Two series I was having a blast watching: V (the reboot) and FlashForward. And just when they start getting good, BAM! cancelled?

Fucking networks, how am I supposed to trust your "brand new show" that it won't leave me hanging the same way or worse than before?

I won't watch a show that is currently on the air. I wait until shows are finished, and then I watch them on Netflix.

I've been burned too many times by canceled shows, so unless I know that it's over and has a legitimate ending, I won't even waste my time anymore.

But not watching shows when they air gets them cancelled.

But if I never start watching them, I can't be bothered when they get canceled.

I don't even have cable or anything at home anymore. Literally everything I watch is on Netflix.

 

[Awesome Possum]

That is only true if you have a Nelson box.

I wonder if they only send them to people with terrible tastes in shows. I'm willing to pretend to watch Big Bang Theory to get one and then claim I watch nothing but Caprica reruns.

 

[Greg Cox]

That is only true if you have a Nelson box.

I wonder if they only send them to people with terrible tastes in shows. I'm willing to pretend to watch Big Bang Theory to get one and then claim I watch nothing but Caprica reruns.

Hey, don't knock Big Bang Theory! I can't wait to find out what happens to Sheldon on his road trip . . ..

Bazinga!

 

[GalaxyX]

"See! I knew it was going to get cancelled. Good thing I didn't watch it!"

Networks could easily resolve this by promising to allow for an episode or to as a "finale" to wrap up any series that gets cancelled by them, even if it's only 4-5 episodes in.

I'd sure be more interested to watch anything new this way, and I'm sure many more people would as well, therefore increasing viewership.

Hey, don't knock Big Bang Theory! I can't wait to find out what happens to Sheldon on his road trip . . ..

Sheldon has carried that show since the beginning. He's the only really consistently funny character on the show.

 

[Sindatur]

That is only true if you have a Nelson box.

For Live TV, yes, but, using your Cable's On Demand Viewing or DVR'ing a show, also adds to the Live +3 and Live +7 Ratings. I almost never watch anything Live, but, I watch a few shows on On Demand

 

[DarthTom]

That is only true if you have a Nelson box.

Not necessarily true anymore. Some how, AMC was able to recompile the numbers on The Walking Dead On Demand viewers and came up with a staggering 28 million viewers weekly. It would be interesting to find out how valuable advertisers find On Demand viewers v. Real Time viewers when AMC tries to establish season 5 ad rates.

I'd imagine AMC got these numbers by going back to cable giants like Comcast and asked them for the metrics of On Demand viewers.

 

[Nerys Myk]

"See! I knew it was going to get cancelled. Good thing I didn't watch it!"

Networks could easily resolve this by promising to allow for an episode or to as a "finale" to wrap up any series that gets cancelled by them, even if it's only 4-5 episodes in.

I'd sure be more interested to watch anything new this way, and I'm sure many more people would as well, therefore increasing viewership.

Hey, don't knock Big Bang Theory! I can't wait to find out what happens to Sheldon on his road trip . . ..

Sheldon has carried that show since the beginning. He's the only really consistently funny character on the show.

That's because he's the closest to a cartoon.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

That is only true if you have a Nelson box.

Not necessarily true anymore. Some how, AMC was able to recompile the numbers on The Walking Dead On Demand viewers and came up with a staggering 28 million viewers weekly. It would be interesting to find out how valuable advertisers find On Demand viewers v. Real Time viewers when AMC tries to establish season 5 ad rates.

I'd imagine AMC got these numbers by going back to cable giants like Comcast and asked them for the metrics of On Demand viewers.

I was thinking along those lines with smart boxes and so on. Like you might not be able to narrow down the demos like you can with Nielsen but they probably could get some raw numbers from providers.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

It's only viewings where people watch the ads that help advertisers. Ad rates are currently determined by what's referred to as the C3 ratings, which is commercial viewing within the first three days of airing. Only viewings within the first three days where people watch the ads count towards setting the ad rates. If people forward through the ads, as most people do when they time shift, it doesn't count. The networks have been trying to get advertisers to agree to move to a C7 system, but with no luck so far. For premium cable, which is subscriber-supported rather than advertiser-supported, every viewing counts equally.

 

[DarthTom]

I was thinking along those lines with smart boxes and so on. Like you might not be able to narrow down the demos like you can with Nielsen but they probably could get some raw numbers from providers.

If cable companies are providing any more information other than subscribers by Zip where demo's are freely available they'd be in a shit load of trouble.

In other words, if cable companies like Comcast are providing advertisers info right down to the household level - I want to be first in line to sue.

Regardless, I wonder how valuable On Demand viewing is for advertisers. Most Comcast On Demand viewing permits people to skip over advertising. That could have change though since I last had Comcast. My new provider ATT's On Demand prevents you from skipping over advertising on most of their network programming On Demand shows.

 

[DarthTom]

It's only viewings where people watch the ads that help advertisers. Ad rates are currently determined by what's referred to as the C3 ratings, which is commercial viewing within the first three days of airing. Only viewings within the first three days where people watch the ads count towards setting the ad rates. If people forward through the ads, as most people do when they time shift, it doesn't count. The networks have been trying to get advertisers to agree to move to a C7 system, but with no luck so far. For premium cable, which is subscriber-supported rather than advertiser-supported, every viewing counts equally.

Missed this sorry, thanks. I wonder if TWD's 28 million number is C3 or an aggregate of all views of any one episode? If it's the former and not the latter, that would make the show the most popular TV show EVER.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

I wonder if TWD's 28 million number is C3 or an aggregate of all views of any one episode? If it's the former and not the latter, that would make the show the most popular TV show EVER.

It's all viewings. It includes the L+7, which is all viewings in the first seven days, plus further viewings.

 

[Sindatur]

I was thinking along those lines with smart boxes and so on. Like you might not be able to narrow down the demos like you can with Nielsen but they probably could get some raw numbers from providers.

If cable companies are providing any more information other than subscribers by Zip where demo's are freely available they'd be in a shit load of trouble.

In other words, if cable companies like Comcast are providing advertisers info right down to the household level - I want to be first in line to sue.

Regardless, I wonder how valuable On Demand viewing is for advertisers. Most Comcast On Demand viewing permits people to skip over advertising. That could have change though since I last had Comcast. My new provider ATT's On Demand prevents you from skipping over advertising on most of their network programming On Demand shows.

For Comcast here in Sacramento, an hour long show on On Demand (with Commercials) is an hour long, and does not allow you to fast forward at all, for the first week (Maybe it's 3 days, but, I'm pretty sure it's a whole week). After that, they replace the hour long file with a 45 - 50 minute file, and you can fast forward, though I believe the 45minute file does contain a very small amount of commercials (just in case you can't be bothered to Fast Forward)