Question: I can't believe how many of your readers seem to think that networks try to kill shows. Do they think that when a grocery store rearranges its products, it is trying to kill off a particular item, or when a store changes locations, it is trying to kill off its business? No, they are trying to flourish. Isn't that the same thing the networks are trying to do? To spread their popular products around and make room for the new ones? Thanks for all the great insight!
Answer: Agreed, and no further rationalization is needed to explain a move like Trace to Sunday or Grey's Anatomy to Thursday, or even Medium to mid-season (to make room for Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip). Inevitably, some moves do end up hurting shows (which I doubt will be the case with Trace), but that's part of the cost of practicing this imperfect science ...
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Question: Why does it seem that so many established shows are being moved around this fall? Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Without a Trace are being moved from their established time slots. Have the networks given up on them to concentrate on establishing their new fall shows?
Answer: The circumstances are different for each show, but this isn't a case of the networks "giving up" on a show. It's more that the networks are realizing the value of these shows by moving them into strategic new time periods. Criminal Intent was going to be bumped by NBC's new Sunday-night football franchise anyway, so it was moved to Tuesdays, where NBC traditionally struggles, to act as a lead-in to the more popular Special Victims Unit. CBS made a riskier decision by moving Trace from Thursdays to Sundays because the net is killing its movie night and wanted to put two strong crime procedurals back-to-back. Cold Case and Trace are going to be very compatible, and CBS has already been successfully testing
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Question: Why on earth is Medium's time slot being tampered with? It was bad enough that this wonderful show had to compete with CSI: Miami last year. This year it won't even appear until mid-season, and then I think it's going to be competing with Without a Trace. Why did it lose its Monday time slot for some new show that probably won't last? Medium is my favorite show, and it seems as if NBC is intentionally trying to kill it. Why, why, why?
Answer: Because, because, because. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is a huge priority for NBC this fall. When ABC moved Grey's Anatomy into the Thursday slot, which NBC originally intended for Studio 60, the network had to blink and find a home for it somewhere. Voilà, Monday! There are no easy time periods anymore, so Studio 60 will have its work cut out for it against the CSI: Miami juggernaut (a loyalty I can't fathom, considering how ridiculous the show has become). But this is why Medium is taking a breather, although it could come back sooner
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Question: The Parents Television Council and FCC each place complaints and fines on stations that air material deemed inappropriate, correct? But why do they continue to watch these shows if they find them inappropriate? Don't they have a better use of their time than purposely watching shows like Rescue Me and Without a Trace in hopes of being able to lead a campaign of complaints? And if shows like that can be fined, why wouldn't evening newscasts like World News be fined for showing gruesome images of war and violence? Doesn't the government need taxpayers' dollars for more important causes? I would really like to know how you think this totalitarian organization, the FCC, will affect the future of television.
Answer: I'm not sure about the future, but I'm more concerned about the present, when networks are pulling their dramatic punches in fear of offending any of these watchdog groups. For the record, the FCC doesn't generate complaints, it only acts upon them, making them the
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Question: What do you think of the networks' new Sunday lineups? First, I think NBC will undoubtedly improve thanks to Sunday Night Football, but not so dramatically that it will beat ABC or CBS. I seem to remember that Monday Night Football on ABC constantly took a backseat to CBS and declined in the ratings for several seasons. I've heard many analysts claim CBS will give ABC a run for its money on Sundays, but I don't see that happening, either. CBS will now have Without a Trace to fall back on, but Trace is lacking a CSI lead-in, and it was down 10 percent in the 18-to-49 demo this past season. That, coupled with a weaker lead-in from Cold Case, will result in big declines for Without a Trace. I also think CBS made a grave error in placing The Amazing Race at 8 pm/ET. This past season Race was down by double-digit proportions, and I highly doubt it will now find an audience against Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Sunday Night Football. The Amazing Race isn't the hit that CBS ...
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