"Jericho" fans: Take what you can get

As you may know from reading TV Barn, the Internet is ablaze over the cancellation of "Jericho," and the heat from outraged fans has been so intense, CBS actually dispatched an executive to try to put out the fire.

"We have read your e-mails over the past few days and have been touched by the depth and passion with which you have expressed your disappointment," the network's entertainment chief, Nina Tassler, posted to a fan forum. "We are humbled by your disappointment. In the coming weeks, we hope to develop a way to provide closure to the compelling drama that was the Jericho story."

Maureen Ryan and I both read that as a sign that CBS was considering a wrapup movie, which makes sense, since wrapup movie is simply another way of saying reunion movie. (Ask Mikey is reporting that "Gilmore Girls," airing on another CBS-owned network, may have a similar deal going.)

Naturally, the hardcore are resisting. "I have to say on behalf of each and every ‘Jericho’ fan that not one of us will settle for anything less than season two," one viewer named Melanie emailed Mo, which is sweet, except for two things: Mrs. TV Barn and I did not authorize Melanie to speak for us, and resistance is futile.

Let's have a reality check here. 

• As the number one network in total viewers, CBS considered "Jericho" an underperformer -- and it was right. According to Nielsen, CBS averaged 12 million viewers for every hour of prime time during the 2006-07 season, which concludes tonight. "Jericho" was averaging 11 million viewers in the fall -- less than any of the "CSIs" to be sure, but respectable for a program airing at 7 p.m. in the Midwest. After a three-month hiatus, however, that number dipped to 8 million viewers.  Now, there is a network that averages 8 million viewers in prime, but that network is fourth-place NBC and it isn't looking for any CBS castoffs.
• It wasn't only the hiatus. Every serial drama lost viewers this season. Much has been made of the three-month layoff between story arcs on "Jericho," and given the steep falloff in viewership between the two halves, the long vacation was likely a factor. But "24," a serial thriller that takes no time off, also lost viewers in droves this season. "Ugly Betty," which stayed on all year and aired frequent repeats to get viewers interested, was down 41 percent from its premiere, as Tassler noted last week during the CBS upfront presentation. And then there were all those shows that fell over dead right out of the gate: "Day Break," "Kidnapped," "Vanished," etc. etc. The point is, networks can see that serials are a fading genre. You don't want to be in business with a fading genre (speaking of which, farewell Stone Phillips). If the casualty list of new serials wasn't so alarmingly long, maybe CBS would have rolled the dice on a second season for "Jericho."
• "Jericho" can't just go looking for a new home. ABC produced "Scrubs" for NBC, and as its creator Bill Lawrence explained in January, if NBC declined to air a seventh season of the show this fall, ABC would have happily jumped in and snatched it away. "Jericho," however, is a production of CBS/Paramount. It's completely in-house. There is no instance I know of where a 100 percent network owned program first aired on that network, then switched to a rival. And that's likely for a number of very good financial reasons. I know, it's screwy, networks producing shows for other networks. ABC's in-house studio developed "CSI" but ABC passed and CBS picked it up. NBC produces "House" for Fox. I don't know the backstory there, but if NBC turned it down, it deserves to be in fourth place.
• Wrapup movies can be surprisingly cathartic. Here is the main reason "Jericho" fans shouldn't demand too much from CBS. I remember being upset that NBC cancelled the civil rights drama "I'll Fly Away" after two seasons. PBS arranged for a wrapup movie which, despite its somewhat farfetched storyline, had its intended emotional effect. And meanwhile, Sam Waterston found other work. So did the show's executive producer, David Chase, who perhaps learned a few things about wrapping up series that he could apply to his other show, "The Sopranos." Speaking of HBO, David Milch is making two "Deadwood" films that will bring an end to that franchise ... perhaps just in time. I've even forgiven the producers of "M*A*S*H" for that overwrought, movie-length finale they inflicted on the American public. I saw it again not long ago and actually, it holds up pretty well.

I have no idea if Jon Turteltaub and his co-producers on "Jericho" have a wrapup treatment ready to go. But I would think they could be persuaded fairly easily to work one up. With Gerald McRaney's character gone, the finale would allow a bigger role for his widow, played by Pamela Reed (left), who was, along with Lennie James, who played Hawkins, the real talent on this show.

Hey, it's five whole months until the next sweeps period begins. That's plenty of time to make a TV movie. Let's get cracking, CBS.

Comments

[Cindy M]

Aaron:

In the spirit of "all publicity is good publicity" I want to thank you for your blog entry. As a matter of fact I am trying to decide whether or not you are actually trying to further whip up an already rabid fan base to push them to the next level by yelling "fire" in the proverbial crowded theater.

Ummm, Make that a "large, rabid, vocal, web-savvy, demgoraphically attractive to advertisers with lots-of-disposable income" fan base actually.

And just who is it who needs the reality check?

Let's look at the facts, shall we?

In a feat of viral marketing that I am convinced will be a case study for some future class at Wharton or Harvard B, we have a group of folks spread out all over the world that somehow manages to ignite a fire that produces a petitition with 74,000 signatures all requesting that the show be saved; a partnership with an online nut supplier that has so far managed to ship 5 tons of Nuts (paid for by the fans) to Black Rock, a self-funded Avertisement in Variety (likely with more to follow), writeups in print, television news and on the web. And let's see here. They did it. In a week.

This ain't a bunch of bottles of tabasco sauce sent to the WB (with all due respect to those fans) if you know what I mean.

And if you can name me one company that could do all that in a week without months of advance planning let me know.

I think what you are neglecting to see is that the internet provides a whole new way for people to connect--and because of that it will change forever how people organize and make their voices heard.

On the contrary Aaron, I think when all is said and done, you will be the person slicing off another delectable slice of crow while apologizing to your readers for telling them to take what they can get.

And I'll be listening for it.

With all due respect of course.

[Mark Jeffries]

Scott:

What "reality-ladden" schedule?

If I read the fall schedule correctly, there is exactly *2* hours a week of reality programming on the CBS schedule out of 22--"Survivor" and "Kids Nation" (which show is *not* produced by Mark Burnett, if you'd bothered to read the press releases or trade articles). That is less than *any other* network--The CW has 3 1/2 hours (I'm counting "CW Now" as a magazine show) out of 13, NBC has four hours our of 22, ABC has 5 1/2 out of 22, Fox has 6 hours out of 15 both before "Idol" and when "Idol" returns.

Is that "reality-ladden?" Is any of the networks "reality-ladden?" The majority of the network schedules consist of scripted dramas and comedies, just like they have almost every year. Just what is it you have against a variety of programming?

And it's "Heroes."

[mike]

"according to nielsen"... are you nuts? nielson rating system is antiquated and useless to rely on.

[Michael]

The ratings for this show were there, CBS just failed to come up with an accurate way to measure them. You cannot judge a show like this, (one that was specifically made to interact with the internet), by using the hopelessly out-of-date Neilson system, it just doesn't work.

It is a great show, and has the potential to be one of the most popular shows in CBS history. You cannot expect a freshman show to garner massive Neilson ratings when it is pitted against American Idol, in fact, its second-half 8-9 million viewers is actually pretty phenomenal considering its time slot against AI.

[Joel]

The problem is in the timing. Simply put, this gernation wil no longer schedual our lives around our favorite t.v. shows. We live in the age of Tivo, DVDR's, ITunes, and the not so legal streaming sites. Not to mention bittorrent. The truth is, Jericho online, hassle free, minus a few adds, good quality, was the best decision CBS could have done. Why would one want to bother waiting 2 hours to download, or settle for a low quality stream, when you can get high quality streams right now, plus a few adds. Jericho talked about social responsibilty, the power of a comunity and the importance of standing up for what's right. It touched people... when was the last time CSI did that?

[Windwarrior]

I am also a Jericho fan, but not nearly as "die hearted" as some of in the other posters. Frankly, I thought many of the shows after the hiatus were less than stellar, and it wasn't until the last 3-4 episodes that the show got back in the groove.

As many others, however, I generally watched Jericho on DVR, usually on Saturday morning, along with Lost and a couple of other weekday show. Several of my friends do the same thing. Through this TVBarn site, I learned that we people who don't view a show within 24 hrs of its original broadcast are not counted in the ratings. This, I feel, is a big problem for broadcasters, and probably accounts for the "lost" (lower case L intended) viewers that the networks and Neilson have been talking about lately.

Just my opinion.

[Leslee V]

Let's be clear here....that response from CBS came a couple of days ago. It has nothing to do with our NUTS movement or our persistance. CBS is trying to smooth things over with the fans but it is not going to work. We are not going to just sit here and let another huge corporation control us. We are fighting to make a difference and will continue to fight. CBS is banned from my TV until Jericho comes back.

[Jim Lee]

With all due respect, i think that your "reality check" is completely irrelevent, in a campaign that has prooved to be more than unreal at times.

We are more than just dedicated to the cause. We are pumping money into it at an immense rate, and are not stopping with the hard work.

This campaign will not cease until we are given what we desire, and that is A NEW SEASON.

[therese]

7000 dollars and 10000 pounds of nuts. We will never give up

[Sean Leistico]

Is it just me, or is this FIREFLY all over again? I managed to fall for Jericho, fall in love with the storylines, the characters, the premise, same as with Firefly. Firefly got unceremoniously yanked mid-season, unlike Jericho, which (even worse) ended on a fight-for-survival cliffhanger. The fans then and now were furious, and launched massive campaigns. The Firefly campaign yielded a feature film. I doubt that can come from Jericho (feature film-dom just not being the right place for a story of this nature, honestly). Perhaps a TV movie will be forthcoming, or a wrapup miniseries if we're lucky, but for all intents and purposes, it's done.

I count myself among the proud few who have never seen an episode of American Idol. I avoid reality shows whenever possible. I like scripted drama/comedy. It shows ingenuity, talent, fun, rather than voyeurism, superiority and a crowd mentality reminiscent to that of the Romans in the gladiatorial days. The sad part is, that's what is selling. That's what's drawing in audience. That's what is getting people to watch the commercials.

As I bring this ramble to a close, I think it apt to share a bit of insight - we're the product. Networks don't produce shows to sell to us. Networks sell audience numbers to advertisers, who pay them money. We're the product that networks sell, and it's always been that way. Sad, but true. How many other industries care what their products complain about or about how their products feel yanked around or abused or misled? We're bought and sold, simple as that. CBS didn't get the return-on-investment they thought they'd get on Jericho, so buh-bye Jericho. No amount of complaints or threats or whatever will alter that.

[Roy Thigpen]

Yet another old media hold out.

Since your an older guy (like me) do you remember a show called Cagney and Lacey? How about Star Trek? Both shows that were cancelled, yet returned to the air after the protests of fans.

This protest dwarfs all previous protests against shows being cancelled, and is a true cultural phenomenom. It's time for the networks to sit up and listen. If you ordered a big mac, and the counter girl hands you a McChicken, because that's what SHE wants to give you, you would be upset, right?

[Sean Leistico]

Yes, I remember Cagney and Lacey, and Star Trek.

And I remember Firefly, Space: Above and Beyond, Dead Last, Kindred: The Embraced, V, and several other one-shot (or half- or full-season-shot) productions lost in the wash of time where viewer indignation did next to nothing to hasten their return except perhaps to make an exec or two say, "Hmm. Maybe we should've given it a better shot. Oh, well. Next?"

I'm just being a realist, because to me the particular breed of human being known as "Programmus Executivus" has demonstrated traits such as a lack of taste and a lack of touch with what the masses want, short of "bread and circuses."

I don't think Jericho's done because it was a bad show. I think Jericho's done because execs aren't intelligent/sharp/quick-witted/survival-minded enough to know they've made a mistake and that it can be reversed. They're just not smart enough human beings for that. They don't know how to do serialized storytelling, and they don't care to know. That's been shown time and again.

[Diane]

The only thing that's dying is network tv! It's being killed by reality tv shows and never-ending spinoffs of shows from the 90's! I'm in my 40's and I'm the only person left in my social circle who still watches tv. Until now. With the cancellation of Jericho I'm giving up and getting rid of my tv connection. The only other thing I'm really interested in is Lost and I can watch that online. When my kids were younger I didn't have any tv in the house and everything was much less frustrating that way because I read my science fiction books and was ensured an ending to the story I got involved in!

[Stu]

It's funny how Aaron, of all people, gets called "Old Media". That's good for a laugh.

You Jericho fans are confusing a vocal minority with a majority. If CBS thought it would make money by keeping the show on the air, it would. It didn't, so it's gone. That's why all those people whining about another season of Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Studio 60, The Nine, etc. will be waiting for eternity. Network TV is a business and not there to subsidize money losers. Would you expect McDonald's to keep a sandwich on the menu that no one was buying?

If you get a two-hour wrap-up movie, be grateful and move on. You're NOT getting a second season, no matter how loud you whine. Many Jericho staffers, cast and crew, have moved on to other jobs. You might get them back for a wrap-up movie, but they can't wait around for a second season.

Friday Night Lights is a bad comparison, too. It just barrrrrreeellllyyy got renewed because of strong critical support, a Peabody award and because NBC didn't have anything better to replace it with. CBS would never tolerate anything doing as poorly as FNL.

Yeah, it sucks. And yes, the ratings system is antiquated - but that's the rules the networks have to play by until something better comes along. And you can flame every blog and message board as much as you want. But if there had been adequate support for Jericho when it was on, the show wouldn't have been on the bubble in the first place.

[Jeff]

24 lost viewers not because it was a drama but because it was a horrible season. I was one of those that watched it regularly in the past (including the first few episodes of this season) but left when I realized it wasn't living up.

[Bret]

Hey poster Stu Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 7:33 P.M. or should I call you Aaron ;) - you can't keep the fans of Jericho down - and what do you mean "confusing the majority with the minority"???? I'm sorry but the Jericho CBS site, etc are all filled with people with the same goal - bring Jericho back - other shows have been brought back with much less effort - You know nothing and your writing style is for $hit and the only support you have is from anonymity or should I say "Stu"

[James]

Good long write up.. and you may be correct but lets look at this shall we.

Right now the networks are fighting to charge advertisers on a air + 3 format. That means that they want to be able to charge for people watching the show up to 3 days after its airing.. Why would they want to do that? Because right now the number of people watching via Tivo and Via the web are not counted into the numbers.

Whats the point here? Well there are numbers out there that CBS is not giveing out about how many people really viewed the show. I for one didn't catch up with the show until long after it started. I watched about 12 of the showings via CBS's own website and the rest I watched via Tivo. So in essence I was not counted in the Nielson numbers at all. How many others are in the same boat.. I would think after the break that there might be quite a few and by reading the boards that was the case for many people.

So if the networks want to charge advertisers for showing + 3 then CBS has these numbers. Why not release them? Until all the numbers come out the ratings really don't mean anything.

Part of the campain for Jericho from the start of the show was a big web presence and they had and have that. Why toss all that away? CBS could make a big point for all the networks with the release of those numbers and let advertisers know really how many people do pick up these shows on the web or via Tivo. If it wasn't a popular way to watch the shows then why does every network now give you the ability to watch via the net or via download?

Many of the storys are really missing this point of this saga.

[Tom]

CBS is a dinosaur. Like all the networks, it is hemorrhaging viewers who are on social networking on the internet, watching DVDs, playing video games, getting a life. As some else said, they are in a business and they think they know what they are doing. Let me point out that our Fearless Leader, GW is a Harvard M.B.A. – these selfish creeps only see you as unit to pimp to other big corporations and by dumping Jericho, proved they don’t have a clue. The major nets are really quite blind to why they lost a couple of million viewers this spring. The high concept serial drama, such as Jericho, gave CBS a new key demographic that was much more valuable than the millions higher CSI clones audience. The Jericho viewer was the much more tech savvy viewer, as someone else said, with an IQ above the usual 90, young, smart and below age 65, unlike all the other CBS programming. An advertiser’s wet dream (anyone ever hear of the Simpsons?). Now, Jericho’s writing was weak, the producers only got up to speed by the end of the season, but the second season would have rocked. Once upon a time, the nets could put any piece of crap on TV and get 9 million viewers. But in a couple of years, they are really going to have to fight and scrape for audience like never before. And just like the Hollywood film studios of the golden age (1920-50’s), “Network TV” will be chopped up, sold, closed and -- because these big corporations and their M.B.A.s cannot adapt to a changing, participatory world of convergence.

[KayT]

CBS made a mistake and are now dealing with the repercussions of that decision. The fans of Jericho have spoken. It is clear that the fan base is strong enough to support a second season of Jericho. With all of the publicity provided for free by the fans, CBS should be jumping at the opportunity to bring back the show.

KayT

[Yvonne]

Please, Nielson is part of the problem! It's antiquated and doesn't reflect the many way people were viewing the show (online, TIVO, cable-on-demand, downloads at i-tunes, etc...)
As for viewers, if CBS hadn't screwed up and put the show on hiatus only to bring it back against American Idol, I think the viewership would have only GROWN, not dropped off. We want Jericho back next season, and I guarantee after all this buzz, the viewership will be up next season!

[michael]

Diane.

Vocal Minority? First of all, Wrong! In seven days many thousands of fans have raised $7k to buy a FULL page ad in Variety, which all the TV and entertainment folks read. We have had just under 12,000 pounds of nuts sent to CBS's World Headquarters, (That's more than 5 tons of nuts), had the unprecedented act of having the CBS president post a statement on the CBS Jericho disscussion board and, had caused the CBS president and VP change thier email addresses.

Further, Jericho has more viewers (8 million on the low side of estimates) than Katie Couric has in her CBS news broadcast.(6 million viewers) Yet she is still on the air.

Finally, you telling me that within a week we signed 75,000 and counting signatures to a petition and that means nothing? (probably more people than will attend all the Royals games this month.)

Now, you are going to tell me that we are a minority? What rock did you crawl from under? CBS would be foolish to P.O. the very base they they are looking to "sell" to thier advertisers?

As for those failed campaigns you speak of, they had less than half of the viewers protest that Jericho does. Respectfully speking this is much bigger than 6,000 bottles of hotsauce. I will be looking for your mea culpa when the fans are finished speaking!

Respectfully,

M

[Aaron]

Man.

Everything that first Jericho thread was, this isn't.

Thanks to Stu for his valiant effort to inject some reason into this. But I think it's time to just let everybody vent, because they obviously aren't into all that complicated reading business. If so, they'd speak to some of my points as to why they ain't getting their second season.

[Jason]

My goodness, I love Jericho (there are three of us who chat about it after every episode in the WCCO-TV newsroom), but I wish people had this kind of passion for important things in life! Wow.

[Jason]

Variety ad? Been done. Jericho fans, this has all been done before. Good on ya for trying, but don't pretend this is groundbreaking. It happens every year.

Also, thanks to the Jericho fans who are actually polite. Your rude fellow fans do not help your cause.

[mark]

The problem I see here, is that the networks today rely on a ratings system so flawed that several trucks could be driven through it. The ratings system has always been skewed towards a small demographic. How should I know? Let's just say I have had a large vested interest in it for a number of years.