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Post by Petruchio - Good God on May 9, 2014 16:05:12 GMT
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Post by jamolivej on May 9, 2014 16:15:22 GMT
Maybe, like Zen, it was too good!!!
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Post by midoro on May 9, 2014 18:39:22 GMT
That´s very disappointing indeed!  And LOL Jamolivej! |
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Post by kitty on May 9, 2014 20:19:27 GMT
Bummer....  |
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Post by walt on May 10, 2014 6:19:38 GMT
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Post by lovethemanrs on May 10, 2014 6:32:16 GMT
You may well have hit the nail on the head there Jamolivej.
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Post by RoofieRoo on May 10, 2014 7:32:12 GMT
Or possible too expensive and not compelling enough or not original enough or just not good enough. They do not decide whether to commission a pilot to series based just on how 'good' it is, this is show business after all. Plus there's no such thing as 'too good' (Zen didn't make it past 3 episodes because it was 'too good' but because it was too expensive; the BBC pulled out and its production partner couldn't afford to produce it solo...if I ever win the lottery...  ). After all, every Network wants a hit ratings show to bring in those lovely advertising $$$. I'm guessing with the cast pedigree, the wage costs alone would have been a major factor in deciding on whether to commission to series. And no matter how good the actors, they're only as good as the material they have to work with. So if the writing and production isn't there then it's always going to be a struggle to make something come together. This show also sounded like it pretty much hinged around the chemistry between the two leads, and while you can have two great actors, it doesn't mean they have chemistry and you could re-cast, but then you risk ruining the rest of the 'chemistry'. I hope they release the pilot as a TV movie though, which sometimes happens. |
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Post by kygal on May 10, 2014 11:31:33 GMT
Oh no! What a bummer! Was looking forward to this. I do hope we get to see it as a movie.
I agree 100% with you RoofieRoo. We really know nothing about the quality of this other than Rufus was in it. Now that is good enough for me....but still...
Darn, darn, darn....off to pout!
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Post by jamolivej on May 10, 2014 11:59:00 GMT
Whilst I do not claim to have any knowledge whatsoever on how the Networks perform, other than that money obviously plays a major role in how decisions are made, as a humble viewer it seems to me that so many good programmes get axed ( and I refer yet again to the wonderful ZEN), or the pilot does not get chosen, as in this case DL, which I cannot comment on as I do not know whether it was good, bad or indifferent, or indeed how much it would cost.
I do know, or have read that Zen cost 3 million per episode, which may not have been a fact, but one of the reasons given at the time for not commissioning further series was that at that time there were too many detective programmes ( particularly male detectives) on British TV generally, so the BBC decided to pull it. Following that statement and to date there has been nothing but detective programmes showing on all networks, including the BBC.Not that I am complaining about that. Just that I would still like more Zen.
PS Good Luck with the lottery.
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Post by Rachel on May 10, 2014 12:02:39 GMT
While this is bad news it may not be the end of DL. American TV has changed tremendously in the last few years - back in the day a new series could count on having a year to build an audience. Now, if a show doesn't catch fire right out of the box, it's cancelled. It's not unusual for a series to disappear after one or two airings. So while ABC didn't pick up DL for the fall season, they may have it in line for a mid-season replacement.
And RoofieRoo is absolutely correct - "good" has nothing to do with American TV. What the networks look for is material that will appeal to the broadest audience AND have the greatest return on the dollar. At the risk of repeating myself, this is what caused the cancellation of EH. Even though it had good ratings (ranked 20th overall for the season) it was to expensive to produce so it got axed while The Mentalist, which had similar ratings but was cheaper to produce was renewed.
I don't know if I agree with Roofie on the A-list cast being a problem (making the series to expensive.) This seems to be a new trend - having major stars in TV series. Now, I know this is the norm in England where actors move between TV, movies, and theater but it isn't here. CBS for example is really hyping a new summer series that will feature Halle Berry. It could be that ABC is waiting to see how that works before investing in a vehicle for Katie Holmes, who when all is said and done, is the one person attached to this project who would be familiar to the average American viewer.
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Post by GreenEyesToo on May 10, 2014 12:08:54 GMT
 Bummer indeed. Oh, well...Rufus still got paid, and this frees him up for other projects, yes?  Still, hope Rachel's right and DL is considered for a mid-season replacement by ABC. And if they don't, well then Rufus was too good for them anyway.... ![[winky]](//storage.proboards.com/1565067/images/BuM_r6XXjPFf2zT30h5Q.gif) Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Post by RoofieRoo on May 10, 2014 12:37:07 GMT
JamoliveJ - Beside the fact that the BBC was (and still is) going through big changes at the time, the commissioner of BBC1 also changed and said he wanted to take things in a 'new direction' and pulled out the commitment to Left Bank Pictures who made Zen. They tried to take it elsewhere, but with a £3million price tag per episode, that's pretty damn high for a UK series. The average cost for a BBC drama is under a million per episode, unless its a big 'landmark' series but those are rare. Sherlock costs about £5million per 90-minute episode, which is why they only make 3 per season. I'd love to see more 'Thorne' with David Morrissey too but it suffered the same fate.  Rachel - Thank god for new media eh? I love that companies like Netflix are pushing for change in the way US TV is made, and are being very successful with shows like 'House of Cards'. I generally wont watch a show anymore unless it gets a full season order. And wages aren't the only factor but they are definitely a factor, because the older a show gets the more expensive the cast gets (NCIS stars now re-negotiate every year), so even a show with good ratings can get canned if the running costs are too high. 10 years ago you wouldn't have even seen actors considered 'movie stars' in US TV because there was such a big stigma against it, seeing it as a 'step down' from being in films. Now TV is going through a golden age and seen as a different medium to film, rather then a lesser standard. I'll keep my fingers crossed for a mid-season pick-up too, and I really hope the pilot at least sees the light of day at some point. |
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Post by kygal on May 10, 2014 18:20:57 GMT
I STILL cant get over the cancellations of EH and Zen. Maybe its good I don't know what I am missing. Network TV is difficult to figure out so I have stopped trying. At least a cable series is given the opportunity to develop. No one watched the first season of Breaking Bad, but it developed into a cult hit. I would think adjustments could be made to a series without compromise to the quality, but what do I know.
I think everyone has made some great points. Rufus would say "that's showbiz."
I agree that DL is not dead yet. I do refuse to get my hopes up.
We need a Rufus Sewell Network!!!
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Post by nell on May 10, 2014 19:25:41 GMT
Shame! At least Rufus didn't waste much time on it. Harking back to the interview in the Random thread the acting is the fun bit it's the waiting around that feels like work. I'm guessing the pilot was alot of fun to make. And GE2 you are right - it means Rufus isn't tied up and can move on to other projects. Every cloud has a silver lining I'll second that Kygal! |
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Post by rueful on May 14, 2014 14:43:54 GMT
Third! It is really too bad about DL.  I've been searching the web in vain, hoping that there'd be some info about the pilot being shopped around to other networks, but I guess that we'll just have to wait and see. |
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Still, hope Rachel's right and DL is considered for a mid-season replacement by ABC.![[winky]](http://storage.proboards.com/1565067/images/BuM_r6XXjPFf2zT30h5Q.gif)
I've been searching the web in vain, hoping that there'd be some info about the pilot being shopped around to other networks, but I guess that we'll just have to wait and see.