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Wed Dec 16
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Bones is aired just before Fringe and it's doing quite good, keeping the same average viewer than in its previous seasons. It had a small drop this week, caused by the fact the show had not been on air for two weeks (damn baseball). So I don't think airdate has everything to do with low rating #fringe
@collex: I wonder whether the show's falling between two stools. The uber plot fans are starting to feel ignored (And, frankly, sitting through the Cosmonaut/Shadow creature episode so soon after the Scorpion/Mole child I can see their point) whilst casual viewers are getting put off by the uber plot elements. #fringe
@Alasdair5000: I think you are exactly right. I normally don't like when people expect resolutions too fast, but Fringe goes a bit far now. After the season1-finale I was sure that we would get some longer plots about the "transdimensional-war" or whatever it would actually turn out to be. Instead we first had to go through amnesia to even remember the short meeting with William Bell - only to find that he actually explained nearly nothing new and was more important in giving a hint to a cryo-head.. Since then I wait for something to actually happen in this story-line.
And don't get me started on bible-girl... where the hell is she? #fringe
@collex: The thing is that Bones is aired in a timeslot that isn't competing against many shows. The only other show in that timeslot is FlashForward.
Fringe is aired at the same time as CSI, Supernatural, The Office, and Grey's Anatomy.
I'm not sure exactly how the Neilsens work, but I think that they still count recorded shows if watched within 24 hours. So Bones/FlashForward can make decent ratings there. However, with 5 shows airing in the next timeslot, there's simply no way to watch them all. Many people I know watch at least 3 of those shows.
More to the topic, it's not that Thursday is a bad night for watching shows like Friday is, it's that everything airs on Thursday. #fringe
I watch Supernatural on Thursday instead of Fringe because I don't have a dvr and fox.com is far better than cwtv.com for streaming the show.
Apparently that isn't enough to help the ratings though...
I've stopped watching FlashForward because I realized I dislike all the characters and although the premise was cool they mucked around too much to keep me interested.
See this is the problem I have too. I'm having to pick and choose which shows I want to watch not really on what channel, but on what website. Mostly because I'll be damned if I miss any show I love, no matter what day its on...
CW's player, however, is DISMAL and I refuse to watch any thing on their website, lest they want me to not have a monitor to watch it on any more after I chuck mine through the wall because their player froze on me for the 20th time when coming back from one of their self promoting commercials.
Basically my thursday nights consist of Bones, then Supernatual, then the Mentalist. Usually I watch Fringe and Heroes on Hulu, on Fridays because I'd rather watch Supernatural on TV rather on the crappy CW player, and because while I'll still watch heroes, its not good enough to cut into my House time.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays however are for the most part a black hole where there's nothing else is really on.. I think they need to start looking into shifting some stuff around and see how that goes before they just end some really good shows..
And.. I haven't even watched FlashFoward at all despite the fact that it SHOULD be something I'd love.. The thing is, all the excessive promotional hype crap we saw leading up to it was enough to turn me off to it.. I like hearing about a show, hearing the premise, and leaving it at that till it premieres.. SPECIALLY if the show is about enigmas wrapped in mysteries.. Fringe was hyped a lot but not nearly to the extent FlashForward was.. I just ended up hating the characters and the plot of FlashForward way before the show even hit the screen. #fringe
If people want to stop seeing their shows killed off, they need to put their PVR away and actually watch them when they're scheduled.It's very simple. PVR'd shows do not result in ratings. No raitings equals no show. #fringe
@diverguy: I think this is an easily fixable problem.
What I want to see on my DVR from Time Warner is an option to either fastforward or to be forced to watch commercials, for a particular program. Why can't my DVR be programed to do that?
Yeah, I know... the horror, the horror. But if it's going to save my show, I'll happily forego my ability to FF, and go back to the old-fashioned way of ignoring commercials... getting my lazy ass off the couch for another beer.
@Bigdamnhero: This isn't how ratings work. Unless you are signed up with Nielsen Research--there's about 25,000 households that are--your watching habits are irrelevant in regards to ratings. #fringe
Bigdamnhero promoted this comment
brentbent: C.O.C.K.R.O.A.C.H. )for all the queer super villians out there( was starred
brentbent: C.O.C.K.R.O.A.C.H. )for all the queer super villians out there( was unstarred
@brentbent: C.O.C.K.R.O.A.C.H. )for all the queer super villians out there(: I suppose your right, but I hope those days are coming to an end. The tech exists to actually track my personal viewing habits... why not use them?
I know little about the business of advertising or television, but this business of network/ad people getting upset because people don't watch commercials on DVR sounds like bullshit. People have always ignored commercials -- the only time people actually watch them is during the Super Bowl, when they're actually entertaining. DVRs appear to be a scapegoat, an excuse for advertisers to lowball the price of advertising they have to pay to the networks. #fringe
@Bigdamnhero: agreeed, the media often blames its incompetence on others: DVRs, downloaders, etc. And we definitely need more accurate and inclusive ratings system. Nielsen sucks. #fringe
brentbent: C.O.C.K.R.O.A.C.H. )for all the queer super villians out there( was starred
brentbent: C.O.C.K.R.O.A.C.H. )for all the queer super villians out there( was unstarred
It could be that Flashforward is pretty bad, and Fringe S2 is no way as good as Fringe S1. The first four episodes of season 2 were one of the most blatant uses of the retcon in television. #fringe
@ggodo, the man from R.O.A.C.H.: In the season finale, Olivia took her SUV for breakfast, then she got into an elevator full of people. As the elevator was climbing (or descending, hard to tell) the people flickered and then Olivia was alone. She got out of the elevator to the woman saying she was expected.
She clearly changed universes in the elevator, because the screen effect was the same one we've seen as she switches universes.
The season premiere comes back and suddenly she's been tossed out the windshield. Because Olivia was calmly eating in the season finale we know she safely parked her car, regardless of universe. A few episodes go by with no explanation with why the premiere ignores the finale, and then Spock explains he snatched her from her normal reality when she was driving, and momentum must be preserved. Only problem is, she was in the elevator. No explanation, the show just asks that you pretend the events of the finale didn't take place.
That was the point when I decided that there was no way I was going to watch a show where my recollection of events is deeper than the writers staff. Sorry, just can't be done. #fringe
@icy_one: I've decided to let that one slide for right now, and treat it as yet another mystery on the backburner. It's so glaringly obvious, that I'm assuming there is no way that kind of mistake could have been made, and must be intentional. I do eventually expect some sort of cool reveal to explain it.
Basically, after Peter's awesome reveal in the finale, I've decided to trust the writers and go along for the ride. I hope that my trust will not be misplaced. #fringe
@Bigdamnhero: Yea, I figured that because she was missing so much of her time in the alternate universe the crash happened during that time. For example, she left the building, got attacked, and the car warped back first. the conversation with Spock took place before the attack occurred, not during the crash like her dreams implied.
@ggodo, the man from R.O.A.C.H.: This explanation doesn't fit. From their conversation Spock clearly lifted her from the car. Her car, mind you, is in her prime universe, where Denethor and Pacey find it wrecked. She would have surely remembered wrecking the car and then stopping to have breakfast, then riding the elevator.
There's no plausible timeline that can be put together where the events of the finale and the events of the premiere both took place.
@Bigdamnhero: I was hoping for said explanation in the first few episodes. The explanation was simply that the finale never took place. It's so glaringly obvious that the only explanation is the writers completely forgot what happened. Fringe simply isn't that strong of a show to keep me on the hook hoping that they're going to explain something they don't even know is wrong.
Fringe is dying because it's poorly written, and not because its on some Thursday death trap. Fox was stupid for lining it up against Grey's Anatomy and CSI in the first place. The best hope for this show is a quick resolution and cancellation at the end of the year before we're all referring to Heroes and Fringe in the same breath. #fringe
@icy_one: It's highly unlikely something like that was simply forgotten. I decided to snoop around (since I didn't really have an answer myself), and discovered the explanation here:
" If you go back and watch the season finale, Olivia thought she had a near-miss car crash. The truth is, there was a car crash. She was pulled out of the car [just before the crash] into an alternate universe. Now that she's being put back in, that's what Joel's talking about with the momentum. Her seat belt would have stopped her, but now that she's being put back in the car, she's crashing through the windshield."
In any case, the explanation doesn't appear to be obvious... lots of people, myself included, appear not to be aware of this.
@Bigdamnhero: Then explain the flashing in the elevator? That was the signal to the viewer that she was switching universes. It's the visual effect we saw when she was in Boyd's office and she shifted, or when she was looking at the burning skyscraper.
That's the classic definition of the retcon - Pinkner's explanation is after the fact, cleaning up for their mess. It's sloppy at best, and I choose not to watch a show where the producers can't hire a continuity editor or at least own up to their failures as writers. Judging by the ratings this year, I'm not alone.
ETA: I did read Wyman's explanation that she had already shifted when she was in the elevator, which really only muddies the water even more. If the visual flickering is not the cue she's swapping universes at that very moment, then they need to go back and explain the events of season 1. By trying to cover up their mistake they've just made the show even more convoluted. At the end of the day, I just can't trust that any episode of Fringe won't be totally erased the next week.
FlashForward is just such a chore to watch, what with having to FastForward through every single scene involving Penny from Lost, and her annoyingly inept future fling. I couldn't find the remote last week, and had to sit through the scene in the kitchen where Penny gets all fatalist about their relationship after Shakespeare in Love flips out over Future Fling and his kid wandering into his home, with Token Autistic Kid being all "It's MY house TOOOOOO!" Someone needs to hire that kid an acting coach, or just slap him, because I work with autistic kids, and they don't sound like spoiled brats. #fringe
1.moving fringe to thursdays killed a bunch
2.putting shows on hiatus then bringing them back
3.FOX never should of moved Fringe and if it is cancelled I am surely going to be cancelling FOX.
I am sick to death opf following TV shows any longer.To many times have I been burned by these greedbag media companies and I am now 53 years old.
Thursday is a bad day for scifis cause folks already were following other bigger genre shows. #fringe
I hardly watch TV at all on Mondays and Tuesdays because there's shite on. I love Fringe, Dollhouse, Supernatural (which seems to be doing well). Is it the day or is it the network? Fox should have kept the 50 minute format, works on HULU. Having it after House was cool because House is sort of "that" kind of show. It's not off in another dimension, but where can you find a doped up doctor who's the only one that can diagnose the case. Can any one say anti hero? #fringe
Someone find the address, please, for the best person to email/send-a-letter in support of Fringe... and then we fans need to get writing and fast... #fringe
@NonElitist: I've contacted Fox a few times in the last few months regarding Dollhouse and Fringe at this address, the only one I've been able to find on the Fox site:
My roommates and I really like watching tv shows together - LOST, Mad Men, the Dog Whisperer, whatever it is. We tried to watch Flashforward and it sucked major balls, so probably that's why it's not doing well! Is it up against 30 Rock and the Office? Because that sure wouldn't help... #fringe
@Ruthless, If you let me: And it's still not doing well? 30 Rock and the Office are great shows but they don't have very high ratings. At least not high enough to say they are taking away viewers from Fringe. #fringe
A lotsa of folks have been talking about Fringe's main problem - the Thursday night. It's up against the NBC juggernaut and that's fatal. What's on Wednesday? What's on Tuesday? Monday?
Any other night? Man, I wish it was on Tuesday, with Bones, because that'd be tight. As it stands I have Hulu Fringe half the time. #fringe
@matthewabel: R.O.A.C.H.: I certainly do not wish Bones to be moved to Tuesday, because then I would have to make a choice between V or Bones. And I would HATE that. #fringe
@Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.: True. Fox is epidemic as far as scheduling shows poorly, preempting for weird shit, and re-scheduling some more. It's amazing how many amazing shows have been on Fox that died mainly do to poor marketing and schedule palying. #fringe
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And don't get me started on bible-girl... where the hell is she? #fringe
11/09/09
Fringe is aired at the same time as CSI, Supernatural, The Office, and Grey's Anatomy.
I'm not sure exactly how the Neilsens work, but I think that they still count recorded shows if watched within 24 hours. So Bones/FlashForward can make decent ratings there. However, with 5 shows airing in the next timeslot, there's simply no way to watch them all. Many people I know watch at least 3 of those shows.
More to the topic, it's not that Thursday is a bad night for watching shows like Friday is, it's that everything airs on Thursday. #fringe
11/08/09
Apparently that isn't enough to help the ratings though...
I've stopped watching FlashForward because I realized I dislike all the characters and although the premise was cool they mucked around too much to keep me interested.
11/08/09
See this is the problem I have too. I'm having to pick and choose which shows I want to watch not really on what channel, but on what website. Mostly because I'll be damned if I miss any show I love, no matter what day its on...
CW's player, however, is DISMAL and I refuse to watch any thing on their website, lest they want me to not have a monitor to watch it on any more after I chuck mine through the wall because their player froze on me for the 20th time when coming back from one of their self promoting commercials.
Basically my thursday nights consist of Bones, then Supernatual, then the Mentalist. Usually I watch Fringe and Heroes on Hulu, on Fridays because I'd rather watch Supernatural on TV rather on the crappy CW player, and because while I'll still watch heroes, its not good enough to cut into my House time.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays however are for the most part a black hole where there's nothing else is really on.. I think they need to start looking into shifting some stuff around and see how that goes before they just end some really good shows..
And.. I haven't even watched FlashFoward at all despite the fact that it SHOULD be something I'd love.. The thing is, all the excessive promotional hype crap we saw leading up to it was enough to turn me off to it.. I like hearing about a show, hearing the premise, and leaving it at that till it premieres.. SPECIALLY if the show is about enigmas wrapped in mysteries.. Fringe was hyped a lot but not nearly to the extent FlashForward was.. I just ended up hating the characters and the plot of FlashForward way before the show even hit the screen. #fringe
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What I want to see on my DVR from Time Warner is an option to either fastforward or to be forced to watch commercials, for a particular program. Why can't my DVR be programed to do that?
Yeah, I know... the horror, the horror. But if it's going to save my show, I'll happily forego my ability to FF, and go back to the old-fashioned way of ignoring commercials... getting my lazy ass off the couch for another beer.
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I know little about the business of advertising or television, but this business of network/ad people getting upset because people don't watch commercials on DVR sounds like bullshit. People have always ignored commercials -- the only time people actually watch them is during the Super Bowl, when they're actually entertaining. DVRs appear to be a scapegoat, an excuse for advertisers to lowball the price of advertising they have to pay to the networks. #fringe
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She clearly changed universes in the elevator, because the screen effect was the same one we've seen as she switches universes.
The season premiere comes back and suddenly she's been tossed out the windshield. Because Olivia was calmly eating in the season finale we know she safely parked her car, regardless of universe. A few episodes go by with no explanation with why the premiere ignores the finale, and then Spock explains he snatched her from her normal reality when she was driving, and momentum must be preserved. Only problem is, she was in the elevator. No explanation, the show just asks that you pretend the events of the finale didn't take place.
That was the point when I decided that there was no way I was going to watch a show where my recollection of events is deeper than the writers staff. Sorry, just can't be done. #fringe
11/08/09
Basically, after Peter's awesome reveal in the finale, I've decided to trust the writers and go along for the ride. I hope that my trust will not be misplaced. #fringe
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There's no plausible timeline that can be put together where the events of the finale and the events of the premiere both took place.
@Bigdamnhero: I was hoping for said explanation in the first few episodes. The explanation was simply that the finale never took place. It's so glaringly obvious that the only explanation is the writers completely forgot what happened. Fringe simply isn't that strong of a show to keep me on the hook hoping that they're going to explain something they don't even know is wrong.
Fringe is dying because it's poorly written, and not because its on some Thursday death trap. Fox was stupid for lining it up against Grey's Anatomy and CSI in the first place. The best hope for this show is a quick resolution and cancellation at the end of the year before we're all referring to Heroes and Fringe in the same breath. #fringe
11/09/09
[www.tvguide.com]
" If you go back and watch the season finale, Olivia thought she had a near-miss car crash. The truth is, there was a car crash. She was pulled out of the car [just before the crash] into an alternate universe. Now that she's being put back in, that's what Joel's talking about with the momentum. Her seat belt would have stopped her, but now that she's being put back in the car, she's crashing through the windshield."
In any case, the explanation doesn't appear to be obvious... lots of people, myself included, appear not to be aware of this.
11/09/09
That's the classic definition of the retcon - Pinkner's explanation is after the fact, cleaning up for their mess. It's sloppy at best, and I choose not to watch a show where the producers can't hire a continuity editor or at least own up to their failures as writers. Judging by the ratings this year, I'm not alone.
ETA: I did read Wyman's explanation that she had already shifted when she was in the elevator, which really only muddies the water even more. If the visual flickering is not the cue she's swapping universes at that very moment, then they need to go back and explain the events of season 1. By trying to cover up their mistake they've just made the show even more convoluted. At the end of the day, I just can't trust that any episode of Fringe won't be totally erased the next week.
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2.putting shows on hiatus then bringing them back
3.FOX never should of moved Fringe and if it is cancelled I am surely going to be cancelling FOX.
I am sick to death opf following TV shows any longer.To many times have I been burned by these greedbag media companies and I am now 53 years old.
Thursday is a bad day for scifis cause folks already were following other bigger genre shows. #fringe
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askfox@fox.com
Happy Ranting! #fringe
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Any other night? Man, I wish it was on Tuesday, with Bones, because that'd be tight. As it stands I have Hulu Fringe half the time. #fringe
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If they'd just put Fringe with House, Bones, or even (bleccch) American Idol, it'd be no problem. But it's FOX. #fringe
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