Slashdot Mirror
BSG Prequel Series Caprica Canceled
Kethinov writes "The sci-fi TV series Caprica, a prequel spinoff from Battlestar Galactica, was just canceled by the Syfy channel. In response to the cancellation and the recent theme of many similar good sci-fi shows getting canceled over the last few years, I've written an editorial arguing that Caprica's cancellation reflects the decreasing sustainability of the cable TV business model. A better, more modern business model could have saved Caprica from cancellation. If this model is adopted in the future, it could save many other similar niche genre shows from the same fate down the road." Another perspective here might be that a boring, ponderous show got yoinked because nobody watched it. Just sayin'.
Knowing how Caprica is going to end killed all interest for me.
http://xkcd.com/299/
The qualitative assessment aside, that's probably about right. That is to say, the problem is quite likely that (as was the case with Firefly, the Babylon 5 spinoff crusade, and quite possibly Babylon 5 itself in its first home, among many, many other series) its not just the ratings of the show that matter, its how good the show is at bringing in audience members that will stay for the rest of the programming the network has to offer. I think its difficult to get enough solid scifi to support a network, and the kind of "scifi" you can get for filler doesn't make a good mix that keeps people on your network when mixed with good scifi. So good scifi shows are, generally, are hard fit for network TV. ("Good", of course, is subjective, but I think with the references to other shows here and in context of this discussion, and on Slashdot, I think the kind of thing I'm talking about in general is, clear enough.)
If a show is perceived as great by a group of people that see the rest of the networks offerings as "garbage" (and not liked by the people that like the rest of the offerings on the network), then it doesn't, in the end, do as much for a network whose revenue is driven principally by advertising as a show that is somewhat less well-received on its own by which reinforces the rest of the networks lineup.
This is not the case on premium networks (HBO, Showtime, etc.), which is one reason that shows that appeal strongly to a particular, often fairly narrow, audience but that don't necessarily appeal to the same people as other shows on the network work better there.
Unfortunately for scifi fans, none of the premium networks, despite plenty of non-mainstream series, have been particularly big on scifi series of any kind so far. But maybe those networks (perhaps rightly) don't think that the people that would be willing to pay for premium networks in any case include enough scifi fans for that to be worthwhile.
What hurt Caprica even more (having just seen some of the season 1.5 episodes) is that information needed to watch an episode is found in earlier episodes of the season. In other words, it is very much a serial where the whole season tells the story and not just one part. The problem with a series of that nature is that it sort of pushes away new viewers who don't have access to the first episode.
I thought the series was extremely well done, but it was very dark and in some ways very disturbing as well. Much of the first half-season dealt with virtual reality and MMORPGs in a way that I have never seen dealt with by a major media outlet before. The show's producers "get" what it is like to play in an MMORPG and if you want to see what one might be like in a couple hundred years, Caprica has a very good example of one that Zoe Greystone plays in. Then again, it also captures the MMORPG experience by having a bunch of kids playing around in a virtual environment where the parents don't know what the heck their kids are up to other than "playing with computers".
The second half-season deals more with the "STO", which is an Al-Queida-like terrorist organization which foreshadows the rise of the Cylons and goes into depth of how that organization is put together. Again, this is something that is certainly part of the backstory of Battlestar Galactica and being brought forward, but isn't easy for people to watch or the complex interplay between religions, where most normal "colonists" are polytheistic and the terrorist organization uses a monotheistic approach that echos Islam but isn't quite that either. Many people don't want to have religion crammed down their throats in this fashion, especially when it might be pointing out that their own religion could be just as corrupted.
>>>>>"Episodes offered via this medium should display no interstitial advertising. Ads should only appear just prior to and just after an episode plays."
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>>Already the way it's done.
Not quite true. NBC.com, Syfy.com, and hulu.com insert either 1 or 2 ads at every standard commercial break. The writer is saying they should stop doing that, and just play the episode straight through w/o interruption.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Did anybody read the article?
No, no I did not.
It says, "Episodes offered via online websites should display no interstitial advertising. Ads should only appear just prior to and just after an episode plays. Interstitial advertising will only drive people to piracy, which shows no interstitial ads." How dumb can one person be? First off nobody ever watches the ads at the end of an episode.
I watch the ads at the end of TED talks. I even spent an evening reading about metallurgy after watching an "how it's made" ad about watches. Learned a lot about exotic steel alloys. Fascinating stuff. If I ever feel like dropping a few grand on a watch, I know what brand I'll shop for first.
You can't take the sky from me...