Yaaay!
Booo.
Continuing my history with doomed shows (which will be better explored during Joss Whedon day. This is postponed until I've finished watching Angel), there's this show. It's obvious that I'd like it. I liked Leverage (to be reviewed when I get up-to-date on THAT show), I enjoy wacky workplace comedies (which is odd as I've never been in a 'traditional' workplace) and I could relate to them each in one way.
So what was I saying about breaking records? It's one of the few shows out there to be cancelled twice. (No points for guessing which network this show is on. -1 points if you just looked up to the second picture to see.)
I could cry executive meddling, but that'd be unfair of me. So I'll scream it. I'll pound the ground, say 'Firefly' once or twice, and then shake my fist at the air screaming: "Foooooooxxxx!!!!11"
The reality is, we're all in this to make money. I won't blame Fox for trying to make money. Fox invested in this show, then felt it wasn't making good enough returns, and cancelled it. Then Fox saw post-cancellation that this show really did have all the elements of a successful show, picked it up again, and butchered it.
There are a few things I think TV networks forget about with shows.
1: Not every show is an American Idol. (Don't hold your breath on a review for this one. If I start making money at this, sure. I'll throw you guys a bone. But until then, never watched an episode of it.) You can't expect everyone to watch every show on the air.
2: Their current system of judging shows is outdated. The problem is, it's hard for them to reclassify it. After all, they already have a system in place that works some of the time. Why change it? Why take into account the quality of fan-bases, or alternate revenue streams? Does it truly matter if Dollhouse's fanbase was more likely to buy DVDs of the show than American Idol's? Does it truly matter if a show doesn't get the best ratings first-run, if it excels in re-runs, and alternate late-streaming sources such as: Amazon Instant, Hulu, Netflix, and Itunes? I think it should. But it's hard to quantify something like that, and I can understand that.
3: Scale down expectations. Examine the competition, examine the timeslot. Shows shown on Fridays on Fox are more likely to get cancelled, and shows that follow American Idol are more likely to do well? Why? Well, it's suspected that people in THE target demographic don't stay home Friday evenings. Alternatively, shows that follow a more popular show give it a chance to pick up some of the first show's audience. (This is sometimes accounted for by noting what percent of audience members follow a show to a new timeslot.)
Likewise, if you have a show that's meant to compete with American Idol, don't get too upset if it doesn't seem to compete with your other shows.
With that tangent over, onto Breaking In.
Season 1 of Breaking In has a very solid premise, with very solid characters. A kid has hacked himself into his college's mainframe and convinced it that he's there on full scholarship. He's earning degree after degree, for free. He makes money doing simple hacks. It is noted by Breaking In's crew, and he is recruited. (It's more noted that they can recruit him, or turn him over to the authorities.)
This kid, Cameron, quickly grows to like his team. His vaguely threatening, mysterious boss Oz, his rivalrous friendship with Archetypal Cash (at first), the 'semi-jock' Josh, his crush Melanie, and her goofy boyfriend Dutch.
Each character had bits and pieces about them that made them unique. The show was genuinely funny, though it has a frat-boy sense of humor to it that I usually don't appreciate. The premise was one I always enjoy, even though I admittedly have seen it before.
Season two on the other hand, introduced the most obnoxious character I have ever seen. (I feel lucky that she is this, by the way.) Fox tried to use her as the incentive to jump back on the Breaking In bandwagon, but she didn't have enough star-power to bring new interested parties, nor was she meshing well enough with the story to hold onto the fan-base. I refuse to even give her a name. I'll call her OB. You figure out what that stands for. (Hint: B is what you think it stands for.)
TV doesn't really get me angry. It doesn't. Even shows that people dog-pile on, eager to rip a piece out of its already rotting carcass I don't hate. (See Work It!'s review for proof.) But the second season of this show made me angry. I had genuinely enjoyed the first season of this show greatly. I feel like they brought the show back just to stomp on it in front of me.
No, I feel like I ripped out my heart as a sacrifice to get this show back, and they gave me a new heart, which periodically makes terrible jokes, counts how many steps I take, (and how many hours I sit with an increasingly mocking tone). No, I feel like they did that, and severed my brain in just the right way that I lose control of my right hand (my writing hand, not that it makes a difference as my writing sucks either way), then implanted it with a device to randomly punch myself in the breast.
NoIdon'tknowwwhatI'mgoingonaboutgoaway
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