I'm glad they're letting it run for the 13 episodes to be able to conclude it instead of outright cancelling it. At least TV execs are realizing that stupid stunts like that tends to alienate viewers. Like how I refuse to watch Fox post-AD.
Serious TV-nerd explanation:
A major part of the problem was the scheduling, but there are many other strikes against this show. There's nothing on NBC anymore as far as TV audiences are concerned, so they're just not tuning in. Kidnapped was ranked 67th last week, which is awful for a second episode of a new serial drama. It has no lead-in audiences at all- I've watched every week and couldn't tell you what show is on NBC at 9pm Wednesdays. The Nine over on ABC has the Lost lead-in, which is highly enviable and they'll get millions of viewers just because people are too lazy to change the channel.
I've watched almost every other new show pilot this season. Kidnapped was one of the best as far as I'm concerned. But in comparison to others, it didn't have the same draw. There were some Jeremy Sisto/Delroy Lindo/Dana Delany fans that tuned it for that. There are people here (and definitely on MySpace) that probably wouldn't have tuned in were it not for Anthony. But a haphazard assortment of loyal fans isn't enough to get the instant ratings NBC was apparently hoping for. Heroes is a new serial drama also on NBC in a similar situation with no lead-in audience. However, they have a HUGE nitch audience in comparison with all the people familiar with the comic books it's based on, as well as comic fans in general, in addition to people (like me) that just happened to stumble on the pilot and really liked it. Leftover Six Feet Under fans of Creepy Jesus are a blip on the viewing radar in comparison.
And to top it all off, Kidnapped a serial drama. Although Lost has made this concept slightly more appealing to networks in general, they don't like these shows because audiences don't like them. America is lazy. They don't like to have to actively pay attention to what's going on to be able to follow the show from week to week. They'd much rather watch a mindless sitcom with no continuity whatsoever, where every in-joke and major plot point are beat into the viewers' heads, season after season ("We were on a break!") just to keep everyone up to speed. (No offense, I loved Friends for what it is, but I don't love that TV execs use it as the model for "good TV" simply because of the ratings success.) Or a storyline about a crime that concludes within the hour, then they start over fresh next week. Following a show for an hour is usually easy (unless, apparently, you're on Anthony's MySpace). Following a show for 23 hours, spanning 9 months and into the next season is difficult.
Networks especially hate serial dramas because it gets harder and harder to win over new fans as the seasons go on and the show gets more indepth. I mean, I've seen every episode of Lost, so I had no problem following the Lost premiere. Someone tuning in for the first time last night wouldn't have made it past the second commercial break, because they'd be so confused.
So, um, yeah. Not totally surprised this show got the ax. That tends to happen to shows I like on network TV. They're on the shallow end of the ratings pool, simply because they don't cater to the masses. In other news, season 9 of The Bachelor started up this week...
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never
knowing how
Updated On: 10/5/06 at 06:44 PM