• 11May 07

  Whatever Happened To? Part Two: Full Seasons

  Now I love Battlestar Galactica, the Shield, the 4400, Rescue Me, and oh so many other shows that are out there, but there has been, with these shows and many others over the course of the last few years, a significant shortening of seasons, i.e. 13 episodes instead of 22-25. Now I will agree that in many cases this has cut out the useless "filler" that we all seem to dread and leave the show to stay true to its course of story, such as is the case with BSG. Yet why exactly was this done? What were the true motives? It is far cheaper to produce 13 episodes, once a year than it is to produce 22-25 every six months. That is one possible idea, and it goes hand in hand with another theory that I have: both of which revolve around the main goal for any studio or production company; money. My theory is that with the rising popularity of TV shows on DVD, shorter seasons mean less production cost, and if the quality is good, then a fanbase will grow, which will also allow for the purchase of the series on DVD. The production of the larger season sets cost just a little more, even though it is not extremely expensive to create a DVD, than do the smaller ones. Smaller packaging and less discs to incorporate the shorter seasons, while still charging the same amount is just enough of a monetary boost that studio heads are flocking to it! Paying $45 dollars for 2500 hours of your favorite show along with special features isn't really all that bad of an idea. Yet paying the same $45 dollars for 1300, or as in the Shield's upcoming case 1000 hours, with same said extras doesn't really seem fair, or right. But then again, what things in life are fair or right? Just my honest and humble opinion. Take it or leave it.
  • Posted May 11, 2007 8:37 pm PT
  • Category: TV
  • 1 Comment
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 8Mar 07

  Whatever Happened To? Part One: Opening Titles

  Whatever happened to opening titles, themes and credits? These items have defined a long standing generation of television programming. Several shows have begun to either shorten there opening option, or they have done away with it completely. This year, ER, one of the longest running dramas, did away with their classic opening credits accompanied with theme music. All that is shown now is a background that states "ER" and lasts for about five seconds, if that. Surface and Invasion both had similar title cards during their vastly too short of lifetimes. Heroes, one of the best shows on the air is not too far behind with their brief musical eclipse. The Shield took a fresh approach with the openings of each episode (and if I am not mistaken, they were one of the first in a long line of "opening theme killers"). The actor credits are flashed back and forth in a 'blinking' style during the opening sequence of each episode. Then a short anthem is played while displaying the title card. Battlestar Galactica, Rescue Me, Smallville, and several others do still incorporate this tradition into their shows, yet it is a soon fading aspect I believe. Like ER above, House had a wonderfully moody and edgy theme that set the mood and attitude of each episode, yet in this weeks episode, they tested a title card. The short lived Justice did this on its next to last episode, replacing the opening music and credits with a short title card flash. Commercial time is an obvious factor, while studios stating that it allows a little more story time to be included on the air is complete bull. They are squeezing all the ad time into their shows that they can now for even more profit, particularly in a time that they are facing the fact that people are not watching ads as much anymore, what with the advent of DVR and TiVo. I enjoy the opening themes and credits, they set the mood for the show (that is if the opening sequence didn't do that already). Or it could just be that I rather highly enjoy music. Again this is all just my honest opinion, but I feel that those like me should learn to love our opening theme songs and enjoy the DVD's, for they will possibly not be around far too much longer...
  • Posted Mar 8, 2007 7:57 pm PT
  • Category: Opinion
  • 0 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg

See Previous Blog Posts