frustration with schedule - careful: rant ahead

[brabbel.livejournal.com]

I'm extremely frustrated, now that I've examined the CBS-schedule for CM - after today's episode there's another 3-week hiatus planned. How do they expect people to keep interest in a series when they keep interrupting the season for 3 weeks after just 2 episodes. And why does this season only have 22 episodes (my guess, since a season generally runs just to the middle of May)? Okay, we had the Olympic Games which account for 2 weeks without CM - but 24 episodes would still have been possible...

It seems as if they spent all their efforts on one mediocre episode (The Fight), respectively on the hype around 100 - and don't know quite how to continue from there... which is majorly disappointing, especially the non-follow up so far to the events of the first half of the season. If that's a spectre of what this series has still to offer in coming seasons, I'm seriously underwhelmed.

Sorry, I had to get that out of my system. Let's just hope the last 4 episodes of season 5 at least reflect some of what makes CM such a good programme, so that I'm inclined to switch on my TV again next season... right now, I'm very ambivalent about this series unfortunately.

Comments

[aratama.livejournal.com]

How do they expect people to keep interest in a series

The ratings for the show have been steady around 3.5 for months, if not years.

Sorry, I had to get that out of my system.

I see.

[benitle.livejournal.com]

I see.
I think I love you a little for this comment.

[aratama.livejournal.com]

:D

[brabbel.livejournal.com]

Ratings aside - I'm for sure not the only one to feel that way. I'm not a native to the US, though I've spent quite some time there (including a few "TV-seasons")... but I still don't understand the scheduling system with reruns in the middle of a season and 2- or 3 weeks hiatus every other episode. Sorry, doesn't make much sense to me. But I'm sure you "see" that as well.

[aratama.livejournal.com]

You're not the only one, it's a constant and steady complaint made about US TV show. As such I just don't see why it's so interesting that it needs a whole new entry, since I don't feel it adds much to the fandom or community (granted, I'm not the fandom police so my judgement is just that, my judgement; I'm not saying you can't post, I'm just saying my only reaction to this is "Okay. So what's new?").

[westmoon.livejournal.com]

I certainly don't have a problem with people voicing their frustrations/concerns.

I'm fairly new to the show, and after mainlining and loving almost every minute of seasons 1-4, I've been enjoying the thrill of actually looking forward to new episodes. But to be honest, I've found the quality this season to be hit and miss (don't get me started on The Fight), with a fair degree of inconsistent characterization, which I personally find very disappointing.

And I wasn't aware there was another break coming up again so soon, so yes, colour me a bit ticked off as well. Though I guess it makes sense if they're saving the final episodes for May.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

A typical modern television season for any TV show is 21 episodes, just so you know.

Anything above that is extra, above and beyond, and requires fairly heroic efforts on parts of writing staff, crew, and cast. Who are all pretty well compensated for their labors, it's true

I'm sure you're aware that CM lost six writers last year due to network budget cuts, and that's one of the reasons that they've been relying on outside writers as much as they have. And any given writer and/or director has a limited amount of ability to turn out quality material. Last year they turned in an awful lot of material, and I'm willing to bet it was an insane deathmarch to get it done.

It's pretty typical for any show to have a fairly straight run of new episodes in the fall and a series of mini-hiatuses in the spring. I believe CM's season this year is 24 episodes, but I'm not 100% certain of that.

CM is also one of the shows that keeps its audience in reruns. AND keeps most of its audience against American Idol, which is a freaking juggernaut--but even CM still loses share. And frankly, a show's producers don't have a lot of power over when episodes air--that's the network's decision.

I suspect all of these things are on the minds of everybody involved.

[brabbel.livejournal.com]

No, I wasn't aware of any loss of writers - still doesn't make me feel better about those breaks. As said above, I don't see the wisdom in those breaks. If I were a casual viewer I'd surely lose interest if I only get to see reruns every other week.

[time-testudinem.livejournal.com]

I am a bit frustrated by the breaks as well, mostly because of their length. That said, the March break made sense to me because everyone seems to watch basketball most of the month. I am also sure that if you had been brought up here, this would all seem pretty normal. To get more than a handful of new episodes without at least one rerun is very strange. I say this because I have been so frustrated with figuring out UK TV schedules recently. It seems so weird to me for a show to very in length and start-time from ep to ep, and their seasons are so short! IDIK and all that. I just hope what new episodes we get are good ones. These writers have done an overall great job of dealing with some truly crappy circumstances over the run of the show, but I doubt they can continue to make magic forever.

[southrnbygrace.livejournal.com]

Sadly I think the show may have lost me this season. The first half was incredible, but since Slave of Duty it's like the writers just don't care anymore. I can't pinpoint the problem exactly but between crappy episodes and all the breaks they seem to be taking, I've basically lost interest in a show that once was must see TV for me. I hate losing another good series to complacency. :(

[iamtheliquorr.livejournal.com]

Seriously man, wtf has been going on since Slave of Duty?

The eps since then have just been boring--I don't mind a bad ep if it's at least lulzy ("Conflicted" never stops being funny even after seeing it like 3 times), and last week provided some excellent snark fodder, but the ones before then were just so forgettable

I've got to be brutally honest--shitty CM still >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> pretty much anything else on TV except Lost, Castle, and sometimes Grey's

[brabbel.livejournal.com]

Granted, CM's still very good - but it's the potential to be bloody awesome that's not realized which bothers me a lot.

[iamtheliquorr.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I get that

But tbqh the complaining about CM since SoD is starting to remind me of Lost fans complaining at the start of the season, but we just got hit with two awesome eps in a row, so perhaps we're due for a really good arc to end the season?

The only reason I'm even worried is the fear that TPTB are off playing with the spinoff no one cares about anyway and oh dear Heathus in heaven what if the finale arc involves those jokers in the spinoff again and I swear upon all that is holy if that happens things will get even uglier than my grammar rn but yeah, I really fear CM going to get worse before it gets better :/

[a_blackpanther]

I thought CBS had ordered a few extra eps of this season of CM. Maybe the schedule isn't locked, but ANOTHER break? This is starting to get frustrating.

[swithers.livejournal.com]

I completely agree, CBS seems to be doing it with a few shows though, I know NCIS and LA are both off for another couple of weeks too...

[pabzi.livejournal.com]

According to the Futon Critic, http://www.thefutoncritic.com/showatch.aspx?id=criminal_minds&view=listings, there is a two week break and 23 eps. I would put their accuracy at about 70%. I actually thought it was higher, but they didn't credit Strauss last week.

[midgetnazgul.livejournal.com]

We also need to keep in mind that this is somewhat of a weird year because of the Olympics. The games has kind of thrown everything back to begin with, mixed with the Oscars and other stuff like that. The later it gets into the "regular" TV season, and with the timing of half-season shows returning, it makes sense that this season has been a little whacked-out.

Personally, I think the entire system of the "modern TV program" is slowly changing, but that's just me.

[lilylynnicons.livejournal.com]

This is too, obviously the year of new shows. Every station feels like they have to get something new out, which, to me, is unnecessary.

[midgetnazgul.livejournal.com]

It's true there are quite a few new shows out, but I am heartened by the fact it's not overwhelming amounts of reality TV, and (at least in Fox's case) they're being kind of smart about it by releasing in half-seasons. I really think USA has the market cornered on that, though. I'm beginning to wish all TV dramas aired like that. It's much better than 21-24 eps then waiting 5-6 months for more, imho.

Criminal Minds already operates on a somewhat similar basis - i.e. 10-12 eps of 'normal' episodes, then a mid-season OMGWTFBBQ episode, before cycling back to 'normal' episodes and then actual season finale. Just split it in half with a three-month break, and I think we'd have better-written shows.

[lilylynnicons.livejournal.com]

Agreed. :)

[urban-cougar15.livejournal.com]

This is why I like, or I guess after this season it will be "liked" 24. Yes you have to wait 7 months for new episodes, but when it's on, it's on. Every week. No breaks. From what I understand, this is how most shows are aired outside the US.

[drasticbarbie.livejournal.com]

one thing about "24", (i'm not a fan, but have seen eps) is that it maintains continuity from ep to ep, season to season. so i feel that you are right about that.

House, M.D. is also getting better, i feel, with the exception of that recent Cuddy ep. and Cuddy's new boyfriend, who i can't stand. they continue to have interesting patients and cases while still moving characters along in their lives.

i feel like CM's writers are writing stand alone stories and shoving them into the one hour time slot. they might be more successful if they wrote interesting storylines, including character development, and played them out over two or three eps, maintaining continuity from ep to ep, season to season.

each ep does a few things. we meet victim(s) and unsub(s). we see some of the crime. the team is informed of the case, discuss it at HQ and on jet. they spend a few minutes with cop(s) of the week. they interview and so forth, make a profile, and go after the unsub(s). during all that, we continue to see victim(s) and unsub(s). the endings are cut short and details are left out that would make the show more understandable.

if each plot happened over two or more eps, we'd get much more detail and more complete endings, like the previous eps that were continued over two eps. and the main characters can have more complete and detailed backstories, which i think we all like.

other shows do/did this, like 24, House, Ugly Betty, ER, NYPD Blue, Profiler. CM is an amazing show. it introduced us to a part of the FBI we didn't know existed. most of the crimes are really fascinating, in spite of being horrific. and the actors are really top notch. we love the actors and their characters. but i personally would like to see more of them while still seeing their cases. and i'd like for the writers and whoever to do a bit more research, maybe shoot on location more, so that when they bring in local color for their locations, they do it write.

[drasticbarbie.livejournal.com]

*edit*

right, not write.

[flameturnedblue.livejournal.com]

House, M.D. is also getting better, i feel, with the exception of that recent Cuddy ep. and Cuddy's new boyfriend, who i can't stand.

I'm wandering off the CM topic, but I so agree with this!

[lucylooo.livejournal.com]

The ratings have actually fallen off by about a million viewers (US) from last year, which is almost to be expected for any show that isn't "event television" and in its fifth year, although I'm sure the long breaks don't help any show. Personally, what's troubled me more is the fact that this season got so dark for almost no reason - my bff, who is actually the one who got me watching the show because she loved it so much, stopped watching it entirely after the Foyet arc came to its conclusion, because it was tortuous and there was almost no payoff; Hotch was carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey and came back to work with no after-effects, other than Morgan taking over as team lead for a while. Now, things are back to status quo and it was just like, "so why the hell did you even do that?" It was like really bad hurt/comfort fanfic without the comfort part.

I'm still watching, but I have to say that if there is something else compelling on in the same timeslot (like a rerun of "White Collar"), I don't necessarily feel like I have to watch the show "live." And I definitely haven't been downloading this season because there have been very few episodes that I've needed to see again (and that is very, very rare for me with shows I love - I want to watch them over and over again). At this point, I think I like the characters more than I like the show (and I just hated the spinoff ep, because I didn't like any of those characters).

[drasticbarbie.livejournal.com]

oh, man. H/C comment was funny.

[lucylooo.livejournal.com]

Seriously! I am no fan of h/c because it's usually just a sad excuse for a writer to use the "magical healing power of sex," but if there had been some magical healing sex for Hotch (with, say, Morgan or Prentiss :), I think I would have liked the arc much more! It would still have been stupid, but it would have had a little payoff for him, at least.

[drasticbarbie.livejournal.com]

i wrote a whole 13-page paper on H/C (rape slash) for a college course on gender in pop culture. that statement is about 100% accurate. we should write a book.

[lucylooo.livejournal.com]

After 16+ years in fandom, I feel like I could write a damn encyclopedia! :)

[flameturnedblue.livejournal.com]

Hotch was carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey and came back to work with no after-effects, other than Morgan taking over as team lead for a while. Now, things are back to status quo and it was just like, "so why the hell did you even do that?" It was like really bad hurt/comfort fanfic without the comfort part.

This. Right on the nose.

[brabbel.livejournal.com]

Completely agree with your first paragraph. Why the whole Foyet thing if they don't follow through with it? It's different than back in season 2 with Reid because that was "just" a twoparter (still I'd have loved to actually see Reid coping with his addiction and the trauma) - but with the Foyet-arc we had practically 12 episodes... and all for nothing. The whole thing just got 2 mentions in passing and that was it. Just one meagre mention of Jack back in "Retaliation"... but that Hotch's whole life was turned upside down with his now being a single parent, was swept under the carpet. So, major shake-up for the sake of nothing. I guess that's what's leaving me with a very bland feeling about CM this season.

[lucylooo.livejournal.com]

Also, and I meant to say this in my last comment but forgot, I'd almost prefer if the show ran in the Canadian/British/US cable format of fewer episodes in a consistent arc - do 13, run them without a break, then take a long break and do it again. I almost feel like a 22-26(!) ep season is too long to generate a fresh, consistently-written program with everyone giving their best. I don't necessarily "blame" anyone on the staff, because they're working within tough constraints, but maybe things would be better/more fun/more innovative if the seasons themselves were shorter but had the same shooting schedule.

[sydninicole.livejournal.com]

i agree, completely.

[flameturnedblue.livejournal.com]

The stop-start nature of this series is irksome - somehow it all seems so much more disrupted and jumbled compared with last year.

Some people have already made excellent points about the post-Foyet arc slump (not to mention the mess that was 5x18), which probably adds to that feeling of frustration - everyone's waiting for a decent ep., and the wait in between seems so long. It makes it very easy to forget the good stuff.

While I appreciate that the writers, crew, etc. have done an admirable job in the face of cuts and such, a kind of malaise has crept in. Maybe not as far as all fans are concerned (opinions are as varied as snowflakes, I guess), but I can certainly see your point. I think it's discussion worthy.

[txanne.livejournal.com]

Best. Icon. Ever.

[flameturnedblue.livejournal.com]

:)

[emzbuckley.livejournal.com]

What it is, all the studios are having to cut the budgets on the show, so one of the things are cut is the length of the season, because the average ep costs about $1 million dollars an ep so because the budget for all the shows has been cut by about 20%. So it makes sense that they would cut the actual length of the series. And they are probably saving the eps for the May sweeps. But House only has 22 eps this season but they did have a two hour opener, so maybe there might be a two hour finale for CM.

[cloudzrshibby.livejournal.com]

The breaks actually don't bother me. Its helpful to me since I'm in college. My Wendesday night schedules are worked around CM. Literally. Its one show I refuse to give up. All the breaks help me out as far as getting school works and stuff done is concerned.

Plus, we need to take into account, as said above, how weird of a year its been since the Olympics were on. Everything usually stops for March Madness (except most reality shows). You have to remember, its not just Criminal Minds this is happening to and its not just shows on CBS that this is happening to.

[justdazzled3.livejournal.com]

AGAIN?!?! Jesus tapdancing Christ, we just got a new episode last week and we have ANOTHER hiatus. Ugh.

[doodysmama.livejournal.com]

Jesus tapdancing Christ

You are my new hero, jsyk.

Annnnd I feel your frustration. =/

[dakotamystic.livejournal.com]

Every time a show changes it's format for the worst, I always feel that the writers could learn alot from the CM writers. House had a slump in quality for a few seasons as did CSI:Miami and now it looks as though CSI is really deteriorating in quality. The CM writers have been great at balancing the professional/personal lives of the team and I truly hope things stay that way. I'm not at all opposed to a show adding a touch of romance to shake things up but I really can't stand it when romance takes center stage and the cases fall to the way side (which was one of my pet peeves about House last season.)

I agree that CM has gfone slightly down hill since 100 and I think the producers were a bit to focused on the spin off. Then again, they could be saving the best episodes for the May sweeps. BTW, tonight's episode, Rite of Passage, looks good.

[rainbow-goddess.livejournal.com]

I used to be a fan of CSI and CSI:Miami. When Grissom and Sarah ran away together I gave up on CSI (Vegas.) I hung in there with Miami, but I just realized I've had an episode sitting on my DVR for about three weeks now and I may never watch it.

[hrcsen08pres.livejournal.com]

Same thing happens on House with breaks.

[seythia.livejournal.com]

These breaks this year are really annoying, I have to agree with that.

In germany, US Shows are usually aired without breaks (if there's no holiday in between) but in SOME cases, which mostely concens shows like CSI, they just STOP with the new episodes and air old ones. Without warning.Just like that.
Once, I dared toask them about this epic fail and all they wrote was'Oh,sorry,we didn't realise peoplenoticed, it's because of bla bla bla'
Yes. Of course a fan doesn't notice it when a new season is replaced by a few episodes which had aired about 100 times.

You know what I'm waiting for?
another 100 episodes of total normalcy and suddenly, if/when TG wants to leave, Hotch will have a major breakdown because of this unbearable guilt and we'll be like 'wtf? Oh yeah... there was something like...5 years ago'

[bbt-criminal.livejournal.com]

I'm a little confused on the "if you grew up here you'd understand March Break for basketball" thing. I'm Canadian, which means i get American TV on the same station (WUTV Buffalo, to be exact), and I don't remember ever being this annoyed by pointless breaks before. It seems like every other episode is a rerun.

And they're phoning in it in. No interesting unsubs at all, no character development whatsoever. (In tonight's episode, I guessed the unsub the first time we saw him without the helmet on. Hello? Where's the surprise?) And they put all their eggs in the new team's basket? I sure hope not. There was not one character on the new team that wasn't a cookie cutter stereotype. Boring.

Argh. Hello? CBS? You are ruining it!

[emmakitty.livejournal.com]

After reading this entire thread, I feel like CBS should just give up and let us plan out each season and episode arc -- we'd be good at it, lol.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nextboldmove_/]

Am I the only one who thinks this is the best case season yet?

Also, according to Joe Mantegna, they are filming through the end of April. If you do the math, that means they are filming 24 episodes (or the finale is a two-hour ep). I think the long breaks in between eps not only accomodate for the time it takes film and produce an ep. 8 days to film, up to 4 weeks post production. MGG's episode filmed last week of January to Feb. 3 and he was still editing the Monday before it aired (also another reason why he was bsrely in The Fight, he was editing when that was filmed), but also because of the Olympics and March madness.

The reason season 4 was so long is because they changed the filming schedule after the writers strike, since the cast/crew got Nov-Feb off, they started filming season 4 much earlier than usual (usually last week of July) and they already had written/paid for episodes that needed to be produced.

Whew, I guess understanding how it all works does make me less resentful of things, but I understand the frustration. But I think I'm in the minority here when I say I LOVE LOVE LOVE this season. Sure, the show has always had continuity and character development issues, but the cases this season are WOW imo.

[moon-raven2.livejournal.com]

I actually agree with you. A lot of episodes I see people really hating on are episodes I liked very much this season - like "The Performer." Maybe that's just my love for Gavin Rossdale? But I thought he and Prentiss had amazing chemistry, and the whole ep was fun and different.

I feel like "The Fight" was too violent and scattered, as many people have said, but overall it's been a pretty decent season. Things like a 100th ep, a spin-off, and the Olympics can really screw with a TV schedule/season arc, so yeah, there've been weaknesses, but overall I don't think it's as bad as this thread is making it sound like.