A reader asked whether write-in campaigns to keep your favorite show on the air has any impact. The answer is definitely YES. But here’s the key – the show must be a critics’ darling. No ratings and no buzz mean no renewal. So you have a much better chance of keeping FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS on the air than you do mounting a big campaign to keep BINGO NIGHT IN AMERICA on the ABC schedule.
Networks need a reason to justify keeping a struggling show on the air. There’s the “shit, we got nothing better!” reason but that’s usually just a stay of execution. A new show that is heralded by critics, gets lot of coverage, even some award nominations – those have a legitimate chance. And networks can always point to CHEERS and HILL STREET BLUES and a few others that started slow but eventually became big hits.
When we did ALMOST PERFECT and were on the bubble we personally contacted all the TV critics who were fans of the show and asked if they’d do follow-up pieces. Most were happy to oblige and it did help.
Now there’s also the internet. Fans have more forums to plead their case. Websites and blogs and chat rooms dedicated to your favorite struggling show can generate buzz as well. I think it’s too late for ALMOST PERFECT however, despite my webmaster’s insistence that it could still work and for only $1500 he could make up a spiffy website.
Staging actual protests at the network might work if you get some local news coverage but if you don’t come in with BIG numbers you look like just a few cranks and that tends to hurt your case. And if you’re arrested, well…that doesn’t help either.
My only other suggestion is to convince the producers to add LAW & ORDER to the title.
Good luck, and if anyone wants to mount that ALMOST PERFECT campaign I say don’t wait. Let’s get it back on the air NOW while anyone at the networks even remembers it.
So you're sdaynig they might be willing to keep "CSI: Jericho"?
ReplyDelete"sdaynig"???
ReplyDeleteSorry. It's the radiation.
Ken, I LOVED Almost Perfect. In fact, it's probably the last show I loved and weeped for before giving birth and therefore had to forego TV for a decade.
ReplyDeleteNo wait, that was Northern Exposure. But still...
Please, please bring back the intelligent shows. My God. I'd prostitute myself. Even more than Ken has.
Can you hear me now?
I always liked that Lisa Edelstein. I'm sure she'd give up that little show she's on with that "McCaney" guy to come back to AP, if you just ask nicely.
ReplyDeleteI was an Almost Perfect ... right up to the time when Kevin Kilner left. I've never been a huge Nancy Travis fan (stopped watching Becker before she replaced Terri Farrell but she was reason enough not to go back) but I liked the relationship between the two characters. I don't know why the change was made but it took me away from the show.
ReplyDeletedhppy's got it right. You just have to do it the Hollywood way:
ReplyDelete"Pretty please with a shitload of cash on top?" ;)
The first year of Almost Perfect was great. I'll never forget Kevin Kilner drying his hands on the cat. Its time is gone now, but I would definitely buy a DVD of the series.
ReplyDeleteIs is too late for Arrested Development? After all the Emmy's and Golden Globes, I can't believe that show was canceled...
ReplyDeleteI think Arrested Development lasted a long time, considering how bad the ratings were. They had over 50 episodes and all of them aired, so they got a proper ending to the series.
ReplyDeleteI've been seeing Nancy Travis in promos for a new sitcom, so the "Almost Perfect" ship might have sailed. What I don't understand is what she's doing playing second fiddle to some (I presume) stand-up comic I've never heard of. She looks fantastic in the promos (she must have spent the last ten years sealed in a jar of mayonaise). So why isn't it called "The Nancy Travis Show?" Sheesh...
ReplyDeletebut I guess that if a network is not really behind a show, and doesn't advertise it properly, then it is doomed to fail, regardless.... case point... I have never even heard of Almost Perfect...
ReplyDeleteAhh, screw arrested and perfect, I liked "Freaks and Geeks" And if you have been paying attention, those actors are in a new moovy. TV basically sux, and this stupid website keeps promoting idol and other mainstream "reality" crap. I like good writers and good acting--give me more o that or screw off.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely - bring back "Almost Perfect," but there has to be some new casting: New Darin, new Lionel, new wacky landlord, Valerie Harper & Delta Burke must go, and add a cute little kid.
ReplyDeleteLet's call it, "Almost Perfect, Now!"
I will buy the series on DVD as soon as it is available.I still have some of the episodes. My wife and I watch the one where Kim goes to Mikes appartment and sleeps on his water bed, over and over again and laugh every time.
ReplyDeleteGive me just the ones with Kevin and I'll be happy.
I have some episodes of Almost Perfect from when it was on USA. Is there a web site where I can go to trade episodes?
ReplyDeleteGod, I LOVED Almost Perfect. Season one was amazing, and season two seesawed from bad to phenomenal, seemingly hitting a home run every other week (and a stinker in between).
ReplyDeleteMy favorite sitcom line in history is, "No I'm not all right, you crazy bitch!"
Just found this posting whilst searching for information on Almost Perfect. Has there been any progress in putting the show back on the air, or availability though DVD's? I can't seem to find anything about it!
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Lizzy