| Instant Gractification? |
[Apr. 26th, 2008|06:37 pm] |
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| |  aggravated | ] |
Alright. I've been pretty level-headed about all this for a while. But now...just...NO.
Time to wake up and smell the coffee, people!
Here's an industry side's point of view on ATLA's handling:
1) Why no commercials?
- Because, oh, I don't know...It's not coming back until JULY? And it's not quite MAY yet? I watch a lot of regular television (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc.) and one of the shows I like is "Desperate Housewives". They didn't start pushing its return until 2-3 weeks before. This is VERY NORMAL for ALL TV stations. That's all the notice the average viewer needs. Few people make epic plans to sit in front of TV anymore. There's no NEED for Nick to heavily push something returning in July, right now. No need whatsoever. Why? Because the average viewer will look at it and say "Oh, wow, cool! More Avatar! ...July?...Oh" The better reception will be received closer to the time when viewers will react with "Wow! Awesome more Avatar! ...2/3 weeks away! YAY!" Meaning we won't start seeing heavy advertisement until June. Sorry to burst your bubbles. NYCC was a special event, and the commercial during "The Mighty B" was a treat.
This. Is. NOT. Stupid. OR "mishandling".
2) Why the jerking around?
- Because, as Mike and Bryan announced at NYCC, the finale is NOT done yet. Going by previous reports, Nick anticipated to air the finale for May sweeps.(Several things back this up) It looks like some complications occurred (most likely the censors - it IS going to be an action-packed 2 hours = a lot to nitpick) and those plans got flubbed. Sure, up to 317 may be done now. But why make another unnecessary break? It'd be a terrible thing to leave off like that. Seeing everything up until RIGHT BEFORE THE FINALE? That would get people in an uproar! It's much better to wait an extra couple of months for everything to be done, and then show it all in one straight shot. (DOBS is by no means as bad as if they left off right after "Ember Island Players". Because then people would be whining, going WHERE'S THE FINAAAAALE) Sure, if they don't air it weekly you won't get your OMG SPECULATION TIME OH NOES, but do we really need it at this point? All the parts in the finale are going to be aired together. And we speculated the crap out of TBR (which a lot proven to be right) , Southern Raiders (which looks predictable) , and Ember Island Players. The average viewer is perfectly content with just sitting and watching. It's only a small vocal portion of the fanbase who need to discuss every little detail to death. Again. Not mishandling. Things were just "NOT AS PLANNED". :(
There's a lot to figure out when it comes to choosing a time to air something. There's competition to worry about it, which is a big factor. "The Awakening" lost a lot of numbers because ti went up against a Hannah Montana thing. Nick doesn't want this to happen again. And for good reason. I wouldn't want to face that level of bullshit either.
3) Nick loves _____ show more than Avatar!
- The only one this could apply to is Spongebob. But there's a good reason. Spongebob, since day one, raked in the green. It's a huge moneymaker. He's a global icon. It's like saying Disney loves Mickey Mouse more than Mulan. Can we say: Well, DUH? Avatar just doesn't have that characteristic about it, which is a problem with any action/plot-driven series. But they LOVE Avatar. They really do. They wouldn't throw so much money into it if they didn't. Zoey 101 is being pushed out of the way to clean up the Jamie Lynn mess. Other shows are being put out because they're being dumped into the trash. (I do not forsee Barnyard lasting much longer.) Avatar is just a difficult show to work with. So yeah, they may have some problems. Like, the fact,t hey can't air any episode whenever they want. It follows a heavy plot. Everything has to be aired in order. It's also aimed at the Y7-plus crowd which means it can only be aired on weekends or in the evenings. There's a lot to think about.
4) Why July?
-Kids don't go out much anymore. And with this recession in the States, even less will be going on vacation or sleep away camp. So a lot of kids resort to TV to keep them occupied. What better way to get viewers than to air new episodes of their top favorite show?
It's better than waiting for September. No matter what, Hannah Montana will crush it. They've accepted it. This is a VERY smart choice. They know when to admit they've been bested.
5) Why release the 3rd DVD now?
- This goes with the original intent to air the finale in May. Most distributors were probably already notified of the release last year. It was all probably put into place a long time ago, before they found out the finale wouldn't be done in time. Also, they are aware of how antsy some of the fandom is. Think of it as a mid-afternoon snack that ties you over between lunch and dinner. A quick treat to keep you kind of full before the big meal. This isn't a ploy to get money from desperate fans. Avatar DVDs are the highest selling they make, no matter what. (As said at NYCC) This DVD, and the book (which really doesn't look as spoilery as people are making it out to be, especially if it's full of behind the scenes info and an interview) m are just snacks to tide us over before "dinner" in July. They could've decided to wait and release it in the summer, but they didn't. They're trying to keep people happy.
All of this BS completely confirms my philosophy "There is no pleasing everyone, so don't even bother to try".
I admit, I was annoyed when we went without info. But now that they've come to a decision, and gave it out, I can see where they're coming from, so I can't be mad. It's all perfectly understandable. Besides, I was never expecting to get all of Avatar RIGHT NOW anyway. Instant gratification ain't my style.
Keep in mind, fandom, once the show's done. It's done. Story's over. The planned "TV movies" won't come until 2009. I don't know about you, but I want to put off the ending for as long as I can. Because once it's over. That's it. It's over.
Hopefully this rant will help you open your eyes and see that Nick is NOT OMG THE DEVIL but actually a really smart company that loves their staff and viewers. And tries their hardest to keep people happy.
If you want to see a station that hates their viewers, take a look at Adult Swim. (They've been vocal about their hatred of anime)
Chew on that. |
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