tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post8175190725155937455..comments2023-11-03T11:37:13.579-04:00Comments on Something Old, Nothing New: Syndication PerformanceJaime J. Weinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15128500411119962998noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-81134132006771115082008-04-20T01:51:00.000-04:002008-04-20T01:51:00.000-04:00My problem with sitcoms that tend to do social iss...My problem with sitcoms that tend to do social issues episodes and message shows is not that they do them, but rather that so many sitcoms do them badly. Too often, these episodes are either heavy-handed and preachy, or they fall into the trap of depending on the 30-second pep talk or the sudden insight that turns everything around - just like that - and makes it all okay. Complex, multilayered issues are reduced to simple black and white because of the persistant idea that a sitcom episode has to have an ending, that, if not happy and upbeat, at least brings everything back to the beginning. Too often, the results are just shallow and insulting.<BR/><BR/>Tom<BR/><BR/>P.S. This silly thing keeps telling me my URL has illegal characters in it, when I'm not putting in a URL. Thus, I am "anonymous."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-42573782452900259312008-04-13T20:54:00.000-04:002008-04-13T20:54:00.000-04:00Something interesting I remember is when Mary Tyle...Something interesting I remember is when Mary Tyler Moore first hit Nick at Nite, it was a sizable hit (and, indeed, both it and Dick Van Dyke had long runs on the network for many years), and an AP article I read at the time (this was maybe six months after it debuted on N@N) remarked on how the show had not been a success in syndication, so N@N got the rights to it for a song. All of the MTM sitcoms performed similarly well on N@N, as I recall.<BR/><BR/>Now, of course, Fresh Prince is the greatest hit in the history of the "network," so who knows what people want.Toddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10538651542043518746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-51544959754409076132008-04-09T20:04:00.000-04:002008-04-09T20:04:00.000-04:00Andy Griffith falls into two unofficial syndicatio...Andy Griffith falls into two unofficial syndication packages: the B&W Barney episodes & the unwatchable post-Barney color seasons. When ol' Andy confessed in recent years the show jumped the shark after Don Knotts left.Larry Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02796712092304761340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-89426217460867591492008-04-09T13:27:00.000-04:002008-04-09T13:27:00.000-04:00Another show to consider for huge long lasting rer...Another show to consider for huge long lasting rerun success is Andy Griffith. That has been shown on tv for as long as I can remember. Maybe it's more of a hit here in the South than elsewhere, but a day doesn't seem to have ever gone by when you couldn't see an episode of the show somewhere.<BR/><BR/>I'm assuming that it does well ratings wise. I have to admit, in this jaded time we live in, I find it pleasantly surprising that Sheriff Andy and Mayberry still have a place on tv.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-13445112288646333882008-04-09T12:52:00.000-04:002008-04-09T12:52:00.000-04:00The Munsters did very well for decades locally in ...The Munsters did very well for decades locally in on WPIX in NYC, especially considerating it only ran two seasons & Herman's classic characterzation didn't gel until a dozen or so episodes into the first season.Larry Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02796712092304761340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-16970366880139192602008-04-09T09:29:00.000-04:002008-04-09T09:29:00.000-04:00I can only go by personal experience...My dad, who...I can only go by personal experience...<BR/>My dad, who was in the Navy in WWII, loved McHale's Navy, and I think that was a lot of its syndication success; that could explain why it's not seen now.<BR/><BR/>And my mother never really liked Barney Miller during its network run, but as it went into syndication, and she saw it daily (I was a huge fan), she started to see what they were getting at, and really started to enjoy it. <BR/><BR/>It does seem that some of the big syndie successes are shows that didn't hit the top of the ratings on the network - Star Trek, Odd Couple, just to name two. Part of it may be the factor I mentioned in the last graf; part of it may be that they weren't the usual network fare at the time, and seen outside of that context are more of a draw; it may just be that during the day or early evening, they drew a different audience that appreciated it, hadn't bothered to see it before, and fell in love with it.<BR/><BR/>Cosby, on the other hand, had been overexposed on the network, so there wasn't that great a demand for it.Rays profilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13375762252351537791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-40467169258804612052008-04-08T22:11:00.000-04:002008-04-08T22:11:00.000-04:00This was very interesting. I think the situation f...This was very interesting. I think the situation for many of those shows you listed remains the same today, but it's interesting to see the exceptions. I'd read before about Happy Days tanking in syndication, and while that may be true, it also enjoyed some fairly lengthy runs on TBS and then Nick at Nite. Get Smart, on the other hand, seems to have waned in popularity in reruns. Its run on Nick at Nite in the early-to-mid-90s was a fair success, but then the show kinda bombed when TV Land picked it up in 2001.<BR/><BR/>Even though a book like that would be pretty much useless these days, for reasons which you mention, a follow-up still would be interesting, if only to see how shows of the last 20 years have fared. I've read before about Family Ties being a big bomb in syndication (and it doesn't fare any better on cable, as its short-lived and/or low-profile stints on TBS, Nick at Nite, Hallmark and TV Land would attest). Cosby Show also didn't do well in syndication, though its cable numbers seem to have been decent over the years (although it's pretty much gone altogether from Nick these days, isn't it?). While I have no numbers to back me up, it seems like Cheers has done well over the years. Up until a few years ago, it was still holding down a nightly slot on WPIX in New York. For a show that debuted more than 25 years ago, that's pretty impressive. And though it's been off the air for close to 12 years now, Fresh Prince seems to be everywhere you look, both in syndication *and* cable.<BR/><BR/>Among the more recent shows, I think Newsradio probably would've been like WKRP, and enjoyed a fairly long, successful life in syndication, but A&E snagged it in what looked to be an exclusive deal around 2000 or 2001, and that kinda killed its syndie life. Seinfeld, of course, has held up very well. And though it's fairly new into the rerun market, Scrubs seems to be holding up well, and the cable networks, like Comedy Central and TV Land, are going after it too. Meanwhile, I've got a feeling Malcolm in the Middle has really bombed. Does it still have any plush time slots left in any of the major (or even semi-major) markets?<BR/><BR/>Wow, this was a lengthy reply. But how a show fares in reruns is a very interesting subject to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-20224858569920104302008-04-08T20:38:00.000-04:002008-04-08T20:38:00.000-04:00Happy Days tanked in NYC syndication because by th...Happy Days tanked in NYC syndication because by the early 80's WPIX Channel 11 would only show the first three post-Ron Howard later season episodes over & over & over--yet they would skip the final season which at least had Howard on for a two-parter!Larry Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02796712092304761340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-47861876368533650392008-04-08T12:34:00.000-04:002008-04-08T12:34:00.000-04:00I'm a little confused about The Beverly Hillbillie...I'm a little confused about The Beverly Hillbillies as I don't know of any show - except Gilligan's Island - that is more beloved (but denied) by those who enjoy really good comedy.<BR/><BR/>It is the only show that can still make me laugh out loud no matter how many times I have seen it in syndication. I also know that there are tons of people begging for a real DVD release of this comedy classic.<BR/><BR/>Maybe I am dating myself? But, how do you explain that even old Simpsons cartoons are going to be in syndication forever and ever?MLOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01779450983499873776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-1672300394091252212008-04-08T12:21:00.000-04:002008-04-08T12:21:00.000-04:00In New York, with three independent stations with ...In New York, with three independent stations with loads of time to fill, shows like McHale's Navy or The Patty Duke Show held on a lot longer, even if they were no longer accorded the main syndication slots of the time (5-8 p.m. and 11-midnight). Other cities, with either fewer or no independent stations up until the late 70s or early 80s would be more likely to change shows every year or so, with only the mega-hit syndication shows hanging on for multi-year runs.<BR/><BR/>The book also shows how a sitcom could become a pop culture phenomenon for several years and fool station operators when it came time to bid on those shows for syndication. Something like the hype over The Fonz could send the first-run ratings for "Happy Days" through the roof, but once the wave has crested, people start looking at the same episodes for the third or fourth time when they go off-network, then wonder "Why did I ever think this was good?", and switch to another channel (the interesting thing about this show was it went into syndication at the same time as M*A*S*H when both shows were about equally as popular on network, but bombed right off the bad in the fall of '79, while M*A*S*H was a hit from the start. But "Happy Days" still lasted for five more seasons on ABC even after the syndication disaster).J Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15175515543694122729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-39303803875785321742008-04-08T11:43:00.000-04:002008-04-08T11:43:00.000-04:00Back in the early '90s, I took a course in tv prod...Back in the early '90s, I took a course in tv production, and it was taught by a local tv station manager. I remember him telling the class that when the Cosby Show became available for syndication, his station signed on for whatever huge amount of money they had to pay.<BR/><BR/>The show tanked in the ratings. He chalked it up to misreading what the public wants, and I think he was right. The show should have done well, but maybe the times had changed quicker than anybody thought they would.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-18346534826507875432008-04-08T10:08:00.000-04:002008-04-08T10:08:00.000-04:00Of course, if WW2 shows were all failures, HOGAN'S...Of course, if WW2 shows were all failures, HOGAN'S HEROES wouldn't've done well. I have a feeling that the book was to some extent off the top of the head...or at best a better snapshot of the circumstances of the time than a history of the past couple of decades.<BR/><BR/>I must admit I densely managed to forget they were focused on sitcoms.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-42960342250930945562008-04-08T02:49:00.000-04:002008-04-08T02:49:00.000-04:00"The Mary Tyler Moore Show" had limited success in..."The Mary Tyler Moore Show" had limited success in New York as a late-afternoon syndicated show, but when WNBC-TV put two episodes on at 1:30 a.m., following Tom Snyder around 1980, it became a <I>huge</I> success among night owls. So much so, in fact, that when WNBC moved the failed "Toni Teneille Show" to 1:30 and pushed "Mary" back to 2:30, the outcry from Maryphiles was such that WNBC flipped the schedule and brought "Mary" back to 1:30 and 2.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-33803478874343793052008-04-08T00:12:00.000-04:002008-04-08T00:12:00.000-04:00Because Eisner and Krinsky didn't bother to number...Because Eisner and Krinsky didn't bother to number the shows in the episode guides, it's easy to overlook the fact that many of them are incomplete, even if just by one or two episodes. Other series, <I>The Lucy Show</I> is one that springs to mind, had their episodes listed in a relatively random order, bearing no relationship to the order in which they were aired either on the network or in syndication.<BR/><BR/>Even with those criticisms, I'll be the first to admit that the book was invaluable at the time it was published.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-14721175357168023012008-04-07T23:25:00.000-04:002008-04-07T23:25:00.000-04:00McHALE'S NAVY had been in syndication for nearly t...<I>McHALE'S NAVY had been in syndication for nearly twenty years at that point, and perhaps had lost some viewers for its preponderance of b&w episodes... it certainly had received wide and sustained airing in the late '60s/early '70s.</I><BR/><BR/>Right; the entry in the book also explains (I don't know if this is true) that WWII shows weren't popular in syndication. (I guess M*A*S*H had the advantage that it was really not so much about Korea as a generic war that could have been anywhere, any time.) <BR/><BR/><I>STAR TREK was probably past its peak by that time, and that was before THE NEXT GENERATION began (I noted you didn't make a specific mention of ST). </I><BR/><BR/>The book is about comedies, so it doesn't mention any hour-long shows. <I>Star Trek</I> was still pretty big in syndication in the '80s as I recall.Jaime J. Weinmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15128500411119962998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-53203513971004262012008-04-07T22:42:00.000-04:002008-04-07T22:42:00.000-04:00McHALE'S NAVY had been in syndication for nearly t...McHALE'S NAVY had been in syndication for nearly twenty years at that point, and perhaps had lost some viewers for its preponderance of b&w episodes...it certainly had received wide and sustained airing in the late '60s/early '70s. STAR TREK was probably past its peak by that time, and that was before THE NEXT GENERATION began (I noted you didn't make a specific mention of ST). WKRP, which was widely unseen in its spotty network run, probably got a bump from those seeing it for the first time (and being a genuinely good show) but it disappeared along with most of the other MTM shows rather quickly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com