Friday, July 20th, 2007
Well, Traveler is over. Nixed. Cancelled. ABC felt their ratings weren’t up to par and decided to have it’s way with the show. While I understand ratings equals money, I don’t think ABC gave this show any form of respect or expectation from the beginning.
As I was googling during the first episodes of Traveler, I found out that ABC only agreed to eight episodes of Traveler and would decide on a final eight (to finish season one) based on ratings. So, Traveler had eight episodes to 1) lay down the initial plot lines, 2) capture an audience, 3) hold an audience, 4) grow an audience, 5) advance the plot and character lines 6) do all of this in summer months when tv viewer numbers are down significantly compared to the fall.
And when I found out that there are only eight gauranteed episodes, I almost quit on the show myself. I knew I’d be left with some kind of cliff-hanger because I would never ever know the outcome of this series. I thought to myself, why invest my time in something that ABC essentially already axed in the beginning? But I decided to keep watching and supported the show since the first two episodes put up ratings that were good for the summer hours. The ratings, however, seemed to have slipped right after those episodes.
I found this on the creator’s, David DiGilio, blog entry.
“Fnich1 writes: How do the network bigwigs expect to attract viewers when they keep pulling the plug so early? It’s getting to the point where I don’t want to watch any new TV until the series has been established for a season or two.
I think you’ve hit on a real issue with network TV. Gone are the days when shows are allowed to grow an audience. Think what would happen if Seinfeld were released today. It most likely would have been cancelled due to low viewership. Seriously, I loved that show, but the first four episodes of Seinfeld are nothing like the show once it hit its creative stride and became a huge hit. As you guys head into the new TV season, all I can say is, “Don’t be afraid to commit to a show.” I think the perception that “serialized shows don’t last” hurt Traveler more than anything. If the audience does not tune in because they think a show is going to get cancelled, then the ratings will never be there and the network has no choice but to cancel the show. Watch the shows you want to watch and then let the chips fall where they may.”
