As we've noted here before, and I'm sure you've noticed, Saturday night is the oddest night for television. It used to be great (remember CBS' lineup in the 70s?), but now it's just a night when no one watches much TV, and if they do, all they get is movies, repeats, and Cops.
But Tim Goodman over at The Bastard Machine has some ideas.
How about turning Saturday night into a night where viewers can catch up on shows they might have missed during the week? Not the way they do it now (it seems CBS puts reruns of their detective dramas on Saturday nights just to have something to run), but as a way for viewers to watch shows they might have missed or a chance to watch shows that weren't doing well on the other nights? The two most obvious examples would be Smith (canceled by CBS outright) and Kidnapped, which NBC actually just pulled from Saturdays. And how about 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, and Studio 60? Viewers could sample them on Saturday nights (if they're not TiVoing them already).
Goodman has some good ideas for the network heads in the piece. It really is a different TV landscape now.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-03-2006 @ 11:17PM
tapewormlad said...
call me crazy, but if you put a good show on, and promoted it to the right audience (families... seniors.... women over 30... anyone!!).... wouldn't people watch?
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11-03-2006 @ 9:42PM
Jeffsmith said...
Bob give up the mission to save Studio 60 its over!!
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11-04-2006 @ 5:16AM
tv junkie said...
i think just about everyone has given up TV on fridays and saturdays. even the media are describing them as the wasteland. i would love to see networks try harder by developing more intriguing and original shows. but all we get is crap like "til death" or cheesy brainless games shows. what's up with these networks? make good shows and we'll watch (even though it's true that some amazing programs aren't getting any rating). but the truth is, nobody stays home on friday or saturday nights. but when i do say home, i'd really love to watch better shows than the crap they have on for sure. maybe do different reruns first, not always the same shows. that way, maybe people would catch those shows and tune in on their prospective nights - saturday, a night of promoting different shows! (not crime TV rerun CBS or L&O rerun NBC, please!). Or, maybe networks should do some research on what kind of programing would work on saturday nights.
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11-04-2006 @ 9:11AM
Vince said...
This is a pretty good idea. Second chance Saturday! I already do something like this w/ my TIVO. Can't find the time to watch the show in its regular hour so I watch them on Friday and Saturday when nothing good is on prime time.
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11-04-2006 @ 3:05PM
Brent McKee said...
"i think just about everyone has given up TV on fridays and saturdays. even the media are describing them as the wasteland."
While I'm inclined to agree with TVJunkie about Saturday nights - wasn't CBS the last network to program new dramatic TV series on the night ("Walker Texas Ranger", "The District", "The Agency") I'm rather mystified by the assertion that Friday night is a "wasteland". It's a different audience (almost certainly older and less interested in partying), but the only network that I'm seeing actively using Friday as a dumping ground is FOX. ABC has "Men In Trees", NBC has "Las Vegas" and the original "Law & Order" and CBS has "Ghost Whisperer", "Close To Home", and "Numb3rs". For a wasteland, that's pretty active
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