Here's why: it now languishes on my DVR for days afterward. When it aired on Wednesday nights I would either watch it live or immediately after I put the kids to bed. It was appointment television for both my wife and me; something that we could get together for after a day of work and children and basic mayhem.
Now that FOX switched the show to Thursdays it doesn't have the same importance as it once did. Instead it gets superseded by the other "Must See" shows of the evening. Because there's so much to see that night the DVR gets loaded up with those shows as well, pushing Bones lower in the queue. Then Friday comes around and we watch the other shows, plus that night's entries. With Saturday and Sunday being so busy with life in general I don't get enough time to clear out the DVR queue. By the time the next new episode of Bones airs my wife and I haven't even watched the previous week's episode.
This does not bode well for Bones in the current television environment, especially since I'm probably not the only one who is doing this. It's not that the show has changed significantly this season. It's more like a psychological shift has taken place in my mind that realigns its importance to me down a few notches. it's the same thing with ABC's Life on Mars. When it was on Thursday nights it interested me more, despite the fact it was on the same time as ER. Now that it has been moved to its current Wednesday night slot I just can't seem to get involved. Because of that it also holds a number of slots in the DVR queue.
This is all due to the archaic 22-episode season that the legacy networks still utilize. Rather than breaking shows like Bones and Life on Mars into two shorter, separate seasons spaced further apart, network executives push and pull them around the schedule to make room for rating and fan behemoths like Lost and American Idol. By doing this the networks are actually diluting these properties rather than pumping them up.
Breaking up shows like Bones into smaller parcels is a benefit not only for the network that airs it but for the fans as well. Say Bones aired from September to December on Wednesday, then took the entire first half of the new year off so American Idol could fill the network's revenue pools. This would leave an entire summer for another, shorter season of the show. In addition, other scripted fare could be added to the schedule without irking fans.
Oh, you say that the viewers aren't there for summer programming? Tell that to creators of shows like Psych, Monk and The Closer, who thrive during the later summer months then come back in the winter for a new batch of episodes. This type of formula has worked swimmingly for a number of cable networks and kept them competitive during the summer season when the other networks air nothing but reality fare. Question is, why are the cable networks so good at doing this when the legacy networks aren't motivated to do this?
With new season Upfronts right around the corner FOX should really consider how it wants to air its successful scripted shows once American Idol rears its ugly head in 2010. Should it continue with the half-hearted, schedule changing practice it has used over the last few seasons, or should it really go for a bold approach, shorten the show's seasons, and really give viewers a year-round opportunity to watch original programming? I'd be interested in your input.
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
2-25-2009 @ 6:24PM
Jenn said...
I don't get it... you had time to watch Bones on Wednesday nights, but not enough time to watch Life on Mars on the same night? And vice versa, you had time to watch Life on Mars on Thursdays, but not Bones?
Stop watching so many shows, or make time to watch the ones you like IMO. The whole point of a DVR is so that the networks DON'T have to move their shows around to suit you.
Reply
2-26-2009 @ 9:08AM
Naf said...
The problem is, you're asking a network to ignore the ratings and instead focus on the "psychological shifts" that take place in your mind. Bones is doing well on Thursday, and it's been continually winning its timeslot. I don't think the network should then consider what goes on in your mind. People are watching. Again with Life On Mars, you want them to move it back to the more competative Thursday night slot so that in your mind it seems like its worth watching? And I don't think you can compare the ratings for the summer runs of Monk to the ratings or other shows. Right now, Bones is getting near double what Monk gets during the summer. I do agree that shows need to break down the seasons and shy away from such long runs, but the ratings for the summer just don't match what a network gets for the rest of the year.
Reply
2-25-2009 @ 7:25PM
kubiac said...
Totally agree. I thought it was good on Tuesday or Wednesday. Hate House on Mondays too.
Reply
2-25-2009 @ 7:48PM
Modwild said...
Well. Life on Mars wasn't must see for me on Thursdays, nor is it on Wednesdays. I'm just not into it.
Kubiac, House seemed to belong on Tuesdays, but I had lost interest, and that lost interest has carried to Mondays.
Bones? I didn't watch the first season, and played catch up after the fact. Ever since it's must see tv for me. I watch it on the same night no matter where it goes. I watch it before every other show on Thursday, Supernatural included. Of course, I watch Supernatural at other times more because I really want to savor it, and Friday's sometimes fit that bill.
Bottom line is I think there is something else behind your dynamic that you are not picking up. Jenn is right, your logic doesn't fit. If you had a must see on Wed in Bones and a must see on Thursday on Life on Mars, but switched you can't find the time on the same nights, then you need to reexamine the bigger picture. Just doesn't pass muster.
Let us know what you figure out!
Reply
2-25-2009 @ 8:06PM
Max said...
I got an idea. Record Bones on Thursdays and watch it on Wednesdays like it was back in it's own time slot. If this is so much of a problem for you, then you need to dump a show or two that they're kinda sticking around with. Is it really worth your time to watch some show that's crap?
Reply
2-25-2009 @ 9:05PM
backflip10019 said...
You should probably write about this in your Xanga.
Reply
2-26-2009 @ 12:28AM
snapa said...
Well played sir. Well played.
2-25-2009 @ 9:43PM
Davin Peterson said...
I agree. FOX put Bones on the same time as ABC's Ugly Betty and NBC's My Name is Earl & Kath & Kim.
Reply
2-25-2009 @ 10:18PM
bruce said...
I've never thought it was possible, but you're just too lazy to watch television. Wow. Get off your feet, get on your ass, turn on the DVR and watch the shows you've recorded.
Too lazy to watch tv shows you like.... unbelievable. You don't even have to sit through the commercials when you're watching it pre-recorded from the DVR.
Reply
2-25-2009 @ 10:27PM
C C said...
Bones is okay on Thursdays, but I preferred Bones when it was House's lead-in on Monday last season. The two shows were a perfect fit for one another.
Reply
2-26-2009 @ 12:33AM
jake said...
Whatever man, it must be only you, because it does very well in the ratings wherever it puts, especially on Thursdays and it gives Fox great ratings on a night that they don't usually get good ratings.
Reply
2-26-2009 @ 12:33AM
jake said...
It's better than their original and always planned schedule to move it to Fridays....
Reply
2-26-2009 @ 7:23AM
Richard Lawler said...
I gotta disagree, and with the way the schedules been lately, it hasn't been on in consecutive weeks so there's plllllenty of time to catch up. I agree with the other person who wanted it back on Mondays with House, that's what got me started watching it.
Reply
2-26-2009 @ 8:08AM
Beth said...
How can you not keep up with it? It's hardly on!!! I mean, weeks go by before a new episode starts. Damn Fox. They know how to piss their viewers off - one of the best shows on TV and they move it around for new episodes of ick, American Idol and Hell's Kitchen.
Reply
2-26-2009 @ 1:28PM
Sick of American Idol said...
I don't like Bones on thursday night only because they don't show it consistently! They show it like twice a month or something. I don't want to watch American idol and I don't want to watch Hell's kitchen! I want to watch Bones. When it was on Wednesday night I loved it more because I hate CBS comedies on Wednesday, and Criminal Minds has gotten boring. But Bones always surprises me and the chemistry of the actors works. I miss House on Tuesday nights too, I watch CBS on Monday and Tuesday and pretty much neglect Fox until Sunday night and when Bones is on.
I guess I wouldn't care what night they put it on as long as they showed it regularly.
Reply
2-26-2009 @ 10:14AM
debi said...
"By the time the next new episode of Bones airs my wife and I haven't even watched the previous week's episode."
Well, Fox tries to help with this by prempting Bones every other week or so for Idol.....
Reply
2-26-2009 @ 10:18AM
Tracie said...
In general, Bones has been doing very well in the ratings this season and last week (the first night it was up against new episodes of Survivor, Ugly Betty, etc) it definitely held its own - which means that it is keeping its audience and that's what the networks really care about. The fan base is loyal and has been following the show, from night to night, for years.
While the move to Thursdays may be inconvenient for you, the networks are trying to build a strong line up that will win each nights time slots and demos. Right now, House, American Idol and Bones are their breadwinners. I was actually thrilled when I heard that FOX was moving Bones to Thursday, considering that they've been threatening, for years now, to move it to Fridays. The Thursday move shows that FOX has faith in Bones to put it up against such strong competition.
If you really love Bones, as much as you claim you do, you'd find time somewhere in your schedule to watch it. Instead of watching those other "Must See" shows first, why not just watch Bones first then watch them later in the week - or even later in the night? By watching it on DVR you save about 20 minutes in commercials, so I'm sure you could squeeze in an addition 40 minutes into your evening.
Regarding the 22 episode season, Bones is actually going to have a 26 episodes season this year. It returns with new episodes on March 12 and every week thereafter will be new episodes through May 21. (11 new episodes in a row! :))
Reply
2-27-2009 @ 11:36AM
Elizabeth said...
I agree 100% with everything you said. I've had to stop watching Life on Mars because it conflicts, and had to stop watching another to watch Bones - can't ditch that one! It's really annoying that they do this.
Reply
2-26-2009 @ 10:50AM
toastatmidnight said...
What's with the assumption that everyone watches TV during the week but not on the weekends? I've got a busy work week and I don't have much time for TV until the weekends. And if there's a Bones episode sitting out there on the DVR, that's the one I watch first. The show that's piling up on my DVR right now is Heroes, and it has nothing to do with what night it airs.
Reply
2-26-2009 @ 2:54PM
jackhandy said...
"It was appointment television for both my wife and I..."
should be "...and me..."
cheers
Reply