TO LIVE AND DIE IN TV

2009-07-14T09:05:00.005+01:00

It's no surprise to anyone to be told the TV is a fickle business. Shows live, breathe and die on the strength of their ratings and in a world based on collapsing finances, getting those audiences has never been more important. That said, with the multitude of channels now available, getting those same audiences has never been more difficult. Channels and Networks are much less likely to take a risk these days with new or exciting formats preferring to rely on the Detective/Police/Medical dramas or cheap reality shows cast with z-list celebrities desperately trying to revive a career probably best left in the 1980's where it died.

So where does that leave our favourite genre of Sci-Fi and Cult TV. Well, there's no denying that the runaway success of Doctor Who's revival has done wonders for bringing a renewed vigour to channels interested in trying something a little different and for the BBC this seems to have paid dividends in the arrival of shows like Merlin and indeed Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

But whereas dear old Auntie Beeb has benefitted from some well thought out and planned programming that they've taken their time over, ITV have rushed shows to screen to try and catch the "wave" so to speak and as such have presented us with paper thin efforts like Demons and Primeval that audiences have deserted in their droves leading to complete cancellation. The pity here is that both mentioned ITV shows could and should have been so much better. The premise behind both had the capacity for so much more than they ever delivered with each dabbling briefly in sub plots that should have been brought to the fore and more clearly thought out. Primeval's third season in particular dropped in plots like the paparazzi, Abby's brother and the sinister "other" agency that could have fuelled a whole season on their own had they been done properly. Primeval didn't have to be cancelled and should have run for a lot longer, especially considering the fact that with the introduction of Jason Flemyng they'd finally started to get the core cast just right! Demons? Well, ITV just need to rethink the production companies they're employing, especially when you hear stories of how many TV shows have actually been made, completed and yet will never be shown - left to sit on ITV's shelves as a reminder of how licence fees can be wasted if ITV do get a share...

And then there's Robin Hood. Sigh. I loved that show. I'll admit that the first season was pretty poor and didn't exactly endear itself to the audience. But sadly having lost that audience the show struggled to pick itself back up again throughout it's second and excellent third seasons when it really deserved a second assessment from those who'd deserted it. With ratings dwindling the final nail in the coffin came with the third season closer being shunted to BBC2, 15 minutes later than scheduled to make way for Andy Murray at Wimbledon being given pride of place on BBC1 (despite Wimbledon having been scheduled for BBC2 at that time - why not just leave everything where it should have been, then no one would have gotten lost?) Ratings for the finale plummeted to a new low and despite the BBC HD showing being on Sunday (again, making way for Wimbledon) and two weeks later the finale being reshown on Saturday BBC1 following complaints from those who'd missed it due to the move having hit preprogrammed recording methods - the show was finally cancelled. I'll miss it, although it did come to a perfect ending that rounded of it's story completely, unlike poor old Primeval left stuck up a tree...

Another time, another place we'll get into the much tougher world of US TV where a show can be cancelled after failing to pull in the audiences after 2 weeks (or in some cases be cancelled before broadcast!) but for now let's just hope the UK never falls to that kind of knee jerk reaction. TV shows need time to find their feet. Where would we have been now if 46 years ago the axe had fallen on a small budget kids Sci-Fi after it's first 13 weeks....

And so, The Asylum returns...

2009-05-03T15:29:00.002+01:00

Finally, The Asylum has opened it's doors once more to the great and the good. As you can see, one hell of a lot has changed around here with a whole new location, style and remit. Gone are the days of daily reviews of every episode of anything! Gone are the days of sticking solidly to Sci-Fi and Cult TV. Here instead is The Asylum for 2009 joining the great and the good of the blogging world!
Anyone who remembers The Asylum of old (and bear in mind that from it's earliest days as an A5 photocopied fanzine, the old girl's been going for about 18 years now!) will surely be expecting the most honest of opinions about all manner of subjects! The emphasis on TV and Movies will be staying but instead of concentrating on a certain genre, it's expanding to cover whatever has caught the eye. So, you'll undoubtedly be seeing comment on the latest Doctor Who or Lost as you'd expect, but you'll also be reading about TV and Movies in general. Comments on the latest news, behind the scenes gossip and all manner of other things that simply have to leap from the lips and onto the PC screen!
Who knows what this will all build to - maybe the old style of Asylum will be resurrected as a companion to the blog? Who can say, but keep reading, it'll always be fun!