News post: US SCI FI Channel under new ownership

[Kribu]

Ah yes, but I don't think our TV channels count as normal, do they?

I must admit, I have never understood the logic behind Kanal 2, so I can't explain why they did that... to test the waters? But in any case, they already knew at that time that a series existed, so they could still base their decision, whatever the reasoning, on that knowledge.

Edit note: had a little time to think about it. What I think may have been their reasoning for showing the pilot and then the series about 3 years later (I may be way off, I have no idea how these things work):

B5 was on its 2nd or 3rd season on Finnish TV at the time. Which means that a fairly large share of the potential audience here would have already been watching it on Finnish TV (it's visible in North Estonia, i.e. about half of the market).

Kanal 2 may have bought the pilot with the option of airing the series as well - and showed the pilot as a way to test the ground, whether there was any interest or not. It may have made little sense for them to start airing the series immediately as many potential viewers would have continued to watch it on Finnish TV and not tuned in.

Instead, they may have opted to wait until the series was over on Finnish YLE 2, gave the fans a year or so of breathing space (by which time many would have been ready to view it again) and only then aired it.

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"Isn't the universe an amazing place? I wouldn't live anywhere else." - G'Kar, B5: Rangers
Kribu's Lounge | kribu@ranger.b5lr.com

[This message has been edited by Kribu (edited December 19, 2001).]

 

[Chris Springob]

OK. I think I've got it now on B5 in Europe. There are some countries where it's pretty popular, some where it's a cult show like in the US, and some where it hasn't even aired yet. None of the Europeans I know personally are from Scandinavia or the former USSR, so that's why I had the impression that it wasn't that popular in Europe.


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[drakh]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by silmaril:
I can't speak for all of Europe, but up here in our cold corner (Norway) B5 is the standard that is used to describe new series. "The best since Babylon 5", "Nothing like b5" and "Compared to b5..." are all commonly heard quotes in sci-fi communities.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>B5 had a huge effect on scifi communities in Norway given that it was (as far as I can tell) the first real SF "franchize" to be aired on terestrial TV. It was not a major ratings hit, but it did well enough in a lousy timeslot to survive for 4 seasons (the 5th airing after a letter writing campaign).

For comparison, TNG (which premiered when B5 was nearing the end of the second season) failed misserably in prime-time, then counter-programmed to B5, before finally getting dumped in a late night timeslot and getting pulled after the 4th season. It only started gaining some popularity when it was later rerun in B5's old timeslot.

Buffy was pulled after its third season. X-Files still airs, but was moved from prime-time after the 5th season.


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"Where? I don't see any guys; Just perverts!" (hear it)
-- Akane Tendo, "School is a Battlefield!", Ranma 1/2

drakh@spamcop.net

 

[Kribu]

Chris: there's more to Europe than just the UK, France and Germany.

The problem that you (not you specifically but perhaps other Americans) may have is that "Europe" is not a homogenous area. The differences in culture and taste are huge between the different countries; sometimes even neighbouring countries.

If something's said to be popular in Europe, it may have been a hit in 30 countries but failed miserably in 10 countries - and if your personal experience happens to be limited to people/situations within those ten countries, then it's entirely possible and understandable that you find it odd that it's claimed to have a huge following.

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"Isn't the universe an amazing place? I wouldn't live anywhere else." - G'Kar, B5: Rangers
Kribu's Lounge | kribu@ranger.b5lr.com

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

SavantB5 wrote
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>
Do you know what the ratings were prior to the move? That's important to know.

This sounds like they weren't holding up and they moved it to do less damage. Shows normally don't get moved if they are delivering high ratings.

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<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sorry, I do not have access to the ratings for that year.

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Andrew Swallow

 

[Demon]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> Do you know what the ratings were prior to the move? That's important to know.
This sounds like they weren't holding up and they moved it to do less damage. Shows normally don't get moved if they are delivering high ratings.


Sorry, I do not have access to the ratings for that year. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't have access to ratings either, but my understanding is that the move actually HELPED the series.

I've heard that when it moved to the early Monday a.m. time slot, it gained an audience of young people who had just got in from Sunday night clubbing. It became the cult hit for the club circuit and hence built quite a following.

It was as result of this popularity that we got all 5 series released on VHS in the UK, well before the US market.

The timing also enabled them to show the series uncensored, which the previous 6pm timeslot had not allowed.

Sadly, when Channel 4 showed Crusade, they ONLY showed it in the early Monday a.m. slot, thereby restricting it's audience.

B5 got the best of both worlds.

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Demon