Last 5 season 3 episodes will be held back. WHY?

[B5JMS Poster]

Subject: Last 5 season 3 episodes will be held back. WHY?
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 No. | DATE        |  FROM
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+  1: May  4, 1996: drl at interport.net (DRL et al)
+  2: May  5, 1996: a.johnston at worldnet.att.net (Andrew Johnston)
*  3: May  6, 1996: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)

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From: drl at interport.net (DRL et al)
Lines: 50

Greetings,

Why, when trying to build momentum for a show would the decision be
made to hold back the last five episodes? I can understand building
vewership by reshowing these episodes.

05/27/96        310   Severed Dreams
06/03/96        311   Ceremonies of Light and Dark
06/10/96        313   Sic Transit Vir
06/17/96        312   A Late Delivery from Avalon
06/24/96        314   Ship of Tears
07/01/96        315   Interludes and Examinations
07/08/96        316   War Without End, Part One
07/15/96        317   War Without End, Part Two

BUT WHY??? then show the earlier ones below?  This will only serve to
confuse newer viewers -- BOTH those picking up the show from around
5/6 --  AND those picking up the show around 7/22. ESPECIALLY when the
last 5 shows of the "third" season air.

07/22/96        301   Matters of Honor
07/29/96        302   Convictions
08/05/96        303   A Day in the Strife
08/12/96        305   Passing Through Gethsemane
08/19/96        304   Voices of Authority
08/26/96        306   Dust to Dust

Now,  if your a new viewer,  what will you make of these episodes when
they do air?  Can newer viewers be faulted for bolting the show if
they can't really tell what's going on?  Can borderline viewers really
be expeccted to care enough to remember whats going on when the last 5
shows air?

09/02/96?  62   318    Walkabout
09/09/96?  63   319    Grey 17 Is Missing
09/16/96?  64   320    And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place
09/23/96?  65   321    Shadow Dancing
09/30/96?  66   322   (?) season closer

What is the motivation for this move?  Is it really meant to
strenghten the show?  

Can something be done by the fans to make our opinion known to
whomever is responsible for what I can only perceive as...  at best,
an inept move on the part of the programers?

Peace

DRL


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From: a.johnston at worldnet.att.net (Andrew Johnston)
Lines: 42

In article <4mh3r4$c8v at park.interport.net>, drl at interport.net (DRL et al) wrote:


<thoughts about scheduling snipped>

 
> 09/02/96?  62   318    Walkabout
> 09/09/96?  63   319    Grey 17 Is Missing
> 09/16/96?  64   320    And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place
> 09/23/96?  65   321    Shadow Dancing
> 09/30/96?  66   322   (?) season closer

We'll be lucky if we get the shows on those dates. 
Seeing as PTEN/WB is so obsessive about only having new shows during sweeps,
they'll probably hold those until October and we'll get the beginning of
season 4 in November.

I really think the time is ripe for a rebellion against the
"only-show-new-eps-during sweeps"
paradigm. ER's overdependence on sweeps has resulted in a lot of articles
by influential critics
bemoaning the ubiquity of reruns. The only show (IMHO) that handles this
well is NYPD BLUE, which 
starts its season about a week into October and runs its 22 episodes
straight through May with maybe two reruns 
and three preemptions along the way. The people at 20th Century Fox (who
produce BLUE) say this is the best way
to run a continuity-heavy show. Sounds like PTEN/WB could learn a few
lessons from them...



> What is the motivation for this move?  Is it really meant to
> strenghten the show?  
> 
> Can something be done by the fans to make our opinion known to
> whomever is responsible for what I can only perceive as...  at best,
> an inept move on the part of the programers?
> 
> Peace
> 
> DRL

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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Lines: 19

I don't yet know the full story, I just came into this info this weekend,
having been away at a convention, and will try to verify it this week.  

The bad part of this, if what I've read is correct, is that you've got 4
months of reruns, June-September.  But *most* shows are in reruns at that
time, especially syndicated shows.  You've only got 22 episodes per year,
that means you're going to have reruns 30 weeks out of the year.  

The reason Warners held back 4 episodes last time for October was so that
they could help ramp up the ratings in the November sweeps.  If they're
doing the same thing here, on the up side, that would at least seem to
indicate some optimism about renewal, otherwise what would be the point in
burning them up in a non-sweeps period (like October)?



 jms


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