Battle Over: CBS gave 'Jericho' a fighting chance - Fans should...

A word or two about Moonlight. Although Moonlight runs around 8 million an episode it beats the competition in the 18-49 demographic. I think Moonlight will pick up the other 2 million when it runs consistently post strike complications. It continues to gain new viewers. 8 million and the demo isn't a bad start on a Friday night. No offence to Jericho fans but there is no comparison.

This article is well-reasoned in areas but ignores or minimizes other facts. The chief fact among them is the flawed ratings system. That should have been the focus of the article not just a paragraph or two towards the end. No meaningful change will come about as long as justification for this aniquated system continues. This article provides the justifications.

In essence, the article states "poor CBS didn't make any money." They dropped the ball with respect to profitability. I submit an idea originated from an article on a real estate website of all places. CBS did not know how to market this show in today's market. I believe that CBS had a golden opportunity to build business partners (advertisers) based upon the "nuts" campaign. Can you say "Pepsi," the largest snack maker in the US? Ratings are meant to translate into dollars. If a company believes all they have to do is support as show to sell 6 million units of peanuts each week, they are willing to pay.

Finally, shifting blame to other shows like Moonlight, is a cheap shot that was done in poor taste. Perhaps this site would prefer the packages to come to it rather than CBS?

The problem as I see it is the ratings system. Those boxes are in the hands of people who seem to thrive on hours & hours of mindless entertainment yet those boxes translate into millions of viewers. I don't believe they truly reflect the viewing or should I say non-viewing audience. Millions of people have turned away from network TV because it doesn't offer anything that peaks their interest. I think Moonlight brought in a viewship that wasn't otherwise on network TV. I don't understand why the ratings for Moonlight fell off between shows except that it is in the death slot for Friday nights. Placing the blame on Moonlight for Jericho's demise makes absolutely no sense. It has done well for a freshman show in a difficult time slot.

In this day & age, I'm not sure why a better ratings system can't be divised. With cable & satillite, there must be a more direct way of tabulating viewers than survey boxes in the hands of people looking at the lowest commen denominator in show. Why hasn't that been done? I look at weekly ratings and it is very discouraging to see in the top 10 all American Idol, reality game shows, etc and very few scripted TV. I find I'm not represented in any way. Then look at Big Brother. One of the lowest rated shows on CBS yet it continues to come back season after season. Makes no sense to me! I pray that Moonlight will rise and be counted in the ratings. If it does, it won't be from any help from CBS as it did for Jericho. If all you did was watch CBS, you'd have no idea it was coming back with new episode.

If CBS fearing that Moonlight fans will send blood if they cancel the show is what it takes to get a second, third, fourth....... season, I think it's great. Fan fear. What a weapon.

I'm sorry that the Jericho fans lost their show. I didn't like it but to each his/her own. Blaming Moonlight fans isn't fair. Moonlight has better numbers. That's the bottom line, or so we are told. I guess we will know more after we get the next 4 episodes.

If CBS fearing that Moonlight fans will send blood if they cancel the show is what it takes to get a second, third, fourth....... season, I think it's great. Fan fear. What a weapon.

I'm sorry that the Jericho fans lost their show. I didn't like it but to each his/her own. Blaming Moonlight isn't fair. Moonlight has better numbers when you count the demo. That's the bottom line, or so we are told. I guess we will know more after we get the next 4 episodes.

If CBS were fearing Moonlight fans they have a funny way of showing it. They don't promote it or tell the fans they will get a second season. So in what way are they in fear of moonlight fans. Moonlight did very well on CBS even though they had to battle writers strike, losing runners and a recasting and yet they still manage to get good ratings and win the peoples choice award for best drama. To have you blame Moonlight for the demise of Jericho is just bad reporting!

Interesting take on Jericho's demise. CBS pulled the plug because the numbers weren't there, yet they continue to rely on an out-dated numbers system. The challenge of translating new media into cold, hard cash remains. I'll be interested to see how the show fares on SciFi and if there is any chance of new episodes there.
However, blaming Moonlight fans for the demise of a show is nothing but a cheap shot. Yes, the numbers fall off between Ghost Whisperer and Numbers (both established shows and GW didn't do so well at 9 either), but Moonlight viewership has increased with each episode, and continues to win an important demographic. CBS may be taking a wait-and-see approach to Moonlight's renewal, but the show is steadily growing it's audience- the opposite problem from Jericho- so I'd hold off on the blood and nuts comparison.

Jericho's problem wasn't really CBS or the time slot. Don't get me wrong, I loved Jericho. Jericho's problem was it was too much truth for the public to handle.

The fact is the storyline in Jericho could very well be what is going on in our government today; especially with cronies the likes of Chaney and Bush. Their disdain for the less fortunate and personal need for greed and power makes Jericho too honest for people to embrace, for to embrace it would mean to face the political charlatans currently before them.

Jericho's story was very powerful. For those of us who understood how close we currently are to that type of scenario playing out, it's strength was a warning to take our right to vote seriously...to take our GOVERNMENT seriously. We can no longer be lemmings in an unconscious society.

Moonlight, on the other hand, won an award for best new drama. It brought in more of the prime demographic networks are looking for. The story is a fantasy about people helping others, romance and male bonding. They are the dreams we have about the best life we can live.

There is no question that Moonlight's audience will continue to grow. Every woman who's ever picked up a romance novel will want to cleave to Moonlight's story. Men will enjoy the action as Alex does his own wild stunts. The writers are ready to continue our journey down their interesting and original moonlit paths on their return April 25th.

Jericho would do better to live on a channel like Sci-Fi, where real-life possibilities aren't so scary to it's audience.

What I'd like to know is why it got such bad ratings, why people didn't tune in...is it really the fact that the system is a giant crock, or that Jericho fans tend to use new media more than others? It was a really well-done show.
I theorize that it was just too heavy. Great, but heavy. Nobody wants to come home from a long day at work and watch something that depresses them, hits close to home, and makes them worry about the state of their nation. It's unfortunate, because it was high quality, but they didn't do much to provide an uplifting silver lining all that often.
I've been surfing the net trying to find articles and comments by other people who have thought the same thing, and I got nutthin.

haha - cept yourmomma's post which I didn't see before I posted! aha! a compatriot.

i think it sux that says it all

I have just watched, for the umpteenth time, the. Entire 1.x seasons of Jericho.

I would think, given the current political environment, that this show would do better now than it did before ....

Could you think about a few test episodes?

Thanks
Janice