Television today, T:SCC, and why Neilsen ratings are bs

Until the last few years I have been naive in that I didn't understand how television really worked. Granted there is still a lot I don't know as I don't work in tv, but along the way you pick up a few things.

My first example into why television in general really needs to get its head out of its ass was a movie called Serenity. It looked cool. There was this girl I'd never heard of in it named Summer Glau who could act like nobody's business. It had a great story, great characters, ans Summer Glau kicking ass! Awesome flick!

My girlfriend informed me that Serenity was based on this tv show that had a huge fan following called Firefly. Well I asked my girlfriend where I could see Firefly and she told me it was canceled after only 1 season. The huge fan base, it turned out, had raised such a fuss about their show being canceled that a movie was created to wrap up the story of the Firefly crew.

Then I learned about this thing called "Neilsen ratings". What happens is a very small (VERY small) percentage of society are given either a box (or also a diary I believe), that is used to keep track of what they watch on tv and when. This percentage is roughly (edit) 1/100%, give or take a few, of everyone in the nation. That data is given to tv networks as their means of deciding what stays on tv and what does not. Well that doesn't make sense. You mean to tell me that a small handfull of citizens are going to decide what we all watch every week? *cough* bullshit *cough*

YEP! That's exactly how it works folks. What the ENTIRE united states, and even overseas, get to watch, is in fact decided by a small handfull of people. Doesn't matter if you like watching it or not, that's all you get to watch, because that's what they like. Granted there are a lof of good shows out there still, and Neilsen families have the right to like what they like. But should that small group decide the fate of EVERYone's weekly entertainment? No, they should not.

Throughout the last few years, I learned that there have been several shows that were very good yet, to everyone's shock, still canceled. Then after being canceled they were even brought back in some form due to fans complaining, (fans that likely didn't have a Neilsen box). Firefly got Serenity. Futurama now has direct to DVD releases, Jericho got I believe one more season (because the fans literally went "nuts").

Which brings me to my motivation for writing this blog post.

I for one have never even SEEN a Neilsen box. I have however been a loyal fan of my favorite show every week, for 2 seasons, without fail. That show is Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I watched, I laughed, I cried, I rooted for the good guys, I marveled at the special & visual effects. I was in awe every week by the great stories created within the Terminator universe, within this awesome show. I in fact STILL watch via DVD, Streaming internet, and iTunes. (WB.com now has season one episodes available here: http://www.thewb.com/shows/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles)

And it's not some mindless "dumbed down" show either. It's a great show that entertains and makes you think. Not only about what you are seeing, but about the state of technology now and where it will/could go. It has great characters that have great arcs that present the question "what would YOU do if you were in these circumstances?". How would something like Judgment Day change you. Who would you become? Would you give up or keep fighting in the name of human-kind? I would, As I also continue to fight for this show, even in the face of it's cancelation.

I know good tv when I see it. I don't watch EVERY good tv show out there but I, like you, have my favorites. T:SCC is one of those.

The networks really do need to wake up and realize that Neilsen does NOT represent everyone, and too many good shows are lost all the time because the viewers OF these great shows are not all heard. I know of some people that will no longer watch FOX anymore simply because they are sick of getting into a good show only to be let down, because of the way viewers are measured. I can't say I blame them.

Ironically, and arguably, there are a few shows out there that probably SHOULD be or should HAVE been canceled long ago. But again that's just my opinion. ; )

It would ideally be better, in my opinion, if the networks made a deal with the cable/satelite companies to have all household programming tracked through THEM. I'm willing to bet that if that happened there would be a far different variety of television shows on today. (and more good than bad at that)

Thanks for reading =)