Cavemen - ABC Trailer...everything that is wrong with Disney.

[EUROPACL]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6GuL7f0zIw

Anyone want to take bets on how long this stays on the air?

[disneyfan67]

I could see this as a one time, made for tv movie on the Fox network, but that's about it. I can't believe Disney/ABC actually is making this as a series. This thing isn't going to be the next Seinfeld or Frasier and won't have that long of a shelf life. I give it 4 episodes at most and then it will fade away like AfterMASH, SuperTrain, or the Jackie Mason show. This is a dumb move on Disney's part, a waste of money, and I would have loved been in that meeting and to hear the pitch on this series.:rolleyes:

[EUROPACL]

I could see this as a one time, made for tv movie on the Fox network, but that's about it. I can't believe Disney/ABC actually is making this as a series. This thing isn't going to be the next Seinfeld or Frasier and won't have that long of a shelf life. I give it 4 episodes at most and then it will fade away like AfterMASH, SuperTrain, or the Jackie Mason show. This is a dumb move on Disney's part, a waste of money, and I would have loved been in that meeting and to hear the pitch on this series.:rolleyes:

To give you real hope for Disney's future....Caveman is Iger's baby...he is the one pushing this through.

[RoutemanDan]

The makeup isn't even done as well as the television ads.

[disneyfan67]

Do give you real hope for Disney's future....Caveman is Iger's baby...he is the one pushing this through.




Sounds like we need a new CEO then..... maybe another "Save Disney" campaign is in order?

[disneyfan67]

The makeup isn't even done as well as the television ads.




Don't worry though, it won't be on long enough for anyone to notice.;)

[Sosai X]

The pilot episode has been making the rounds in the underground internet for a few weeks now. I watched it, and believe me, it was horrible. They have since re-worked the pilot so the show does a better introduction of the characters. Before it just jumped right into the middle of their lives, with one of them getting married to a non-cave girl. Hopefully it improves.

[EUROPACL]

Hopefully it improves.

Good God Why? Has the Caveman TV show market really been undeserved all these years and they will finally get their chance? Or are you just really wanting to see more TV commercials turned into crappy ideas?

[dwaters]

Who knows what will work??

If you saw a trailer for ALF back in the eighties about a wisecracking Alien puppet living with a family and talking about eating cats, would you have expected it to last multiple seasons and have a following? :confused3

Sometimes you just gotta throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks.

[Another Voice]

You aren’t honestly holding up ALF as an example of the quality and success that Disney should strive for – are you?


In yet another example about how bad things are at ABC – for about a week Disney had the ‘Caveman’ actors go out and attempt to “crash” real life Hollywood hot spots. The places were all the paparazzi hang out to get pictures of Britney, Paris, Lindsay and all the other professional bimbos. The idea was to spark some “discrimination events” when the actors weren’t allowed in – I guess all the photographers there were supposed to snap pictures and garner a whole bunch of free publicity for the show.

The idea backfired. The nightclubs and restaurants refused to go along with the scam, worse the paparazzi really resented being used being used for bad television. So they refused to take any pictures. Naturally, the actors and their Disney marketing handlers were becoming very frustrated. They tried several different places over about a week. The only publicity being generated was the derision on industry blogs about how pathetic Disney has got to be to attempt this kind of stunt.

Things apparently ended (in L.A. at least) with a shouting match between the paparazzi and the actors. At least they get a picture published – the actors flipped off the photographers as they drove away.


No one in Hollywood understands what ABC is doing with this. Network broadcasting is dying a quick but painful death, but no one else is so desperate to put a series like this on the air.

[dwaters]

I didn't say quality, though Alf was a quasi-success.

It does seem like a crappy idea, but I admire them for going out on a limb and trying to get away from the same old formula of attractive young singles who work at a hostpital or who live in Manhattan and are all friends.
It may be awful, but they get points for being different anyway.

[RoutemanDan]

Don't worry though, it won't be on long enough for anyone to notice.;)


We hope!

[Uncleromulus]

AV--don't be trashing Alf!! I liked that show.
As for Caveman--maybe as many shows as Quark???
Hopefully less. I can't even stand the caveman commercials---.

[EUROPACL]

I didn't say quality, though Alf was a quasi-success.

It does seem like a crappy idea, but I admire them for going out on a limb and trying to get away from the same old formula of attractive young singles who work at a hostpital or who live in Manhattan and are all friends.
It may be awful, but they get points for being different anyway.

I would admire and give points if and when Disney stops trying to put crap like this on TV and stops treating its customers like complete and utter idiots. Based on this thread I don't have any hopes that will change or that they are far off.

[DancingBear]

It may be awful, but they get points for being different anyway.What, you never saw the Munsters? The Addams Family? Beverly Hillbillies? Watermelon Man? The Jeffersons?

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

What, you never saw the Munsters? The Addams Family? Beverly Hillbillies? Watermelon Man? The Jeffersons?


This will be the best television show since My Mother The Car!

BobK/Orlando

[Baloo76]

I've seen this pilot and it's actually pretty funny (an out of context trailer doesn't do it justice). I've shown it to family and friends as well (male and female from 23 to 60) and they have also enjoyed it and were very surprised. Now I don't think it will last very long either, but not because it's not good, but because most people will think 'A show based off a Geico commercial? That's stupid' and just not watch it.

And anything is better than another game show or reality show!

[Wick]

I've got to run with the crowd on this one. No idea why this is even happening.

[Another Voice]

The basic reason is supply and demand when it comes down to it.

ABC attracts the smallest male adult demographic of any of the networks. One hears rumors that even the CW pulls in more men. Around town ABC is known as the boardcast outlet for Lifetime. The trend started back when Iger decided to give up ABC's 'Monday Night Football' to save 'Desperate Housewives' and the massive dive that 'Lost' took in the ratings.

This problem is costing ABC a ton of money - image all those beer, car and "little blue pill" ads that aren't being run on the network.

So ABC went out to find some "straight man" friendly shows. The problem is that no one in Hollywood wants to work with either ABC or Disney. Even Jerry Bruckheimer sells his television shows to other networks. 'Caveman' was one of the few pilot ABC had that might attract men. All the "cool" shows have gone elsewhere, so ABC has a pitful supply to meet its demand.

[EUROPACL]

ABC attracts the smallest male adult demographic of any of the networks. One hears rumors that even the CW pulls in more men. Around town ABC is known as the boardcast outlet for Lifetime. The trend started back when Iger decided to give up ABC's 'Monday Night Football' to save 'Desperate Housewives' and the massive dive that 'Lost' took in the ratings.

'Caveman' was one of the few pilot ABC had that might attract men. All the "cool" shows have gone elsewhere, so ABC has a pitful supply to meet its demand.

I had to look these up because I haven't watched an ABC show in years...and that trend will continue.


PRIMETIME 2007|2008
New Fall Show Preview
According To Jim
American Inventor
America's Funniest Home Videos
The Bachelor
Big Shots
Boston Legal
Brothers and Sisters
Carpoolers
Cashmere Mafia
Cavemen
Dancing With the Stars
Desperate Housewives
Dirty Sexy Money
Eli Stone
Extreme Makeover
Extreme Makeover Home Edition
Fat March
George Lopez
Grey's Anatomy
Just For Laughs
Lost
Men In Trees
Miss Guided N
otes from the Underbelly
October Road
Pushing Daisies
Private Practice
Samantha Who?
Supernanny
Ugly Betty
What About Brian*
Wife Swap
Women's Murder Club


That list is sadder than the list of upcoming movies for Disney.

[Lilolvr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6GuL7f0zIw

Anyone want to take bets on how long this stays on the air?That's what they said about the Simpsons 20 years ago. "No one wants to watch a cartoon in prime time".

[EUROPACL]

That's what they said about the Simpsons 20 years ago. "No one wants to watch a cartoon in prime time".

So your guess is 20 years? I'm going to go with less than 6 shows....before they replace it with Cat Grooming with the Stars.

[Johnacon]

Sounds like a bunch of you woke up on the wrong side of the rock!

[Wick]

Sounds like a bunch of you woke up on the wrong side of the rock!


LMAO:lmao:

[EUROPACL]

LMAO:lmao:

Sounds like a bunch of you woke up on the wrong side of the rock!

Oh boy a new game...I'm betting once a show that "joke" will be used....wait a second you're not working on this show are you? That would be cheating.

[Squirlz]

I would admire and give points if and when Disney stops trying to put crap like this on TV and stops treating its customers like complete and utter idiots. Based on this thread I don't have any hopes that will change or that they are far off.


But the idiot audience is where the money is. I mean, look at American Idol.

[Wick]

Oh boy a new game...I'm betting once a show that "joke" will be used....wait a second you're not working on this show are you? That would be cheating.

No sir!
The irony in all this is that the commercials themselves are funny/amusing/entertaining-- at least to a majority of viewers (if they weren't, they wouldn't be as popular are they have become). It seems Geico hired a decently creative marketing firm, as the newer commercials are equally entertaining. Anyone see them yet? The Flintstones spoof is pretty good.

[perdidochas]

I could see this as a one time, made for tv movie on the Fox network, but that's about it. I can't believe Disney/ABC actually is making this as a series. This thing isn't going to be the next Seinfeld or Frasier and won't have that long of a shelf life. I give it 4 episodes at most and then it will fade away like AfterMASH, SuperTrain, or the Jackie Mason show. This is a dumb move on Disney's part, a waste of money, and I would have loved been in that meeting and to hear the pitch on this series.:rolleyes:


or it could be like ALF that somehow ran for 3 yrs.

[DC7800]

But the idiot audience is where the money is. I mean, look at American Idol.

There is no doubt that American audiences are many times more intelligent than Hollywood gives them credit for. While it does sometimes appear that the dumber, more idiotic, the show (many "reality' shows of the past few years) - the bigger success it is, I don't think (hope...) that is literally true.

From the list of ABC's primetime lineup, I can pick maybe two shows that I'd watch. That's it, and I'm not particularly excited about those.

[Another Voice]

But the idiot audience is where the money is. I mean, look at American Idol.
No, it's the audience that they have left.

The trend in network television for more twenty years is the loss of veiwers. People are going to cable, to pay-per-view, to local stations, to home video, to the Internet, to reading a book. This summer the networks pulled in the lowest number of viewers since the invention of the modern rating system. And there were some nights that attracted the fewest veiwers since the days of black and white broadcasting.

It's not that the audience wants stupid programs, it's that most of the audience has left the network and now they are left with a small and strange demographic.

It's a race to the bottom. Networks have to cut the cost of their programs faster than their audience shirnks. This has resulted in bad, poorly made shows that drive even more people away. So, the network must cut more on the next show...and so on.

[G8RFAN]

From the list of ABC's primetime lineup, I can pick maybe two shows that I'd watch. That's it, and I'm not particularly excited about those.
I just realized that I haven't seen any of them. Not one episode. Maybe 5 minutes of Boston Legal and George Lopez while channel surfing but that's it. Of course, I don't think the other networks airtime gets that much more of my attention either except for the local news.

[disneyskeptic]

Someone posting something negative about Disney? There is hope for this board after all.;)

[YoHo]

clearly you're new here.

[Wick]

This summer the networks pulled in the lowest number of viewers since the invention of the modern rating system. And there were some nights that attracted the fewest veiwers since the days of black and white broadcasting.

Just outta curiosity, you got a source on that? I find that really hard to believe. Granted, ratings aren't what they could be if we had some more quality programming. But I just don't see how it's gotten so bad to the point that records were broken. Especially the part about attracting less viewers since black and white broadcasting-- if you consider the astronomical increase in TV sets per household in America since the 50s (along with other factors like the dramatic increase in population), I estimate that you would have to have more than half of Americans with TV sets not watch it for one night.

[buckylarue]

Not QUITE as dismal as stated, but here's the AP article on last week's ratings for the big 4 networks and what records were broken:

Quiet Week for Television Networks

By DAVID BAUDER – September 5, 2007

NEW YORK (AP) — With many viewers apparently outside enjoying summer's last hurrah, the broadcast television networks hit a negative ratings trifecta only a few weeks before the start of the fall season.

NBC and Fox had their lowest ratings among young viewers since at least 1987, when Nielsen Media Research began precise people meter measurements. ABC tied its record-low rating among those same 18-to-49-year-old viewers, bottoming out at the same level it hit two other weeks this summer.

All three networks chase that youthful demographic almost exclusively.

The average of 4.2 million viewers of all ages who tuned in to NBC in prime time last week was the network's lowest in decades. The other networks' weekly averages turned out to be the third-lowest for ABC, fourth-lowest for Fox and ninth-lowest for CBS, according to Nielsen.

Judging by a schedule clogged with even more reruns than usual, it's obvious the broadcasters didn't put much emphasis on the week. They're more worried about the fall season, which begins the last week of September. But last week's troubles meant fewer viewers were available to watch network promos for their new series.

The only program to deliver more than 10 million viewers last week was a rerun of "Two and a Half Men" on CBS.

For the week, CBS dominated with 6.8 million viewers (4.5 rating, 8 share). Fox had 4.4 million viewers (2.8, 5), ABC had 4.3 million (2.9, 5), NBC had 4.2 million (2.8, 5), the CW had 1.8 million (1.2, 2), My Network TV had 920,000 (0.7, 1) and ION had 590,000 (0.4, 1).

Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision averaged 3.2 million viewers (1.7 rating, 3 share), Telemundo had 950,000 (0.5, 1), TeleFutura had 680,000 (0.4, 1) and Azteca had 190,000 (0.1, 0).

Brian Williams of NBC's "Nightly News" took advantage of Charles Gibson's vacation on ABC to climb atop the evening news ratings. NBC averaged 7.8 million viewers last week (5.3 rating, 11 share), ABC's World News" had 7.6 million viewers (5.1, 11) and the "CBS Evening News" had 5.9 million (4.1, 9).

A ratings point represents 1,130,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 112.8 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

For the week of Aug. 27-Sept 2, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 10.31 million; "The Power of Ten" (Tuesday), CBS, 9.89 million; "CSI: Miami," CBS, 9.09 million; "CSI: NY," CBS, 8.9 million; "Criminal Minds," 8.46 million; "The Power of Ten" (Wednesday), CBS, 8.34 million; "Big Brother 8" (Tuesday), CBS, 8.14 million; "House," Fox, 7.95 million; "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 7.77 million; "Rules of Engagement," CBS, 7.62 million.

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is a division of CBS Corp. Fox is a unit of News Corp. NBC is owned by General Electric Co. Telemundo is owned by General Electric. TeleFutura is a division of Univision. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks.

[EUROPACL]

Just outta curiosity, you got a source on that? I find that really hard to believe. Granted, ratings aren't what they could be if we had some more quality programming. But I just don't see how it's gotten so bad to the point that records were broken. Especially the part about attracting less viewers since black and white broadcasting-- if you consider the astronomical increase in TV sets per household in America since the 50s (along with other factors like the dramatic increase in population), I estimate that you would have to have more than half of Americans with TV sets not watch it for one night.

Why do people keep questioning AV on these things? I've never seen someone that has to "backup" everything they say as many times as AV and he is the one that works in the biz.

[Another Voice]

I don’t mind providing back-up at all. This is the internet; nothing should be taken at face value.

Television ratings are fun things. The "lowest rating ever" was a comment from a friend at NBC. Their 1.1 for a Stanley Cup was the lowest recorded rating for a program ever for NBC - sports, entertainment, whatever. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs2007/news/story?id=2894490
(The episode of 'West Wing' mentioned in the article actually scored a couple hundredths of a point higher, but ratings are traditionally rounded to a single decimal point.)

The article that buckylarue posted has a good explanation of the differences between rating points and share.

Rating information is controlled by the Nielson company and a subscription to a ratings book is a very expensive. They’ve also been very aggressive about wiping the internet of numbers. The only good historical information I’ve been able to find on the pipes of the Internets is the share.

I took a quick look at fifty years ago – 1957. The U.S. population in 1957 was 172 million people. Today, it’s some 300 million people – virtually doubled. The one estimate I found said that 1957 some 90% of all American households owned television sets (that was up from just 10% in 1953). The article is at http://www.loti.com/fifties_TV/you_are_there_history_comes_to_television.htm

According to the website (http://www.trivia-library.com/c/top-television-show-ratings-1957.htm), the top show in 1957 was ‘Gunsmoke’ with a 43.1 share. That means 43.1% of all households with televisions watched the show. The top rated show in 2007 was ‘American Idol’ with a share of 27. The highest rated series was ‘CSI’ with a share of 17. What’s interesting was that in 1957, a share of 27 wouldn’t even have landed you in the top ten.

I’ll continue to see if I can publish the actual number of viewers. If nothing else, these numbers show how fractured the television landscape has become. Networks used to be able to get well over a third of the country to watch them, now it takes a true miracle show like ‘Idol’ to not-even-come-close to that result.

FYI: The Top Ten for 1957 and their shares:

1. Gunsmoke CBS 43.1
2. The Danny Thomas Show CBS 35.3
3. Tales of Wells Fargo NBC 35.2
4. Have Gun Will Travel CBS 33.7
5. I've Got a Secret CBS 33.4
6. The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp ABC 32.6
7. General Electric Theater CBS 31.5
8. The Restless Gun NBC 31.4
9. December Bride CBS 30.7
10. You Bet Your Life NBC 30.6

And for interest – in 1955:
1. The $64,000 Question CBS 47.5
2. I Love Lucy CBS 46.1
3. The Ed Sullivan Show CBS 39.5
4. Disneyland ABC 37.4
5. The Jack Benny Show CBS 37.2
6. December Bride CBS 37.0
7. You Bet Your Life NBC 35.4
8. Dragnet NBC 35.0
9. The Millionaire CBS 33.8
10. I've Got a Secret CBS 33.5


For 2007, the top rated ABC show was ‘Dancing with the Stars’ with a 12.7 rating and a 20 share; the top ABC series was ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ with a 10.3/16.

[YoHo]

Why do people keep questioning AV on these things? I've never seen someone that has to "backup" everything they say as many times as AV and he is the one that works in the biz.

If Hollywood is good at one thing, it's spin. Combine that with the fact that the average American literally can't conceive of the financial world in which Hollywood operates and it becomes obvious why it's so hard for people to believe. I mean come on, if you didn't have it spelled out for you, would you believe that a movie that made nearly $1 billion in the theater was a financial failure? I know it's true, because I've been watching it all play out and listening to AV and reading other sources.

[EUROPACL]

I know its the Interwebnet and all...but still after 7 years of post and in this case someone reading them for 5 years you would have to say to yourself "hey this guy knows what he is talking about...maybe I don't need to challenge him on everything." In this case its not as if the networks are going to go around yelling at the top of the lungs..."hey we can't get 10 million people to watch our shows".

[Uncleromulus]

All this is probably why I watch Turner Classic Movies---

[fitzperry]

For 2007, the top rated ABC show was ‘Dancing with the Stars’ with a 12.7 rating and a 20 share; the top ABC series was ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ with a 10.3/16.

Is anyone else surprised that with all the choices on television a network show can pull in 20% of the tv audience? I'd have expected the ratings to be even lower.

[G8RFAN]

Looking at what is available in the household to entertain, the fact that network tv has can even be measured regardless of content is mindboggling. There was a point when I thought the transition to digital in '09 was going to give them a huge edge, but with so much bandwidth available through cable and satellite, they have lost the HDTV advantage even before it is mandated into the mainstream households. There are so many choices, each claiming their own little niche and TIVO and similar technology has also challenged the metrics of the ratings system. Even with all these challenges, the "networks" have also expanded into the various niches of the non-broadcast market. Do as the romans do. I don't think you can fairly look at network television today and compare it to 40 years ago. Look at radio. How many households do you know that still gather together around the radio at night listening to big bands or a mystery show. Even then, they too are challenged by digital satellite radio. I guarantee that someday we will no longer need terrestrial signal broadcast and "network" tv and radio as we know it ceases to exist as rural markets become wired or satellite becomes an affordable option for all.

[mjstaceyuofm]

Just outta curiosity, you got a source on that? I find that really hard to believe. Granted, ratings aren't what they could be if we had some more quality programming. But I just don't see how it's gotten so bad to the point that records were broken. Especially the part about attracting less viewers since black and white broadcasting-- if you consider the astronomical increase in TV sets per household in America since the 50s (along with other factors like the dramatic increase in population), I estimate that you would have to have more than half of Americans with TV sets not watch it for one night.It's not about how many people turn their TVs off in one night - it's about what they watch (or in this case don't watch).

There are so many channels anymore it becomes real easy to see how diluted the market is. My regular lineup of channels consists of ESPN, Fox Sports (insert city name here), HGTV, Travel Channel, PBS, Food TV, Discovery Channel and the local newscast. I'd rather watch "Good Deal with Dave Lieberman" or "Easy Entertaining w/ Michael Ciarello" (sp??) on FoodTV or "Dirty Jobs" on Discovery any day of the week over any network show on TV. I just flat out don't have the time to stay committed to a show anymore. The only show I've watched over the past 5 years has been "The Sopranos" and barely at that. People just don't have the time to stay committed to shows any more. Nor are they interesting enough to keep them tuning back in....

[Wick]

I know its the Interwebnet and all...but still after 7 years of post and in this case someone reading them for 5 years you would have to say to yourself "hey this guy knows what he is talking about...maybe I don't need to challenge him on everything." In this case its not as if the networks are going to go around yelling at the top of the lungs..."hey we can't get 10 million people to watch our shows".

Jeez, struck a nerve there, didn't I.

Thanks for the explanation AV

[Peter Pirate 2]

It's not about how many people turn their TVs off in one night - it's about what they watch (or in this case don't watch).

My regular lineup of channels consists of ESPN, Fox Sports (insert city name here), HGTV, Travel Channel, PBS, Food TV, Discovery Channel and the local newscast. ....

ESPN???? ESPN????? ESPN???????????? :scared1:

:headache: In my eyes ESPN is controlled by evil people interested in taking over the world one ridiculous 'greatest' list at a time, one bad self egrandising announcer at a time or one too many mentions of 'Junior' at a time ... And they're succeeding...OHHHHHHH AAARRRGGHHH...:scared1:AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!



Sorry.:thumbsup2

Have I talked about this before???:confused3

I just don't like Espn very much....:sick:
pirate:

[KMovies]

Even in the dead of summer, network TV is the place to be.

For the week of August 27, the top 20 network programs had shares of 4.0 to 6.6 and audiences of 6m - 10.3m.

On Cable, just one program was in that range. The Closer with a 5.1 share and 7.8m viewers.

For syndicated programs, there were 7 with a share of 4.0 or higher and 6 of those with an audience of over 6m viewers (many of these are on one of the network's local stations anyways).

Yes, Gunsmoke had a 43% share - but face it, there were only 3 networks at the time and most market had at tops 1 independant station. There are now 5 networks, and too many cable channels to count.

[DancingBear]

Uhhh, yeah, Kmovies, that's why A-V's quote that started this whole ratings discussion was:

The trend in network television for more twenty years is the loss of veiwers. People are going to cable, to pay-per-view, to local stations, to home video, to the Internet, to reading a book.Nobody was arguing that any particular show or channel on basic cable beats the networks.

[YoHo]

Uh, Highschool musical 2 outdrew all other shows the week it debuted on cable and If I recall correctly, Hannah Montana also drew higher audiences then anything on network TV that week.


Also, 6 of the top 10 Broadcast TV shows last week were NFL related. Those were the only shows with double digit shares.

[adabob]

I think that it will be great

[Disney MAINEiac]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6GuL7f0zIw

Anyone want to take bets on how long this stays on the air?

If it fails it will be because they don't have the same "cavemen" from the commercials, or they deviate from the commercials premis and don't incorporate the people who developed the characters for the commercial. those commercials are the best television I've seen in 10-years. That said i'm sure some million $ per episode pointy head executive will find a way to screw it up:confused:

[EUROPACL]

I think that it will be great
???

State Trooper: You fellas been doing a bit of boozing, have you? Suckin back on grandpa's old cough medicine?




If it fails it will be because they don't have the same "cavemen" from the commercials, or they deviate from the commercials premis and don't incorporate the people who developed the characters for the commercial. those commercials are the best television I've seen in 10-years. That said i'm sure some million $ per episode pointy head executive will find a way to screw it up

Quick name all of the other really good TV shows based on TV comericals.....and add to that even Geico ran out of ideas for 30 second TV spots after 4 comericals.

[Disney MAINEiac]

???
Quick name all of the other really good TV shows based on TV comericals.....and add to that even Geico ran out of ideas for 30 second TV spots after 4 comericals.

Other commercial that led to successful shows isn't the point. good writing is good writing! I stick by my statement that they will find a way to screw it up, so i am voting that it will fail!

However if they follow the right track and actually poke fun at Politically correct society (which has wimp-a-fied a country) it could work, IMHO.

will it? No! they will screw it up cause they won't have the guts to risk offending to get laughs and it will wither and die:rolleyes1

[Keyser]

Other commercial that led to successful shows isn't the point. good writing is good writing! I stick by my statement that they will find a way to screw it up, so i am voting that it will fail!

However if they follow the right track and actually poke fun at Politically correct society (which has wimp-a-fied a country) it could work, IMHO.

will it? No! they will screw it up cause they won't have the guts to risk offending to get laughs and it will wither and die:rolleyes1

You know, maybe the series really will have great writing, acting, production, etc. But, the fact that it's based off of a commercial can't be ignored. They chose to do this. As a result, no one is going to go into that series without a bunch of preconceived ideas, the majority of which revolve around "this seems like a dumb idea." I have yet to hear anyone say "Wow, that sounds like a show I want to watch."

If the show really is good, that ought to eventually win out over the initial reaction. But, they've put themselves at a disadvantage to begin with. I can't believe that they really are thinking "This is such a great story that we have to tell it, even if people do think it's a dumb idea at first." The whole thing just feels like the product of a committee trying to check off boxes oblivious to the idea of making a show anyone would want to watch.

[DancingBear]

However if they follow the right track and actually poke fun at Politically correct society (which has wimp-a-fied a country) it could work, IMHO.The commercials don't exactly make fun of PC, though. The cavemen (who are the protagonists) in the commercials seek more sensitivity.

The entire premise which you spoke so highly of above seems to be that there are cavemen living among us, who apparently are just like us in every way except that they look different. Worked for a limited purpose in short commercials--it's hard to see how that could be extended to multiple half-hour sitcoms.

[G8RFAN]

I'm just thankful that it isn't about the Burger King freaky dude. ;)

Seriously, we have seen sketches from SNL turn into full length feature films with some of them reaching cult and classic status, showing that a little bit of base comedy can inspire some pretty good entertainment. I also doubt that we'll see this turn into something long term and successful as the odds are stacked enormously against them, but you never know.

[ChrisFL]

I'm just thankful that it isn't about the Burger King freaky dude. ;)

Seriously, we have seen sketches from SNL turn into full length feature films with some of them reaching cult and classic status, showing that a little bit of base comedy can inspire some pretty good entertainment.


right, but in those cases the base comedy was actually FUNNY

[G8RFAN]

right, but in those cases the base comedy was actually FUNNY
Not disagreeing but there are some that don't like those SNL skits either. The cave man in the shrink's office was funny to me..... Of course the Geico commerical with Little Richard was absolutely hysterical.

[imsorry]

I think my IQ went down just looking at that :sad2:

[YoHo]

I'm just an unfrozen Caveman. I don't understand your concepts of good writing and storytelling or your ideas of viewer shares, but I do know that Gieco stopped running those spots. I wonder why?


Probably cause Erin Esurance is both more interesting and drawn better.


Which of course begs the question of when we're gonna get that show, because there actually are people who wait for those commercials to see how the romance between Erin and guy whose car always gets trashed is going.

[EUROPACL]

I'm just an unfrozen Caveman. I don't understand your concepts of good writing and storytelling or your ideas of viewer shares, but I do know that Gieco stopped running those spots. I wonder why?
.

BWHAHAHAHAHA...

http://img20.photobucket.com/albums/v60/lindstroms/caveman-lawyer2.jpg

[mjstaceyuofm]

I'm just an unfrozen Caveman. I don't understand your concepts of good writing and storytelling or your ideas of viewer shares, but I do know that Gieco stopped running those spots. I wonder why?


Probably cause Erin Esurance is both more interesting and drawn better.


Which of course begs the question of when we're gonna get that show, because there actually are people who wait for those commercials to see how the romance between Erin and guy whose car always gets trashed is going.
Not to mention the fact that Erin is HOT!

[YoHo]

You said it, I didn't

(CYA)

[maxtomsmom]

I don’t mind providing back-up at all. This is the internet; nothing should be taken at face value.

Television ratings are fun things. The "lowest rating ever" was a comment from a friend at NBC. Their 1.1 for a Stanley Cup was the lowest recorded rating for a program ever for NBC - sports, entertainment, whatever. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs2007/news/story?id=2894490
(The episode of 'West Wing' mentioned in the article actually scored a couple hundredths of a point higher, but ratings are traditionally rounded to a single decimal point.)

The article that buckylarue posted has a good explanation of the differences between rating points and share.

Rating information is controlled by the Nielson company and a subscription to a ratings book is a very expensive. They’ve also been very aggressive about wiping the internet of numbers. The only good historical information I’ve been able to find on the pipes of the Internets is the share.

I took a quick look at fifty years ago – 1957. The U.S. population in 1957 was 172 million people. Today, it’s some 300 million people – virtually doubled. The one estimate I found said that 1957 some 90% of all American households owned television sets (that was up from just 10% in 1953). The article is at http://www.loti.com/fifties_TV/you_are_there_history_comes_to_television.htm

According to the website (http://www.trivia-library.com/c/top-television-show-ratings-1957.htm), the top show in 1957 was ‘Gunsmoke’ with a 43.1 share. That means 43.1% of all households with televisions watched the show. The top rated show in 2007 was ‘American Idol’ with a share of 27. The highest rated series was ‘CSI’ with a share of 17. What’s interesting was that in 1957, a share of 27 wouldn’t even have landed you in the top ten.

I’ll continue to see if I can publish the actual number of viewers. If nothing else, these numbers show how fractured the television landscape has become. Networks used to be able to get well over a third of the country to watch them, now it takes a true miracle show like ‘Idol’ to not-even-come-close to that result.

FYI: The Top Ten for 1957 and their shares:

1. Gunsmoke CBS 43.1
2. The Danny Thomas Show CBS 35.3
3. Tales of Wells Fargo NBC 35.2
4. Have Gun Will Travel CBS 33.7
5. I've Got a Secret CBS 33.4
6. The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp ABC 32.6
7. General Electric Theater CBS 31.5
8. The Restless Gun NBC 31.4
9. December Bride CBS 30.7
10. You Bet Your Life NBC 30.6

And for interest – in 1955:
1. The $64,000 Question CBS 47.5
2. I Love Lucy CBS 46.1
3. The Ed Sullivan Show CBS 39.5
4. Disneyland ABC 37.4
5. The Jack Benny Show CBS 37.2
6. December Bride CBS 37.0
7. You Bet Your Life NBC 35.4
8. Dragnet NBC 35.0
9. The Millionaire CBS 33.8
10. I've Got a Secret CBS 33.5


For 2007, the top rated ABC show was ‘Dancing with the Stars’ with a 12.7 rating and a 20 share; the top ABC series was ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ with a 10.3/16.

What's funny about this is my mom still watches Gunsmoke faithfully. Loves it- not sure what that says about my mom never seeing an episode myself. Maybe it rocks better than the new caveman show. Fifty years later it's still on the air.:confused3

[EUROPACL]

What's funny about this is my mom still watches Gunsmoke faithfully. Loves it- not sure what that says about my mom never seeing an episode myself. Maybe it rocks better than the new caveman show. Fifty years later it's still on the air.:confused3

I still watch reruns of the black and white Andy Griffith show and its better than 95% of the other stuff on TV these days.

[100_acre_woods]

Anyone want to take bets on how long this stays on the air?

Hopefully two seconds after the opening credits....:happytv:

[plutospup]

Good writing, production, and acting can make even a bad idea a good, long lasting television show. I remember a show about a loudmouthed, undereducated bigot. Who would think this concept would be successful? Of course All In The Family ran for many years, and collected numerous Emmy awards.

Do I think Caveman will be as successful-No. In today's broadcast mentality of doing it cheap, throwing it at the masses, and giving it maybe two weeks of becoming a hit, I don't have much hope for Caveman.

What is the main goal of television programming? Selling "soap". If Caveman can find an advertising audience, the show will go on. (Maybe Geico?) Just like St. Elsewhere whereby the ratings were not huge, but it fit a demographic that advertisers were willing to reach. The show continued for many years.

BTW...Supertrain! I'm shocked that anyone except Fred Silverman remembers that show!! BIG budget - NO results :rotfl: