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Why isn't Reaper more of a hit?

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  • Why isn't Reaper more of a hit?

    I know The CW yanking it off the schedule for a while didn't help matters either... but I did want to put this question out there: The show has a great premise, a good cast of pretty people, and good writing... so why isn't it a hit as big as Smallville or Supernatural?

    I'm curious what you all think. Plus, it'll give us something to post about in here. I'll add my two cents after a few posts get rolling...

  • #2
    I think the main reason might be because of the way the CW runs its promotions and stuff. The network is trying to pull in females that like dramatic shows. whenever they do promote smallville and supernatural they always tend to promote the sex appeal aspect of the shows. i believe the fact that smallville was about superman is what braught in a lot of veiwers to begin with and having lots of superman fans caused the show to do great and the show just kept getting more people watching as the show grew. i think supernatural got a lot of viewers because of smallville since its on right after. also having jensen who was on smallville and jared who was on gilmore girls (which was another big show for the network) had fans of those actors tune in to see what it was all about.

    Repear is a great show but the way the CW handles it is whats making the show not do as well. the main characters are people not many CW veiwers have seen before. the CW also aims shows towards teenage girls so when they promoted the show they promoted by saying created by kevin smith. not many teenaged girls would know who kevin smith is so the networks main focus isnt there. plus they promoted the show as if it was similar to a corny ghostbusters or a spoof of supernatural so it was kind of a turn off. atleast thats what turned me off at first till i tuned in one day. the show would probably do better on another network.

    also like you said about the CW yanking it from the schedual is another big problem. people would think it was cancelled. especially those people who dont watch the CW often. like my best friend was telling me a while back is he thought the show was cancelled because nothing about it has been braught up and i had to tell him it was coming back sometime next year. we should of gotten a full season this year to give the show a better chance. the half season last year didnt help the show much similar how Heroes was. that show was cut short and screwed up the story and made people not like it as much as the first season. of course that was more the strke then the network. but where the CW is failing with Reaper NBC was able to make Heroes work this season and made it better by working with what went wrong last season with being cut short.

    i hope we can get atleast one full season of reaper before they decide to cancel it
    Last edited by superhippie2000; 12-23-2008, 03:47 PM. Reason: kant speel

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    • #3
      I think people generally see Reaper as a cheap knock-off of Supernatural. Easy as that IMO.

      True, the show has certain similar elements, but I don't think enough people give Reaper a chance. They have their own differences, which make them both excellent shows. It's a shame really, how not enough people watch Reaper.

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      • #4
        I think it all comes down to the feel of the show and is trying too hard.To have the elements Smallville and Supernatural has,i've seen a few episodes from Reaper.It just doesn't have what i'm looking for,to make me actually care about watching it. I wouldn't be surprised if Reaper never has a new season again. With it not being on the air for 7 months now,it appears to have been nearly forgotten. It's possible the people behind CW are worried that at this point,if it were brought back. That the show couldn't carry it's own weight.

        The major thing i'm looking at here is the ability last a long time on the air.And that requires a main plot devices that can be topped. And Sam's contract (which I find to be impossible,since he never sold his soul.) is already old now as a plot device. And the second thing which will doom this series in my opinion is there is no happy ending for Sam.

        Sam's been a likeable character and fans want to see a happy ending to a series.But since there's no way to break Sam's contract from the devil.Sam would end up in hell so with no new goals for each season,and no possible happy ending for the main character. It's set in stone that this is likely a program the company,doesn't want to risk on bringing back.

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        • #5
          I'm sure it's partly due to Reaper being an "offbeat" sort of show. Not quite true horror, or serious drama, or pure comedy, but rather a mixture that is somewhere in between. Something people aren't really used to. (Although, Reaper and Chuck seem to be similar shows and Chuck's doing well---personally I don't care for Chuck, I'll take Reaper over it any day of the week. But of course, Chuck is on NBC and has a great timeslot, so it's getting the royal treatment in comparison to Reaper.)

          But the biggest thing is probably that Reaper seems to be mainly a "guy" show, in my opinion. Reaper is about a bunch of slackers/losers (I mean I'm sure women LOVE guys like that, lol) who say "dude" and "awesome" all the time, with characters like Sock (a male pig and proud, lol...funny to guys, likely a turnoff for the gals), working in a home repair type store (which is also a guy thing). A lot of the humor seems to be "guy humor". And since the trio of male leads probably don't make most women's "ridiculously good looking" lists, they lose out on the sex appeal that may help keep shows like Supernatural and Prison Break on some women's radars. I mean if Sam and Dean, Michael and Linc etc, weren't the lookers they were, most guys would probably still watch, but they'd probably see a drop in those members of the female audience who don't really care about the action/horror elements of these shows and mainly tune in to swoon over the actors. So yeah, Reaper definitely seems like a male-oriented show to me. Guy point of view, guy humor, and a main love interest (Andi) that seems to represent "the perfect girl" for a guy's guy. Sock on more than one occasion has mentioned how Andi is like the perfect woman. And we all know the kind of guy Sock is....lol. Heck just look around the Reaper section, most of the contributors seem to be guys. I just scanned thru the Episode 1.18 - Cancun (Season Finale) thread and every single post in it seems to be from a dude, lol... One of the only female-made threads in this section was from a poster called Sam and Dean's Girl, and it's titled "is this worth watching" of all things. lol....I think somebody should start a poll to see how many females compared to males actually watched the first season because I have a feeling it may be heavily skewed toward male viewers, and then we will have our reason why Reaper isn't more of a hit.

          So, in summary:

          1. poorly handled by the CW (as Craig and Jeff talked about)
          2. offbeat comedy-drama, probably not what mainstream audiences are used to. Is this serious? Is this a joke? People just don't get it. lol
          3. "guy" show, might not be as appealing to some female demographics---lacks the "ridiculously good looking" element of guy-based shows like Prison Break and Supernatural that likely help to draw in female viewers they might not otherwise have.


          Originally posted by Clois4eva89
          I think it all comes down to the feel of the show and is trying too hard.To have the elements Smallville and Supernatural has,i've seen a few episodes from Reaper.It just doesn't have what i'm looking for,to make me actually care about watching it. I wouldn't be surprised if Reaper never has a new season again.
          In Reaper's defense, it's a different type of show. It's much more comedic. And Reaper will have a new season (a second season), so, surprise! lol


          Season Premiere, Tuesday March 17 9/8c

          Originally posted by Clois4eva89
          And Sam's contract (which I find to be impossible,since he never sold his soul.) is already old now as a plot device.
          I agree that the contract should be no good, but the funny thing is that the show itself has pointed that out. They had Ben bring it up in the very first ep, and it came up in different ways later on as well, mainly in conversations between Sam and the Devil.

          Originally posted by Clois4eva89
          And the second thing which will doom this series in my opinion is there is no happy ending for Sam.

          Sam's been a likeable character and fans want to see a happy ending to a series.But since there's no way to break Sam's contract from the devil.Sam would end up in hell so with no new goals for each season,and no possible happy ending for the main character. It's set in stone that this is likely a program the company,doesn't want to risk on bringing back.
          There's no reason to assume there's no chance of a happy ending, lol...they can go any direction they want, do anything they want, nothing is set in stone--this is fiction! More than that, it's comedy. If they want Sam to get out of the contract and get a happy ending, they can make that happen. They can do it in a serious way, or they can do it in a silly way. They can do it any number of ways.
          Last edited by Xanderman; 12-27-2008, 08:55 PM.

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          • #6
            Xanderman there is no happy ending for Sam.The only possible way is break continuity.Sam’s dad tried ripping out pages in the book. That didn't work then when Sam asked‚ the devil to talk with his dad. The devil said: I already got what I want.The devil is always one step ahead so they are painted into a corner.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Clois4eva89
              Sam’s dad tried ripping out pages in the book.
              I got the impression that he ripped out the pages because there was something on them he didn't want Sam to know.

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              • #8
                The show will evolve into a well known show I think.
                But if it ends after Season Two, then that won't happen.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Clois4eva89
                  Xanderman there is no happy ending for Sam.The only possible way is break continuity.Sam’s dad tried ripping out pages in the book. That didn't work then when Sam asked‚ the devil to talk with his dad. The devil said: I already got what I want.The devil is always one step ahead so they are painted into a corner.
                  I don't see why they would have to break continuity. Especially if the "continuity" we're going by is based on misleads or an incomplete picture, or on lies or half-truths. We can't really believe everything the devil says is true, or that the contract is even totally valid to begin with, or really know what the contract actually says (it's pretty big, lol, plus Sam's dad took some pages out). He's the devil, he lies/manipulates etc to get what he wants. And Sam's parents are keeping secrets as well. As Henrik said, it seemed to me that Sam's dad was ripping pages out to hide something from Sam, not to try to change the contract or deal he made. We got a major clue that the contract has no real weight the time the devil gave Sam a "get out of Hell free" card. Sam ended up giving it to somebody else, but I'm sure the devil gave it to him because Sam was never going to hell to begin with. The devil has nothing on Sam, and he knows it.

                  In the end, I'm sure Sam will realize that he was duped the whole time and was the devil's patsy for nothing. And then Ben will probably say "See? I TOLD you!" (in episode #1) And then Sock'll probably say "No you didn't" and then give him a wedgie. lol There's your happy ending. heh

                  The real question is, why does the devil seem to like Sam so much. Is it because he's actually his son? Or is Sam#2 "special" in some other way, much like Sam#1 from Supernatural.

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                  • #10
                    I think another thing that I notice about Reaper that is frustrating is that I never see interviews with the cast or producers anyplace... I don't know if it's due to lack of interest from the press, or if they're not willing, or what. Bret Harrison and the entire cast seem like really cool people that would gladly do the publicity, so I don't get it.

                    I don't think The CW (or ABC who produces the show) realizes what a potential hit they have on their hands, though. It's not like Buffy or Smallville where it was all anticipated and pushed... really, only the pilot directed by Kevin Smith got any press. And that's kind of sad. I think it could easily be as big as SV and SPN if nurtured in the right way.

                    As for the comment on it being mostly guys watching... hey, I think that's better than just aiming at "girls 12-34."

                    I apologize myself for not updating ReaperSite more often. I'll fix that for Season 2.

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                    • #11
                      Why are they having Season 2 start in March? It sounds like they will barely make half a season.

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                      • #12
                        They've produced 13 episodes which will all air back to back through to the end of the season.

                        I think the original plan was for it to take over Thursdays when Smallville was in repeats, but since SV repeats do so well and SV in general has done so well this season, they didn't want to take it off.

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                        • #13
                          You guys all make some really good points. And what you all say is true about the CW and whatnot.
                          These day's though it's harder to define a hit show. For the past few decades the networks have used the ratings as a measuring board of how good a show is doing, yet that's not really feasible in this day and age. With people busier than ever they don't always have time to sit down at a specific time and specific day to watch a show. That's where DVR, Internet, and DVD sales come in. The CW execs even made this point when they renewed the show.
                          Reaper is a good show, it's unique and like has been said not easy to define. CW has dropped the ball on helping this show with promotion and other types of support, so hopefully this will be remedied.

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                          • #14
                            The problem isn't just with the network though - I felt the DVD set that recently came out was very half-hearted... just like "let's get this out on DVD" rather than "here's something the fans will totally eat up." They didn't even get the logo right on the DVD.

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                            • #15
                              I agree with you there Craig there's nothing I hate more than people.Who don't give what the fans want,when that happens it tells people 1. We don't care about the fans 2. We don't care about the show and 3. We just want to make a buck.

                              That and when promises are made on audio commentary like 'hey in the future we'll do this'. And it never sees the light of day it makes me scratch my head and go: why did they say that if they aren't going to follow up with it? I'm talking about those extra special dvds like for example director Rick Rosenthal did Halloween Resurrection. On the dvd commentary he said they would release a special edition version of Resurrection. Where fans would be able to pick which p.o.v camera angle the actor/actress was wearing,and watch the movie through that view point.And if the actor or actress died then the movie would end at that point..never happened.
                              Last edited by Clois4eva89; 12-29-2008, 06:09 PM.

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