SHILO: Really, it depends on what you think ABC wants out of the night. In my best estimation, I think they would be jazzed if S.H.I.E.L.D. launches close to how they want it to and one of the comedies manages to show some life. Even with a cancellation of another comedy and Lucky 7, which is a contender for first cancellation thanks to its miniscule buzz and decidedly quiet marketing campaign, ABC would gain the pieces they need to continue building on the night and an idea of how to best utilize them going forward.
I still maintain that S.H.I.E.L.D. should have been placed at 9:00 for the halo effect it could have had on the family comedies and Lucky 7. Even if it doesn’t become the game changer that ABC wants, it’s still a big enough property to where you should try and directly attach it to as many shows as possible in order to have, say, four good pieces vs. two good pieces and two failures. I understand why they didn’t do this, as The Voice, NCIS: Los Angeles, and New Girl all air at 9:00 and their night was pretty bad overall last season, but it would have had the chance to become a tentpole, as long as the creative side of the show was where it needed to be, had it gotten 9:00 exposure.
Best-case scenario, Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. DOES do really well and that leads to people actually checking out the comedies in the 9PM hour. But Lucky 7? I think that one might be the equivalent of winning nothing on a scratcher ticket. Lottery-winning shows have rarely done that well before, and I don’t think this will be an exception.
I’m glad ABC is experimenting with a more powerful Tuesday, but if this doesn’t work out, there will be trouble.
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I am worried about Person of Interest. They are the comeback kid of the past two seasons, and their rock-steady fanbase and rise-and-fall ratings are the reasons why. The core four, the machine, the weekly person or people of interest and their background stories keep fans captivated. With two new females added to the cast, it’s going to take some good writing and good acting from the new actresses not to piss people off and turns fans away. They will be to blame (and so will the new timeslot) if they fail and get cancelled as a result.
Looking forward to The Originals. Long time SPN fan. Recording SHIELD since I’ll watch Originals live. Watching SHIELD at 10. Recording New Girl to watch with the mister later.
Where The Originals can catch/keep guys is with the dialogue of their male charcters, and fight scenes/gore. The show is about Klaus and Elijah and Marcel – this helps. No obvious love-triangle crap so far. Darker than TVD. New Orleans is a cool atmosphere. It has potential if you can get guys past the “spinoff of The Vampire Diaries” angle.
My guy liked BTVS. He liked Angel more (so did I), but enjoyed BTVS, too. If the approach to The Originals mirrors the difference between BTVS and Angel, then you’ll definitely have more guys watching it.