This year, the networks and studios spent more money than ever to make their TV pilots look like feature films.
They lavished more millions than ever on a number of big-name movie stars to populate these star vehicles.
Then they disbursed movie-caliber budgets to promote these big, expensive dramas.
And what do they have to show for all this spending? Early cancellations and schedule flipping, as usual.
In the hyper-competitive world of television, you really can’t buy ratings. Even if you spend record amounts like “Lost” did, there’s no guarantee. And unlike any other arena in pop culture, an audience of 8 million is considered a failure. More people saw “Kidnapped” than will ever see most opera or theater – and many weekly sporting events – yet it’s a primetime flop for NBC.
Television continues to learn the same lessons the hard way: While movies need stars, television makes stars. And story and characters still count for more than splashy special effects and action sequences.
“Smith” is a case in point.
CBS yanked tonight’s scheduled telecast of “Smith,” canceling one of the season’s high-profile, star-studded serial dramas. One of the most expensive pilots ever and among the costliest ongoing hours of the year, “Smith” handsomely paid Ray Liotta and Virginia Madsen (movie stars!) to headline the hour about a man who pulls elaborate high-stakes
heists, and his wife, who harbors her own messy past and suspicions about his present.
“Smith” shelled out big bucks for elaborately choreographed water chases, helicopter shots, a shootout in a Pittsburgh museum and huge explosions – all for what? CBS canceled “Smith” after three episodes for failing to produce competitive ratings. (For now, the Tuesday hour will be filled with reruns of “CSI” and “Criminal Minds.”)
The numbers on “Smith” declined each week, from 11 million, to 9.6 million, slipping to a fateful 8.4 million. According to a CBS spokesman, the numbers in the crucial 18-49 demographic likewise fell each week.
Unless you’re a network executive with a surround-sound, high-definition, flat-screen, hyper-engineered home TV room, those splashy chase scenes don’t carry the hour. You’ve seen better on “MI5.” Viewers abandoned “Smith” in favor of “Law & Order: SVU” on NBC and “Boston Legal” on ABC.
Meanwhile, “Heroes” on NBC, the comic-booklike epic drama with a cast of relative unknowns, has emerged as the season’s hot new series, clobbering the Monday night competition, drawing younger viewers and doing it all without a pricey movie-star lead. “Heroes” is the first network hour to get a full- season pickup.
The show has averaged a 5.7 rating, 14 share in adults 18-49, and 13.5 million viewers overall. That’s 5 million more viewers than showed up for “Smith.”
Advertisers talk about the “CPM” measurement, the cost per thousands of eyeballs (M is the Roman numeral for 1,000). Maybe a new measure should be introduced for networks negotiating with actors: “CPR,” or cost per rating. A clause in the contract would mean that unknown actors who contribute to suddenly popular shows get a financial kickback at season’s end, to be deducted from the paychecks of marquee-name stars whose shows go toes up.
In this case, Ray Liotta of “Smith” owes Masi Oka of “Heroes” a nice percentage.
Other big-name talent drawing top dollar this season includes Matthew Perry (“Studio 60”), James Woods (“Shark”), Sally Field and Calista Flockhart (“Brothers & Sisters”) and John Lithgow (“20 Good Years”). So far, they’re earning their keep better than Liotta and Madsen did, but stay tuned.
“Kidnapped” is bumped to the black hole of Saturdays beginning this week, to finish out a 13-episode run, rather than 22. “Kidnapped” had scarcely more viewers than this fall’s other abduction drama, Fox’s “Vanished,” which will be banished to Fridays (TV’s other death slot) after the world series. On the plus side, and starring a relative newcomer, ABC’s “Ugly Betty” is a certifiable hit, with 16 million viewers on Thursdays.
As more of this season’s expensive productions face extinction, producers will struggle to provide “closure” for loyal viewers. The goal is to avoid leaving fans hanging, engendering distrust for all serial dramas.
TV critic Joanne Ostrow can be reached at 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com.
