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|  #1 Posted on 9.4.05 1541.55
Reposted on: 9.4.12 1552.10 | Now, I don't really know how many of the other W's on the board watch Boston Legal...but I thought I'd pass this along regardless....
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LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) It's the kind of choice that most networks not named "CBS" would probably kill for: Do you return your successful first-year drama to the air after a planned hiatus, or do you stick with the even more successful replacement drama? In the end, ABC just looked at the numbers and elected to have "Grey's Anatomy" keep the coveted 10 p.m. ET time slot on Sunday nights, rather than having "Boston Legal" return on April 24 as previously scheduled.
As a result of the move, announced Friday (April 8), "Grey's Anatomy" will continue to be partnered with "Desperate Housewives" through the end of the May sweeps period and the conclusion of the official 2004-05 season.
ABC gave "Boston Legal" an early 2005-06 renewal earlier this week, but the David E. Kelley won't air again until next fall. The five unseen episodes from this season will become the start of a 27-episode second season for "Boston Legal."
"We're in the enviable position of having two shows that have each performed extremely well for us Sundays at 10:00 -- 'Boston Legal' and 'Grey's Anatomy,'" says ABC Entertainment Present Stephen McPherson. "We had already picked up 'Boston Legal' for next year based on its stellar run thus far this season. Now, with the strong debut of 'Grey's Anatomy,' we are very optimistic about having an additional asset of tremendous value heading into fall. However, with this embarrassment of riches comes a tough decision."
The numbers were fairly straight forward. For the season, "Desperate Housewives" has averaged nearly 22.8 million viewers per week, as the drama has come out of nowhere to become television's second most watched drama. With its 17 original episodes this season, "Boston Legal" has averaged 12.5 million viewers, making it one of year's top new shows. However, in two episodes since its midseason premiere, "Grey's Anatomy" has averaged just under 17 million viewers, building on its audience from its first to second weeks.
Originally, the "Anatomy" Sunday run was only to be four episodes, but its instant success led to a reevaluation of those plans. There had been rumors that ABC was considering shifting "Boston Legal" to Monday nights at 10 p.m., which would have mirrored a similar scheduling shift that nearly killed its parent drama "The Practice."
"Ultimately we decided that, without having adequate lead time or marketing dollars to devote to moving either show so late in the season, we'd continue to let 'Grey's' build on its tremendous momentum through May," McPherson explains. "We're extremely excited that this will give us the amazing luxury of bringing 'Boston Legal' back next season with an unheard-of 27 original episodes."
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This bums me out personally...as it was one of my favorite shows of the season...knowing I wont be able to see it again until the fall bothers me. Good way for them to lose a following IMO.
| Promote this thread! |             | Big Bad
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| #2 Posted on 9.4.05 1604.01
Reposted on: 9.4.12 1605.12 | If it ain't broke....
ABC doesn't exactly have a lot of other hits to debut shows after, but why not move Grey's Anatomy after Lost on Wednesday nights?
Boston Legal is actually a terrific show....Shatner and Spader are just so entertaining to watch. | Quezzy
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| #3 Posted on 9.4.05 1808.10
Reposted on: 9.4.12 1814.16 | Originally posted by Big Bad
ABC doesn't exactly have a lot of other hits to debut shows after, but why not move Grey's Anatomy after Lost on Wednesday nights?
Nooooo, don't break up the JJ Abrams super show of Lost/Alias. | PeterStork
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| #4 Posted on 9.4.05 1856.41
Reposted on: 9.4.12 1859.01 | The logical move would be for ABC to move Grey's Anatomy to Tuesday or Wednesday since it seems to carry the greater share. As much as I like Boston Legal, I don't think it can pull the same numbers without Housewives as a lead in.
Mondays are death for ABC. No Mondays.
The other alternative is a Fox-like on-again, off again partnership where the two share the time slot, Legal starting in, oh, late July and running through the first half of the Nielsen season until Anatomy returns, but, again, without first-run Housewives as a lead-in Legal would be DOA anyway. Maybe if (when?) Blind Justice or Eyes peeters out and avoids renewal it can snag one of those slots, unless ABC's hour-long development is really good.
Just no Mondays. Or Thursdays. Or Fridays or Saturdays. Other than that, I'm cool.
| geemoney
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| #5 Posted on 9.4.05 1910.26
Reposted on: 9.4.12 1912.55 | This bummed me out seriously. Along with "House" and "Lost", this was my favorite new show of the season. I was one of the only people (I guess) that liked the last season of "The Practice" too.
I'm surprised they'd pull the plug this early- "Grey's Anatomy" has only aired for two weeks. | Roy.
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| #6 Posted on 9.4.05 2106.42
Reposted on: 9.4.12 2109.37 | Damn. I have no interest in "Grey", and was looking forwards to the rest of the "Boston Legal" season. As stated, Spader and Shatner are incredible, and Spader's (odd) interview in Playboy this month made me realize how much I miss the show.
I really hope that they find a good spot for it next season. I though Sunday was perfect (especially with the "tradition" of that slot for Practice/Boston Legal), and I can see it getting slaughtered Tues-Thurs. | J. Kyle
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| #7 Posted on 10.4.05 0610.38
Reposted on: 10.4.12 0625.52 | Originally posted by PeterStork
Maybe if (when?) Blind Justice or Eyes peeters out and avoids renewal it can snag one of those slots
I realize I haven't got off my ass to post a "God doesn't Eyes rule?" thread but I have to say that EYES IS AWESOME AND MUST RUN FOR AT LEAST THREE SEASONS.
And Anatomy is fine but it's not in Legal's league. Period. Fuck ABC for not finding a way to work this out that would let me me see those episodes before fall... and moving to a death slot is not an acceptable answer. | Packman V2
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| #8 Posted on 10.4.05 1054.17
Reposted on: 10.4.12 1055.11 | The only plus side I can think of this is at least they left with a good episode, Shore going to Texas had the feel of a Season Finale, and left a lot of cliffhangers to make the fans want more...I just didn't wanna have to wait that long for them.
| fuelinjected
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|  #9 Posted on 10.4.05 1239.32
Reposted on: 10.4.12 1240.01 | As a big fan of the show, this stinks. The only positive is that I know its not coming back and I can stop checking every week for a new episode.
ABC needs to get their shit together with how they program repeats. Lost (and apparently Desperate Housewives) have been all disjointed with long breaks and reruns at bad times. It kills the momenteum of the series and they really should look into using the 24 formula for Lost next season and air it start to finish. | Omar Padilla
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| #10 Posted on 10.4.05 1302.47
Reposted on: 10.4.12 1304.02 | This was bound to happen as ABC was thouroughly dissapointed with the numbers that 'Boston Legal' was bringing in after Desperate Housewives would set up the table for them.
Overall, I enjoyed the show tremendously. It's the only show on ABC that I watch, or did watch, and would make it a point not to miss an episode.
If there was anything to complain about the show it would be that the legal cases, for the most part, always took a back seat in entertainment value to all the other nonsense going on at the office between the characters.
The verdict in the execution case in Texas with Shore was probably the case that I cared most about. I was looking forward to what the verdict would be while looking at the clock wondering what sort of finish they might gives us. I'd never done that previous to what now is the last show.
And the show had some 'big' cases: Suing the U.S. to help Sudan with the violence there, Bernard murdering two women, doctors perscribing non-FDA approved drugs.
Either way, I'll miss the show. Now I'm just waiting for this show to be released on DVD. | geemoney
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| #11 Posted on 10.4.05 1305.36
Reposted on: 10.4.12 1306.47 | Originally posted by Omar Padilla
Either way, I'll miss the show. Now I'm just waiting for this show to be released on DVD.
To clarify: It's just done for the SEASON- it will be back with new episodes when the new season starts in September.
The only complaint I have about the show is how few of the cases were multi-episode arcs- I guess I just assumed they would have more because that was a signature of "The Practice." | Omar Padilla
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| #12 Posted on 10.4.05 1317.40
Reposted on: 10.4.12 1321.23 | What I meant was the show being cut off with 5 episodes left will probably affect the DVD release of season one. That's if there was one planned to begin with.
And I agree with you about the long story arcs with cases. Every week they just tossed cases out there, though some of them did help reveal a bit about the lawyers trying the cases and their morals, they were nearly always forgotten by the next episode. | fuelinjected
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| #13 Posted on 10.4.05 1321.48
Reposted on: 10.4.12 1327.26 | Originally posted by geemoney
The only complaint I have about the show is how few of the cases were multi-episode arcs- I guess I just assumed they would have more because that was a signature of "The Practice."
The Practice was a serious drama and Boston Legal seems to be kinding its niche as comedy/drama. It might have also been an ABC decision not to have multi-episode arcs because ABC did slice and dice The Practice into extinction after all. I'm surprised it hasn't done as well as expected because everyone I know who has watched the show once is hooked. The problem is that when I tell people to check it out, they just assume its another Law & Order type show.
BTW, with Candice Bergen, William Shatner, Betty White, and Shelly Long all on one episode - did Boston Legal become the place where former TV stars go to be entertaining again? | | ALL ORIGINAL POSTS IN THIS THREAD ARE NOW AVAILABLE |
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