The Tribal Mind: Wave goodbye

Wednesday May 9, 2007 04:08 PM

Who We Are

To discuss saving the planet by eating more vegans, go to Who We Are
by David Dale
Television programming has always gone in waves -- a station notices that another station has a hit, assumes that represents a trend in public taste, and copies what it imagines to be the most appealing details. Then we get at least three versions of the one idea for the next three years, until program monotony leads to viewer mutiny.

This year, that strategy is not working. There are no trends in TV tastes, just fleeting fads. There are no waves, just single droplets. Programmers who tried to ride the surf have been bumped from their boards, dumped and left gasping on the sand. The viewers can spot a formula as soon as it's foisted on them, and their attention spans are too short to put up with copycatting.

Over the decades, we've seen the cowboy wave (Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, Whiplash), the spy wave (The Man from UNCLE, I Spy, Danger Man), several lawyer waves (Perry Mason, The Defenders, Ally McBeal, The Practice), the Australian crime wave (Homicide, Cop Shop, Division 4, Matlock Police), several doctor waves (Ben Casey, Dr Kildare, E.R, Chicago Hope, Grey's Anatomy, House), the forensic wave (three CSIs, Bones, Cold Case), the reality wave (Big Brother, Survivor), the talent quest wave (Australian Idol, The X Factor, Dancing With the Stars), and the renovation wave (Backyard Blitz, Location, Location, Location, Better Homes and Gardens). But not any more. This has been a year of one-offs. Whenever the networks have sent in the clones, the viewers have sent them out again.

Inspired by the success of Underbelly and City Homicide, the programmers thought they'd spotted the start of another Aussie crime wave. So they commissioned Rush and The Strip (both with Kat Stewart replicas) which started with more than a million viewers and are now lucky to find 800,000.

Channel Nine thought the initial curiosity about Wipeout and Hole in the Wall suggested a SGSW (Stupid Game Show Wave) so it booked space at the Wipeout arena in Buenos Aires and offered to fly a bunch of Australian contestants there. Nine may have done its dough. Wipeout has plunged to 662,000 and Hole in the Wall to 673,000. And even if Gordon Ramsay may have represented a picky-chef wave, Nine killed that golden goose.

If the networks haven't learned their lesson, we should expect next year a bunch of dramedies about adult kids moving back into their parents' homes, a bunch of documentaries about reuniting separated family members, and a bunch of documentaries about saving sick animals.

Or possibly the networks will start making shows that break the mould and arise from individual creativity. It might just be starting to dawn on them that the age of waves is over. The only trend they need to spot is that the viewers have become smarter than the programmers

Go to Comments to discuss if the age of program clones is over

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

COMMENTS

It's a reflection of the perils of trying to corelate Oztam ratings with public taste. The ratings reflect what people do, not what they like or what they want.
Short of devising a new ratings system, how about creating something of Quality? Quality is quality.
Or....how about another Police / Doctor / Bogan Neighbourhood 'Drama'. That's the whole bag of tricks right there.

by darren on October 13, 2008 at 07:40 AM

I wouldnt call DWTS a Talent Quest!!!
Prefer to watch Paint dry.

by JM on October 13, 2008 at 08:03 AM

Not sure there is much evidence of viewers becoming smarter than programmers considering the crap that people watch like HITW but seems to me more a case of short attention span/boredom. A show rates for awhile then people get bored . Then a network puts on a copy cat and people just yawn and move on. Grab the DVD's or download something more interesting.
I would love to see some innovative new programs but just dont see that there is any imagination in the corporate drones that work in TV these days. I do believe we have the talent, the writers, actors etc. It just seems the will of the networks that's lacking.

Tribal Mind replies: Excessive cynicism about viewers. People are open-minded, but how many people are watching Hole In The Wall now?

by em on October 13, 2008 at 09:14 AM

It's much easier to adapt an existing franchise rather than come up with a totally new idea for yourself. It's like Tim Tams. Why come up with a whole new biscuit when you can make 74 different varieties of Tim Tam? The formula has proved popular, all it needs it tweaking (strawberry? honeycomb?) and voila!
Take the Shrek franchise as an example. For some reason my son, Master 7.29, just asked if there's going to be any more Shrek movies. "I" was great, "II" was fine, "III" was a waste of my movie $$. There's going to be a "IV" (Shrek Goes Fourth - ugh) and apparently there's a "V" in the works down the track. And a Puss In Boots movie.
Concepts aren't left alone, when they are cash cows they are milked for all they're worth. Having seen I, II & suffered through III, I know that Master 7.29 and his red-headed partner in crime, Master 4.31 will drag me along to any sequels, similarly will other suffering parents.
So why milk a genre? because the target audience will lap it up. Hence the boy band scourge of the 90's, the number of Britney clones still assaulting our ears, and the propagation of LCD TV Shows.

by Bereft Skerrick on October 13, 2008 at 01:54 PM

Television is stuck at such a halt when it comes to creativity because the people who are in charge have lost their ability to embrace new ideas.
They're only interested in what they KNOW will sell.
If Hollywood movie producers could have two scripts on their table.. One was an amazing and brillinat concept that had never been done before & one was a blockbuster remake (King Kong, Transformers etc.) which they KNOW will make money, they'll throw out the brilliant script and go for the sure bet.
It's the same in television. There could be the most brilliant idea by the most brilliant writer but if some well known writer comes up with some well worn formula that is working for another station, the other writers idea's will be tossed aside.
Even the way writing itself is taught in universities is ridiculous. You're not taught to have ideas or be creative, you're taught to follow strict guidelines and rules. Any imagination that is outside the criteria is marked down and creativity / individuality is destroyed.
I currently have a very original idea for a new sitcom/drama and have written many scripts for it. My dream is to one day get my show on tv and have people admire it for it's originality and surprising freshness as nothing like it has ever been done before.
There are thousands of good australian writers out there with amazing ideas who will never be heard. I wish that one day, all those amazing, unheard writers could have their ideas made and maybe then, there would be something worth watching on tv... Until then, it's the same old repeats and remakes.

by Michael Towers on October 13, 2008 at 05:33 PM

It's about creativity, ingenuity, bravery, originality and the rest. But it's also about common sense. When companies and brands are launching new products, they put a lot of work into understanding what people want, need, and are interested in. They look at this in the context of culture, social happenings and market changes.
The networks continue to launch products because it's what they think people want and because the format is touted as THE format at international sales events or because it has been a hit. This morphs into a trend across networks and before we know it we're knee deep in home renovation shows. And we're not even sure we need want them.
This is where there just might be an opportunity for brands to actually work together with networks to develop programs that will whet the appetite of viewers.

by Kate Richardson on October 14, 2008 at 07:26 AM

Kate you speak my language. I agree with all that you said and must add one more issue with networks programming their NEWS... it follows a formulaic format that is full of grief, anger, pain... anything that has a hint of negativity is top of the stories (???) presented. I for one do not need to know all the gruesome acts that happen around the world, that is called news and that that makes our screens each and every day over and over again. Obviously some events that are having an extreme or negative impact are important to hear about like the current financial chaos, but really do you they have to report on every fire, murder, accident etc and not only the sadness and madness from home but elsewhere (via their numerous and mostly US based media affiliates). Surely there must be a way to influence the networks to try and focus on positive stories and events. Even those that have a happy ending start out with such issues as children being hurt, amimals being neglected et al. I'm not surprised that we are all getting depressed. Anyhoo I will end this missive on a positive note: I love Australia, I love my family and my many friends and neighbours who bless my life and I try like mad to focus on the positive each and every day. It makes me feel HAPPY and full of HOPE. Rosie Egyedi from beautiful Perth.

by Rosie on October 15, 2008 at 11:22 AM

The Sun-Herald

Who We Are

The Tribal Mind: Wave goodbye

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