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Post by Hodge on Dec 1, 2014 18:28:35 GMT
Last night I was watching Inside Foyle's War and was taken by the way the programme was described. Everything about it was the same as Murdoch Mysteries. I can't remember everything that was said but the descriptions of the actors, characters, sets, storylines, period accuracy and costuming rang true for MM as well as FW. I really do think that PBS would be the best fit for MM going off what I saw last night and it wouldn't have to be butchered to fit the time slot. Of course it doesn't quite fit their unofficial mandate of British crime shows but it does have British backing so it could technically fit. I've watched FW, it's an amazing show but still doesn't quite come up to MM in my opinion. MM is one of a kind and I think it's a shame PBS and US viewers are missing out on it. The networks will never do it justice. I'll get off my soapbox now.  I've written PBS in the past about MM (they did attempt to pick it up the first season in 2009, but apparently it failed then). I also tried again recently because I was hoping they might carry the "unbutchered" version, and CBC might make a bargain with them to show the current episodes. There are a couple of problems. First, PBS scheduling and/or the speed of deal-making still results in major delays. Downton Abbey and Sherlock air on PBS here, and both get downloaded by younger viewers first simply because they want to see the show at the same time as the "International fandom". The second issue is PBS is run like a confederacy: there isn't a Kingdom of PBS - there are lots of tiny fiefdoms of PBS that decide, locally, what to air. So while they seem to have an "uber" structure that is capable of making big deals on behalf of the tiny stations, the tiny stations then decide whether to lease it from the "uber" structure and when to air it, etc. The San Francisco Bay Area actually gets multiple PBS stations, and one of them carries Miss Fisher as well. I have seen Foyle's War (as well as Miss Fisher) and while it has the features you describe, I didn't start watching it because it struck me as "belonging on PBS". Perhaps it was the British accents. Perhaps because it ran on PBS I didn't trust the scheduling enough to become involved. Perhaps it really did have "British mystery pacing" as opposed to "American TV pacing". In any account, I still mentally placed it (as well as Miss Fisher) in a different category as MM. And I'm wondering if PBS is doing that as well. On the bright side, PBS has long needed a lift from its elitist (I should apologize for this, but Americans automatically associated British accents with intelligence, money, and elitism) rut so it can win next generation viewers and secure Congressional funding. PBS is under more siege than the CBC because it's a completely "public" station (government funding plus donations/sponsors) and unfortunately strongly associated with partisan politics. Therefore the attack on its funding is bound to be successful eventually. I believe Downton Abbey and Sherlock were big successes for PBS. If it could secure NEW episodes of Murdoch Mysteries to run at the same time as the Canadian ones, I think that could be a hit here, too. Especially if the network syndication of the reruns creates an underlying runway of interest. I understand how PBS works as I've always been able to get it either over the air, satellite or cable. I've been an avid watcher of most of their mystery programming since first arriving in Canada. Actually it was nice to see the British programmes that I loved when I first arrived. Of all the networks in the US I still feel that PBS is the best fit for MM and if one station picked it up and had success with it perhaps others would too. Maybe Detroit would be a good first station to try it as some people are able to pick up MM on CBC from Windsor so would know the programme to begin with and if they saw it on PBS may start to watch it there espcially if they aired it from the beginning and without editing, which is something we don't even get on CBC for the first seasons. |
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Post by Hodge on Dec 1, 2014 18:40:46 GMT
On the bright side, PBS has long needed a lift from its elitist (I should apologize for this, but Americans automatically associated British accents with intelligence, money, and elitism) If only Americans knew what Brits were really like. The accents you hear on TV are not the accents used around the country, everyone doesn't speak with a plum in their mouth or have a BBC accent and every other word (from what I've seen lately) begins with F. All they seem to think about is booze and football. The education system was destroyed by Thatcherism and is a shadow of what it was so intelligence goes by the wayside unless you have the money for private schools from what I've heard from friends. I'm thoroughly disgusted with most things British these days and no longer identify as British if I can help it. Unfortunately I'll never lose my accent, I was too old when I came here. |
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Post by Fallenbelle on Dec 4, 2014 18:02:53 GMT
So, I just had an idea on how raise the profile of MM in the States. Americans love home shows, and HGTV-and I swear that half of the programs (if not more are actually) are Canadian.
YB has done construction before, so if he were to do a show, it gets shown on HGTV, Americans get curious about the guy, and voila!
If all else fails, we get some nice scenes with YB being handy? He certainly won't be the first handyman heartthrob.
Just an idea, mind you. Or maybe I'm sleep deprived, and it's terrible.
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Post by snacky on Dec 4, 2014 19:00:13 GMT
So, I just had an idea on how raise the profile of MM in the States. Americans love home shows, and HGTV-and I swear that half of the programs (if not more are actually) are Canadian. YB has done construction before, so if he were to do a show, it gets shown on HGTV, Americans get curious about the guy, and voila! If all else fails, we get some nice scenes with YB being handy? He certainly won't be the first handyman heartthrob. Just an idea, mind you. Or maybe I'm sleep deprived, and it's terrible. LOL - YB gets to show off that fireplace and/or his deck all over again!  Do people really watch those channels? Honestly I barely watch TV at all: it's mainly here for my housemate. I feel for the future of TV show developers and how they are going to communicate the availability of their show to interested viewers. I do turn on the TV for the syndicated showing of MM, but it's only because I know it's there. I would have never found it by "channel surfing". With all my extreme interest in MM and pursuit of its importation into the US, I didn't even know it was syndicated here until a month after it had started: I was only alerted by a random tweet on the MM show thread - and that was only because I happened to be paying attention to that Twitter stream in lieu of viewing the episode itself. Even from that tweet I had to deduce from syndication in Georgia to syndication here. Now that is nothing but pure luck!!! (and willingness to investigate further on my part). MM did not exactly come to me. I think people still want serialized television content, and they are willing to pay for it. Perhaps we are just in the process of cutting a lot of unnecessary middlemen and complication out in the method of distribution? In the future there needs to be a reliable discovery method for good content (and a way to evaluate how good that content is), and a simple delivery method for that content. Everyone in the world needs to be able to access the content at the same time. It needs to be reasonably priced. All the convenience and simplicity has to be at the consumer end. |
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Post by Fallenbelle on Dec 4, 2014 19:09:32 GMT
So, I just had an idea on how raise the profile of MM in the States. Americans love home shows, and HGTV-and I swear that half of the programs (if not more are actually) are Canadian. YB has done construction before, so if he were to do a show, it gets shown on HGTV, Americans get curious about the guy, and voila! If all else fails, we get some nice scenes with YB being handy? He certainly won't be the first handyman heartthrob. Just an idea, mind you. Or maybe I'm sleep deprived, and it's terrible. LOL - YB gets to show off that fireplace and/or his deck all over again! Do people really watch those channels? Honestly I barely watch TV at all: it's mainly here for my housemate. I feel for the future of TV show developers and how they are going to communicate the availability of their show to interested viewers. I do turn on the TV for the syndicated showing of MM, but it's only because I know it's there. I would have never found it by "channel surfing". With all my extreme interest in MM and pursuit of its importation into the US, I didn't even know it was syndicated here until a month after it had started: I was only alerted by a random tweet on the MM show thread - and that was only because I happened to be paying attention to that Twitter stream in lieu of viewing the episode itself. Even from that tweet I had to deduce from syndication in Georgia to syndication here. Now that is nothing but pure luck!!! (and willingness to investigate further on my part). MM did not exactly come to me. I think people still want serialized television content, and they are willing to pay for it. Perhaps we are just in the process of cutting a lot of unnecessary middlemen and complication out in the method of distribution? In the future there needs to be a reliable discovery method for good content (and a way to evaluate how good that content is), and a simple delivery method for that content. Everyone in the world needs to be able to access the content at the same time. It needs to be reasonably priced. All the convenience and simplicity has to be at the consumer end. I don't know that 20 somethings are mainlining it, but all of my friends (30/40 something demographic) are deeply attached to HGTV. My husband and I watch it far more than any channel when we're back in the States, and it's one of the things I'm looking forward to. Plus, the tv shows have spawned their own drinking game. www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/p/38067388/the-property-brothers-drinking-game/postgradproblems.com/the-official-house-hunters-drinking-game/The house wouldn't be his-he'd be working on other people's houses. |
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Post by snacky on Dec 4, 2014 19:14:42 GMT
Ooh I get it - because the next milestone after graduating from college and embarking on a career and/or getting married is buying a house. Then this turns out to be such an epic experience, people start looking into DIY aspects of it. I guess just about everyone takes that step. (Except for me, who is stuck in the eternal life of a student...which is why I don't watch that channel yet, lol.). Thanks for pointing out the drinking games! Bookmarked for future reference, should I ever reach that next stage in life, hahaha. |
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Post by Fallenbelle on Dec 6, 2014 2:50:10 GMT
Talking to my stepmother (who got me onto MM during the summer), this station in Dallas is showing episodes of MM. www.ktxdtv.com/Although I don't see any mention of it on the website. Strange. |
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Post by snacky on Dec 6, 2014 2:57:36 GMT
Talking to my stepmother (who got me onto MM during the summer), this station in Dallas is showing episodes of MM. www.ktxdtv.com/Although I don't see any mention of it on the website. Strange. The KRON web site doesn't mention their syndication of MM, either. But when I corresponded with a programming person there, they seemed to personally like MM. So I think the web site is not regularly updated. Either the content is somehow centrally controlled, or some intern updates it sporadically. The other weekend show, which airs at primetime, The Pinkertons, isn't on the web site either. The web site looks extremely canned. |
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Post by Fallenbelle on Dec 6, 2014 4:35:33 GMT
Talking to my stepmother (who got me onto MM during the summer), this station in Dallas is showing episodes of MM. www.ktxdtv.com/Although I don't see any mention of it on the website. Strange. The KRON web site doesn't mention their syndication of MM, either. But when I corresponded with a programming person there, they seemed to personally like MM. So I think the web site is not regularly updated. Either the content is somehow centrally controlled, or some intern updates it sporadically. The other weekend show, which airs at primetime, The Pinkertons, isn't on the web site either. The web site looks extremely canned. Yeah, watching the syndicated MM right now (Child's Play), and it's a strange editing job. I see what you mean about the pacing too. It's almost jarring to me, but then, I have no doubt that I'm super-sensitive to these things as well. A more casual viewer may not notice these things. |
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Post by snacky on Dec 6, 2014 5:00:22 GMT
The KRON web site doesn't mention their syndication of MM, either. But when I corresponded with a programming person there, they seemed to personally like MM. So I think the web site is not regularly updated. Either the content is somehow centrally controlled, or some intern updates it sporadically. The other weekend show, which airs at primetime, The Pinkertons, isn't on the web site either. The web site looks extremely canned. Yeah, watching the syndicated MM right now (Child's Play), and it's a strange editing job. I see what you mean about the pacing too. It's almost jarring to me, but then, I have no doubt that I'm super-sensitive to these things as well. A more casual viewer may not notice these things. It is jarring - I don't think it's just your sensitivity. Is it possible they actually speeded up the video slightly on top of making the cuts? |
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Post by Fallenbelle on Dec 6, 2014 5:30:43 GMT
Yeah, watching the syndicated MM right now (Child's Play), and it's a strange editing job. I see what you mean about the pacing too. It's almost jarring to me, but then, I have no doubt that I'm super-sensitive to these things as well. A more casual viewer may not notice these things. It is jarring - I don't think it's just your sensitivity. Is it possible they actually speeded up the video slightly on top of making the cuts? Watched it with my parents who didn't seem to think it was that noticeable. They didn't know about things being cut, so I don't think they're as sensitive to those things-you have to know how it's different in order to to compare. They like MM a lot, but not as involved as me or even hubby, whom I think would definitely notice the cuts and pacing. However, once I told them what was being cut (such as George looking at the half nude girl with the circumscope) they weren't too happy. My father also made the comment once I told him what George had been looking at, that he thought Murdoch would have been looking at the same thing. Maybe that's an addition for the William, You Perv thread. You can also see where I probably get my pervitude from-I am very much my father's daughter.  |
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Post by snacky on Dec 6, 2014 7:02:54 GMT
My father also made the comment once I told him what George had been looking at, that he thought Murdoch would have been looking at the same thing. Maybe that's an addition for the William, You Perv thread. You can also see where I probably get my pervitude from-I am very much my father's daughter. I have been known to totally imagine stuff before, but I think we do cover this scene somewhere in the pervitude thread. But if William is looking (and especially if he's getting all double-standardy about it with George) it definitely belongs there. I did see this episode just the other day (syndicated), and all I remember is Henry popping up and scaring the Bejesus out of both of them! I do think William harshing on George is a little bit of projection about his own lack of control over his own dark places.
Now he's all afraid Julia will hear him mutter plumbum in his sleep |
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Post by snacky on Dec 8, 2014 10:11:37 GMT
I hereby declare the US Syndication packagers the ENEMIES OF JILLIAM!!! In Bad Medicine, they cut the entire last scene where Miss Pensall gets William to talk about all the things he likes about Julia! And the part where Julia interrupts, all worried about William's relationship with Miss Pensall! And the part where William wants to read Julia's Prague diary! I repeat, they CUT THE PART WHERE WILLIAM TALKS ABOUT HOW BOLD, STUBBORN, AND QUITE BEAUTIFUL JULIA IS!!!! WTH!!!! Christine Jennings needs to make some phone calls, because you can't expect to develop American shippers if you cut the heart of the ship right out of the preliminary episodes. Now all you've got is a bunch of random one-off episodes. Sorry, MM is not going to stand up against slicker American productions for random one-off TV shows. You need that extra character development element to give it sticking power. This really makes me mad, because I think some jerk executive probably said "give us one-offs we can run in any order" and made an actual decision to reduce the shippy elements. And that's going to prove to be a stupid decision when MM fails to pull a regular audience and gets cancelled. Grrr.  |
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Post by monty151 on Dec 8, 2014 13:33:46 GMT
I hereby declare the US Syndication packagers the ENEMIES OF JILLIAM!!! In Bad Medicine, they cut the entire last scene where Miss Pensall gets William to talk about all the things he likes about Julia! And the part where Julia interrupts, all worried about William's relationship with Miss Pensall! And the part where William wants to read Julia's Prague diary! I repeat, they CUT THE PART WHERE WILLIAM TALKS ABOUT HOW BOLD, STUBBORN, AND QUITE BEAUTIFUL JULIA IS!!!! WTH!!!! Christine Jennings needs to make some phone calls, because you can't expect to develop American shippers if you cut the heart of the ship right out of the preliminary episodes. Now all you've got is a bunch of random one-off episodes. Sorry, MM is not going to stand up against slicker American productions for random one-off TV shows. You need that extra character development element to give it sticking power. This really makes me mad, because I think some jerk executive probably said "give us one-offs we can run in any order" and made an actual decision to reduce the shippy elements. And that's going to prove to be a stupid decision when MM fails to pull a regular audience and gets cancelled. Grrr. |
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Post by monty151 on Dec 8, 2014 13:42:11 GMT
Having trouble responding on my phone. How can you cut out an integral part of the show. Alibi shows the full episode the first time they show it then start cutting out the gory bits-even when it's on at 3am. Keeping my eye on Drama to see if they start cutting bits. So far it's been ok. And because it is being shows on Drama MM is getting folks who don't have Alibi thereby increasing its audience in UK and Ireland.
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