Link to great essay and ATS ratings news
Nov. 3rd, 2003 10:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatHere's a link to a really wonderful MC Escher
Essay by a poster name of alcibades.
http://users.rcn.com/alcibiades/EscherEverywhereYouLook.html
The essay discusses amongst other things how the writers and directors of ATS have pulled visual images from MC ESCHER and used them in the show as metaphors.
Character arc examined in depth include Cordelia, Angel and Spike. There's also an interesting take on how superstring theory may explain Spike's current existence on ATS. Alcibades is the same poster who did a wonderful series of posts on ATPO in the fall of 2002 about "framing" and "windows" - has a wonderful eye for the visuals.
Now for those people out there who watch Neilsen ratings with unease and fear - the fervent prayer of the hopelessly addicted: "please, please, don't cancel my favorite show!"
There's an interesting series of posts on sparklies, (warning this is a Spike centric board - but a good one, several B/A shippers post there - including the
wonderful person who provided the ratings info in these posts.)
http://www.sparklies.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=101&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=50
The gist is that ATS is doing well this season. Actually it's doing the best it's done since Season 2. Several of the ratings this season echo Season 2 and Season 1. It really dipped in ratings in Season 3-4. Reasons? (If you are into this stuff...)
Well it could be the pairing. Apparently it got more mileage from Buffy as a lead in in seasons 1-2, as it does from Smallville, then it ever did from Seventh Heaven, Charmed or Dawson's Creek. Lead-in's are important. Second factor may be the BTVS audience and addition of Spike to the cast. Spike does have one of the highest Q ratings - the three highest character Q ratings from BTVS were Buffy, Willow and Spike, with Faith somewhere close behind. Q ratings determine a character's popularity within a specific demographic. Third factor may be structure of the show itself. First two seasons of ATS were less arc heavy and more episodic in structure, also much lighter in tone. Seasons 3-4 were very arc heavy and increasingly dark in tone. Most TV watchers don't want to be depressed when they flip TV on. (Hence the proliferation of situation comedies on TV).
What's interesting is the highest ratings were for
5.1 and 5.2. But they didn't lose much. In fact they held at least 75% of Smallville's audience. And they knocked Jake 2.0 out of the water. This was reassuring enough for WB to okay 22 episodes this year. They had to prove themselves to WB or be curtailed at 13, they proved themselves. The possibility for a S6 seems more and more possible. Particularly due to the current non-casting spoiler which would probably be the opposite if ATS ended this year. Will the OC hurt it? Probably not. It didn't affect it at all last week. So I hope it won't.
Essay by a poster name of alcibades.
http://users.rcn.com/alcibiades/EscherEverywhereYouLook.html
The essay discusses amongst other things how the writers and directors of ATS have pulled visual images from MC ESCHER and used them in the show as metaphors.
Character arc examined in depth include Cordelia, Angel and Spike. There's also an interesting take on how superstring theory may explain Spike's current existence on ATS. Alcibades is the same poster who did a wonderful series of posts on ATPO in the fall of 2002 about "framing" and "windows" - has a wonderful eye for the visuals.
Now for those people out there who watch Neilsen ratings with unease and fear - the fervent prayer of the hopelessly addicted: "please, please, don't cancel my favorite show!"
There's an interesting series of posts on sparklies, (warning this is a Spike centric board - but a good one, several B/A shippers post there - including the
wonderful person who provided the ratings info in these posts.)
http://www.sparklies.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=101&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=50
The gist is that ATS is doing well this season. Actually it's doing the best it's done since Season 2. Several of the ratings this season echo Season 2 and Season 1. It really dipped in ratings in Season 3-4. Reasons? (If you are into this stuff...)
Well it could be the pairing. Apparently it got more mileage from Buffy as a lead in in seasons 1-2, as it does from Smallville, then it ever did from Seventh Heaven, Charmed or Dawson's Creek. Lead-in's are important. Second factor may be the BTVS audience and addition of Spike to the cast. Spike does have one of the highest Q ratings - the three highest character Q ratings from BTVS were Buffy, Willow and Spike, with Faith somewhere close behind. Q ratings determine a character's popularity within a specific demographic. Third factor may be structure of the show itself. First two seasons of ATS were less arc heavy and more episodic in structure, also much lighter in tone. Seasons 3-4 were very arc heavy and increasingly dark in tone. Most TV watchers don't want to be depressed when they flip TV on. (Hence the proliferation of situation comedies on TV).
What's interesting is the highest ratings were for
5.1 and 5.2. But they didn't lose much. In fact they held at least 75% of Smallville's audience. And they knocked Jake 2.0 out of the water. This was reassuring enough for WB to okay 22 episodes this year. They had to prove themselves to WB or be curtailed at 13, they proved themselves. The possibility for a S6 seems more and more possible. Particularly due to the current non-casting spoiler which would probably be the opposite if ATS ended this year. Will the OC hurt it? Probably not. It didn't affect it at all last week. So I hope it won't.
