I noted back in January that ABC's woefully rated Better Off Ted already had a futile "Save Our Show' campaign.
Now Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune gives the campaign some press, while giving some fans false hope.
The article hits all the bases for the fans of doomed shows:
- Expressions of hope
- Acknowledgement of bad ratings, but not without a few excuses for your bingo card.
- News that the one or more of the actors have been signed to pilots, but that they can come back if the show is renewed.
- A message of thanks from the show's creator , but also a suggestion to contact ABC on the shows behalf.
- Mentions of the save our show campaign's website, and obligatory online petition.
I understand that fans of the show want it to come back, but its 1.14 adults 18-49 rating average is ABC's lowest for a scripted show.
For Better Off Ted fans, any hope is false hope.
Well, false hope is better than getting on with one's life.
I'm a fan of Better Off Ted, but the writing was on the wall as early as last season. We were lucky to get a second season, but a renewal from ABC is not going to happen, so the fans need to be prepared for disappointment. The only tiny sliver of hope lies with a cable station, say FX since it's a Fox show, picking it up. Even that is doubtful at this point.
According to Reggie Miller, Spike Lee is still hopeful that the Knicks will make the playoffs THIS season. Now that is a fan.
By comparison, Mo was downright cynical.
The only hope I have is that we'll eventually get the last two episodes of the season. Even that seems unlikely
It sucks losing a great show, but people need to learn to get on with their lives. If a show I like gets canceled, I'm upset for a day or two but then I get over it.
I admire them for giving it a try but the decision has been made and ABC isn't going to budge.
The last two shows saved by fans were bubble shows. BETTER OFF TED is not close to a bubble show.
I like this site and the information you guys share, but I really don't get why there is so much criticism of these attempts to save shows.
If people want to indulge in the faintest of faint hopes to try to save a show that they love, I don't understand why this seems to bother some other people. Sometimes I think the most annoying whiners are the folks who are complaining about the diehard fans of doomed shows. If you don't want to hear it, it's not that hard to ignore. Get over yourselves.
Wow, that article is pretty misleading. It could very well give false hope, since it basically just skims over the fact that the show's ratings are incredibly dismal. Not just “not good,” by any means.
Mike S., This post wasn't directed at fans, it was about Maureen Ryan's column. She's the one providing the false hope. She's of the better known newspaper TV columnists, particularly online, and there could certainly be fans reading her thinking that there's still hope for BOT when there is none.
I am thinking about checking this show out after I graduate this summer. It will be nice to have a show that is only two seasons long… all this assuming that its any good.
Does anyone know how many episodes of Ted there are in total?
I believe there are 26 total, the 24 listed here, plus two, as yet, unaired:
http://epguides.com/BetterOffTed/
Thanks Bill.
Yes, 26 makes it a very concise series. Most of the sitcoms I like were successful enough to make it to multiple years and 150+ episodes. Sometimes its nice to have a short, short story.
Thanks for the info Bill. I think I am in need of a short series right now. This may be it.
When NUMB3RS gets cancled, It'll be fun to see all the fangirls try to save THAT show
she's basically hoping for hope.
For a 'Better Off Ted' renewal to happen, we need a veritable perfect storm of the following events to occur.
1. In late March / early April, ABC opens up the Wednesday at 8 pm timeslot for the two remaining 'Better Off Ted' episodes, and these episodes rate on par or better with the pair of 'Scrubs' episodes that ABC is airing this month.
2. ABC decides to go one more season with 'Scrubs', albeit with some needed cast changes from this past season, and maybe having Mr. Zach Braff involved in a few more episodes.
3. ABC surprises us all, just like last year, with another 'Better Off Ted' pickup at upfronts. If this happens, mark my words, it will be due to ABC deciding to build a night around the M18-49 demo (it's losing its only male-demo-heavy scripted series 'Lost') to give the adspace salespeople something other than 'Saturday Night College Football' to sell. Both 'Scrubs' and 'Better Off Ted' have shown nice M18-49s, even when their households, P2+ viewers and W18-49 numbers have sagged.
One scenario might be a Saturday mid-season line-up, starting in December after football finishes, of the following M18-49 dream team:
8:00 pm 'LEGEND OF THE SEEKER' (NEW, pulled back from syndication)
9:00 pm 'Scrubs' (new timeslot)
9:30 pm 'Better Off Ted' (new timeslot
10:00 pm '187 DETROIT' (NEW, police dramedy)
I think ABC “did a solid” by even granting the second season. People can't expect a third. I'll have to buy the DVDs eventually, especially if they never air those last two episodes.
Deja vu all over again for me when I read that…(TSCC fan)
Though I never actually drunk that Kool Aid. When I saw the Spring ratings, went into a “hope against hope” mode it would come back, but I pretty much knew the game was up.
Scripted shows have never aired on Saturdays, so what you're proposing is impossible.
Ted, as great as it is, is getting canceled and Scrubs might just get another season of 19 episodes to get it to 200, although the chances of that are about 10%. Even if Scrubs does get these episodes, they'll probably be all burned off by January, so that they could start a new series in their slot midseason.