MovieChat Forums > Men of a Certain Age (2009) Discussion > Split Seasons

Split Seasons

posted 13 years ago by dblmaven
15 replies | jump to latest

Is everyone else as tired as I am with these ultra-short 1/2 seasons the cable networks are using? I really look forward to the cable shows during the summer when there is an overabundance of reality and repeats on the major networks. And all they can muster up is the other half of a season that started in DECEMBER! It would be so nice to have 12 or 13 episodes to last us until September's new slate of shows.

I wish they'd find something new for the winter and give us a full season and then different shows for the summer but full seasons as well. "In Plain Sight" and "Memphis Beat" seem to be about the only shows that get full summer seasons instead of the splits.

[–] sharonhdavis 13 years ago

My theory on the split season is that the smaller networks want to air their shows during December & January when the big networks are showing reruns and Christmas specials.

[–] jac91604 13 years ago

Well IMO they're making a big mistake with MOCA. Shows like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and Sons of Anarchy do 12 episodes. Yes you have to wait months for them to return but you feel satisfied with the season.

MOCA while it is well written is very slow moving and still hasn't built a large audience.

I mean I don't think what was shown this "season" was nearly as good as the first season and next week is the finale.

Not a smart move.

[–] joshf1 13 years ago

It's definitely annoying. I watch "Burn Notice" and they do the exact same thing. What's worse, they change when these half-seasons start/end, so you don't even know which month they'll go back to airing new episodes.

As a result, I end up just setting my DVR. I could be wrong, but if a lot of other people are doing the same thing, that could affect the ratings.

[–] kravitzfan12 13 years ago

I definitely don't like the split seasons, but TNT had two motives for spliting this season of Men of a Certain Age into two:

1. The Closer just ended its season, which means that Men of a Certain Age has lost it's important lead-in.

2. Why should Men of a Certain Age compete with original network programming when they can air a few episodes during the winter hiatus and then hold off until the summer when all network programming is in repeats or low-quality series?

I'm just playing devil's advocate, because I'm disappointed that we only got 6 episodes and then a long hiatus, but if this decision will result in stronger ratings for the series and causes TNT to renew it for a third season, I think it's definitely the right move!

[–] jac91604 13 years ago

How would this result in stronger ratings?

You have a well written but slow moving show that just came back in Dec after what being gone 6 months or more, you air 6 episodes where let's face it not much has happened and then it's gone again for another 6 months or so.

A few posters on here didn't even know it was back on and here it is going off again.

This board has actually slowed down quite a bit from last season and I suspect it has to do with it being gone so long and then coming back for such a short period.

People have gotten used to shows like "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men" being gone for months because they know when the shows come back they will get a full season(12 episodes).

And those are shows that have more "action".

I like MOCA, but am very disappointed as they're winding a season up and really nothing has occurred.

A slow paced show like this needs more than 6 episodes in a season in order to build an audience.

You can't find an audience when you come back in December and are gone by the middle of January.

[–] PVarjak 13 years ago

You are so right. I thought maybe it was CANCELLED when they started advertising the 'season finale.' Didn't they show it all the way through last year?

And another thing. The other trend I hate is that, if a spring/summer show gains some momentum, they will transfer it to the 'regular' season. So, as you say, there's nothing on in the summer. They even do this with shows like Mad Men and such, which they start late in the summer so the last episodes run over into the new season; largely so they can introduce a new show.

It's particularly bad for this show, because as others mentioned, this season was a bit more slow-moving (in a good way) and was building steam, only to be cut short.

I've said it a million times: when the tail starts wagging the dog (commercial considerations overwhelming every aspect of the program itself), TV eats its own. This is why people either wait for the DVD or stream/download it illegally. Who wants to deal with making sure you pick up the show when it re-starts, etc.?

[–] jac91604 13 years ago

This is why I pretty much only watch the movie channels.

I love "Breaking Bad" and "Sons of Anarchy". I love MOCA but it had been gone so long when it came back this past Dec. I had to refresh my memory as to what was going on.

TNT did repeat the first season(the only smart thing they have done) to refresh viewer's memory.

To be honest if I had known in advance that tomorrow night was it, I don't think I would have bothered watching.

I will watch tomorrow night to finish the season, and I really don't hope they do some major cliffhanger as that would go against the grain of the show.

But who knows.

[–] mick987g 13 years ago

Not a fan of it either. We just start getting into the show , kind of wetting our taste for the show and then Poof they are gone.

Good way to lose your viewers.

[–] rickathedj 13 years ago

Not a fan of it either. We just start getting into the show , kind of wetting our taste for the show and then Poof they are gone.

Good way to lose your viewers.

Not necessarily. It has long been said that the first rule of show business is "always leave 'em wanting more." The short seasons do that. If shows ran 30-40 episodes per season like they did in the old days, I would find it a chore to watch television. I just don't want to give up that many nights a year of my life to the tube.

[–] jac91604 13 years ago

I can see you're point about 30 or 40 episodes, but you don't leave them "wanting more" after only 6 episodes.

And certainly not with a slow moving show like MOCA.

That is why the 12 episodes work for these one hour cable dramas.

In fact compared to last season and knowing that tonight is the last episode of the season MOCA really doesn't leave the viewer wanting more.

It is more like"is that it?".

And this is worth watching again after having to wait another 6 or 8 months for so few episodes?

I would have to say no.

[–] PVarjak 13 years ago

Well, last time, they showed them all in a row. And I don't think the wait will be 6-8 months. Probably, it will restart in the spring, so maybe 3 months. Or maybe 5, for the end of the 'regular' season. But overall, I think you're right. 6 eps. is absurd.

Now is anyone as ticked off as I am about shows that run 1-3 minutes into the next hour? It screws up the DVR and even regular viewing.

[–] jac91604 13 years ago

I believe it is not coming back until late summer. So that is at least 6 months.

[–] nasloranger 13 years ago

rickthedj wrote:

... It has long been said that the first rule of show business is "always leave 'em wanting more." The short seasons do that. If shows ran 30-40 episodes per season like they did in the old days, I would find it a chore to watch television. I just don't want to give up that many nights a year of my life to the tube.

well rick, in this case you can either "leave 'em wanting more" or kill their interest altogether by not giving 'em enough...

6 episodes in a "short season" isn't enough to hold my interest, especially when half of them were just so-so...by the time the other "half" of the season airs i'll have forgotten what happened 7 months before - and i don't particularly care to watch the previous 6 that they will re-run to refresh my memory, ya' know?

i know the old days used to run 30+ ep's, which is now down to about 23/24, but IMHO 12 is way too few - and splitting it into 6 + 6 is ludicrous!

just my 2cents...

You only live once; if you do it right, once is enuf'!

[–] jac91604 13 years ago

I agree 100%. And these 6 episodes weren't as good compared to last season.

[–] nutwood 13 years ago

So, back on June 1 for what, maybe 3, 4 episodes with a 2 week break and a re-run in the middle? It's a good show and I love it but what's with the pretend schedule?

How do they even sell the advertising? Oh right. it's all boner pills.

FIRE IN THE HOLE!