Outlaw Canceled by NBC - Outlaw (2010) Discussion

[–] JVIvies 14 years ago

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/10/11/nbc-cancels-outlaw/67555

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[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

Why do networks think Friday is a good night to place a new show? I don't watch TV on Friday nights.

Low numbers? Well no kidding. Didn't you see that coming?

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[–] dwiski 14 years ago

It's my fault because I like it too much. That's the kiss of death for any new show. Someday I'll learn.

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[–] Kelea7 14 years ago

Lol, same.

I'd catch a grenade for ya, throw my hand on a blade for ya

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[–] sabar-1 14 years ago

I don't understand why they didn't try another night before cancelling.

Rachel

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[–] Kelea7 14 years ago

Me either, seems like they wanted the show to fail. Or wanted an excuse to cancel it. Like they made it to be a filler show or that they wanted to show how diverse they could be.

I'd catch a grenade for ya, throw my hand on a blade for ya

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[–] disconnexions 13 years ago

That's what I get for liking the show as well. As a rule I like to only watch new shows near the end of their first season. Once I know it's going to be renewed, then it's worth my time to watch.

This wasn't the best show I've seen, but I thought it had potential. If it was on TNT or TBS it probably would have lasted a couple of seasons, but the networks don't have that kind of patience.

http://www.disconnexions.com

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[–] masurra 13 years ago

HAHAHAHAH hahahaHAHHA
supreme court judge starts law firm HAHAHAHAH
right

If I were nbc dude with the money I'd stopped reading there

_______
"if seagal was thinner this could have been a theatrical product."

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[–] Anamon 13 years ago

And that's why you'll never be the NBC dude with the money.

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[–] masurra 13 years ago

What do you mean? ahh I know, you mean Outlaw averaged 8.7 nielsen before they cancelled it because they were wrong

_______
"if seagal was thinner this could have been a theatrical product."

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[–] Anamon 13 years ago

NBC ordered production to be stopped, so that happened several weeks before the last episode was aired. If the ratings improved with later episodes, that couldn't have saved the show because the decision to cancel was made already after airing 3 episodes.

There is no doubt that the ratings were not good enough for the first three episodes, or the executives would not have halted production. Because despite what some people might say, the networks have no interest in axing profitable shows just to spite their viewers. The decision was made because, given all the data, it must have seemed right at the time. With the large sums of money involved these are not decisions made on a whim by one person, but a great number of people who all have to come to an agreement whether they think the show would have ever turned a profit, or not.

No doubt sometimes these decisions turn out to have been wrong, there are enough examples and close calls in TV history. We're always smarter afterwards. But who can claim they would have made the better decision in the same situation, given the same information, and with *their* money and job on the line?

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[–] vlovesred 13 years ago

I don't get NBC!!! Outlaw is a REALLY good show, with strong writing, and interesting, compelling performances!! I can't think of another first season series that I liked as much as Outlaw.

Why do networks think that you can put a new show on Friday or Saturday night, and hope that it will do well, and when doesn't, they kill it?

NBC would NEVER put fresh episodes of Law & Order on Friday or Saturday night, and expect it to do well, so why expect that with any other show? Several years ago, I long grew tired of the same ol' same ol' formula of shows like CSI, NCIS, and Law & Order franchise.

I want TV shows that are truly engaging. Even if there's an episode that has flaws, I would much rather watch a show that reaches for excellence and produces a solid show, then watch a show that's at best mediocre.

I really do feel like Outlaw was reaching for excellence!

I saw about 5 episodes before NBC killed it, and in that short time, I already felt like I could trust that if I caught an episode of Outlaw, I would be given the treat of a compelling, thought-provoking storyline, with solid acting.

I really felt what set Outlaw apart from the standard, boring, and predictable CSI, NCIS, and Law & Order stuff, is that it asks the viewer to be an active thinker, assessing the given information, and string of possible outcomes - and the best part, when the outcome of an episode is different then I thought it was going to be!!

NBC you silly people! You throw away solid shows, rather then truly supporting them once they get on air! When will you stop shooting yourself in the foot?

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[–] chrichtonsworld 13 years ago

For once I agree with NBC.
The premise was just too ridiculous. Don't get me wrong I loved Smiths in this.
But from the episodes I have seem so far it is nothing new. You say it is strong writing. How can it be if every plot so far is the same used in other law shows.

A supreme court justice would have had more pull in his position than he has now.
If he really wanted to uphold the law as it was meant, what better position to do this than as supreme court justice.

And what exactly did Garza so different from other lawyers in these law shows.

The premise also seems very similar to that of the show with James Woods called Shark. Also a highly successful lawyer who has a change of heart and switches sides to become a DA. But the huge difference was that Woods showed his brilliance as he used his bad ass skills for good.

To me it was obvious this one would fail.

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[–] echobunny9203 13 years ago

I liked this show, it is certainly better than Undercover and the Event, ect. But your comparison to Shark is right on the money. After reading that I can see why it never caught on with viewers.

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[–] Anamon 13 years ago

I am going to guess that you stopped watching the show after the pilot, or at least after episode 2. Not that I blame you, I felt that the show was definitely weakest in its early episodes (like just about anything this year).

But the story isn't as inconsequential as you think. The justice character does have quite some pull, and he doesn't hesitate to use it. If he seems to have less pull than you think he should have, it's because he's not a very popular former supreme court justice, mostly just because he resigned. I thought that was made abundantly clear in the pilot already. The general atmosphere was that everybody hated his guts and he'd have some serious trouble calling in favours from anywhere.

Also, if you think his crusade was to uphold the law, then you have not found the fundamental premise of the show. He does not want to fight for the law, but for justice; he went back to being a lawyer in order to take action where the two don't agree. That he is taking cases where he felt the legal system had failed, the legal system that he had been a central part of for many years, was the whole premise of the show.

Yes, the plots were very similar to every other law show, but if you think about it there's not much you can change about that unless you want to turn your show into some weird fantasy universe. If you want to portray the real-world legal system, your artistic license is limited to that. That being said, I thought that the writers and producers did a reasonably well job at keeping the cases and storytelling interesting to the end, which is all that I ask for.

There's not much blame to put since the other new legal drama, The Whole Truth, that I found to be much inferior to Outlaw (although still enjoyable as well), was also cancelled. I think the failure of Outlaw is due much more to formalities and politics (bad timeslot) than a lack of quality. So the show's IMDb rating is shockingly low, to a degree that I can't really understand. But the real problem is that said rating is based on a mere 52 votes.

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[–] archer1812 13 years ago

Seems like every show that I like gets canceled, some don't even reach 5 episodes. This year that honor goes to "Outlaw" and "The Whole Truth".
I suppose most Americans rather watch Bristol Palin dance.

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[–] SilentOne92 13 years ago

Although the premise of this show was a bit far fetched, it was worth at least 1 full season. The shows were entertaining and the cast was good. NBC made a mistake here. I also agree with the putting it on Friday. Worst day to put on this type of show. Should have been on earlier in the week and potentially on Sunday after the football season.

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[–] sabar-1 13 years ago

Agreed. It got better as it went along. I really miss it.

Rachel

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[–] 13 years ago

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