Season Three — No Guarantee
There's a perception among some fans that because critics and Dawn Ostroff love Veronica Mars, ratings don't matter and VM is a guaranteed lock for a third season. Here's a rebuttal to some of the most common third-season-is-guaranteed arguments. Warning, it ain't pretty.
Buzz-worthy show vs. Rest of the UPN lineup
Argument: Veronica Mars is UPN's highest-rated drama, and it's giving them buzz like nobody's business. It's getting UPN noticed and keeping them on people's radar.
Counter-argument: UPN wanted to prove that they could produce a critically-acclaimed, hit show. And they have done that this season...just not with Veronica Mars. Everybody Hates Chris is getting the type of ratings and award-show success that VM has never been able to achieve.
Winner: EHC
Also-ran: VM
Network Hype vs. Network Commitment
Argument: It would be seriously bad form, I think, to keep touting VM on their CW schedule and then pull out. Not the way you want to start a brand new network. I still have to believe that UPN/CW President Dawn Ostroff wouldn't have included VM in the CW presentation if it was on the bubble. I just have to.
Counter-argument: Every fall, the networks spend millions of dollars touting their new shows in every single press release, ad, billboard, talk show, etc. As soon as one of those shows tank, they yank the show off the air. Ever since 2.10 "One Angry Veronica", the ratings have disastrous. CBS President Les Moonves and Dawn might have mentioned VM during that news conference and the tentative schedule, but if the ratings continue to tank, they can just as easily put an end to the 3rd season before it begins.
Lesson of the Day: Don't believe the hype.
VM vs. Rest of the UPN and WB lineup
Argument: One more thing to bear in mind is that the absolute number of viewers leaves out the fact that UPN reaches fewer homes than the WB, which means that UPN shows get lower ratings more or less by default. If you really wanted to compare shows on the two networks, you'd have to look at what percentage of the total possible audience they're pulling. They can't drop every show on UPN because the WB's shows beat them in the ratings. Then it wouldn't be a merger, it would be a new name for the WB. Since VM is their top-rated drama, in all likelihood, it will be the one to stay.
Counter-argument: During the week of 2.13 "Ain't No Magic Mountain High Enough", VM finished 143rd out of 146 shows. Of the 15 UPN shows, VM finished 12th. The only shows it beat were One on One, All of Us, and South Beach. VM is a ratings disaster even by UPN standards.
Most of those 11 shows get far less critical acclaim and media buzz than VM, yet they all get higher ratings. Forget about beating Lost. How in the hell is VM supposed to get renewed when it can't even beat Love, Inc.?
Argument: Because it's not in competition with fucking Love, Inc.
Counter-argument: VM isn't just in competition with Love, Inc.; it's in competition with every single show on WB and UPN for a spot on that 13-hour CW line-up. Gilmore Girls, Supernatural, Smallville, Everwood — these aren't potential lead-ins; they are the competition. They are all higher rated shows that must-make-a-profit-in-the-first-year Dawn can put on the schedule instead of VM.
Ratings under-performer/disappointment/loser: VM
To VM or not to VM, that is the question
Argument: The CW has slots for dramas and slots for comedies. VM is not vying for a comedy slot. It is UPN's highest-rated drama, however, and considering the president of UPN is the one in charge of the CW, it's a sure bet a UPN drama gets a drama slot, regardless of the WB's ratings. The point is to take the best of both netlets so that there's a mutual benefit.
Counter-argument: The WB does better with dramas than it does with sitcoms. UPN does better with sitcoms than it does with the dramas. Love, Inc. plus another half-hour comedy equals another hour of non-VM programming. You take the best shows from the WB (dramas + Beauty and the Geek), the best shows from UPN (comedies + America's Next Top Model), throw in a few new shows, and you will have a 13 hour, VM-less lineup.
Final verdict: TBA in May.
Watch UPN Now vs Watch DVDs Later
Argument: Comments like "I will watch the DVD when it comes out" seem to become more common.
Counter-argument: If that is the case, the ratings wouldn't bounce back when ANTM returns.
Another problem with "waiting for the DVDs to come out" is that we don't even know if they are going to release the second season on DVD. People assume that WB is going to automatically release the DVDs, when in truth, that is far from certain. What other shows in the bottom twenty do you expect to be released on DVD?
You're part of the problem, not the solution: People who promise to watch the show "later."
Dawn's Dream vs. Ratings Reality
Argument: Ostroff is reportedly drooling over the possibility of a Gilmore Girls/Veronica Mars programming block. Which would make VM's current ratings mildly irrelevant to what she thinks it could do when CW finally hits this fall.
Counter-argument: The main reason this CW deal went through in the first place was because the affiliate deals that UPN and WB had with Tribune and News Corp were about to expire. This merger was a business decision, first and foremost. Moonves, Meyers, and Ostroff weren't really that concerned about the creative aspect. If they were, they would have given the headrunners of some of their top rated shows a little warning ahead of time. And as a business woman, Dawn is going to have to put the best schedule possible to compete with the other big networks. As much as she loves VM, and as much as Fox Peter Liguori loved Arrested Development, and as much as ABC's Steve McPherson loves Arrested Development, all that love don't mean a thing when the ratings are in the toilet.
CW's fall lineup: Dream come true or worse nightmare come to life?
3 million vs. 2 million
Argument: Michael Ausiello from TV Guide got a copy of the *preliminary* CW schedule, and Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars are scheduled on the same night.
Counter-argument: It's still not a sure thing. That's the tentative schedule, before the ratings for 2.12 "Rashard & Wallace Go To White Castle" and 2.13 "Ain't No Magic Mountain High Enough" were in.
When Les made announced the formation of CW, VM was averaging 3 million viewers. Since that announcement, VM has averaged 2 million viewers.
Les has said the goal for the CW is to be profitable during its first year. With ratings like 1.6 million and 2.1 million viewers, there is no way that VM fits that game-plan. Dawn might love the show, but with the investors from Time Warner, CBS, and Tribune breathing down her neck for profits in the first year, she will have to create the best lineup she has to achieve the highest ratings possible.
Argument: I don't expect them to cancel VM, since it's one of UPN's most critically acclaimed shows, but networks have done stupider things in the past.
Counter-argument: Sorry to break it to you, but canceling a show with 1.6 million viewers actually qualifies as a smart decision.
All it took was five low-rated episodes before Peter canceled AD. VM had three sub-par rated episodes, and UPN yanked it during February sweeps. What will UPN do if VM continues this ratings spiral?
Well, if the current trend of two-million viewers continue, things are looking kinda murky. Last season Rob said if the ratings go up, the show would get picked up for a second season. If the ratings stay the same, the show had a 50/50 shot. If the ratings went down, the show wouldn't be back.
The last three episodes had lower ratings than last year's average.
William Shakespeare: What is past is prologue...
Love vs. Money
Argument: Right now, I think I will have my own personal final say on the subject (until an official declaration is made) be the following Entertainment Weekly article:
Says CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves: 'The [WB's and UPN's] programming is very complementary. The idea of putting Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars together is really exciting.'
Les Moonves is excited about VM. I honestly can't go into panic mode at a point where I'm reading things like that.
Counter-argument: If you want to put all your faith in the supportive words of a network exec, let's see what another network exec had to say about a critically acclaimed, lowly rated show with a rabid cult following.
May 16, 2005 - Peter Liguori, Fox press release.
"Arrested Development is one of the best comedies on television. The decision to order another season becomes easy when you consider its amazing cast, creative brilliance, critical acclaim and advertiser appeal," said Liguori. "It's my first official pick-up since taking the job, and I think it's a great way to start."
Five sub-par rated episodes later, Peter had a change of heart.
November 18, 2005 - EW article
'The fan base is unquestionably one of the most loyal in TV — it's just too small,' laments Fox Entertainment president Peter Liguori, explaining his 'incredibly painful' decision.
Winner: Money, money, money.
Loser: Shows that dare to be great and the heart-broken fans who love them.
Hope, Hope, Hope
The TV graveyard is littered with series that the critics loved, but the viewers at home didn't give a fig about. (See: Cupid, Arrested Development, Wonderfalls, My So Called Life, Once and Again, Profit, Undeclared, Freaks and Geeks, etc., etc., etc.) If given a choice between renewing a crappy show with great ratings or a great show with crappy ratings, 95% of time the networks will pick the crappy show with great ratings. However, 5% of the time the networks will actually take a chance and pick the great show with crappy ratings.
The one advantage VM has that most of those brilliant-but-canceled series didn't have is a network boss who is willing to fight for the show. The fact that VM even got a second season is pretty darn amazing. VM was the lowest rated series that got renewed last season. Dawn and Les have made it very clear that they want VM to be a part of the CW lineup. If VM had better ratings, then yes, VM would have a virtual lock on CW's fall lineup right now. Unfortunately the ratings took a nosedive the last few weeks. Dawn and Les don't need much to convince them to renew the show, but they sure as hell need more than 1.6 million viewers.
With 2.14 "Versatile Toppings" being delayed until March 15th, that leaves the fans with some extra time on their hands. What you choose to do during that time is up to you.
"Tragedy blows through your life like a tornado, uprooting everything, creating chaos. You wait for the dust to settle and then you choose."
One option is to resign yourself to the fact that if the ratings continue to spiral downwards, the show might not be back next season. The feeling of defeated hopelessness is a very common reaction among fans of so many lowly-rated shows. They have had their hearts broken one too many times by the cancel-happy TV execs, and therefore they feel they have no other viable option but to sit idly by.
"You can live in the wreckage and pretend it's still the mansion you remember."
Another option is to ignore the ratings, and pretend that everything is superfine.
"Or you can crawl from the rubble and slowly rebuild."
Or you can try to do something about.
The outpouring of fan support was one of the reason the show got renewed last season. The fans did every thing they could to let Dawn know that she simply had to give the show a second season. We sent in $2 bills, voted like mad in E! Online's S.O.S. poll, stuffed every poll we could find, pimped the show to anyone and everyone who owned a TV set, etc.
"Because after disaster strikes, the important thing is that you move on. But if you're like me, you just keep chasing the storm."
Like Rob Thomas said in the beginning of the season: "At the end of the day, what Veronica Mars needs more than anything is more viewers." The show needs new fans, and we need them now. Three million viewers and the show is part of the CW lineup. Two million viewers and the show gets yanked during sweeps.
Based on emails our site has received and various message board posts, we know new viewers are still slowly trickling in. We need to turn that trickle into a downpour by March 15th. Now is the the time to make a move, get in the game. What, you gonna get hurt? Have a beautiful train wreck.
Step 1. Grab your VM DVDs.
Step 2. Grab your friend, sibling, parent, co-worker, and/or roommate by their shirttails and force them to watch season one in order to hook 'em on season two.
Step 3. Turn these newbies into VM-addicted, postcard-sending, I-want-my-VMTV vimps.
Step 4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 until Dawn announces the CW lineup in May.
So what's it gonna be, girlie girl? Are you going to do your part to help Veronica go to college? Or are you going to let the $4,000 shower go to waste?
Disclaimer: The views expressed on this page do not reflect the views of all team members involved with this site. Some believe that everything will be okay, while others *cough wyk cough* see doom and gloom at every turn.