OVER & OUT? Creator hoping to save Law & Order, spinoff
By Bill Carter, NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
4.22.07
The future of Law & Order, one of the most enduringly popular shows in television history, will be decided over the next few weeks as its network, NBC, and its creator, Dick Wolf, mull over a wrenching decision:
Is it finally time to shut down production of a series that has churned out almost 400 episodes, fueled ratings for several cable channels with its voluminous repeats and spawned two successful spinoffs, all the while generating enormous profits for both NBC and Wolf? More.
Thanks Denise
posted by thereel @ 8:16 AM
15 Comments:
How many more article are to be written on this subject. I wish they would just let us know once and for all. The suspense is killing me. One article states it looks good another said it doesn't another one says that LOCI held it's own up against a few of the top rated shows on the air. I'm going nuts.
Please everyone read the whole article and leave your comment at the end!! Thanks
This is basically the same article that ran in the New York Times earlier this week.
Thanks for the tip Jenn.
It's basically the same article except it mention Dick Wolf's wish to have the original L&O reach the 20-yr mark.
It doesn't appear that anyone is leaving comments on the article.
There's just one anonymous.
It's kind of irritating to see Wolf and NBC posturing like this in public while negotiating in private. I think that the talks are not going so well. But it's interesting that Wolf talks more to the mainstream media than the trades while NBC will pretty much talk to anyone.
The Vault
http://vdovault.wordpress.com
When I left my comment-- I used my full name at the bottom so maybe it only gets updated once a day or so...its worth a try though!
Thanks for the tip Jenn, I just submitted a comment to the article as well-certainly can't hurt-maybe someone will read it-
Regi.
Do you know the voice that the teacher makes on the Charlie Brown cartoons?
Thats what I hear when I read another article like this. Its time to make a decision...come to their senses and realize the American public (i.e, THE REEL GANG) is going to throw a hissy fit if there is no LOCI! (Or I will!)
Sorry to be a killjoy, but don't waste your time leaving a comment at the end of the article. It's a news site for a regional newspaper and I can guarantee you your comments will never leave the North Carolina newsroom. They probably only picked up the wire story because of VDO's dad. (I know how this stuff works -- I was a newspaper editor for 20 years.) The near-simultaneous appearance of all the recent "Is L&O Doomed?" stories is no coincidence -- someone's PR folks have been working overtime. So aim your comments where they might count -- at NBC.
Does anyone know if VDO really did sell his Manhattan-area home in February? An ominous coincidence?
Apologies if I sent this twice, I got 'connection problem' when I pressed the button!
As I've said before, NBC seem to be really enjoying this new game called 'jerking us around'.
First they make 22 new episodes stretch over almost 9 months, then they play "Will we/wont' we renew"
Could they PLEEZE just make a decision and TELL us, before we all end at at Carmel Ridge ;0)
I left my comments at the end of the article. I am with smtag, cut to the chase and be done with this. This not knowing is really not any fun!
To sep...yes VDO did sell his Manhattan house back in February (it's been covered on a couple of those 'gawk at the celebrity real estate' blogs as well as in a similar column in New Yorker and yes they included sales price info and who the listing agencys were etc...).
I think that part of his thinking behind the house sale may be all the stories in the economics press that say that Manhattan RE is insanely high priced right now and I wouldn't blame the guy for cashing in (there's a lot of hedge funders and private equity types around there with much cash to throw at Manhattan real estate owners plus at the same time the man gets to change addresses and get away from potential fan/stalkers) I was pleased to see that he was able to get a final price increase over his asking price that was more than what was paid for the rural home I'm living in that has acreage...I always suspected he was a shrewd guy!
Having been a newspaper editor you can see where the posturing is, how both sides are trying to use the media for their own advantage and yes they played this game last year too. It's getting old, it's getting tiresome, and it does nothing to improve either show. But in the end I think it's all going to be all about the money. I'm predicting nonrenewal for both shows.
The Vault
http://vdovault.wordpress.com
I still think CI is going to get renewed no matter what. It's not CI I'm worried about, because NBC makes money on House and CI, so they don't really care which show you watch. Not to mention the giant syndication deal CI got with all FOX affiliates for this fall and beyond, and the purchase of season 6 for current syndication partners, like OMNI 2 and Mystery here in Canada, and USA and Bravo in the US.
It's the mothership I'm worried for. USA Network has to ink a new syndication deal for seasons 17 and up, so that's going to be the deal-maker. Not to mention it got beaten by Numb3rs everytime Numb3rs was a new episode, and sometimes, even 20/20!
What they need to do is put back the mothership on Wednesday nights, and stop ripping stories from the damn headlines! People who watch Law & Order are people like us, who are frankly, and I'm not scared about boosting our egos here, but smarter than the average medium of the population. It's just true, okay? We're not the type of people to watch Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood, we like intelligent shows.
By sticking in celebrity stores into every damn Law & Order episode, you're not appealing to the broader population, you're pushing away your main viewer pool! Not to mention you changed the night and time it's been on since 1990, so the casual viewer can't watch it!
Also, please make Detective Nina Cassady wear normal shirts, and not tight, revealing shirts with her chest pushed out. It's not increasing ratings, it's just... ugh, THAT'S not Law & Order. Law & Order is intelligent, normal women like ADA Connie Rubirosa or Detective Alex Eames, etc.
So to conclude, it's not CI I'm worried about, but it's the mothership.
Thanks VDOvault for the update. Yes, I know all too well about posturing for the media. It's one of the multitude of things that turns news editors into cynics.
I agree with animelee about stepping back from the "ripped from the headlines" storylines -- for all three L&Os. Now every crime show's doing it -- and badly. It's become a race to see who can "grab the headline," throw together a script and get it on the air first.
My cost-cutting suggestions for NBC: dump the big-name guest stars, can the person behind the jerky camera, and fire the sappy-song writer. Oh, yeah, and bring back the ka-ching. How much can that cost?
ah, make a friggen decision already!!
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