WARNING: The following post contains liberal use of CAPS and bold letters.
This week on Why It’s Worth a Watch Wednesday, Tiffany and I once again go head to head, bringing you the latest in new TV. This week, we check out NBC’s new drama, Do No Harm.
Do No Harm stars Steven Pasquale as…wait. Starred. I should say “starred” not “stars”.
Dude. They cancelled us. We have the sads.
Because it’s already been cancelled.
TWO. EPISODES. IN.
Yes, ladies and gentles, this show has the awkward distinction of being the lowest-rated scripted premiere in the HISTORY of the big four.
It must have been horrible, right?
Well…
Here’s the thing. By the time I got a chance to sit down and watch the show, I already knew about the cancellation. So, it was hard for me to be overly critical. If this were a real review, I probably would have made unfair comparisons to the BBC’s Jekyll (unfair, because, well, it’s the BBC). But, why kick a man while he’s down, right?
The premise to the show had promise. The main character, Dr. Jason Cole (Stephen Pasquale) has DID (dissociative identity disorder) but it manifests in a unique way. His alter, who goes by the name Ian Price, shows up at the same time every night – 8: 25 PM – and stays for 12 hours. Dr. Cole has little to no memory of what his other personality does, but he does know that he is a horrible person.
Because of this, it seems that he’s enlisted the help of a fellow doctor (Lin-Manuel Miranda) in creating a drug that suppresses his other half. It’s worked for a while, but they discover that Cole/Price has become immune to the drug.
The alter, angry after being suppressed for so long, is out for revenge on Cole.
And Cole, understandably, wants to kill Price.
It’s a Jekyll and Hyde-like tale. And I happen to enjoy Jekyll/Hyde stories. I also find DID interesting subject matter, even if this portrayal is over the top.
But, I’ll never know if this story would have been developed well, if Pasquale’s subtle shift between Cole and Price would have been refreshing or not enough, because the network didn’t give me a chance.
They did what they had to, right? If a show isn’t getting ratings, it gets the ax.
Here’s the thing. Not that I know anything about anything, but I get the feeling that networks haven’t caught up with the new generation of “TV” watchers. And by TV, I mean the countless numbers of people who watch their programs after the fact.
Show of hands: How many of you watch a show the second it comes on? There are a fair amount of viewers who are watching new shows On Demand, days later on their DVR, or online via network websites or Hulu.
Are networks accounting for these people?
I probably would have given Do No Harm a chance, honestly. But I don’t think my viewing figures are being considered.
Networks – catch up with the times. Find a new way to track your viewership. Put more of your marketing dollars into social media and online advertising. Offer sneak peeks (some have done this) of pilots to Social Media influencers who can get online viewers excited about the show.
Leverage the interwebs!!
And again, I don’t understand how things work, but if you’ve ALREADY filmed a certain number of episodes, why not air them all if all you are going to replace it with are RERUNS of another show? (Yes, they are going to air previously aired episodes of Law and Order: SVU.)
OH, OH! And stop premiering shows in timeslots where you historically underperform. NBC has been sucking wind in the 10 o’ clock time slot since, what, ER? Not to mention that the timeslot is occupied by Scandal – a HUGELY successful drama on ABC, and Elementary on CBS, which has also been doing well.
Go home, NBC, you’re DRUNK.
A lot of folks have DVRs that only let them records TWO things. Sticking yourself in a time slot already inhabited by a couple of strong shows is kind of asking for horrible ratings, isn’t it?
AND…AND! How about you give the show a stronger lead-in? Sure, Thursday night comedies on NBC were once a strong bunch, but with The Office nearing it’s end, 30 Rock done, and the addition of the absolutely horrid 1600 Penn, you can’t expect viewers to stick around for an unknown drama.
1600 Penn. ::shudder::
How is it, exactly, that you’ve cancelled Do No Harm after two episodes and not this waste of TV space?
Sigh.
No ratings today. I’m guessing Do No Harm would have received an SSTV from me. But apparently NBC wants microwave programming.
Enjoy your hot pockets.
I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore.
Come back next week when I’m less angry at the world. Or, you know, NBC.
Don’t forget to see what Tiffany has to say about this whole debacle!
(PS – I am really disappointed that the cancellation means I don’t get to see more Lin-Manuel Miranda. For those who don’t know, he is the uber-talented guy behind the musical In the Heights, and had a memorable guest appearance on House)
MacTV (MacNCheese TV): Guilty pleasure. Not perfect, but is satisfies
GMacTV (Gourmet MacNCheese TV): A combination of fine wine and comfort food
JFTV (Junk food TV):It’s not great for us, but we’ll go back for seconds
TBPTV (Twice Baked Potato TV): Part gourmet and delicious, while absolutely horrible for our cholesterol
SSTV (Still Simmering TV): It has potential, but the jury is still out
NIV (NyQuil Induced Viewing): Perfect for that late night television sleep timer
LOTV (Liver&Onions TV): Do we really have to explain? Blech
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It seems we both agree on something! I know that doesn’t happen much when it comes to our television shows. NBC is delusional if they thought this show would immediately outrank the BIGS. Delusional. I feel so bad for the staff who put countless hours into this production only after the network gave it the green light to tape however many episodes (probably around 10). And you hit on a KEY point!! Who watches live TV anymore? Not many. Not since the invention of the DVR. The networks make the decision to bring so many new shows in a year… then they do this. They really don’t care about the viewers IMO. And this show really wasn’t that bad… I would have given it a chance.
Shows like Scandal and Suits trend the evenings on Twitter. They have amazing fans and those networks really work with that – actors from the shows live tweeting and interacting, etc. THAT is how they get people to watch WHILE the show is on. But you need to build that audience first, and in order to do that, you have to give them time to see the show. I know a lot of people that don’t invest in a show until they hear about the first few eps. Do their friends like it? Is the network going to cancel it? Etc…
Sigh. I know. Preachin’ to the choir here.
Are you serious? It’s already canceled??? I didn’t even know it was on yet. I’d seen previews, and I thought “huh, sounds interesting. I should check that out.” But I never got the chance. I didn’t even know what time/day it was on. I forgot to set the DVR for it but apparently it wouldn’t have mattered. I’m with you, I’m one of those who never watches the show “live”. I can’t remember the last one I watched when it actually aired. We stream a lot on Netflix, or watch the DVR later. We often have a TV day on Saturday where we catch up on all our favs from the week. Obviously the networks don’t have a clue what the working person does with their TV viewing. They’d rather us all watch Desperate Housewives or something I guess. They never give a good show a chance. They yank that chain way too early. Drives me crazy!
It’s funny, Melinda. Since I don’t watch “real” TV, I don’t have commercials constantly reminding me when a new show is airing. I would imagine that applies to people who watch their shows via DVR. They skip the commercials, so they may hear about a show, but aren’t being reminded of when it is on.
Networks need to learn how to go where the people are with their marketing.
I would have probably liked this show. You know, I usually don’t watch shows while they’re airing…I always DVR. Most people do, I think. Who knows why NBC didn’t give this show a chance. *sigh*
Like I said, I really have to question a network that not only gave 1600 Penn a green light, but CONTINUES to air it.
Amber, the NBC execs are ***hats. I caught parts of an episode and had it filed when Elementary went into reruns. They program like chimpanzees. It’s like scheduling junior’s little league team against toe Bosox. Though junior’s team might have a shot.
It does intriguing but like you said, we’ll never get to find out. If we don’t DVR a show, we get it from Netflix. We never watch anything live…and we never watch movies in theaters either. :}
“Show of hands: How many of you watch a show the second it comes on?” Twice in the last month, I think. Everything else I watch the next day…the next week…or later. I don’t understand why the networks don’t at least air the already-filmed-and-ordered episodes on the website to see if interest grows there before they make a decision. Was it a MUST that they decide right now? Was there a long line waiting for that coveted 10:00 spot?
You are so right about networks catching up with viewer habits. If only you and Tiffany could sit in on the big-wig meetings at the networks. Do we know anybody on the inside?