Dr Who in 94 countries

The 50th anniversary special was broadcast last night in a Guinness Book record breaking 94 countries. Did anyone see it?

I never even heard of it till a month ago.

I could understand Babewatch having a broadcast like that, but a Science Fiction show?

The logic of what shows stays on TV is fairly straightforward in America. The CBS network looks at it 8 comedies and it's production budget and decides if it is easier to start a new show. Two and a Half Men may not be getting the revenue to pay the sky high salaries earned by it's stars.

CBS (average price advertisers pay for 30 second commercial
$316,912 Big Bang Theory
$183,904 Two and a Half Men
$175,506 2 Broke Girls
$174,442 The Millers (Will Arnett)
$167.569 The Crazy Ones (Robin Williams)
$165,999 How I Met Your Mother (final season)
$139,070 Mom
$137,121 We Are Men (Cancel)

Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs probably earn less than $100K per episode for "2 Broke Girls" (as the show is only in it's 3rd season) while Ashton Kutcher and Charlie Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones collectively earn about $1.6 million. Robin Williams is paid much more than Will Arnett.

As it is non-commercial, the BBC has different motives. They nurtured this children's show over the decades until it became a cultural institution. It is no longer a children't show, but has become a family show with an agenda of changing society. The decision to hire the creator of "Queer as Folk" made a big impact.

The show was successful enough to spawn a spin off named Torchwood which has very adult themes.

Quote: Pacomartin

The logic of what shows stays on TV is fairly straightforward in America.

It's amazing how differently TV is handled in different countries. Even the terminology changes. I've heard Brittons call seasons "series," for example. They will be discussing, say, Star Trek TNG and comment on how "series 5 was better than series 4." The first time I encountered it Iwas left wondering if I'd strayed into a parallel universe...

A great many US shows were copies or knock-offs of British shows. ONly most British shows, especially comedies, seem to run only two or three years, while US shows run indefinitely. One such was "Three's Company" (great show, BTW, with several first rate comedians).

of course in America things are changing now for various reasons. I can't imagine any kind of show which will last 20 years like Law & Order did (except perhaps Law & Order SVU, but it's feeling kind of repetitive by now). Lately, too, shows lasting two or three seasons are becoming rather common.

The logic is primarily straight forward math.
How much does it cost to do each episode, how much do we factor in an escalation fee for contract re-negotiation as a show takes off, how much nuisance do we put up with for these prima donas who get swell headed, how long do we really think the ball will keep rolling before people start talking about jumped sharks?

The only modifiying contraints are that TV networks have to offer some childrens programming and other licensing stuff.

The Bill changed its length and format quite often but kept the same basic characters.

In the USA shows often end but then get reborn on a different network. So Saint Elsewhere gets reborn as ER which gets reborn as Chicago Hope...now I think the doctors all live in Seattle. Or cops shows start out in a mythical precinct known as The Hill and migrate all over the place. Some wind up as "quick cut" shows, some emphasize the "real life of travel between scenes and developing of scenes".

The BBC is government funded very little in the USA is government funded except script viewpoints.

Quote: Nareed

It's amazing how differently TV is handled in different countries. Even the terminology changes. I've heard Brittons call seasons "series," for example. They will be discussing, say, Star Trek TNG and comment on how "series 5 was better than series 4." The first time I encountered it Iwas left wondering if I'd strayed into a parallel universe...

On British TV they tend to use the word episodes to refer to a continued story. So a story might be 1,2,3, or 4 episodes.

Usually the term Britton or Briton is used exclusively to refer to something regarding the Celtic nations : Scotland, Isle of Man, Wales, Cornwall or Brittany (in France). The term British can be used for something to do with the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland).

The phrase "Great Britain" specifically excludes "Northern Ireland".

"Lesser Britain" is normally called "Brittany" in English (French: Bretagne ; Breton: Breizh,; Gallo: Bertaèyn)

The money is abbreviated GBP or Great Britain Pound, since it was a product The Bank of England was founded in 1694 which is over a century before the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" was formed. Officially it is still called "pound sterling".

Americans (even in the news and often by the President) refer to the country as England, and refer to the "English Queen" which is very annoying to the British.

Quote: Nareed

of course in America things are changing now for various reasons. I can't imagine any kind of show which will last 20 years like Law & Order did (except perhaps Law & Order SVU, but it's feeling kind of repetitive by now). Lately, too, shows lasting two or three seasons are becoming rather common.

Salary negotiations are becoming more difficult with long running shows. On cable the "10-90" concept is gaining ground, where 10 trial episodes are aired, and if they meet a predetermined viewership, then a contract is extended for 90 more shows. So far this concept is primarily centered on 30 minute comedies, where the production staff tries to shoot two episodes per week (or every 10 days) as opposed to 1 episode per week. The star is paid mostly on the back end when the show goes into syndication.

OMG! THEY KILLED BRIAN! You Bastards!

Quote: Pacomartin

On British TV they tend to use the word episodes to refer to a continued story. So a story might be 1,2,3, or 4 episodes.

They also reffer to the medium as "the telly," which was rather suprirsing when I found out. Two peoples separated by a common language indeed ;)

Quote:

Salary negotiations are becoming more difficult with long running shows.

Understandably so, when long-running now means surviving past the third season.

Still, I suppose the big trouble comes from ensemble shows, where there are lots of actors to pay off. The Seinfeld salary negotiations were epic, and very public. At that, things were rather clear. That is, Seinfeld made the most money because he was the star and the draw. The rest of the cast consisted of three people. but I often wonder how much the many regulars were paid, in particular the actors who played George's parents.

BTW the show is still in syndication on cable in Mexico, with subtitles. I don't think it ever aired dubbed in the open-air networks, as 90% of everything would have made no sense at all translated (the subtitles often make no sense). Come to think of it, Friends is on cable syndication here too (again, with subtitles). Both are shown at least twice a day, albeit early in the morning or at mid-afternoon.

Oh, and I assume the writers are still paid poorly. Or so the writers like to claim.