caz963 | Huh?

I missed L&O:UK on Monday, so I've just caught up this evening. I thought they'd made more that seven episodes though? Or did I read somewhere that for some, unfathomable reason, stupid ITV has decided to split the season in half? Way to go when you're trying to establish a new show!

I know that UK seasons are a lot shorter than US ones, but we don't usually have a mid-season hiatus; I can't think of another UK show where that's happened. Although that doesn't mean a lot, because I don't watch a lot of UK telly! Sure, it happens with US shows that are on over here - although again, not often - mostly, because we get them months after they screen in the US, it means we can watch a whole season without breaks, which is one of the arguments in favour of our getting the shows later. Fringe has just been on a really long break, probably necessitated by the break in the US. We've just had episode 13 here, meaning we're now two weeks behind the states.

I'm watching ER now (which still has a few weeks to run here) - did Brad lend his moustache to William H Macy? ;-)

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They did indeed film more episodes than that. They've done 13 in total (they only finished a couple of weeks ago), but yeah ITV in the idiocy have decided to hold the rest over for a new season *shakes head at idiots*

I knew I'd read somewhere they'd made 13, I just don't get the decision- surely this is a flagship programme for ITV? And what's going to replace it? Probably some pile of reality crap.

ITV are crap at showing programmes as a season. Ma watches Heartbeat and The Royal on a Sunday night, but they regularly break the seasons up, leaving a storyline unfinished, with no clue as to when it's coming back. Apparently, the cast hate this, as they spend months filming and don't know when things are going to be shown. It's especially bad when they just chop everything off to show Dancing on Ice.

Since they announced the closure of the Leeds studio, where Heartbeat etc and Emmerdale are based, nobody knows what's going to happen. The locals in the places that they film are worried they are going to lose all the money that the filming brings to the area. I think ITV are just going through a lot of bad times, but most of it is brought on by them having no concept of viewer loyalty to programmes.

And yes, the moustache does seem to have been contagious!

Commercial telly has been heading towards this for years - the bagel has just hurried it up. We've talked a lot about this in the past - how the fragmentation of the market means that commercial channels are going to have to find alternative revenue etc - and it just amazes me that we saw it coming, but the TV companies just decided to bury their heads in the sand,

I think the telly companies both sides of the pond tend to treat their audience with contempt, and I'm including the Beeb (much as I generally love auntie) in that as well.

I don't watch either of those shows, so didn't know about the broken seasons; hasn't the Royal been cancelled now?

I think both Heartbeat and The Royal are for the chop. Which goes back to the treatment of the audience. Ma isn't alone in liking some nice gentle drama on a Sunday - although I think both these shows have been getting progressively less gentle and much "grittier" (ie more sex & violence) of late. Alienating a large segment of the audience at a peak time isn't going to do anyone any good.

Yeah, I thought I'd heard they were both being canned. I really don't like that sort of drama - but obviously there are plenty of people who do, or Heartbeat wouldn't have run for so long.

The question is though, what's going to replace them? Like I said to hockey upthread re, L&O, probably reality crap!

Maybe it's time to go back to the days when telly didn't come on until after lunch,

Could we just go back to 3 channels and not have it come on until after lunch? Reality crap has far too much to answer for!

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