We'd planned to. We'd said we would. We'd promised that after the first episode aired, we'd do a new piece and hopefully help get the word out on the improvements. But we put a qualifier in throughout noting that this was what we planned to do and that, as John Lennon once sang, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans" ["Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)," first appears on John and Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy album] and, goodness, did it.
The first episode was supposed to roll you. And the cast was sent out to attract attention via a variety of interviews with Darren Franich's Entertainment Weekly interview with Elizabeth Mitchell being the most prominent. Last week was going to be the week that V got attention.
And it did get attention, just not the kind that it needed.
V was one of those Water Cooler Shows that makes a big splash and then spends every week running the audience off. It really can't afford to lose anymore viewers and, in fact, if it doesn't increase its audience, ABC's giving it the axe.
So a new creative team was brought in, a lot of discussions took place as to what was working and what was not as well as what might garner attention?
That last part is how you get Marc Singer doing some episodes this year. He's been in every V incarnation thus far having originated the role of Mike in the first mini-series, the second mini-series and the original TV series. It's also why Jane Badler showed up for the season debut last week, reprising her role as Diana.
But they tried to make it a surprise. Why?
To create word of mouth?
Tuesday night and all the days that followed did increase V's word of mouth. It was probably one of the most talked about shows of the week. But, as Melissa Manchester once warned, "You should hear how she talks about you."
* ABC and ScyFy, you have both lost your minds. This is absolutely not the correct business decision to make. -- Albert Hood
* ABC is filled with morons! -- J R
* Short sighted, greedy people who are clining to an old way of thinking run ABC -- Rich Littleton
* So ABC, what exactly is the point of alienating (see what I did there) a large potion of the audience by going cable-only? -- Jon R.
And that's just some of the comments at Hulu (none of the above are comments in full). What has pissed off so many viewers?
ABC has pissed them off. Let's drop back to our April review:
One helpful thing they have done is put the show on Hulu immediately after an episode airs. This could lead to some helpful word of mouth. (We covered how they shot themselves in the foot with Hulu's audience in 2009.)
So what has ABC done to kick off season two? That's right, they've pulled online streaming. Not just at Hulu but at ABC's own website where comments also appear. It's Sunday and, as of now, there's no "Red Rain" (season debut) at Hulu or ABC.com.
At ABC's message boards, memprime explains, "[. . .] the issue is that for those who missed this week's episode, for whatever reason, they are going to be behind for next week's episode. This is how they very easily lose viewership, and the easiest way to retain viewership is to make it available online so people who missed it can catch up in preparation for the following week's episode."
A struggling show is the talk of the week. And it's not because Diana turns out to be Anna's mother or that Jane Badler's returned to the role of Diana. It's not because the show's finally started to show the aliens. It's not because of any of the creative decisions made, many of them brilliantly executed. V was the talk of the week because ABC screwed up.
Network's aren't supposed to do that. They're job is supposed to be promote a show and to exhibit a show. It's not a difficult task, believe it or not.
Nor is the network ever supposed to upstage the programs that it airs. But ABC is now the star, front and center before the fans, and the reaction isn't pretty.
A struggling show can't afford to piss of viewers.
It's a lesson ABC forgot. And it reminded us of Arthur Miller's After the Fall -- specifically, this section:
Quentin: You know? There's one word written on your forehead.
Maggie: What?
Quentin: "Now."
Maggie: But what else is there?
Quentin: A future. And I've been carrying it around all my life, like a vase that must never be dropped.
"Now." People who want to watch V want to watch it "now." Refusing to allow them to do so creates the situation where V is a broken vase without any future.
ABC needs to get its act together real quick. In the immediate aftermath of V airing Tuesday night, there was excitement about seeing Ballard's return all over the net. Since she had no significant moment -- it was a cameo at the very end of "Red Rain," ABC would have been smart to have promoted Ballard's return before the episode aired.
But, had they allowed for online streaming, the poor decision could have been saved. People wanted to see it, were eager to do so, were even willing to pay to watch it.
And they were excited about this Tuesday. But, day by day, the excitement turned to sorrow and then to anger.
It's really a shame because V is actually a better show this year than when it left off last spring. It's a real shame because V's return should have been the story last week but instead it turned into a story about all the assholes running ABC.