Watch Me If You Can!

I lived through the infamous move of 'The X-Files' from BBC2 to BBC1, where allegedly no two episodes were on at the same time or day ever again, and viewing figures plummeted (allegedly).

So I'm intrigued to see that Defying Gravity, the already-cancelled-after-the-first-season TV show (Firefly, anyone?), partly funded with the money from my TV licence by the BBC, is moving around in exactly the same way. The opening was promising: Pilot and first episode on back-to back, on a Thursday night on BBC2, and this almost seemed to be a stable location, until after only a few episodes it was moved to Saturday night, and then moved to a later slot, and next week, to an even later slot. It is an old and tired game - find the moving programme, and I'm not impressed. Worse, after a slow start, Defying Gravity is starting to get better as it goes along, and is rapidly becoming a must-watch.

Just as an experiment, I'd like EastEnders and Coronation Street to be moved around in the schedules every episode the way some other programmes are...

Update: 7th December 2009.

The usual pattern continues. This weekend there was no episode of Defying Gravity at all, but there will be next weekend. So here's the pattern:

TV Scheduling's tricks, twists and turns...

• First, show the pilot and first episode back to back.
• Second, show a few episodes at the same time and on the same day as the pilot.
• Then, move it to another day and time.
• Then, move it later on that day, and then later, and then later. Make sure that any sporting, political or other event that occurs is used as an excuse to move an episode with no warning, or better, to defer showing that episode until after the whole series has ended (if at all).
• Then don't show it at all one weekend, but make sure that you repeat some previous episodes twice, again on movable times and days.
• Then show two episodes back to back, so that anyone who misses them loses out big-time and has a lot of catching up to do.
• Then wait a few weeks and show the last two episodes back to back when there's something major on at least two other channels.
• Finally, make sure you don't repeat the last two episodes, ever...

If this was a tv programme it would be a comedy!

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