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Birds of Prey (1 Viewer)

LizH

Second Unit
Joined
May 2, 2004
Messages
343
It was not -- repeat, NOT -- an unpopular show.

Its ratings were on a par with Angel's in its (suicidal) timeslot.

The only reason it isn't on today is because the network hated it (It wasn't your typical WB-issue cute, fluffy teen soap. :frowning: )




As for it not having a following? I can show you over 2,300 people on Birds of Prey Online who would disagree. ;)
 

CaptDS9E

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 18, 1999
Messages
2,169
Real Name
Joey
I liked BOP and was dissapointed it ended. Would pick up the series in a heartbeat. Add it to my shows that were cancelled too quickly shelf. It gets bigger by the week
 

BrandonJF

Second Unit
Joined
Sep 8, 2000
Messages
436


That's true. The WB would've normally stuck with a show that had the numbers that BoP had. It was somewhat surprising that they suddenly cared about content over ratings.
 

Patrick Sun

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 30, 1999
Messages
39,660
IIRC, BoP came out of the gates like gangbusters ratings-wise, but then it just kept shedding viewers left and right until the WB finally pulled the plug on it, but at least they gave it a shot.
 

Daryl L

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 26, 1999
Messages
766
Another thing that was wrong was you never was sure when or if it would be on. It would be on one week, the next some special or sports, or a different hour. Even my EPG would be wrong. I had to work at keeping up if/when it was on. Pissed me off. It couldn't find an audience because the audience couldn't find it. Clearly WB didn't care about the show.

I'd buy it quickly. I enjoyed it. :)
 

Jason Seaver

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
9,303
Uh, no - I'm pretty sure that WB aired in Wednesday 9pm ET without fail. If local affiliates pre-empted it for sports (and thus moved it someplace else on the schedule), that's not the network's issue.

And of course WB "cared about" the show. They spent a lot of money on it, put it on directly after one of their more popular shows (either Dawson's Creek or Smallville), and would dearly have loved to sell more Birds of Prey comics and action figrues. It just couldn't maintain an audience to keep up with that expense.

(Because it wasn't very good)
 

KevinGress

Supporting Actor
Joined
Aug 24, 2005
Messages
836
Another question to ask about why it was cancelled -

How much did it cost to make? Remember, just a few years ago, the US was just coming out of a (very small) recession, but sci-fi and fantasy suffered because of its cost, while "reality" shows (meaning game shows) flourished because of their low production costs.
 

Med

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Messages
80
Sorry to be the bringer of bad tidings, but the R2 release that is listed at Play.com appears to be the BBC 1982 computer thriller 'Bird of Prey'. No 's' on the end of Bird there.

Play lists details of the cast which includes Richard Griffiths & Nigel Davenport amongst others, plus a plot synopsis and it's definitely not the show we are hoping for!

Really peeved about this as I've never seen an episode and was ready to pre-order the set.
 

Daryl L

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 26, 1999
Messages
766
I take back the sports pre-empting (got myself confused) but it did not air consistently each week. After the 8th episode it's airing was inconsistent. And the EPG's weren't correct on it's airing either. I remember getting angry about them claiming it couldn't get a following and thought to myself it was because of that fact.
 

LizH

Second Unit
Joined
May 2, 2004
Messages
343

It did great in its demos. It did better than 80% of the network schedule (Their sitcoms aren't exactly setting the world on fire. :rolleyes:)

IIRC, both Variety and The New York Times scratched their heads over the cancellation.
 

BrandonJF

Second Unit
Joined
Sep 8, 2000
Messages
436


It did air consistently for those first 8-9 episodes - I think what you're referring to is when the WB pretty much made their decision that they didn't like it and yanked it. They burned off the remaining unaired episodes much later. But, the writing was on the wall before it disappeared for awhile.
 

todd s

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 8, 1999
Messages
7,132
I have no problem with Batman not being in it. Like I said before..my problem came with how they changed the characters. Their was no reason to make Black Canary a psychic...instead of a martial artist with a sonic scream (like when they showed her Mom, the real Black Canary). I enjoyed the show and still have it on dvd (recorded it). But, I think they lost a lot of comic fans with the changes they made. Although, like I said earlier..they nailed the Oracle character....And Dina Meyer was perfect casting. :D
 

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