UPN's new show "Game Over" bombs....Whose fault is it? (1 Viewer)

[todd s]

According to www.thefutoncritic.com UPN's new show "Game Over" did horrible in it's premier. Hmmm..maybe it is not the shows but the network? I mean if you look at the following site http://www.upn11tv.com/shows/old_shows/index.htm it shows all of the show that aired on UPN. Most lasted less than a season. Now, Game Over could have really sucked. But, their are plenty of other shows that were cancelled early that didn't. For example Special Unit 2 was doing well(for UPN). But, the head of CBS didn't like the show. So it was cancelled. They list 64 shows that they have aired. Only 7 shows lasted more than one season. And a few of those were last more than 2 (ie-Buffy,Voyager, etc)
I have to conclude that while most of the shows deserved to be cancelled early. A fair amount were killed because UPN is the 6 ranked network.

 

[Craig S]

I saw it. Believe me, it really did suck.

 

[Malcolm R]

I'd never even heard of it until this post.

 

[todd s]

Maybe, this will convince UPN to air the four unaired episodes of Jake 2.0

 

[Brian_FSullivan]

I don't really think you can blame UPN as a whole for "Game Over's" failure. While it's easy to cherry pick UPN's previous failures, the truth is the WB's, FOX's, NBC's, etc. history is just as littered with canceled series. Keep in mind that on average at least 3 out of every 4 new series won't make it to a second season and of those just half will get to a third season. That's just the mechanics of the industry and they're not limited to UPN.

I should also note that the list you linked to is quite incomplete and/or out of date. A large number of UPN's current lineup are veterans: "The Parkers" (5 seasons), "One on One" (3 seasons), "Girlfriends" (4 seasons), "Star Trek: Enterprise" (3 seasons), "WWE Smackdown" (5 seasons), "America's Next Top Model" (2 seasons), "Half & Half" (2 seasons).

Also "The Amazing Race," "Between Brothers," "Celebrity Deathmatch" and "Wolf Lake" were burn-offs/encores of other network's properties; "The Paranormal Borderline" and "Power Play" were specials, not series; and "Source Sound Lab" wasn't part of UPN's national lineup.

 

[Marc Colella]

My buddy worked on the CGI for the show (along with his co-workers at DKP) - so it was cool to see it for that reason alone.

By the sounds of how the show was received, he'll probably be working on a different project very soon.

 

[todd s]

Brian,

Thanks for the response. I tried not to include shows (ie-Wolf Lake) that were from other networks. Maybe, it is a greater problem that all of the networks seem to have a hair trigger when it comes to pulling shows these days. It could be that reality shows are popular and cheap. I also am not sure how accurate the Neilsons are anymore. You might have more info on ratings and also an opinion regarding this.

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

Who's to blame?
Probably UPN. Did they promote it? I didnt see any commercials or print ads and though I didnt see the show, Ive seen the pics of the animation and it didnt look too hot.
UPN as a network is still looking for an identity and so far they havent found anything close to finding a hit show in a while.
Hell, even Enterprise is bombing for them.
Two years ago they took over two shows from another network (Buffy and Roswell) but cant they think of anything for themselves?

 

[Jason Seaver]

I think their problem is they've got too many identities. Individual nights are generally cohesive (comedies on Monday, sci-fi on Wednesday, etc.), but how do you get the audience for Star Trek to watch One On One, and vice versa?

I think another issue with UPN has been that, until recently, they've had a very small development budget; every spring, when I'm reading about pilots under consideration, UPN only seems to have five or six, whereas other networks, even WB, have dozens. This leaves them inflexible, and if what they've developed isn't that good, there aren't many options come mid-season.

 

[Brian-W]

I saw quite a few print ads, hence how I remembered to Tivo the show. I *think* I saw them in Entertainment Weekly...

 

[Rob P S]

I have never watched a UPN show, and I wonder why they continue to exist. (no offense to people who like UPN shows)

 

[Jeff Jacobson]

I didn't watch the show, but I read that there was some last-minute censorship. I think I read this at toonzone.net.

 

[CaptDS9E]

The show just stunk period. The CG was excellent but they really need better writers for heavans sake. Not one funny joke the entire show

capt

 

[KevinRB]

I saw the previews for it. I thought it looked bad, but I gave it a shot anyway since it involved CG and video games. What a mistake...

I think "Game Over" is over.

(Someone had to say it.)

 

[RaymondSteiner]

Hey Rob, you should take a look at Smackdown!, it's really good! (5 seasons!)

 

[Dan Hitchman]

Dear God was it terrible! Bad CGI, bad writing, and the only good voice actor in the cast was Patrick Waughburton (sp?) who must have been desperate for a job until Family Guy got going again!

It had a good premise (what happens when video game characters are "off the clock"), but seemed to be a heartless, soulless attempt to advertise video games and hawk product placements.

Disgusting!

Dan

 

[ChrisBEA]

I saw it and sort of enjoyed it, I liked it better than the premiere of Sci-Fi's Tripping the Rift.
I saw tons of commercials for it couldn't get away from them when watching Smackdown and Enterprise.

Man I wish Jake 2.0 was still on....:frowning:

 

[BobbyPerry]

I thought the previews looked good, but boy was I wrong. This wasn't NEARLY as good as Tripping the Rift. It wasn't even funny IMO. Rift actually has some laughs to it, even though they may make my grandmother cringe.

 

[Michael Hughes]

UPN should just fold up shop and call themselves a Cable channel. They business model is not very effective, they need a new brand imaging. WHo watches UPN? Wrestling and Star Trek, thats it.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Actually, they do okay with their comedies, and America's Next Top Model is something of a minor hit. I think that they've actually pulled even with WB in terms of total viewers, but apparently the black audience they attract Monday-Tuesday isn't considered as demographically desirable as WB's 13-year-old girls. UPN's other issue is that they can't cross-promote very well; do the same people watch The Parkers, Enterprise, and Smackdown?


As to Game Over, I finally got around to watching the first episode last night. I laughed a few times, mostly at Patrick Warburton ("I'm a simple man; I drive around in circles all day"). It's one of those shows I really wish was funnier, because the three minutes out of twenty-two that work show potential.