• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Bunheads S1 - Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, Starring Sutton Foster & Kelly Bishop

Status
Not open for further replies.

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Yeah, Canadian hur, and on ABC Family & on our equivalent, ABC Spark, all of the commercials featured "from Amy Sherman-Palladino, the creator of Gilmore Girls" on them.

I've definitely seen people online saying they'll check it out based on that alone. Still, ABC Family's management is atrocious and I have no idea how long the show will last because of it. I'm just going to enjoy the ride and be incredibly sad/angry if it's cancelled.
Heh. I really don't know anything about ABC Family. Do they have a history of killing shows quickly?
 

anaron

Member
Heh. I really don't know anything about ABC Family. Do they have a history of killing shows quickly?

Their very best ones (Greek aside) have all been cancelled prematurely. But what they usually do to fuck up their ratings is have individual seasons split throughout the year, broken apart by like, 5 month hiatuses. Summer is usually the only time their show's seem to do well at all because of the little competition.


So in Bunheads favour, it has that and all of the network's other shows performing quite poorly at the moment.
 

Memles

Member
Heh. I really don't know anything about ABC Family. Do they have a history of killing shows quickly?

Shows in general? Not really - they're no more finicky than other basic cable outlets on the whole.

However, they're a bit quicker killing shows that are really good but off-brand for the network, not fitting into the comfortable boxes of the teen girl demo the network has come to value. Specifically, The Middleman (a really great sci-fi comedy) and Huge (a really sharp teen drama) were two shows critical communities embraced but were eventually too low-rated to survive alongside more "buzzworthy" entries like Pretty Little Liars or The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Bunheads is at a weird intersection, in that the pilot is very much about Michelle, but the demo of the network is clearly aiming more toward the teen girls who are underdeveloped. Accordingly, some critics (quite rightfully) have questions about how that balance will be struck in the future, acknowledging that they're much more interested in Michelle/Fanny than in the girls, and the network's track record is such that you could imagine the show getting gradually pushed in that direction.

Which, on some level, is just the consequence of the network. Switched at Birth, one of their stronger shows at the moment, always feels like it's compromising something, but the good parts (specifically the use of sign language and the investigation of deafness in a teenage context) are strong enough to make the show worth checking out (it's on Netflix). The question, I suppose, is whether Bunheads can be successful enough among young audiences without comprising the parts of the show that seem so sharp in the pilot.

The jury's out until we see ratings, and until we see next week's episode, but that's out of our hands at this point.
 
It looks like Amy is back in true-form after that shitty Fox show. It's a shame she has such a terrible time naming shows. Bunheads? really?

As for ABC Family - they've had huge success with Gilmore Girls re-runs (it's always on), so i doubt they will be quick to axe a show that feels so similar (with at least 3 GG regulars) by the creator.

Amy writing small town quirky, plus Sutton Foster (so nice, and so talented) mean I'm in for the season.
 
Got to watch 5 minutes before my dvr recording completely freezes. Ugh. Fucking Comcast.

Hope to catch it on a repeat. Gilmore Girls is one of my favorite shows ever.
 

Sloane

Banned
She isn't technically a regular but she is essentially being treated as one. Alan Ruck however, kinda can't following this episode...
Yeah, I wrote that while watching. His fate wasn't made entirely clear though?

Liked the pilot although the similarities to Gilmore Girls are bit too obvious for my taste. The actress even looks like Lorelai and wears almost the same clothes. Weird.
 

anaron

Member
Don't mean to rain on everyone's parade but...

0.6 premiere. :-\

Isn't that alright though considering Secret Life's similar ratings as a lead-in?


For reference: SECRET LIFE/AMERICAN TEEN FAM 8:00 PM 1677 0.7

vs

Bunheads FAM 9:00 PM 1637 0.6
 

ivysaur12

Banned
Series premieres of ABC Family shows currently on the air:

The Secret Life of the American Teenager: --
Pretty Little Liars: 0.9/2.466 million
Melissa & Joey: 1.0/2.145 million
Switched at Birth: 1.3/3.304 million
The Lying Game: 0.5/1.386 million
Jane By Design: 0.6/1.612 million

(now canceled):

The Nine Lives of Chloe King: 0.7/2.171 million
Huge: 0.9/2.533 million
State of Georgia: 0.6/1.317 million
 

anaron

Member
Series premieres of ABC Family shows currently on the air:

The Secret Life of the American Teenager: --
Pretty Little Liars: 0.9/2.466 million
Melissa & Joey: 1.0/2.145 million
Switched at Birth: 1.3/3.304 million
The Lying Game: 0.5/1.386 million
Jane By Design: 0.6/1.612 million

(now canceled):

The Nine Lives of Chloe King: 0.7/2.171 million
Huge: 0.9/2.533 million
State of Georgia: 0.6/1.317 million

Yeah it could go either way. I guess the best thing to hope for is stability more than anything.
 

anaron

Member
Via Joe Adalian: Bunheads pretty much flopped Monday. Averaged a 1.0 in W18-34, retaining barely 65% of its SLATC lead-in (1.6). In W12-34, 2.1--1.3 (-38%)


Sigh.
 

ivysaur12

Banned
Via Joe Adalian: Bunheads pretty much flopped Monday. Averaged a 1.0 in W18-34, retaining barely 65% of its SLATC lead-in (1.6). In W12-34, 2.1--1.3 (-38%)


Sigh.

Bad name + older star + weird premise = Does she do ballet? Is it about her life after this old man? Is about her as a showgirl? All three?

I'm disappointed, not surprised.
 

destrudo

Member
I really have no idea if this show is going to survive.

The only reason I watched the pilot was because it was getting such good reviews. Even then I was pretty hesitant because of the awful title and the uninteresting description of the show. Thankfully I watched it anyways, and within the first 10 minutes I was pretty much sold.

I really hope general viewers won't dismiss it for the same reasons I almost did. Sadly I doubt many people care enough about critical opinion that they'll overlook their negative impressions.

Based on those ratings though, I guess I already have my answer.
 

Sloane

Banned
Don't really care about the ratings, it's not like the show requires a huge investment. If it ends after one season, too bad. I'll keep watching.
 

Mitsurux

Member
Yeah, I wrote that while watching. His fate wasn't made entirely clear though?

Liked the pilot although the similarities to Gilmore Girls are bit too obvious for my taste. The actress even looks like Lorelai and wears almost the same clothes. Weird.


Agree, the similarities are almost TOO muich for me (my wife and i both being fans of gilmore girls), 2 cast memebers that were a part of Gilmore girls, small town, etc. etc.

Heck even the banter between the mother that the main chracter reminds me of Gilmore girls (could partly be because the mother is the SAME Actress in both series!!)

The plot set up i found extrememly rushed, the cliff hanger completely silly when you consider that you were just introduced to the character...

This could (and probably should have) been expanded into 2 or even 3 episodes...or use some other method to get the main chracter to move to the small town.

With all that said with certain "things" out of the way.. the story could get interesting... we will be watching the next episode.
 
lol, they were probably afraid she'd walk out over it.



So, it looks like there's a controversy brewing over Shonda Rhimes tweeting about the show's lack of diversity. It's a totally valid point, but I think it's also just a little premature based on a pilot episode. Let's see what the season has in store, maybe?

What's going on with this brah? Brah's got like three doctor shows and n0ne of the leads are minorities? Work on your own shit for lonely housewives Shonda.
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Wow, you know, I was so into Sherman-Palladino world that I didn't even notice that the cast was pretty much all white. lol
 

ivysaur12

Banned
What's going on with this brah? Brah's got like three doctor shows and n0ne of the leads are minorities? Work on your own shit for lonely housewives Shonda.

???

OlHNM.jpg
 
I was referring to the the three doctor show the brah had with only a random black woman. If the lack of diversity of this brahs show gave the brah massive succes then Shona shouldn't complain when a show ins't diverse. yes I know Shonda is black.
 

ivysaur12

Banned
I was referring to the the three doctor show the brah had with only a random black woman. If the lack of diversity of this brahs show gave the brah massive succes then Shona shouldn't complain when a show ins't diverse. yes I know Shonda is black.

She has two doctor shows. The male lead on Private Practice (Taye Diggs) is black.
 
I was referring to the the three doctor show the brah had with only a random black woman. If the lack of diversity of this brahs show gave the brah massive succes then Shona shouldn't complain when a show ins't diverse. yes I know Shonda is black.

Wait, do you think Kerry Washington is Shonda? Scandal, a Shonda Rhimes show, is the first network TV show with a black female lead. She only has the two doctor shows, last time I checked with my aunt.

And if I remember early Grey's Anatomy - I think I watched a few episodes when it was being marketed as the heir apparent to ER - then there was an Asian, and at least three black, regular supporting actors. Don't like her soap opera-style of television much, but I don't see diversity as being something absent in her shows. Also, when speaking to lack of diversity, it would be cool to see the lack of Asian and Hispanic representation kept in mind, when the intentionally-broad term "people of colour" is mentioned, too.

Otherwise, you need to define "brah". I'm not the only one puzzled, right?
 

anaron

Member
^ LOL, nope.

What do people think of the show killing off Hubbell? For me, Fanny and Michelle's interaction was the strongest part of the pilot, so I'm perfectly fine with the show being left to them. The impulsive marriage aspect of the show was the one thing I kinda dreaded and while it was executed well (and thankfully, not shown to be something romantic) I'd rather it not tie down the show.
 

ivysaur12

Banned
Wait, do you think Kerry Washington is Shonda? Scandal, a Shonda Rhimes show, is the first network TV show with a black female lead. She only has the two doctor shows, last time I checked with my aunt.

And if I remember early Grey's Anatomy - I think I watched a few episodes when it was being marketed as the heir apparent to ER - then there was an Asian, and at least three black, regular supporting actors. Don't like her soap opera-style of television much, but I don't see diversity as being something absent in her shows. Also, when speaking to lack of diversity, it would be cool to see the lack of Asian and Hispanic representation kept in mind, when the intentionally-broad term "people of colour" is mentioned, too.

Otherwise, you need to define "brah". I'm not the only one puzzled, right?

Err...

ifZnp.jpg


ABC, 1950-1952. 87 episodes.

3uL0d.jpg
 

ivysaur12

Banned

The solution is not so easy as “Can’t her best friend be black?”—a question that is posed in a blunt, funny scene on “The L.A. Complex,” the new Canadian-made CW series about aspiring Hollywood entertainers. An aging white actress, informed that the “best friend” role she wanted to try out for would be cast black to “really reflect reality,” blurts out, “I mean, who has a black best friend, right? Like, in real life, if you’re trying to be all authentic?” She turns to the room full of unsmiling black actresses and asks, “Do any of you have a white best friend? No? Right.” (“The L.A. Complex” makes its own breakthrough in the next episode: a hot kiss between two black men.)

This was so perfect.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom