Don't know why CBS couldn't have 'purchased' the show and just kept going.
I think I do-
money. To buy it sends the money in the wrong direction... and CBS, by their own leader's admission proved that they weren't interested in the project enough to keep it going when it was a break-even proposition for them. They dumped it, rather than spend to own it.
Profit motive killed Person Of Interest. Not fan disinterest, not ratings numbers, not lack of artistic/entertainment value... profit margin, pure and simple.
And it happens all the time.
2 years ago, a friend of mine nabbed the starring role in a new legal drama on fledgling network WEtv. It was called 'The Divide.' * It was offered as a 'Summertime series' for an initial run of 8 episodes. I tuned in to watch My Boy, and was prepared to walk away if the show sucked. It didn't. In fact, it was the exact opposite. Incredibly well-written, with fleshed-out backstories for each principal. Great cast of super-talented 'unknowns.' A story arc (and side stories) that dealt with race, class, city politics, power, and the intricacies of the legal system.
Show was absolutely
killin' it. Every episode was powerful, on a number of levels. The show was very real in presenting a high-stakes legal story that personally impacted every single character- from a lowly prison inmate to the very top of Philadelphia's 'power elite.' I was so blown away, I wrote about it here at DT when it first dropped. I begged everyone to watch it- not only because the show was just compelling entertainement, but because it also took an unflinching look at
many of the sociopolitical issues that we often fight about in the 'Everything Else' threads. It really was
that good.
It was WEtv's first foray into network studio work... and could have served as the flagship from which they ran their studio- and they dropped it, because it wasn't a smash viral hit. (How can you expect your 'non-network' to compete with the Big Boys on your first outing? On their home turf?) Apparently, they replaced it with a show about demons and the supernatural for their second attempt at drawing an audience. I know nothing about that show. I guess I wasn't part of the 'target audience' they were trying to reach...
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So yes... money is great when you are at the checkout aisle at The Megamart, but when profit is The Absolute Bottom Line when making decisions, you will often see cancellations of quality shows like 'POI' or 'The Divide,' while shows like 'Keeping up with the Kardashins' proliferate. It costs money to produce the next 'Sopranos.' It costs almost nothing to follow some C-list semicelebrity around Rodeo Drive with a camcorder.
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So... here we have a case of two TV different series. Both are quality products. Both are hitting all the points necessary to qualify as quality entertainment.
One show is axed because the money-managing execs determined that their fledgling project didn't make enough of a splash in the 'big kids' pool'.... after a measly 8 episodes.
The other show was axed because it didn't turn enough profit for a big kid who's been splashing around in the deep end since the pool was built.
A tale of two extremes.
A tale of two cancellations.
From two different players... at opposite ends of the food chain.
...and both groups of managing execs reached the same decision for both shows.
The ONLY unifying factor in these stories: money... and how it influences decisions.
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My choice of professional gig requires that I work for a non-profit entity. The rules governing how we work are different. Profit isn't a prime motivator for what we do. We do, however still have a budget- and a goal: to provide the highest quality Musical Art to a metropolitan district... at break-even rates. We present entire series of concerts as 'revenue generators,' so that we can fund the costs of presenting the concerts that maintain our reputation as the region's preeminent 'audible museum'. We gladly share the stage with Crystal Gayle and Mary Wilson (the 'Supreme' who was more talented than Diana Ross) in a Pops concert, so that we can present Beethoven 9 or Mendelssohn's 'Reformation Symphony.'
Studios, TV networks (... even record companies) used to operate that way. They'd take a loss on projects they thought were worthy of extra time/attention, while they let their signed, proven workhorses pull the weight. In fact, it was part of the business model, back when R&D actually had a budget.
They called such projects: "Loss Leaders."
Nowadays, we seem to have 'gutless wonders' running the show. Les Moonves made the same mistake that the execs at Wetv did when each pulled the plug on two GREAT shows.
Money/commerce is great for some things... but 'profit margin' is a poor benchmark to use for evaluating Art and Value. Antonio Stradivari sold his violins at just above cost, back in the early 1700's... and now, 330 years later, one of his violins sold for 2.3 million dollars.
And yet- in the hands of a total violin-playing hack, that piece of exquisite craftsmanship will produce sounds that resemble a bitch cat in heat.
Money/commerce may run most of the world, but it's never been the 'end all/be all' answer to to the question: "What is
valuable to us?" This time,'commerce concerns' trumped artistic ones- and the public felt the impact of those choices. We lost Person Of Interest, and we lost "The Divide" -for exactly the same reason: profit margin.
IMHO, both CBS and WEtv made BIG mistakes.
Money made them do it.
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Sorry for the thread hijack. This was supposed to be a thread about the TV show itself... not a personal diatribe about the evils/benefits of a free market society- but it seems that politics somehow factor into almost everything we talk about, these days.... I guess I'm no exception, eh?
.02,
Clem.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Divide_(TV_series)
*
http://www.wetv.com/shows/the-divide
