Dear USA Network:
You have some of my favorite shows on television, and even though I don't love every single one of them, I can tolerate all of them, because you seem to keep a pretty a high standard of quality for your original programming.
So why, when you get your hands on a show like Burn Notice, do you try so hard to ensure I never get to see it? You've got House for fuck's sake, so why is NCIS always on? Law and Order: Criminal Intent is easily the best Law and Order, but the only time you play it is at 3 in the morning on weekdays and in all-day marathons on some holidays, when it can only be enjoyed by losers who don't have friends or family to spend time with.
I've been a fan of Monk for around 2 years now and I still haven't seen every episode, yet I'm sure I would be able to catch the entire catalogue of NCIS in a month if I felt like it. A new season of In Plain Sight is coming up, so I can understand it always being on, but why the hell don't you do the same for Burn Notice or Psyche?
And the problem isn't just NCIS. Sure, it's a lame CSI rip-off, but it's not terrible. It's that, right now, I guess because you just acquired the rights, it's one of the only things that's ever on. You've got so much great stuff you could be using every day instead of playing the new thing until it's stale and then shoving it in the closet for half a decade.
I already rarely watch USA because I'm tired of watching the same episode of House over and over (that one where House is all grumpy) and with a good schedule I bet you could bring in some much better ratings then you're doing now.
Or, alternatively, send Olivia Wilde to my house naked and I will never watch another network again.
Hi! I came to your post via an NCIS link, so I'm kind of NCIS biased. They're airing so many episodes because NCIS is pulling in phenomenal ratings for USA. In the top 20 of all cable shows, NCIS repeats on USA held NINE of the spots. That is nothing to sneeze at.
ReplyDeleteThe ratings for 4/14 can be found here if you're interested: http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/04/14/wwe-raw-and-nora-roberts-tribute-bookend-cable-top-20-rescue-mepremieres/16701#more-16701
I, too, like many of the shows you mentioned and I wish they'd stop running quite so many NCIS episodes. One or two max a night is okay.
When USA first acquired the rights and started airing episodes last winter (January, I think), they had essentially the marathons and then this September, they started airing them in bursts. There are some days NCIS is on 4-10 eastern and it is a bit much, even for this fan.