BONES Moving to Fridays: Marisa and Sarah on Why This Could Actually Be a Good Thing

Marisa: Let’s hear it…

Sarah:

1. Network interest

I agree with what others have said: networks don’t “need” to move a show to Friday to kill it off or to hope it dies naturally — they just cancel shows.  I’m not a ratings expert, but I’m guessing they have analysts dedicated to how well the show does in different time slots, what works best before and after it, etc.  The main problem I’ve seen is that in the past, when they’ve made the suggestion about moving the show to Fridays, the words “threat,” “doomed,” “killer time-slot” are tossed around, sometimes by the network, sometimes by people involved directly with the show and sometimes by fans. It’s given this move a “punishment” feel, like parents who threaten their kids all of the time and then all of a sudden follow through with something — which is unfair here and in an actual parent/child situation.  I think Fox would do well to promote the move and continue to do so. But (in keeping with the parent analogy), BONES is in high school and other Fox shows are still in diapers. As “parents,” the network has different responsibilities to each show to determine its success in life. While we may see the show as our “baby” and favorite thing, the network has a lot of other things grasping for its attention — including the checkbook.

Marisa: To be completely fair, how Fox handled this absolutely could have been better. You’re totally right with the parent comparison, because this has been a “threat” for years. And since they were kept in place for “good behavior” (AKA good ratings), now that it needs to move for genuine lack of schedule room purposes (when you have three hours of reality in a ten-hour Monday-Friday schedule, things get complicated), I can understand how it feels like a punishment.

Fox’s decision to delay the Friday move — something that was announced during the BONES wedding, just a mere two weeks before it was supposed to happen — also didn’t look great. That was absolutely something that should have been decided earlier.

But I also think the reality of things is that Friday isn’t a death slot. Fox did a great job of making that clear (and actually mocking the “death” rumors with a great promo) when FRINGE was moved there. FRINGE survived there for years. GRIMM has worked on NBC for years. So has BLUE BLOODS on CBS. If you’re a baby show and you’re shifted to Fridays, it’s probably not the best sign. If you’re  show that is nine seasons in and has proven time and time and time again that you can make anything work, this is just another step in the journey. At this point in TV, Fridays is not the death slot. When we should actually worry is if it gets shifted to Saturdays. (THAT is the real death slot.)

So, what’s next?

Sarah:

2. Show is incredibly enjoyable

I don’t want the show to be cancelled, but honestly, if someone had told me in season three that the show would get nine (or ten) seasons, that B&B would be happy and married with a baby, I would have laughed it off as unlikely. That all of this (and more) has happened is amazing. There have been moments when the show has made me furious, but it has also made me laugh, cry, think, feel gratitude, and so much more, and all in all, I’ve loved so much about it. It isn’t being selfish to want more and more of BONES, and I don’t think the show has run its course and needs put out to pasture or anything like that. I just find the show to have been and still be incredibly satisfying. For the most part, I’m happy to watch anything these people put on the air, anytime, any place. Everything else is details.

Marisa: Right. In some ways, anything else is gravy. Booth and Brennan are married. That’s still a little surreal. I don’t want the show to end. But when the time comes for it to come to a close, I will honestly be able to say we got more out of this journey than I ever thought we would.

It’s weird, I remember the cast and producers joking during the 100th episode celebration, “Here’s to 100 more!” And at the time, I thought it was a lovely sentiment, but figured they wouldn’t get there. Even though the show was getting record ratings at that point, 200 episodes is a huge, huge, huge thing most shows don’t achieve. I figured maybe they’d get to seven or eight seasons. 150 seemed possible. 200 seemed unfathomable. Now, it’s just around the corner. If they make it one more season, they’ll have hit 200. Lesson learned: never underestimate the show.

Sarah:

3. The fanbase/viewer base can handle it

I laugh with friends sometimes when it seems like EVERYONE I know is talking about a certain BONES plotline on Twitter or something like that — when in reality, it only seems that way because I follow a lot of BONES fans. The “data” is flawed because I’m pulling it from a small pool of information.  The show pulls in millions of viewers a week. I think it is fair to assume that some of those millions or at least several hundred thousand are not online discussing the show with us. They tune in, they watch, they move on. If as a fan, I feel anxiety about MY place in the fandom or whether or not the aforementioned people will still want to be friends with me when BONES is over…well, that is my problem. It’s not fair to superimpose that anxiety to the network or the show. My guess is that millions of people will still watch Bones for as long as it is on the air, and I think it will be an another eventual testament to the much-proven loyalty and tenacity of the Bones fandom.

Marisa: Yeah, Twitter/online conversations can definitely be skewed based on whom you’re following, but you are completely correct that there are millions of people who are not part of the online fandom.

One of the helpful things about being a television viewer these days is you don’t have to be a part of the fandom to stay on top of your show. Thanks to DVRs, if you set a season pass to a show, it’ll pick it up no matter what time the show airs. So it’s possible some BONES fans offline will go into Friday not knowing the show is airing then. But it’s also very, very possible they’ll wake up Saturday morning and realize, surprise, they have a new episode to watch. Networks are taking DVR usage into accounts now. It’s not something to dismiss.