So many of my favorite shows are and have been on extended breaks that I've lost interest in watching them. Eureka comes to mind as the only one that had a hook at the end. Monk, Bones, etc. all just ended without anything to keep you wanting to watch.

What do you other viewers feel about this? Are the studios and networks trying to take advantage of the viewers? Does this make a show weaker in the long run? Will viewers return?

I for one am just about to drop some shows simply because I feed-up with this jerking around. It's as bad as those networks that move a show around without notice.

I totally agree. I remember when shows began in September and
ended in May or June.

*tash shaking angry fist at the networks*

@tash

I totally agree. I remember those season. They had 26, 28 or even 30 episodes before the summer reruns began.

Now, I believe, the average season is 18 shows and most good ones only have 13 with a multi-month break between the 1st half and 2nd half.

... and I find that yes, I do lose interest because there is a total loss of continuity. Some of the best shows on network television lost viewership because the network *******'s
kept on moving shows and neva told viewers when they were being shown ... a sure kiss of death for a show.

yes, i`ve stop watching shows because of this .
Moving shows around just stop watching ! wish network (s) would see this learn,stop, but it`s all about the $$$$$$$$

@odo

Yeah, it's all about the money. You have to wonder what the current economy will do to the shows. Ad rates are dropping like a rock.

One of the problems with dropping the shows is that it's so hard to find something good to replace them. Thank God for DVDs!

let`s just say in 9 months, well...

A good example of a really extended break is what they are doing to BSG. Making one season strech into two. Why not just get it over with and show it already. I find that the worse ones for this are Fox and CBS. Fox is also the worse for telling with a third of a screen bar, what you are watching while you are trying to watch it. BBC isn't too bad. I like their shows because an hour is an hour not 35 to 40 minutes like some other stations. I just wish they had enought money to do a full season of some of their exemplary shows instead of 12 and 13 episodes.

@blkhole

Oh, that drives me nuts too. It didn't irritate so bad when it was just a small bar at the bottom of the screen, but covering most of the screen! I've even spotted a couple of commercials that have used this method. Worse and worse.

i would like just 6 great shows !
put all the $ , writing, time,
not just fill time to make more $ $$$

No, I don't lose interest when shows take long breaks. If anything, I get even more excited when they finally return.

I once waited 2-3 years for the BBC to show the 4th series of Star Trek: The Next Generation (disgraceful on the beebs part),But I never lost interest in it through waiting.

Lets use BSG as an example,I'm willing to bet at least 95f fans can't wait for its return.I would think most people don't lose interest,they just get p****d off with the networks lack of respect for the viewer IMHO

No,I download the show of interest at the end of the season and watch when I feel like it.Don't like to alter my life style around TV. I control TV,it does not control me.

@gedmen

Getting p****d off with the networks is a very appropriate way of putting it. The problem is many of these shows just stop with no hook to pull viewers back. After months of waiting even a hook has a problem since most of the networks don't even bother with a rerun to remind the viewers.

@nogds9

Downloading might solve the problem, but that presumes that 1)a person has the storage to hold a season of shows and 2)you can find them to download.

@philn
1.)I have 3 Terabytes of storage and using Divx I can burn 12 hours worth of shows on one dvd disk in ten minutes.I have at least
800GB's stored on disks.2.)Don't have any problem finding what I want.

nogds worst fear.... we have an EMF event on the sun and it wips out all saved files before he gets a chance to see how they end...DA DA!

I personally don't loose interest, but it is very annoying. Two examples Burn Notice and Flash Point, still waiting for them to return.

The frustrating thing is not everyone feels the same. There are a lot of viewers who lose interest, resulting in fewer viewing figures for the back half of a season. Then the netwoks complain about figures and cancel shows in their prime. We loose out because of the networks stupid schedules.

@blkhole,
That would be a bummer,what the heck,start over again.
There have been an absence of sun spots for a while now,think it getting ready for a big one.Get out your lead containers.

Already got my solar scope out and ready. We had two smaller ones the other day. The lack of the SunSpots is also the cause of the cold weather we are getting right now. Its -48 C where I am tonight in Winnipeg.

@nogds9

Slightly off topic reply. Nice for you but some of us don't have that capacity or the download bandwidth available. However, I've been looking at buying a USB drive. Got any opinions on them?

@thor100580

Yeah, networks are suffering from the same short sighted, satisfy the stockholder, collect your executive bonus vision that banks and the auto industry had. Look where that vision got them.

@philn,
Western Digital My Book,you can get 160 GB at Wal-mart for less than 100 dollars,I haggled with them and got a TB for under 200.

@nogds9

Thanks, I'll look into the WDs and also check Costco. Sometimes they are cheaper on the same item.

In countris like my own(Brazil), we do not have a scheduled based on season, but in calendar from january to december so, sometimes is hard to follow some american tv shows. Because, sometimes when we are in the middle of one, they stop, and for us there is not much of reason for it, because of the difference in the scheduled

***(correction)

countries

I work for a rental chain and it seams we get pushed thou seasons faster and faster. maybe its the same with TV?

I mean it's jan 19 and I'm putting out bathing suites?

cell phones, computer, moves, Guess its all the same If a show don't have good ratings then dump it and move on

@lukazfranizzi

I never thought about other countries so that's a good point. What drives me nuts is the studios have started releasing some of these half season shows on DVD and charging as much as for a full season.

@brilman

All too true. I was in a drug store last week and they had Valentines Day, Easter, and St. Patrick's day stuff up in the same area and at the same time.

here the shops have easter eggs in which seems sad but the store told me they've had to restock the shelves, so people must be buying them, i'm still hoping to get christmas things on sale !!

@windsorboyd

The stores are desperate for sales. They do anything to make a buck or pound or euro, whatever. Christmas stuff is still up here at 70 - 80ff, but there isn't much choice.

Back to the topic. Do the stations in the British Isles take these long breaks during a season? Some of the shows from the BBC only last 6 episodes per season so I'm thinking they don't.

I am from Northern Ireland the shows over here don't take long breaks. If they do take a break it's only for a week or 2 at the most usually due to special events like football cricket etc.

Yes, I have lost interest in Kyle XY. Although I started watching again when the new season started, I had lost interest and forgotten half of the storyline.

@thor100580

Yeah, that's what I figured. On the other hand, the seasons here are getting much shorter also. They are down to about 18 shows from the 26 per season when I was a kid. Yet the breaks have gone from a couple of weeks over the holidays (in the 60's) to about 6 weeks (Thanksgiving through New Years in the 80's) to several months to half a year now.

@katel

That's the real problem isn't it. The breaks have gotten so long that a person can't remember what happened before and usually looses interest and forgets about the show.

I'm really getting a little tired of this. One week a show is broadcast and the next it's not!

Bones just came back after an extended break and now it's not on this week. Next week Two and a Half Men and Scrubs are missing from the listings. According to Jim is still on break until who knows when. What is going on with these programming people don't they care about the viewer?

I do hope that someone (anyone) from the networks is reading this as I'm ready to forget about TV altogether.

I agree i hate when shows take breaks!

Yes, and all the cable shows that I like such as Entourage or Dexter, take REALLY long breaks. HBO Showtime series in my opinion are the best on TV at the moment however the not only take the long breaks but they dont make enough episodes for a season.

Even before the strike I was very annoyed by this. I was even more annoyed by the season ending 'cliffhanger' and often just didn't go back to the show the following season.

Every since the strike I have not been watching TV at all. I lost interest in 'my' shows, hence my long disappearance from the forums. At about the same time I canceled my cable. I have not been downloading either, because I still haven't watched the episodes after the strike. I am sort of feeling interested again, we'll see how it goes.

Na not really... just want's to make you watch more and more of it and then you start going crazy cause you haven't watched any episodes....start watching the calendar everyday for a countdown until your next fix

i think you can lose intrest in shows that were enjoyable but not must sees, like fringe. I was dissapointed the first week it wasn't on but now i might not watch it if it clashes with other things when it restarts. Lost for example is a must see and i suffered during it's long break but fringe is on the back burner now

look how long it is taking torchwood to comeback and primevla same story but yet wait with bate breath for those,ergo it depends on the show does it not with one exception Kyle XY great show but to long inbetween

It defiantly makes me sorta forget about the show when they take breaks.

I do not really mind the breaks much anymore... possibly because they are now so common that I have simply become accustomed to them. However, I will say that if certain series' are to take such long breaks, the writers of many of the shows will need to make the cliffhangers much more intense. So, obviously, I quite agree that a show without a hook at the end is completely irritating.

No - not at all --- if I did, how could I ever get back to enjoying Doctor Who...

good point lol. I'm looking forward to eureka coming back but i cannot remember the end of the last episode at all , i'll need to watch it again before then rest of the series resumes.