Little over a month ago now Australia's Network 10 channel pushed Torchwood back in the schedules, into what some would call a 'graveyard' slot on Monday nights. This was despite some pretty decent ratings the show was getting for the channel. Now, however, Australian Woodies are hitting back - in an attempt to convince 10 to move the show back to a more mainstream time in the schedules.
Perth Now's news site reports on a recent fan campaign: "FANS of Channel 10's sci-fi series Torchwood are outraged at the treatment their favourite program is getting at the hands of the network. Letters from enraged Torchwood viewers have been flooding in to tvguide via email and snail mail all upset at the change of time of their favourite show." The full report, along with a selection of protest letters, can be found here.
But it's not enough merely reading about the protests. If you've ever watched Torchwood and found something to enjoy then it's time to take a stand - to show network bosses not just in Australia but around the world that us Woodies are a collective bunch who won't stand for their schoolyard bully tactics. The show warrants a fanbase who deserve to have 'their' show treated with due respect; not to be yo yo'd around the schedules willy-nilly.
If enough of us take a stand then Network 10 will listen. It might be too late to have Torchwood season one re-instated to a primetime slot, but it's my goal to have the network promise us that season two will be guarenteed a primetime fixture. So, if anybody can think of a decent way to lobby against the network that'll grab their attention big time, then leave your suggestion below in the comments section.
Network 10 didn't treat our show with the love and respect that it deserves - and for that, they've got a fight on their hands. Who's with me?
UPDATE: There's a great article about fan campaigns here.
14 comments:
I'm with Ya! But I have no idea's! Soz!
I was appalled at Channel Ten's treatment of the show. First they were advertising it as if it was purely a 'CSI' type show, then they put it on directly after Big Brother which always ran over time - so any one who switched on expecting Torchwood would get juvenile drivel instead.
If a TV station can't look after its imported shows, why do tehy whinge about 'poor ratings'. It's a disgrace!
A am appauled with Channel Ten for moving Torchwood back to Tuesday evenings, and they even cancelled last nights episode! I was one of the many sending in an e-mail explaining my hatred towards Ten about Torchwood.
This is a show with one of the highest ratings in Australia at the moment, and they've shoved it back to a timeslot where basically no one can watch. They need to get it back to Monday nights, or even earlier on Tuesdays.
jbfanatic I don't know what you are talking about! 'Combat' was on last night, about 20mins later than set in the guide, but yeah my VCR still managed to tape it.
I do think TW should be put back to monday nights though.
im so happy all these people are behind this, i live in australia and i was so pissed when they moved it to that time slot!!
i can only hope that it gets better with season 2
:D
i mean they are playing NCIS repeats, but cant put torchwood on, that bugs me :D
And Law and Order!! how many times is THAT on CH10 per week.
I think the double of Supernatural/Torchwood worked well. It was putting it on after Big Brother that was ridiculous! I suspect CH10 bragging about the high ratings for BB was actually people tuning in expecting Torchwood and finding BB going over by an hour!
I have emailed them and will continue to do so, lets hope they take notice of the public opinion.
Of course Australian TV hates scifi, as anyone knows who scoured the midnight hours trying to find episodes of BSG that seemed to change timeslots every week!
Torchwood needs to be on CH2 with Dr Who where it belongs.
I'm with you, but this article is worth reading before deciding what to do.
http://heywriterboy.blogspot.com/2007/07/emily-posts-guide-to-save-our-show.html
I was just in Aus for 4 weeks. First week I was there was the Big Brother finale. We went out for a meal and came back and were surprised to see that TW was much earlier into the episode than we expected, although we weren't quite sure as the guide had it running for 1hr15 and that's a substantial amount of ads to squeeze into a 45min show! The next day we found that BB had overran by an hour. If I was living in Australia, I'd've downloaded the show and bought the R2 DVDs. Following it on Ten does not seem an easy option, particularly for people used to the ad-free ABC's Who screenings.
It seems odd that TW S1 is running at the same time as Who S3 - if they don't get a move on with showing TW, Jack will get to the Tardis before he leaves the hub!
I saw an interesting article in the West Australian newspaper last night.
Aussies will know that TW was replaced with Californication, and was heavily hyped by CH10.
Apparently after the premier episode on Monday night CH10 were not happy with ratings and are already saying it 'cannot be guaranteed to continue'
wow...one episode and its almost got the axe already!
It will probably end up at 1am Wednesday morning after TW!
Gah...
Typical Channel 10. If its not "Idol" or "Big B" then forget it... This show deserves better and its unfortunate 10 took it on. I'll be voicing my complaint to the 10 network. Lets hope we can get a review at a decent hour. Thank goodness for DVD Recorders. Bring on Season 2!
Seems people are forgetting that us Australians are lucky to have gotten any Torchwood. I certain feel sad that it has been treated so badly, however lest we forget the trouble we had getting the show in the first place. ABC wouldn't fund it. So we should treasure all we get. I certainly believe in the cause to get a better time slot, though, one must never forget something is better than NOTHING!
This show is just rubbish. The plotlines are dribble, the acting is so bad it is beyond description. I never got into Dr Who as a fan but I did appreciate it's logic and plotlines.
Torchwood is so bad by comparison that I am shocked to find that is it supposed to be a spinoff from Dr Who. When I saw the first episode my view was that Torchwood was an embarassment to the great history of British Science Fiction and Science Fiction comedy programmes.
The only advantage of Ten still showing it is that it reduces the American informercials I have to put up with late at night.
To compare this with shows like X-Files, Buffy, CSI etc is just laughable. The production values and the overarching story structure - the mythology - of X-Files or Buffy is so well formed in comparison to Torchwood. I am not a zealot about either any of those shows but frankly in comparision Torchwood looks like it has been put toether with duct tape and paddle pop sticks.
to anonymous
you are 1 of a few who dont like TW
great programme great to watch.
If you compare this program to buffy go make yourself some wooden stakes and go hunt vampires.
Hope u enjoy the cold nights.
Bring it back on at a decent time or move it another channel that will give it the justice it deserves.
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