Different and evil. It'd drive me nuts watching a television season all cropped up like that.

This past season of Angel in the U.S., they ran the last ten or twelve eps without any breaks or reruns, and it really made a difference in amping up the tension and momentum of the arc. Buffy, OTOH, had several instances of two, three, or four weeks between new eps, and it contributed, in my eyes, to some of the issues people had with (spoiler for tone but not plot) feeling like everything was dragging and nothing really happened in the run up to the end. Sucks.

The scheduling can get really funky sometimes, and it has more to do with tradition and finance than with any considerations of the particular show, I think. Certain time periods are key for setting ad rates, so the networks want to have their big eps fall in those periods, and it means fucking with the schedule sometimes. Also, there's this idea that the season must start and end at a particular time - Firefly got screwed by this. FOX used to delay the start of the season for X-Files until very late in the fall. With Firefly, starting at the traditional time (early September) meant that the show got frequently preempted for baseball games and stuff that really hindered it in building a viewership and drawing the kind of numbers it might have otherwise.

Re. the whitefonted tone issue: I can see how slow schedule would add to that, but I got that feeling and we got them in a regular one a week slot. So the schedule's not totally to blame for it.

Edit: I hope that's obscure enough.

Buffy, OTOH, had several instances of two, three, or four weeks between new eps, and it contributed, in my eyes, to some of the issues people had with (spoiler for tone but not plot)feeling like everything was dragging and nothing really happened in the run up to the end

Eh, I see your point, but having watched them all in a run, for what we've seen so far the pacing was still crap, imo. It'd be much worse watching them spaced out, though, espcially if there was a break in the middle of that 'Buffy gets her ass kicked in a poorly orchestrated fight scene and then gets up a pontificates about it' string of episodes.

Edit: X-posty goodness with Am-Chau. Great minds recognise off-pacing when they see it, or something.

You get Angel on Thursday, don't you evil jimi? Don't miss this one, it's a thing of beauty.

Leigh ... Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth usually get Angel on Wednesdays and this is the case for this week. Last week's and that time before, were special cases.

Thanks for the heads up. I am already hyped about this week's ep, based on what happened last week. Your "warning" just flicked the nitrous switch. :)

Most fun you can have with something not relying on batteries.

Clearly you haven't perused our "Realistic" and/or "Falcon" range :)

Oh and yeah, I can imagine the stop / start broadcasting of the show could cause people to judge it less kindly. Any show that has a season-long arc, needs to be seen without any breaks to maintain the momentum. The occasional 1 or 2 week break isn't so bad but if they go for 3+ weeks, then it can really kill a mood.

I had no idea this happened in the US until I started reading this board. Is it because they haven't had time to make each episode to fit a schedule or is just to drag it out over the year?

The season traditionally starts in September/October. November, February, and May are "Sweeps" months, when ratings for local TV stations are determined, and the networks try to have new shows available to maximize ratings for the stations. June-August has always been reruns, traditionally. In the old days, when they made more episodes, there were not nearly the number of reruns September to May as there are now. It all has to do with maximizing the number of ad dollars the local stations can generate.

Clearly you haven't perused our "Realistic" and/or "Falcon" range :)

hmmm. so how's business anyway jimi?

Men. With their ... sales.

Welcome Emlah! I think you're our only active Sydneysider at the moment, although John H (who isn't currently posting but is still very much alive and well) is also from Sydney. I was just about to introduce you to all the other Aussies, but if you've been lurking you know us already, right?

Yes. I know you. Even when you don't realise it. Even when you're asleep...... {Copyright Joss Whedon}

I haven't really noticed bad pacing this year, but that may be because I've thrown myself into Season 7 with a giddy, geeky gusto I haven't felt since Season 3 - even going spoiler free for the first time since the end of Season 4 - so I'm much more forgiving of sins than usual. Similar situation with Angel, although the memory of Season 3 will always be lurking in the back of my mind, keeping me from loving the show with ardent abandon the way I used to.

Leigh, I second your emotion for this week's Angel. Great stuff. By the way, what degree are you doing at uni? I'm in Arts. I'm curious because I did a Shakespeare and Film subject a couple of years ago, and it was lots of fun.

It seems to fit here the best: according to the Buffista Calendar today is Min's birthday. I haven't seen her post here for a very long time, but I hope that somehow she gets the 'good birthday' well-wishes.

Clearly you haven't perused our "Realistic" and/or "Falcon" range

Do they come with extra bonus footage of scruffy!Wes being all reserved but heartbroken? No? Then I stand by my statement.

Great stuff. By the way, what degree are you doing at uni?

I'm doing Arts/Law. Five years of studying my ass off and then I owe the government money. t /ungrateful brat But that Shakespeare&Film course is great, isn't it? I've developed a sad aversion to Branagh, though, the poor man. Great actor, but you can alone watch some people so much, y'know?

Eeeek. Is everyone asleep?

Well, I saw Lies My Parents Told Me last night, and I can't understand it. I mean I understood it, but I can't understand why I felt underwhelmed -- all the ingredients were there for massive drama, but it just fell a little flat for me.The acting, the pacing seemed... off. Shall watch again to make sure I wasn't insane the first time.