Good news for ER, bad news for Traveler

What happens to the Black Donnelleys -- it was to replace ER in its slot while it was gone?

So, I saw a screening of the still-in-progress Traveler pilot at a TV studies conference in Austin this past weekend, and I'm sorry to say that it was horrible. I'm not sure why ABC agreed to show the pilot to a room of television scholars (yes, we do exist) who did nothing but laugh at it (and at times groan in disgust).

The three rich white kids in grad school at Yale (although one is an MBA, one is in med school, and the other is in law school. How does that work?) are enough to make you nauseous, even before you take into account how terribly over-acted it is. There is one black man (a bellman at their five-star hotel), but his line is "I don't like police anyway..." and he proceeds to help them escape in exchange for one of the kids' Rolexes. Hello, perpetuating stereotypes (this is where we groaned in disgust).

I will say though that it is a bit slashy/campy, although I'm sure it wasn't intended to be. That might attract some viewers, but probably not those who are used to watching ER in that time slot. I think ABC has a lot of reworking to do with this one if they're going to put their mid-season hopes on it...

Or maybe, just maybe (go with me here, people) some folks at some networks are trying two experiments at once. The first being the same as has been posited on this blog by bloggers and readers, that being the idea of smaller orders+more compact storylines=lower costs+fewer cancellations+fewer pissed off viewers.

The second idea is "straight outta Brixton," if you pardon the pun. The British networks, when airing original series, tend to schedule them as 8, 12 or 13 episodes and they often are the type of show you need to watch every week, like Life on Mars or Spooks (MI-5, here) with both stand-alone and continuing stories in each spisode.

If US networks are trending this way, at least for serialized dramas, I think that's a great thing. Fewer missed episodes, fewer cries of "That episode was just fluff and filler" and a willingness to take more chances with riskier programming. Hell, maybe Surface, Invasion and Threshold would still be alive if they were only 13 episoders?

Traveler was the best pilot I saw this year, after Jericho. I wasn't wowed by The Nine, Studio 60 or the others that were floating around. Jericho is a winner; NBC...Traveler just might be what you have been hoping for as well!!! I think it's a damn shame that this talk is even floating, as it will likely turn off viewers who don't want to watch a mini-series like program. Didn't Grey's Anatomy come on for only like 11 episodes or something? I'm not giving up on Traveler, and I WILL watch every episode.

The preview for Traveler did look really good, and I'm hoping it does make it to air. That said, I'm more than happy having shows like this shortened so they can wrap up the story in a single season. (I would have been disappointed if Kidnapped had been cancelled outright, for instance; I was sort of glad that it would be forced to wrap itself up.)

Maybe I'm delusional but I'm not writing Traveler off yet. Variety stated it was because ABC's schedule is too full (duh, they ordered more new series than NBC, CBS or FOX) and couldn't find space for 13 episodes in the spring, plus they stated specifically it would allow the producers to wrap up some storylines for season 1 (in the event that it doesn't get a second season). It is an awesome show and I don't want to see its death announced prematurely. And yes, I've been around long enough to know how networks make their decisions but I'm still holding out hope.

They cut the Traveler order :( and it's not even aired yet. I saw the preview as well, enjoyed it much more that others, like The Nine (Why hasn't this been cancelled yet)

This makes me happy. I'm all excited about ER again as well.