Like most people (I suppose), every now and then I am puzzled by why something is done in a certain manner. Usually, a bit of logical thinking can make me come up with a conclusion I find satisfying, but not always, as was the case when I wrote this post.
Maybe someone has an explanation for the puzzling way of a TV channel to deal with the airing of a series:
Some months ago, I started watching Midsomer Murders on ZDFneo. The series is simply called "Inspector Barnaby" here in Germany, and probably just as popular as it was/is in the UK, where I first watched some episodes when on holiday at my mother-in-law's.
Like all series, it is divided into seasons and episodes, and since it has been going on since the late 1990s, there are quite a few of those! In the course of the years, the recurring characters such as Mr. and Mrs. Barnaby, their daughter, the police doctor and some others have of course aged, and their circumstances changed (the daughter studying, then working; having a boyfriend, later getting married and so on). The Inspector's assistant changes, too; the first one is (I think) promoted and replaced by a second one, and currently, the series is filmed with a third man who was introduced as Barnaby's assistant a few years ago.
Imagine how daft it seems, therefore, that on ZDFneo, the series is not aired in its proper order.
We get to see a double feature every Monday night, and sometimes, the first episode is younger than the second, with - for instance - the daughter being married already and then you watch the 2nd episode of the night and find her still studying, and two different Sergeants working alongside the Inspector.
Why do they do this?
To me, there is no reasonable explanation. Yes, of course each episode can be watched independently of any other episode; none of the story plots span more than one, it is mainly the frame of the Barnaby's home life that runs a thread through the entire series. So, nobody will sit in front of their telly unable to follow one episode because it is not aired in the order that it was intended to.
But WHY the disordered way of airing them?
I imagine the procedure of buying a series for a TV channel being a normal business process. Say, for instance, the people from ZDFneo decided to buy the first season of the series, air the first few episodes and look at the number of viewers before deciding whether to buy the next seasons or not.
So, in the normal course of events, they would buy Season 1, Episodes 1-20 (that is just an example, I don't know how many episodes there are to a season) and air S1-E1, S1-E2, S1-E3 and so on, to be followed by S2-E1 etc.
Is it too difficult to keep them in order? Can't they be bothered? Have they bought an episode here and there instead of a a full "package" of a season? Or is there a secret algorhythm behind it all? Am I the only one wondering about this?
You have identified a thing which has puzz\led me too. Not this particular programme - for me the programme is The Simpsons. We saw their Halloween special the other day, and are quite likely to see a Christmas special at this time of year too.
ReplyDeleteSince The Simpsons are cartoon characters of course they do not age, at least, but it bugs me that they can't be bothered to put the "special numbers" on at the correct time.
I wonder if any of your readers will be able to offer the explanation for this. I'll try and remember to look back at the comments on this post in a couple of weeks time!
Jenny, they do that here with the Simpsons, too; I hardly watch them these days but I remember that happening (Halloween- and Christmas-specials being shown in the summer) from when I was still watching more TV than nowadays.
DeleteI know a man at the BBC. Perhaps he may be able to shed some light on it. But as long as they keep the correct order in such thigs as "The Killing" and "The Bridge", I think I can let the anachronistic nature of Midsomer Murders and the Simpsons pass.
ReplyDeleteAnd what do mean the Simpsons are cartoon characters? I have met them, in real life, I am sure! They were at a mall just off I25 somewhere.
Please ask your man at the BBC, Pete! It would be good to have a professional explanation for this strange phenomenon :-)
DeletePerl, you can't have met the Simpsons at the mall just off the M-25 -- I'm sure they live at Walmart or Azda!!
DeleteMeike, it's not just German TV which does this. They do exactly the same with all the reruns of any of the popular ITV series. Can't speak about the BBC as their reruns are only on subscription channels and we're too mean to pay to watch things again. :-)
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't pay for that either, I think! If I were that much into a series that I'd be prepared to pay for reruns, I suppose I'd simply buy the DVDs.
DeleteTV has gotten so bad. And if it is not bad enough, even the older shows like Midsomer Murders, they will show out of sequence! It just comes down to respect, I think, the TV programmers could care less about the viewing public. That's how it seems to me, anyway.
ReplyDeleteCarelessness could be a reason, Kay. Still, it seems so much easier from a logical point of view to simply assign each episode its slot in the schedule according to its order - it seems more work to mess this order up first before assigning the slots!
DeleteI haven't come across this, and it sounds mad. Try Dexter instead! ( One of the best series ever. My family are all huge fans. It's out on DVD.)
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Dexter, Frances. I simply don't watch enough TV in order to buy much on DVD - for several weeks now, I've had a box of DVDs with Downton Abbey on the little telly table, lent to me by a friend, and have not even opened the box yet...
DeleteOh, don't watch Downton Abbey! The writing is beyond awful (although most people seem to disgree with me...).
DeleteToo late - I watched the 1st episode last night. How awful or not it is remains to be seen; so far, I don't feel as if I absolutely must find out how things are going to develop for the various characters.
DeleteThis would irritate me, too, and I don't have an explanation for it either. It does happen here in the States with reruns, but not to the degree you are describing.
ReplyDeleteBTW, we get a lot of reruns in the summer and I only have the cheapest cable, for reception rather than content.
No problem with reruns as such - it's the messing up that puzzles me.
DeleteWhat I have here is just the standard satellite TV with no extra money involved; it simply wouldn't be worth it for me, since I watch so rarely.
I love Inspector Barnaby/Midsomer Murders too. As to the TV station not showing the episodes in any sort of proper order, I can only say that probably some little minion who hasn't seen any of the series and couldn't care less, just slaps a disc in the machine, hits "send" to put it out over the air waves, and then goes out for coffee!! Or so I imagine it happening anyway! :o)
ReplyDeleteThat would be an explanation if the TV stations were not publishing their schedules well in advance... It can't be a spur-of-the-moment thing when, months before, I can already read online what they are going to show on a certain day at a certain time.
DeleteThe situation you raise is incomprehensible to me.
ReplyDeleteAnd to me, Graham, which is why I posted it here.
DeleteNo idea, Meike. Repeat Channels are a law unto themselves; I imagine that ZDFneo is not a particularly important channel?
ReplyDeleteWe have them too and the stuff they send out is mainly very old and therefore cheap to buy.
Not as important as the "normal" ZDF, I suppose, but not a channel to discard entirely; they seem to offer a mix of documentaries, old and new series (they are the only ones to show "Mad Men" in Germany, as far as I know), talk shows and strange game shows ("Kneipen-Quiz").
DeleteEven cheaply bought series probably do come in the correct sequence, I should think.
How annoying! Luckily I can watch them in order on Netflix streaming otherwise I think I'd give up!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, this week Monday, I was amazed to find that the two episodes shown were actually in order - they were Season 1, Episodes 1 and 2, as I found out when I checked the episodes on a Midsomer Murder fan site. I wonder whether next Monday, we'll get to see episodes 3 and 4 :-)
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