Category science fiction

Feb 4 2015

Television and Supernatural: Who Decides?

Supernatural-Season-10-Episode-200-Series-FinaleSo the popular tv show Supernatural recently surpassed its 200th episode. In the world of television, this mark is something that writers, actors and producers can only dream about.
To put this in perspective, in today’s fragmented television landscape the only other show to reach this mark in the past decade is The Simpsons. In the science fiction landscape, The X Files reached 201 episodes and Dr. Who has surpassed this and is currently in it’s 8th season with over 800 episodes to date.

That being said, there are a few things that bother me. For one, for a show that has reached a milestone like this, why is it not bigger news or for that matter why is it still struggling to reach a mainstream audience? Is science fiction/horror just not that interesting? As a gamer I find that very hard to believe. The most popular video games involve a lot of  nudity, graphic violence, foul language and at times apocalyptic monsters. How is this different from a television show that has some of these basic elements but never crosses the line into adult or restricted ESRB ratings? Is it because it delves into religious beliefs, both christian and pagan? Does it just not reach the geographical areas that are against philosophical comments/discussions regarding beliefs?

If any of these are part of the issue, then I would have to ask why? Why in today’s day and age is this still an issue? Does The CW (the company that produces this show), have investors or owners that prohibit its distribution to areas that don’t focus test approval of the show’s content? Makes you wonder who’s guiding or deciding who gets to see this show or any other show for that matter, and who decides where it gets broadcast.

As an aside, Supernatural used to air in Canada on the popular Space channel and I was an avid fan, until one day a few years ago it just up and disappeared from the listings. No announcements, no explanations, just gone. Which is a real pain in the ass considering that the entire show has always been filmed and produced in Vancouver, BC, Canada. So why was it dropped from Canadian television? Seems very wrong that a show produced here in Canada is not offered to Canadian viewers before being aired in the United States.

Who decides these things and how is it that no one seems to care?