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Show Watch: The Axe

As the 2008 Ratings Season ramps up, there are new shows making their mark on our screens. Some are locally made, and some are imports.

But can they all make it? Which will be the first to go?

And what about older shows that may find they can no longer cut it in 2008? Have we had enough of some reality, lifestyle and observational docos?

For shows that have been pulled off air go to Missing In Action.

UPDATE: 20/2. Seems nobody predicted the first show to get the chop: It Takes Two: Getting Ready

Followed later in the day by Monster House. Eps shelved until non-ratings time.

UPDATE 18/3: Nine drops The Mint following WIN removing it from schedule.

Update 26/3: The Night Cap “rested” over Easter never to return.

Update 7/4: Power of Ten fails to fire for Nine and is dropped after two eps.

Update 21/4: Seven axes Michael Palin’s New Europe after it was thumped by Doc Martin on the ABC.

Update June 27: Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune.

Update July 13: Big Brother

Update July 20: Sunday, Nightline.

24 Responses

  1. Can’t wait for an updated list in about a month but I guess we already know ch9 had the most failures followed by 10 with ch7 only having a few shows that’s didn’t fire in 08.

    Will Fringe be back for the summer? I like the show and don’t have the bandwidth to DL but I can wait a month or so for it to air in December.

  2. What about Bad Lads Army?

    And what happened to that Hole in the Wall show on Channel Nine also. There was that stupid cross promotion at The Logies for it but did it ever actually turn up on Nine?

  3. I remember that when Nine had shown the last series of Survivor, the network shown it at the ridiculous time of 22:30 and it had bad ratings because of it. I doubt that it would be on any time soon.

  4. I was looking at the discussion boards on ninemsn and someone has put that nine wont be airing Survivor any time soon. Surely they would actually like to show a program that rates well?

  5. Million Dollar Wheel would be the latest show to be chopped. It did not work the first time. It’s doubtful that the new segments would improve ratings.

  6. Gladiators is proving to be a huge success (just as it was in the 90s for the bulk of its run), so it seems the predictions of a spectacular flop were a bit off the mark!

    Cashmere Mafia was a good show – it’s a shame it didn’t take off.

  7. I didn’t want Power of Ten to be axed. It was more entertaining than Border Security reruns and the SYTYCD results show. I loved Dance at first but now its gotten boring and stale as they’ve dragged it on for way too long and its become really monotonous and formulaic. I’ll still watch the finale though, it should be a good one.

  8. Although it is highly unlikely to ever come before the cameras again, I’d like to see ABC’s official statement on Cashmere Mafia getting the axe. My understanding there has been no word one way or the other.

    Futon Critic lists Cashmere as “on hiatus or fate to be determined.” Ausiello doesn’t have it on his Post Strike Watch. On 13 March Hwood Reporter wrote the phrase “Cashmere Mafia isn’t coming back” in a bigger article about fates of shows. But again, while it stated what we all suspect to be true, it didn’t come via ABC. Seems likely somebody has added it to Wikipedia.

    It’s the reason I didn’t post it as news here. Until I see more clear cut news I’m sticking with CM as on permanent hiatus.

  9. Yep, you were right Miss M, Cashmere Mafia has been axed.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashmere_Mafia

    Nine have aired something like 4-5 eps so far, so there’s only 2 left. I find it kind of amusing how they axed Moonlight to make way for this series, but now Cashmere Mafia has been axed. I doubt they’ll put Moonlight back on, but anyway. Thats two of their new series that have been axed now, Big Shots and this, and the numbers aren’t looking good for The Return of Jezebel James and Aliens In America either. Blast that horrendous Terminator show though…its apparently very close to being picked up for a second season simply because Terminator 4 comes out next year and they’re looking to cross-promote the series with the film.

  10. I haven’t had a look, but I think Cashmere Mafia might get the axe. Not performing all that well in the US, so its only a matter of time.

  11. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles especially after that last atrocious episode and the new timeslot change. They even replaced it this week for a movie, and a very old one at that. It will dip into the 600,000 figure by the time it comes back and will rate even worse than Psych did before it got the chop, which is a shame because Psych is an infinitely better show. Meh. I also hope Women’s Murder Club doesn’t make it to a second season. The only show of the new season I disliked more than WMC was Cane, and thats been given the axe already, but WMC will probably rate well for Ten considering its like Grey’s Anatomy as a cop show and it resonates well among female audiences.

    I would also like to see Good News Week and Out of the Question gone but chances are they’ll become staplemarks of their respective networks and will stay on for another 5 or 6 years. At least Monster House was somewhat entertaining, OOTQ and GNW are the epitome of boring for me. Also, it’d be nice to lose close to all of Channel 7’s lifestyle shows, but shows like The Zoo and Bush Doctors obviously appeal to some kind of audience as they have been doing well in ratings.

  12. Monster House. Please, God, make it stop. As I’ve already stated on Facebook (a Get This fan group, no less)…

    “Monster House was pretty terrible for the most part. It looked like a lame cross between Thank God You’re Here and Candid Camera. Of the four scenes they showed only two of them were any good, all four ended too early before they could get the participant into the scene and one encouraged a man to lie and damage his own reputation as an honest business man.

    Watching it I was bored and nearly feel asleep. I was asking myself 3 questions…

    Channel Nine…why did you waste money on this?

    Glenn Butcher…is your career so far down the toilet that you would agree to this WILLINGLY? You should know better.

    Ted Emery…why, oh God, why? You DO know better.”

  13. I would have to say that Cashmere Mafia will be the 2nd to go behind Out Of The Question. I think Gladiators will last though. Its a great format and great entertainment.

  14. (OpenID good enough for you, David? 🙂

    John, The Kylie Show was a one-off, single-episode special – basically an extended advertisement for her current album, nothing more.

    As for the axe, I too would expect Gladiators to tank spectacularly, along with the career of whoever it was that gave it the green light.

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