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Seven denies All Saints hanging in the balance

Seven talks down any suggestion All Saints' future is less than rosy.

allsAnd just what is the future for All Saints?

It’s back in the news today with one report suggesting the network was weighing up its future last week.

This week the show rated 1.14m in its slot, beaten by NCIS‘ 1.43m and Two and a Half Men‘s 1.21m. In the same timeslot Packed to the Rafters was tracking over 1.8m.

This year has seen the show re-jigged with its Medical Response Unit added. A revamp is what happened on Blue Heelers not long before its demise.

There is a suggestion that when Seven moves from its Epping Studios to Australian Technology Park (ATP), in inner-city Eveleigh, studio space will be prioritised to Rafters and Home and Away. A Seven spokesman denied the claims.

Previous reports had tipped the show could drop back from 40 to 20 eps a year. Even with four successful local dramas, Seven will be feeling the pinch in these harsh economic times.

Source: Sunday Telegraph

18 Responses

  1. It has been with us since the nineties.

    They have Greys Anatomy and Private Practice available If they want something else that is different.If It weren’t for Packed to the Rafters Both those Medical Dramas could easily fill a two hour Tuesday Timeslot.

    Yes I know importing in such programming does cost Australian Acting their jobs

  2. I think All Saints is good. Yes, the MRU is probably pushing the budget but I think it adds more to the story. Perhaps it was introduced to draw viewers from the other channels who like action. Chopping the show would be stupid. There are a lot of fans out there who like it. Just go onto the forums and do a vote. Then you’ll find out. I can understand cutting the show back to 22 or so eps to save money.

    But if they really want to cut the show then they should make sure they release it on DVD. Practically every viewer I know and all the comments I’ve read say they would like to see it released on DVD. Especially those who didn’t start watching at the very beginning and would like to see the earlier episodes.

  3. “The MRU scenes just smack of budget restraints cos they cant afford actors to play onlookers or put them in police unforms etc.”

    BOQ, I’m sorry but quite a ridiculous comment I feel. I can tell you from experience that paying “onlookers” or extras would be alot cheaper and less difficult than hiring a chopper to fly to remote parts of the bush, getting film equipment and people onto a boat in the middle of the water and dangling actors from a crane as they try to pluck someone from a huge pile of crushed cars. Budget restraints! Pfft!

  4. I feel that whilst it was a good thing to have a change and revamp the show a little, the MRU scenes are simply just not credible. there is no way in hell that a MRU would be second on the scene or in fact the only ones on the scene. They don’t fly helicopters in without good reasons. The MRU scenes just smack of budget restraints cos they cant afford actors to play onlookers or put them in police unforms etc. Its just a little too much of a stretch. It simply is not believable. I love Frank and how he operates the ED but the MRU just doesnt sit well.

  5. i agree with leith. The new format has killed it! All saints has always been character driven despite the ‘action’. There are enough shows on tv that are purely based on the theme of the show. In my opinion all saints needs to get back to the interactions/relationships between the characters,how their work and patients affect their lives etc…you know, all those things that got us hooked in the first place!

  6. I doubt very much that the move alone would be the reason they would get rid of it. Why would you move to a brand new, purpose built premises and then go “oops, we have no room for one of our shows, we’ll have to get rid of it”. If they are thinking of getting rid of it it would be for other reasons.

    I’m a fan of ther show but I would like to see it trimmed back to 22 eps so it remains fresh and people don’t get bored with it.

  7. Please someone kill it. It has survived for years on big lead in programs such as Dancing With The Stars and now Packed To The Rafters. Without them it is nothing, kill it, kill it now!

  8. I dont understand why All Saints, Blue Heelers and some other Australian Drama has/had such a long run each year anyway. 40 episodes is a massive expense dedicated to one show. Rafters and Homicide are only 22 odd eps, and in the UK, they never do anymore than 6-13 episodes per season. We all know in the US that 22 is the average for a full season.
    I remember All Saints had a revamp around the same time and Heelers, when they closed the ward and made it all about the ER. I have only watched maybe five episodes of this show ever, I never got that hooked.

  9. I thought the ratings were OK before they added this stupid MRU thing? So was it 5 years in Ward 17, 5 years in the E.D. and now about 5 minutes in this boring medical response unit story? What annoys me is that you hardly see half the characters anymore, no wonder people are switching off.

  10. Could not understand why they change the format. Also commenced losing interest when the show started at odd times during the Dancing period. Lost it’s consistency. My belief it was rating well last year but then they made this change which I find more boring.

  11. I don’t follow the show but with 40 eps per year that is too much, too much for the cast and crew and too much for the viewers to stay interested. It needs to be cut back to the ‘standard’ 22 ep season which is becoming more rare in the US now with shows often getting 13 ep pickups.

    IMO less eps is a good thing as it allows them to make a tighter story where the viewer doesn’t get bored.

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