BBCA advertising Torchwood/Graham Norton

[slns7552.livejournal.com]

My husband watches Top Gear several times a week on BBCA. I noticed when they adverise Torchwood its all scenes with Gwen from Series 1 and 2, none from 3.  Just as it ends writing appears on the screen:
EVE MYLES
          TORCHWOOD.

Are they trying to tell us something?

Also, my mother watched (on BBCA) the Maria contest with John Barrowman.  She said that Norton and Webber both asked him about going back to Torchwood and he told them he really wasn't interested in it anymore. Can anyone confirm this?

Comments

[outwhere.livejournal.com]

Well I am in the UK not the US so I haven't seen Maria on BBCA but saw it in the UK where it run 3 years ago (and the BBCA website says it was a repeat of the UK version from then) and he didn't say anything like that then and has of course done the second and third series since it was filmed.

[slns7552.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize it was that old.

[jsks.livejournal.com]

my sister was watching being human on saturday and yelled that a torchwood commerical was on showing only gwen and asked what that was all about. she hated coe almost as much as me.

[slns7552.livejournal.com]

My mother didn't like it either. It just wasn't TW. In my world COE doesn't exist.

[emzbuckley.livejournal.com]

I think, it is possible that they are running a test run to see if Eve can pull people in just in case john doesn't come back. If they advertise with just her and she can pull the people in, then if john does go, they won't have to worry about it affecting the show. If they advertise with just her and she doesn't pull the people in, they are going to have a problem if john doesn't come back. And also, with it being linked to the bbc over here, testing it on the audience over there might help them come to a decision over season 4 and what they might need for it to work or who they need to get people interested. I mean, they did it before COE with her doing the press for it on BBCA to see if people were interested but when it came to the main press, it was only john the press were interested in, so i think this might be the tester but i am just guessing.

[slns7552.livejournal.com]

I don't see how running ads would do anything. The only way to really know, I would think, is to actually show a 4th series. Of course they would be taking a big risk but they've already taken one by destroying Torchwood. The only reason the ratings for COE were so high was because it was so anticipated and took so long to get here. Since RTD has declared the TW I first watched and loved dead I won't be watching any new series. Plus I have 1 and 2 on DVD so I don't need to watch it on TV anymore. As far as I'm concerned COE is not canon TW. Didn't feel like it either with Jack and Gwen so OOC.

[emzbuckley.livejournal.com]

The thing is, you can make a show all you want but its the advertising that draws people in and if you have someone who is the lead who can't draw people in, no one is going to watch. If she can't draw possible new people in to watching the old series, she stands no chance in doing it with a new series. And they are going to need to draw new people in because RTD has pissed off the fans. Its like framed, who did the main press and advertising for it, not her but Trevor Eve, why? Because she isn't well known. And its important over here but it is even more important in the states and to be honest, she is stuffed really because a, she's not american and b, she isn't a babe. The vests in america are willing to give it a shot if there is a babe at the front and she isn't in american terms classified as a babe. John appealed to the american audience, why? he's american, he's good looking and an action hero, just what the vests want in a hero and leader. Advertising is everything to a show, it either makes it or breaks it. If she can't sell it to america, she can't sell it over here or anywhere else.

The reason the ratings were so high for COE was because to be frank, it had no competition. The general public gave it ago because there was nothing else on and it was more interesting than the general crap on the other channels, i mean, what did it have to battle against, big brother, which has been going on for weeks by then. It wasn't that much of a battle. Will the general public watch the new series if there is one, probably not because they would have forgotten it by then, they might give it a shot but they won't remember COE because it was a one off. The fans, if you are a RTD or Eve fan, you'll watch, if not, you won't bother.

Yes, RTD has said what he wants for season 4 but the BBC hasn't decided it yet, they haven't even said there is a season 4 because they are still deciding on it. Do i think it will get a season 4 with the way it is said to be set up? No. There is also budget cuts going on which will affect the decision, Alan Davis has had to take a 25% cut and his show jonathan's creeks budget has been cut by 50% and that hasn't got as much special effects as TW.

[slns7552.livejournal.com]

How can you say that? According to RTD she's the best actor in all of Britian. Lol

Thank you for the insight. I didn't know any of that or how to find out. I wonder if they will show Framed here on the BBCA. From what I've been reading she's playing the same character. Doesn't take much imagination to do that.

[emzbuckley.livejournal.com]

I know, how dare i say she isn't the best actress in wales or britain, lol. I was thinking about it the other day with her being the best welsh actress thing, if she is the best welsh actress, what the hell in Catherine Zeta-Jones? LOL! I think it comes down to with him, if he can't take credit for them, they don't count.


I have to say, Framed was repeated the other night and i thought, because i am up looking after a sick dog, i can do this and i will watch it and it might not be as bad as i thought it was, unfortunately, i found it that sinterlating, i fell asleep after 20 minutes and missed it, lol. Shows how good i thought it was, lol.

[cyberdigi.livejournal.com]

Sorry to pop in just wanted to say that I half way wish this "testing" will bomb. Wouldn't that be a slap in the face for RTD for his "precious" to not be able to cut it. Would love to see his reaction to that.

[wanda1969.livejournal.com]

PS, As I think you and I have mentioned before, even in the interviews on the BBC promoting COE, EM dominated (need we point out that very odd BBC breakfast interview with EM & GDL again....?). And the promotional shots with EM centre stage....

[wanda1969.livejournal.com]

oops! that was meant as a reply to emzbuckley! sorry

[emzbuckley.livejournal.com]

The thing i do find interesting is, when it came to the actual press on the week it was shown, all the pics and interviews had john front and centre, the only ones in the tv mags eve got were about her pregnancy. So, even though they she had more promo shots and everything, when it came down to it, it wasn't her that the press put front and centre on the covers or even talked to, it was john. And the main place it did show was america, where she was barely talked about or interviewed and all the press kept on asking RTD was, john is coming back? Is john coming back? And RTD had no answer for them and when he tired to avoid the question, they just kept asking him until they got, i don't know we hope so. So there seems to be a divide between who the press want and who they were putting forward.

[emzbuckley.livejournal.com]

I was just trying to give you a reaso as to why she was on the advert. I am not bothered about season 4, like your not because i have seasons one and two and I have fic as well so I don't care about season 4.

[slns7552.livejournal.com]

Ok. I guess I see what you're saying. If I see someone I like in the ad I'll watch the show. But what's confusing me is how can they tell from a commercial how many will watch? Do they take a poll or have something that tracks how many people watch the ad or a survey to see how many would tune in based on what they saw on the ad? I guess I don't understand how it can predict success or failure. Its not like an ad for a product where it interests me so I go buy it. Sorry if I'm being stupid. I really don't understand. Good thing I was never interested in advertising as a career. LOL

[lukita.livejournal.com]

Usually by how many people watches the show they're re-running if they have Eve's face on the TW commercials. If say for instance, there were 10 people watching it before the commercials, and 15 people watches it after the commercials. Then she's drawing a crowd, if the numbers doesn't change much after the commercials, it doesn't work.

[wanda1969.livejournal.com]

As I said in the post prior to this, I almost didn't watch "Framed" as the adverts and clips on the TV made it look like it was merely a romantic storyline starring everyone's "favourite", EM. In fact, it turned out to be more about one of the families in the village and their children. The only reason I DID eventually waych was because I couldn't see anything else to watch! And when I did watch there wasn't much EM! So if the idea was to drag me in with EM it DID backfire! the only thing that did work was having not much else on the other channels!

[lukita.livejournal.com]

So they used a lot of EM in their commercials for "Framed" as well? But there's nothing else on to see how she stacks up? *head desk* I was doing some googleling on it, Digital Spy seems to love EM a little too much... Still hilarious they have to add Towchwood in front of EM's name.

[wanda1969.livejournal.com]

Luckily the BBC Breakfast show only interviewed the author/ screenwriter...no EM on it (as there was on the 6th Jul promotional EM/GDL interview, which I keep pointing out was VERY ODD, and I should have known 'twas the deathknell for Ianto...). But he ads/clips were quite repetitive and showed EM prattling on about no-one knowing what "true beauty was"....

[lukita.livejournal.com]

Repetitive usually means she haven't say much of anything worth repeating or she's giving out stock answers. Most of the time, it means they gave out one interview and everyone are using the same source or the interviewers are somehow all asking the same questions.

[emzbuckley.livejournal.com]

Ok, from my mum's friend in america who works in the business, she says it is all about product placement. TW is a product and you have to sell it, so you have to advertise. If you have a good advertising campaign, more people will watch which means they might buy something and that makes more money for the show, so it goes in a cycle and vis versa. Now, the thing is, TW has been sold of John's character and image and it has been incrediabily successful, seeing as TW was or is a big hit on BBCA. But now that RTD is saying it's going to be Eve based and john is either not going to be in it or in it very little, the BBC will do some test runs to see if Eve can get people to watch and buy the merchendias. If she can, then the bbc won't have to worry about TW S4 because she can draw people in. If she can't and knowing the american market she won't, they will have a problem and then they have to decide what to do in order to not lose money. The other thing they are highly aware of is the fact that both RTD and EM have pissed off the fans and that has cost the show both viewers and money, if eve can get new people in to watch, it might make up for some of the loses but if not, they are screwed. With budgets as tight as they are, they are looking at cutting anything and everything and if that means someone has to go, they will do it. So, in my honest opinion, if this campaign doesn't work, RTD, some of the writers and maybe Eve, Kai and Tom, will be up on the chopping block and to be extreme, maybe even the show itself.

The other thing is, now i am not sure if BBCA is the same as the BBC but on the main stream channels, the more popular the show, the of the big companies will sponser the show which means more money for the show. So it basically comes down to business and money.

Now, even though RTD is convinced that Eve is the best thing in Wales and the acting community, i don't think, especially after the critics reviews, that the BBC think Eve can get people interested in the show and she certainly hasn't got the extra gear acting wise to be a main lead material. So this is just to see if they can afford to not have john in the show. Also, and i am going to sound like a real bitch, she isn't a babe, she isn't attractive enough or sexy enough to pull what are called the vests in, aka, men. Sometimes the show can be completely shit but the vests watch it because it has a babe in it and looking at america, she is nowhere near the babe standard, no matter how tight the clothes are or how much leather they put her in, she just doesn't cut it.

The biggest problem they have is, John is both liked by the BBC and the public but he is also the whole package. He's good looking, got sex appeal, funny, well liked and can sell a show. You can send him out and know that he is professional and will sell what you want him to sell and get people interested. As we saw with the interview on BBC 1, Eve doesn't have that ability, you can get away with being quite if you have the acting chops behind it but she doesn't. She doesn't have a natural rappour with people like john does, she can't go to any interview and click with whoever is interviewing and that is incrediably important. Additionally, the show was sold of john and jack alone, not only over here but also in america, he got people on BBCA watching because to be honest, he is the perfect american action hero from the adverts, he is good looking, charming, sexy, woman love him and men want to be him, just what the vests want in an action hero, so the other thing this test run brings up is, can the BBC afford not to have john in it.

As for how to know it is successful, its the audience ratings. If she is successful she will be able to pull the viewers in to watch the show, if there is no increase in viewing figures, she can't cut it basically. As much as RTD and EM cry about the ratings for COE, its not only the ability to pull new people in but the ability to keep them and also, it is the ability to draw people to the show without the massive new season thing, can she draw people in to watching the old seasons and reruns, that is how you know it is successful.

[wanda1969.livejournal.com]

This isn't quite about advertising per se...
I had a conversation with a work colleague from a different office on Friday. He is a bit of a sci fi fan (not sure i count as that, I like all sorts from silent 20s movies to TW {obviously}). He felt that CoE was the best thing ever. I had a long conversation with him pointing out the changes in charcters and their skills over 3 series and he felt that Gwen was superb in CoE but as we spoke admitted that he couldn't remember all of the things I'd found iritating about her....you know, lack of fidelity, causing untold deaths, challenging superiors who know better- I don't need to go on here; you've all listed them. He is only the second person (both male) I've met who LIKES the character/actress.
I said that perhaps MEN like the character (and actress). Incidentally Mr Wanda1969 DOES NOT! After a few moments thought he agreed that perhaps this could be the case.

My point being that if the vests are men, perhaps they are completely out of touch with what c. 50% of their audience want.
And that includes their advertising.

Not that I think that men particularly (in my personal experience) DO like unskilled, stupid, unfaithful, tactless, unempathetic (whatever RTD says) women. Perhaps they just don't analyse their characters as much in TV shows. And this character has an awful lot of FLAWS, again in my opinion.
The "vests" just seem to see the tight trousers and boots and think that that will carry the character.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love a good kick arse woman. But this isn't one of them.

I'll point out again I have read a couple of things where people have said they loved CoE, went out, bought S 1&2, and then declared S1&2 better.

Annoyingly the Radio Times, in it's reviews of the repeats (and remember that's the BBC's own reviews/self advertising)stated that CoE was "the best thing that ever could have happened to TW....

Say it often enough and people may believe it....

Personally, I know a lot of people who have said "I never want to watch that again"! Male and Female! I've never heard that much....perhaps 'disappointment' is the word?

It would be interesting to see what the sales of TW 1&2 are at HMV (or whatever other DVD/CD shop people have in their country) is. Only last week I bought S2 for future light relief. I doubt CoE has had that effect....