While some dropoff after the premiere is to be expected, after only the 3rd week Friends is already trailing CSI and ER on Thursdays. The first 3 episodes in the 8th season held at around 29-31 million, while last night's episode continued the sharp dropoff to 25.9 million, down from 28.9 million the previous week. The numbers are still good, but Will & Grace and Survivor are rapidly closing ground.
And last night was the first time I ever dozed off watching a new episode of Friends. I guess I don't find the Tulsa storyline compelling at all, or really believe Phoebe will have a serious love interest as I'm sure Paul Rudd will be gone before we know it. Joey has regressed to being too dumb, and Ross has regressed to being too immature. The only interesting character this season has been Rachel, and she really hasn't done much either.
I guess with the decline of ratings every week...this means that this is definately IMO the last season. The only reason NBC would offer them more money is if they had at least kept the ratings up. And while the shows have been pretty funny...I do sincerely miss the days of Season1-3 humour. Friends has gotten more risque(sp?). (And whats up w/ Matthew Perry's face?)
I think you're misinterpreting the ratings. 26.6 million viewers is still A LOT. It's the second-most-watched show on television this week, & the most watched show of the season overall. Without Friends, NBC's whole Thursday lineup would suffer extreme losses in viewers, NBC would no longer be the number-one network, & they would lose hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising over the course of the year. Friends is also easily number one in Adults 18-49 every week, which is what advertisers really care about. Regardless of whether Friends averages 27 million viewers or 22 million viewers this year, its value to NBC is almost unmeasurable, & Zucker will certainly throw insane amounts of money at them to return (not that I think they'll accept it).
I think that's a stretch! The show might lose tens of millions in advertising dollars yes, but not hundreds. It hard to say how significant Friends lead-in for NBC's Thur lineup really is and I suspect its over estimated. It'll be interesting to see how ratings for Scrubs and ER are affected when Friends goes into a rerun on the fifth week.
Further NBC can, at best, buy itself an extra year. Friends can't be expected to last forever. Surely, Zucker and NBC must know this! If NBC is thinking along your line, all its doing is postponing the inevitable.
Insane amounts??? I think the cast will still get a mil or slightly more a piece if they agree to return. The TV and cable networks have plenty in syndication and are no longer contractually obligated to buy a further season. There's plenty of seasons to run in syndication. NBC is going to have to foot the entire bill this time.
A lot of the advertising dollar is tied to the fact that Friends is in the last season and they want to be a part of it. If the show does return for a tenth season, an announcement that will be made midway through the season, expect the advertising along with ratings to drop further.
Well David and Lisa have already stated in public they'll like to return for a further season. I think so too would Courteney and Matt. 24 mil is a lot of money to say no to. Matthew might reconsider... Serving Sara was a dud. Jennifer Aniston should know now's as good a time as any if she wants to make it big on the big screen. Probably the only one who has real options to consider. Besides she can always return to tv if all else fails. Having made such an impression on TV, networks will be queuing up to give her her own show.
I think what Sofya is trying to say is that the writing has been ok, but not near as sharp as it used to be, and it may be what is pulling the ratings steadily down. I think that's a fair statement, I can't honestly say that ANY of the jokes this season have been brilliant, instead opting for physical humor and crude humor for cheap laughs. The show is losing it's hipness, you look at an episode in '94 and today and it's two entirely different styles.
What I find funny is this is the same writing staff they had from the 8th season. But I can already tell these writers were better creating dramatic story arcs from which they can create moments of humor, rather than the silly, no-frills farce they have been trying this season. Maybe the producers are responding to critics who think the show has become too much like a soap opera?
Personally, I think the dramatic storylines work because we sincerely care about these characters. That usually doesn't happen in sitcoms. The problem is that the only dramatic storyline so far, Chandler moving to Tulsa, hasn't really seized the fanbase like Rachel being pregnant and Joey falling in love did. I honestly don't think they can top those two storylines this season, IMO.
I already posted this. The preliminary numbers were quite far off this week. It turns out, based on the final numbers, Friends did beat ER, although it still lost to CSI. The 25.9 million viewers estimate was based on the preliminary numbers. Friends actually pulled 26.6 million. Check my Dan's Friends Ratings thread for more...
...& I didn't intend to say you couldn't. :-) I just wanted to point out that your comment was based on the preliminary numbers. Friends didn't end up losing to ER on Thursday.
--DanG
P.S.: Great win against Penn State! I'll be at the Wisconsin game in Ann Arbor in November.