David X Cohen interview on frontwheeldrive.com

Hello fellow Futurama fans:

We have just posted an interview with David X. Cohen on a technology webzine that I help out with called "frontwheeldrive." Stop by and check it out:

http://www.frontwheeldrive.com/

Cheers!

--Tom

Now I have some motivation to get a doctorate... so I will be qualified to work on the show!

it kinda sucks that Fox has not renewed the show yet. Maybe now that football is over people can watch some quality original programming...

I guess the times are sad for a fan of good tv since it seems everything is leaning toward instant gratification in terms of money. Maybe if Fox realized that there is a marketing vehicle behind a show like Futurama that could generate Billions in additional revenue, maybe then they would be more interested in showing the show over, say, professional sports.

I admit that I am a fan of some sports, but only in moderation.

Stephen

PS-does anyone have a list of which of the Beavis and Butthead episodes he wrote? They are not listed on imdb.com

"Tom Georgoulias" wrote in message news:trG78.193902$[email]...

Stephen wrote:

:) I was really impressed with the background of the other writers. I knew they were smart, but I didn't expect that many PhDs! I've always felt that the show drips with the quality that only comes when everyone involved is passionate about it.

One can only hope for this. I tell everyone I know about how good the show is and got many of my co-workers, most of whom are engineers and love the tech jokes, interested in it. Spreading the word never hurts. I hope everyone here who genuinely cares also wrote a letter to Fox and voiced their opinion.

That'll never happen. Just look at the amount of money that colleges spend on athletics over, say, engineering laboratories and teaching facilities. The mainstream television marker in the US is too embedded in the sports culture for any intellectual show to up seat it.

Look at the Chamber. That pathetic show was on just enough to screw up the Futurama schedule a few times, will likely cost Fox a lawsuit for stealing an idea and another hit to their already sagging programming credibility, and they still have all of the bills from producing and marketing it. Where was the logic in that move?

Don't care for watching any of them myself, especially when I think about the salaries and respect that athletes get and compare it to the salaries/respect of doctors, engineers, professors, etc. Makes me sick to my stomach.

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Thank goodness that I go to a place that actually does spend more money on research than sports, but I dont think that Futurama has to worry about having fans from my school. :-)

I was thinking more of a scenario such as: Fox pays the NFL to show their games, but when they do nothing really happens from that game except at that exact moment and time. I do not think that Fox packages season videos or resells the tapes to whomever. But with a show like Futurama they do have to pay an amount up front to show it but then can make money from liscensing other products like T-shirts and video games and whatever. There are much greater possibilities in the long run.

I dont know what the solution is to Futurama. I guess its biggest problem seems to be that network execs may just not "get it." They see some jokes here and there but do not see the irony or the technology commentaries placed throughout the show. That is the main reason why people need to watch it.

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That show was probably thought up a couple years ago during the height of Millionare. People were saying "lets get millionare, only more EXTREME!" I guess the thinking is that it may cost less to make an episode of Chamber than Futurama, and if people will watch the cheaper show then let them take the spot. I really dont understand why putting someone in a hot room and asking him questions to see if his heart rate changes is appealing to anyone. Maybe if instead they made them eat live bugs/maggots. :-)

I try not to think about it... good point.

Stephen

PS-that was a really cool interview with Mr. Cohen.

Dood, you're forgetting where tv really makes its money: advertising. Trust me, that's where Fox is raking it in, they are assuredly charging ungodly amounts of money for advertising space for the football. And the companies will pay it and then some to advertise their products to millions of rabid football fans. Merchandisin is only going to really pay out in the case of a runaway hit show that everyone is interested in: like the Simpsons. Futurama doesn't have that type of wide appeal (see below).

you could just as easily extend your argument to the superbowl, limited merchandising potential in general. But the ad space cost is simply ungodly. Millions of dollars for a 30 second spot (don't swear me to that number, I'm sure the stats are out there somewhere). So over the 8 hours of coverage, bewteen pre and post game, that's a lot of advertising space, and Fox is just raking in the money. And every company out there will pay it because the Superbowl is THE most watched program out there. Plant your product idea in the millions who watch the Superbowl, and you make your million dollar/30 second investment back and then some.

Well, you're doing a real good job of projecting your own personality onto the rest of the planet but this is the problem with Futurama (as I see it): far too limited appeal. It's got too many nerdly (and I mean that as a nerd myself), sci-fi in jokes. Unlikes the Simpsons (or even Family Guy), Futurama simply does NOT have the mass market appeal to the general public. So even though the rabid fanboys and sci-fi nerds will watch it, it's still a tiny bit of the overall market share.

You don't make money pitching to a niche audience, and Futurama is about as niche as it gets: it's aimed at nerds who know the words to every Monty Python sketch and actually catch the dozens of references per show to various sci fi films, books, etc. Hey, I'm one of them, I laught out loud at the stuff they hide in Futurama but the *average* TV watcher is NOT. That's what you have to keep in mind.

Fox is a company, they care aabout the bottom line which is money. They make most of their money off of advertising, not merchandising. So all that matters to them is how many peoople watch the show because the more people who watch, the more money they can charge for advertising space. Futurama can't hold a candle to football.

You're thinking of 'Fear Factor'.

Lyle

good points... I know that there are probably only a couple of shows that can compete with NFL football on Fox, but I think it is important for people to know that there is also a good potential for revenue for the show outside of advertisments.

Did you go out and buy a Simpsons Season 1 DVD? I did, and I bet you most of the people who bought that DVD set would also buy the Futurama DVD season 1 should it ever come out in the states. Has anyone here paid 7.99$ and up for some silly plastic Homer action figure? I would buy a plastic nibbler or a plastic Fry, and I bet a bunch of other people would also.

By "get it" I am talking about understanding where the appeal is and who the target audiance is. I was saying that people need to watch the show so that at least some ratings guy can say that the show has decent ratings. Sorry about the confusion.

Um, that was a joke. I was trying to show the absurdity in TV's game show genre today. :-)

Hey does anyone remember an interview that one of the Simpsons producers gave a few years ago (somewhere around season 4-5) when they talked about how they would not mind the show having "cult status"? I suppose that Futurama is the show that is living out that dream... If it can be renewed for another season. :-(

Stephen

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/156971715X/protoniccom0a -- It's even got a little Fry inside :)

"Stephen" wrote in message news:5D388.80832$[email]...

or

On Wed, 6 Feb 2002, Stephen stated this considered view. Waking from my doze, I hastily scrawled -

I have both.

Not me, this time!

ISTM a good indication of cult status is newsgroups posting volume. Shows with cult status normally attract a far greater volume than mainstream ones that are watched by numerically greater numbers of people.

=v= That's particularly true of _The_X-Files_ and before that the _Twin_Peaks_ newsgroups, but a good deal of that has to do with how complex the stories are and all the things that need to be figured out. We get some of that here when we actually see a new episode ...

=v= However, for most of its life the alt.tv.simpsons newsgroup has had so much volume it's been impossible to keep up with, and I'd say that it's got much more than a cult following. <_Jym_>

On 08 Feb 2002 01:13:18 -0800, Jym Dyer spewed forth:

Of course, 90% of the volume is quoting cascades. Yes people, we all appreciate that you are TRUE SUPERFANS for quoting every line that pops into your head over the course of a day, thanks. I guarantee you if you go in and post simply "mmmm, floor pie", 24 hours later the rest of the episode will be up in quotes.

And 90% of what's left is "This season sucks. It's just not as good as the season when I first started watching, or even season blah" where blah is some random number that was apparently a bad season. Buffy the Vampire Slayer groups have almost exactly the same, except it goes "This season sucks. It's just not as good as season 2 (or 3), but at least it beats season 4."

Cheers

Paul Herzberg

On Fri, 8 Feb 2002 11:11:33 +0100, Paul Herzberg spewed forth:

heh heh....well the rub is, the Simpsons HAS been on a high-speed downhill slide ever 'Simpson Tide'. Problem is, the writers seem to no longer even consider the possibility that the complainers *could* be right.

That being said, this current season has been doing better than last. Minus, of course, the episode where Homer and Ned's wives from Las Vegas come back. It comes in second only to 'Simpson Safari' as the worst episode ever (hur hur)

What happened in that episode?

DGH

On Fri, 08 Feb 2002 15:51:34 GMT, doug holverson spewed forth:

That was the 'everyone joins the Navy' episode, which is pretty much where continuity and character consistency started taking a backseat to wackiness.

On Fri, 8 Feb 2002, Rev. Bleech_ stated this considered view. Waking from my doze, I hastily scrawled -

I thought the rot set in during & after Saddlesore Galactica.

"Stephen" wrote in message news:...

Lyle McDonald wrote:

I heard a report on NPR that stated Fox isn't raking it the money at all with the Superbowl. With advertising budgets in the toilet, they reduced the amount of pre/post game broadcast time, used less cameras to film, etc. because they couldn't sell enough ads. It also stated that networks don't make as much money on major league sport broadcasts as they once did because of cable channel competition.

What about those dot coms who blew their wad on a superbowl ad, only to fail less than a year later because they didn't get the product demand they wanted from their superbowl ad? (Or a decent business plan, but that's another story.)

I think a lot of what you said is correct. It is a niche show, but the niche could easily get larger if they'd simply market the show, then *show it* every week.

I've always wondered why they don't have more computer company ads (like the Compaq Inspiration Technology or the IBM Linux spots) during Futurama Seems like the demographics would be split between young kids looking for cartoons and young adult, high-tech workers looking for sarcasm and ego-boosting comedy. Guess the numbers don't add up.

BTW, I'm a sucker for those tin Bender toys and die cast figurines. They make my office look complete. ;)

On Thu, 07 Feb 2002 02:31:34 GMT, Tom Georgoulias wrote:

I heard part of the same, or a related report. I think they said then entire NBA was moving to cable except for local game coverage. I didn't pay much attention since I never watch any sports. Except Battle Bots (GO Biohazard!).

Once upon a time, you were a success if you lost the most money . . .

A study found that the leading indicator of future scientists and engineers was an early interest in SciFi. The correlation was even stronger than math and science skills.

While the shear numbers of viewers is not huge, it is a focused audience. I'll bet we, Futurama fans, are far more likely to own Pentium IVs, Athlon XPs, and other "early adopter" technology.

As for the younger viewers. Any technology company that is thinking about being around for more than a few years could be building brand loyalty for their future markets.

Unless you are selling expensive items to a niche market. Though, that does tend to be the realm of cable like SciFi channel.

Certainly, a huge mega hit show like the Simpsons is worth more for advertising, a niche market show like Futurama can be marketed successfully.

But, but .. that would be more than two *new* episodes in the same month. Can they do that? Are there laws against it?

Or the marketing department is sleeping on the job.

My buddy gave me a bendable Bender. He's leaning on my computer right now. Hey, who bent my sound card like that?

If you haven't heard this term:

Geekosphere - The area around your computer filled with geeky toys.

Mine includes, Bender, A space shuttle (with external fuel tank and optional 747), one ST:TNG figurine, an 11X14 framed print of Buzz Aldrin with the LEM (which I've owned since 1970), the mars lander (orbiter, lander and rover), and an Apollo command module and LEM (complete with moonwalking astronauts).

--Larry

Tell me about it. Take our school... when your mascot is the banana slug, there are onl so many sports you can have. So we compensated with research ;)

http://genome.ucsc.edu

"Stephen" wrote in message news:8J288.79994$[email]...

Stephen wrote:

I think the biggest problem is the inconsistent air dates and crappy time slot. I can't tell you how many people ask me: "Is that show on anymore? I saw it a long time ago and thought it was gone."

Funny movie to watch: "Series 7." It's filmed in the style of a reality TV show marathon, except the game they are involved in is a little more extreme. Check it out if you have the opportunity.

Thank you. I'm super stoked that I was able to do it and that other fans & potential fans enjoyed it.

Exactly Sometimes I wonder is FOX is deliberately trying to kill the show off? I mean by putting it in a bad time slot and then not showing it half the time, then FOX would be able to say: " Well not enough people are watching it, so we'd better stop showing it, so we can show more Boatload of Temptation IV."

Ken

Subject: Re: David X Cohen interview on frontwheeldrive.com From: "Stephen" [email]

Well I think the problem is that they understandt very well - and they don�t like it. I mean come on - why should a TV station broadcast a show for the minority of not-completely-stupid and thereby loose points with the crowd who would rather die than laugh about themselves and their blessed society?

Tom Georgoulias wrote in message news:ii_78.320411$[email]...

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Professional sports, the only way the terminally stupid can get wealthy.