My email to CBS regarding Smith…

I’ve been writing a lot of angry letters to the networks lately. Such a shame all of them are falling on deaf ears. This letter concerns what I think is the premature cancellation of the show Smith, which I earlier listed as (in my humble opinion) one of the best new shows on TV. CBS yanked it off the air after only three episodes. What did they expect in such a tough timeslot? So this is the letter I fired away to CBS… I hold nothing back and lecture them on being supportive and confident in their product.

Hope everyone’s having a good Monday, and I’ll be around.

Peter

To whom it may concern:

I am writing to you to complain about the early and premature cancelling of one of your network’s new shows. ‘Smith’ is one of your best new shows, and I am deeply disappointed by it’s removal and wanted to let you know that I not only disapprove but hope that CBS would reconsider as the show is worth taking a chance on.

Compared to some of the new shows coming out this fall, ‘Smith’ was by far the most original show I’ve seen on network TV in years. Ray Liotta, Amy Smart, Simon Baker and Johnny Lee Miller are extremely effective in their roles as I enjoyed watching the crooks and what they did away from their ‘day job’s It’s a great premise that had only started to show it’s true potential when the plug was pulled. The writing is terrific, the action is well-paced and suspenseful and while the characters are sometimes a tad amoral, they are well drawn and I found myself wanting to know more about each one of them. It’s a very good show, but viewers were not given much of a chance to priase the show at the water cooler before it got the hook.

I think CBS’s decision to cancel what is one of the best new shows of the season this soon was irresponsible and the result of unrealistic expectations. Smith’s timeslot is one of the most compeditive on television. I think you guys know that given the fact that you haven’t been #1 in the timeslot for quite a while now. It’s been hard for any network to claim that Tuesday 10pm slot since NBC moved it’s popular Law & Order SVU over from Friday night. That show is responsible for pushing a lot of good shows off the air, including powerhouses like NYPD Blue and your own hits like Judging Amy. To expect Smith to walk in and knock this giant off his slot so quickly was a tad unrealistic, and I really think it was not a bright move to begin with. To see what would have been a more wise move, look no further than what ABC did with Grey’s Anatomy. Instead of pitting a rookie show up against a network’s best show, you move over one of your best shows to cut into it’s ratings and push it out. If you’re going to pit a rookie show up against a goliath like SVU, the least you could have done was give it your full support and a fighting chance. Three episodes isn’t considered a fair chance.

Smith is a good show that I think could have chipped away at SVU’s ratings if given time to develop and grow. A show can only do so much, and it needs support from the network and CBS showed Smith very little support. Three episodes cannot be considered good support, that doesn’t even qualify as decent and ranks around mediocre. One thing that is upsetting fans more than ever are networks that pull the plug too soon and don’t let things fly unless they are instant successes. It’s a shame that networks don’t have the nerve or courage to take a chance and stand by their work every now and show full unconditional support. An exec who has faith in his shows regardless of how they start out of the gate has sometimes led to some of televisions biggest hits.

Let me tell you a story about a sitcom that blew major chunks in it’s first season. In the early eighties, one of the major networks had a show that just didn’t connect with audiences in it’s first year. When the season ended the show ranted 98th overall, and was one of the worst rated shows of the year. There was nothing wrong with the show itself, and the person in charge of the network refused to cancel the show because he knew the show was good and would eventually catch on if given another chance to reach out to audiences. That exec was right, and the show did eventually catch on. The name of that show was “Cheers”… and twelve seasons later the show finished it’s last year on NBC with an average of 30 million plus viewers per episode. Had that show released today, would any of the networks allow it to go past three episodes? What other television gems are being tossed away merely because they are not instant overnight successes? Other shows like X-Files, The Practice and countless others started with low ratings, and eventually grew with time to be of the top rated shows on their networks.

Sometimes it takes more than good marketing to make the ratings, it’s takes faith and confidence in your product. By pulling Smith after only a meager showing of three episodes proves only one thing, you had no confidence in the show and didn’t have the minerals to take a chance and stand by your work. I really enjoyed watching the show and am emailing you to let you know that this show deserves another chance and will work, perhaps in a different time slot if you’re willing to make that gamble. Are you willing to walk away from a show like this. I don’t think you should. I think Smith should be given another chance as it has the potential to be a great… if the network has the confidence to stand behind it.

Thanks for your time and consideration. I am a fan of many of your shows… it’s just a shame there is one less to watch now.

Sincerely,

Peter *****
Peter_24601@hotmail.com