Lotsa talk, no action

[dragonsback]

Are TPTB reserving ALL of Season 19 for fillers? Come on. It's time to commit these many teleplays to film. Or is there some agenda?

Stupid me. There has to be an agenda. Many agendas.

I can live without L&O these days, and there was a time when it was like breathing air. Is someone - Balcer maybe? - playing chicken? Maybe he doesn't have great drama, , just a batch of scripts?

Or is NBC just shoving this tired old showpony and its showrunner back and back and back? And is Balcer waiting to jump into the weak line-up, saviour of the network and its vulnerable Fall?

In any and all cases, I find it bizarro that there are a ton of teleplays - read them right here, folks - and no tele.

[DonnaJo]

Well, in all fairness here, the show runner has no say in when their show airs, what evening or what time. All they really can do is crank out the best episodes possible & hope that the network will play fair. We all know how NBC operates. They use & abuse shows, showrunners, producers, directors etc. It's all about money.

If it weren't for Dick Wolf, the mothership would have been canceled already. Ironic, since IMO last season was by far the best in years.

I'm missing why it's an insult to use the mothership early to take the place of a fallen series. To me, it says that the tried & true L&O can be depended on for high ratings & excellent quality, even when it's the understudy to a dead "star" (new series).

[annabelleleigh]

As I understand it, getting tossed on the air to fill random cracks like grout -- without a promotion campaign or a regular, contiguous time slot -- is no compliment to a TV series or its makers.

AL

[DonnaJo]

Good point, as always, AL.

I think it's more likely that the "grout" will be LOCI, and that the mothership will start its new season in January as planned. I hope the promos for Law & Order will mention that this is a special historic season.