In my experience, most TV viewers are creatures of routine with short memories. That's a challenge for the networks.
I know this is true because I get email from readers asking me when a certain show is coming back that was canceled two years ago. It was one of their favorites, the readers write, and it starred (wrong name of actor) and aired on (wrong network).
How's a network supposed to keep up interest when even viewers who claim to really, really love a program can't remember who's in it or what network it's on?
The networks are partly to blame, especially cable networks. With half the episodes of a typical broadcast network series, cable seasons come and go so quickly they don't really register on viewers, especially older viewers who grew up with three networks and a September to May season.
Now, with so many channels and year-round programming, it's hard to keep track. Let's take Downton Abbey for example.
Downton Abbey first appeared on British TV on Sept. 26, 2010, and on PBS' Masterpiece on Jan. 9, 2011. The 3 1/2 month delay has been the broadcast pattern ever since. Season 5 (the Brits call them "series") won't debut in the U.S. until Jan. 5.
Even though many American fans can't resist the temptation to uncover spoilers, PBS President and Chief Executive Paula Kerger defended the broadcast delay at the recent Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif.
"January works well," Kerger is quoted by the Los Angeles Times. "We're extremely proud of the [series'] growth and continue to focus on Sunday night drama."
Growth? PBS saw an impressive 16 percent increase for Season 4 of Downton and a stunning 24 percent hike for the entire Masterpiece franchise. Kerger isn't messing with success. Besides, she noted that airing Downton at the same time as in Britain would plop it down smack in the middle of the broadcast networks' crowded new fall season.
The last new Downton episode aired Feb. 23. How does PBS keep interest alive until January? First of all, Downton Abbey had a heavy presence during the PBS portion of the press tour, with executive producer Gareth Neame and cast members Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Allen Leech and Joanne Froggatt on hand coyly dispensing teasers and tidbits.
Meanwhile, PBS and AETN stoke the fire with Return to Downton Abbey at 6:30 p.m. today. The 90-minute special repeats at 9 p.m., following an episode of Doc Martin.
Here's the official synopsis: "Return to Downton Abbey will combine clips, interview bites and behind-the-scenes footage hosted by award-winning actress Susan Sarandon to provide a seamless flow of fondly remembered moments from the first four seasons of the series. Interviews with [creator/writer] Julian Fellowes and Gareth Neame will be critical in providing an overview and context for the series and what to expect in Season 5."
I'll do my part with a handy quiz. Study the accompanying cast photo from Season 3 (my favorite). How many of the characters can you name? Bonus points for their full names and extra credit for the names of actors. Answers below.
Season 5 will take place in 1924, about six months from where we left off. "I think for all of these characters, everything is just ratcheted up," Neame told the press tour. "Everything is much more complicated."
Neame also said Shirley MacLaine, who played Cora's mother, and Paul Giamatti, who played Cora's brother, are not scheduled for the new season, but may return in the future.
Two new characters, art historian and house guest Simon Bricker (Richard E. Grant) and dowager Lady Anstruther (Anna Chancellor), will arrive in Season 5. Lady Anstruther is the former employer of ambitious footman Jimmy Kent. She arrives "looking for something and creates havoc."
Another tidbit is that widowed Lady Mary is back in action.
"I think in this series, she's quite impulsive and she's embracing her life, really," Dockery said. "She's kind of through the grief now. She's got a bit of her bite back that we had in [Season] 1, which I've enjoyed playing."
Name the characters: The Downton Abbey characters and the full names of the actors who play them are (from the left) Charles Carson (Jim Carter); Elsie Hughes (Phyllis Logan); Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier); Beryl Patmore (Lesley Nicol); Daisy Robinson Mason (Sophie McShera); Sarah O'Brien (Siobhan Finneran); Anna May Smith Bates (Joanne Froggatt); John Bates (Brendan Coyle); Tom Branson (Allen Leech); Lady Sybil Crawley Branson (Jessica Brown Findlay); Martha Levinson (Shirley MacLaine); Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith); Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville); Cora Levinson Crawley, Countess of Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern); Matthew Reginald Crawley (Dan Stevens); Lady Mary Josephine Crawley (Michelle Dockery); Lady Edith Crawley (Laura Carmichael); and Isobel Turnbull Crawley (Penelope Wilton).
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 08/17/2014