I don’t think the problem is that we’ve collectively run out of ideas, it’s just easier to get a guaranteed audience with a revival of a known previous format than to try building up familiarity with a new one. I mean, if you think TV is bad for revivals, just look at the film industry lately!
I don’t think the problem is that we’ve collectively run out of ideas, it’s just easier to get a guaranteed audience with a revival of a known previous format than to try building up familiarity with a new one. I mean, if you think TV is bad for revivals, just look at the film industry lately!
Exactly. People love familiarity and will often return to revivals. Look at the UKgameshows.com page of many classic gameshow formats and you'll see many of them were revived in the 70s, 80s, 90s themselves. They haven't run out of ideas, revivals can sit alongside new shows and indeed they are actively looking at hundreds of new formats each week.
I don’t think the problem is that we’ve collectively run out of ideas, it’s just easier to get a guaranteed audience with a revival of a known previous format than to try building up familiarity with a new one. I mean, if you think TV is bad for revivals, just look at the film industry lately!
Exactly. It actually saves a lot of money in terms of marketing because there's already an awareness of the film/TV show.
In the USA some of their 80/90s sitcoms have had successful revivals lately. Full House is one of those which returned to Netflix a few years ago but has been axed by them after five seasons.
Netflix have a tendency to do that though - they won’t generally let shows run on past three or four seasons, presumably so they don’t incur mounting costs for their talent. Unlike traditional TV networks they aren’t selling advertising and so have no incentive to let high rating long runners (which bring in big advertising revenue) continue in the same way. There are also few subscribers who are there just for one series and who will cancel their subscriptions if it’s cancelled.
House of Cards was an exception, but it was the first Netflix Original of any note and somewhat of a flagship for the company in a way no other series has been since.
I don’t think the problem is that we’ve collectively run out of ideas, it’s just easier to get a guaranteed audience with a revival of a known previous format than to try building up familiarity with a new one. I mean, if you think TV is bad for revivals, just look at the film industry lately!
Also it's not as if they haven't tried to find original vehicles for Rylan.
Exactly. People love familiarity and will often return to revivals. Look at the UKgameshows.com page of many classic gameshow formats and you'll see many of them were revived in the 70s, 80s, 90s themselves. They haven't run out of ideas, revivals can sit alongside new shows and indeed they are actively looking at hundreds of new formats each week.
Indeed, and I remember Wayne Garvie, when he was running BBC entertainment, saying that quite a lot of shows were sturdy formats that were only axed on the whim of a commissioner in the first place.
To be fair, revivals are often either a massive success or a complete failure.
Some are inbetween. The Crystal Maze hasn't been a failure but it hasn't exactly made much of an impact either. It's just there plodding along on a leaking tank of 90's nostalgia.
To be fair, revivals are often either a massive success or a complete failure.
Some are inbetween. The Crystal Maze hasn't been a failure but it hasn't exactly made much of an impact either. It's just there plodding along on a leaking tank of 90's nostalgia.
I hope the Crystal Maze doesn't fall into the route of a show where its only survival is by doing celebrity versions, which I get the sense is what is happening now in 2019. The current series is all celebrities, no general public editions, and maybe never again, I hope that is not the case.
To be fair, revivals are often either a massive success or a complete failure.
Some are inbetween. The Crystal Maze hasn't been a failure but it hasn't exactly made much of an impact either. It's just there plodding along on a leaking tank of 90's nostalgia.
I hope the Crystal Maze doesn't fall into the route of a show where its only survival is by doing celebrity versions, which I get the sense is what is happening now in 2019. The current series is all celebrities, no general public editions, and maybe never again, I hope that is not the case.
The alternative to celebrity episodes is no episodes.
I think it also matters less on The Crystal Maze than a big money gameshow like Millionaire or DOND where it’s a about the prize and you need to be invested in the contestants story.
Fort Boyard [in France] has just had celebrity contestants for most of it 30 year history and that hasn’t done it much harm.
Last edited by Jon on 11 July 2019 3:38pm - 2 times in total