OT: Why are TV studios so stupid?

[Hunpecked]

mac5732 said:
In regards to good sci fi series being taken off like Firefly and others over the yrs and from what I've read and heard, I'd say the overly rich and overly rated moguls at the TV stations, just don't like Sci Fi shows, no matter how good they are.

Well, considering the number of shows that are canceled every season, I'd say they don't like ANY TV genre.

Seriously, isn't it all about money, not taste? After its initial failure, the Star Trek franchise enjoyed tremendous success on TV. Was it because the network executives suddenly became sci fi fans, or because the shows made money?

Note that sci fi shows, with their special effects, tend to be more expensive than most series, especially reality shows. I've read that James Cameron's Dark Angel series was canceled despite good ratings because ad revenues still couldn't cover its costs. As I recall, when the first Battlestar Galactica came out, it was the most expensive series on TV; it would have needed unusually good ratings to rate a second season.

So I wouldn't be so quick to dump on the network bigwigs for looking to the bottom line, at least in the short run. In the long run, however, they may be cutting their own throats by programming for the least common denominator. I understand network viewership has been steadily falling for years, perhaps because the higher denominators (i.e. the ones who can afford it) are moving to cable, DVDs, and computers.