Who Do You Believe ?

Since the LA Times article was released the Black Donnellys has been getting a lot of buzz; some positive some negative. The Firecrackers believe the negative comments stem from people who have not watched the entire season and/or people that believe that the networks are right. Interestingly, one blogger argues: If the networks believe that the show must be cancelled then it wasn’t worth watching to begin with…… If you believe that, you can ask the Jericho fans, Veronica Mars fans and TBD fans; they will tell you a much different story.

Do you believe NBC? NBC supposedly cancelled The Black Donnellys due to declining ratings. However, what most people don’t know is that TBD was a victim of NBC’s own indecisiveness. Originally, the series was going to air in the Thursday night time slot during ER’s hiatus in November 2006. But because ER was doing well at the time, NBC pushed back the airdate of The Black Donnellys to January 2007. NBC subsequently pushed TBD’s premiere date back even further until late February/early March when it became the Monday night replacement for NBC’s other high-profile series, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which was having ratings difficulties. Not only did NBC anger Studio 60’s viewers, who responded by boycotting The Black Donnellys, it also gambled with the high-budget series by putting it in the dreaded Monday night time slot.

Though The Black Donnellys pilot episode aired after NBC’s hit show Heroes and pulled in nearly 8 million viewers, subsequent episodes followed a game show, Deal or No Deal, and the viewers dropped to 5 million. In addition, The Black Donnellys competed with the NCAA March Madness Finals and CBS’s long-running hit, CSI: Miami. In the end, NBC made poor decisions with respect to marketing, scheduling, and storyline continuity. Regarding the latter, NBC showed an online only episode containing important plot details yet failed to notify The Black Donnellys television audience that such an episode even existed. Then inexplicably, when viewers became confused by the storyline, NBC panicked like they did with Studio 60, and pulled The Black Donnellys off the air after only 5 episodes. The Black Donnellys was replaced with yet another reality TV show, The Real Wedding Crashers. You don’t have to wonder where The Real Wedding Crashers are now. Shuffling shows in and out of the television line-up is not very cost-effective. A new series is a delicate thing and NBC failed The Black Donnellys from the start. NBC clearly did not know what they were doing or what direction they were taking and, unfortunately, The Black Donnellys fans paid the price for NBC’s mistakes.


Do you believe the fans? The Black Donnellys was in the top 10 most downloaded episodes and season passes on ITunes up until the finale aired on May 14, 2007, six weeks after the show was taken off the air. It was the only show that was NOT on the air, but was in the top 10 with hit shows like Lost, Grey's Anatomy, the Office and 24. In addition, following TBD’s cancellation, Mark Cuban immediately picked up the entire first season of the show and it is now airing on HDNet on Wednesday nights. Mr. Cuban noticed the attention TBD was getting in the online community, took note of TBD’s active fan base, and knew The Black Donnellys would be a hit for HDNet!

The petition to save the show has over 37,000 signatures and is climbing everyday! More importantly, the fans have come together to contribute time and money to the Save The Black Donnellys campaign
in order to convince HBO to pick up TBD. Though there are some naysayers, the campaign results so far demonstrate that there are more than just “7” fans out there as some bloggers have incorrectly posted. The fact that these bloggers have taken the time and effort to criticize The Black Donnellys and/or the fan campaign indicates that TBD does appeal to a wider audience. In fact, even the negative posts are assisting the campaign since they are creating a lot more buzz for a show that last aired in April!

So, if you believe the networks, then we will continue to see more reality TV and lackluster shows on the air! If you believe the fans, then we encourage you to watch more than just the pilot, watch the entire season on nbc.com or Itunes.com! Or if you prefer not to watch it on your PC, you can pre-order the DVD from Amazon.com.

Get to know the characters and their story! Fight for the opportunity to see great television!

We look forward to seeing you around the Firecracker Lounge!