wolkenfuehlen

Let's discuss!

Reposting this from another thread:

^I personally had never heard of that story until you mentioned it, so I'm inclined to say it's nothing more than a rumor. If there were any truth to it, I think we would've heard of it somewhere, be it through articles, comments from the actors or fan uproar.

s e r e n i t y

Ive never heard of that either, it would be a bit weird of them to cancel a show cause the characters spend most of their time not studying when half the shows that re airing right now and were airing then had the same sort of storyline

Finnegan

How does one reconcile that with the following reports? I have little experience in reading reports of TV ratings, so perhaps I'm missing something.

Objective raw data in the form of Nielsen ratings for YA seem likely to be available from subscription services, although not freely available online:

I might be able to get access to one or both of these sources from either my workplace or the Library of Congress; anyone enrolled in a university might have ready access to LexisNexis Academic. However, to offer a good commercial interpretation of YA's raw Nielsen ratings would require far more information.

However, it seems that YA's ratings were far from abysmal. That inclines me to wonder whether Antin had any more episodes of YA to sell. Is there any compelling evidence that he did?

wolkenfuehlen

Indeed. Even back then, on Dawson's or wherever, they didn't really focus on school a lot, did they?

It really does seem that the ratings were not as bad as we nowadays believe they were. But maybe they simply weren't good enough for The WB?

I don't suppose you can count this as actual evidence, but a few years back there were rumours going around that the writers had actually written at least the first few episodes of season 2. Now, I don't actually believe that to be true, because, as a TV show writer, I guess I'd only invest my time and energy into something if I knew it was actually happening. Maybe it was different for Antin though because this show was his creation...

Finnegan

The source of that information, provided in an article that consists chiefly of an interview with Steve Antin, is likely Antin himself. In retrospect, at least, he seems to suggest that to have made the jump from a summer fill-in for DC to regular season WB programming would have required not just good but spectacular ratings. And that may well be correct.

Antin's statement in the spring of 2000 that he hoped for a run of seven years may have been directed as much to motivating his actors and crew as to any realistic expectation. I get the feeling that Antin was less than completely candid with his actors and crew either about his expectations for the show's continuation, or about what the show was -- Moennig's interview statement in Sept. 2000 that the Jake-Hamilton storyline was intended by Antin as a "side sight-gag" seems compellling evidence that Antin didn't reveal the full artistic content of YA, much of which was ill-matched to its venue and target audience. And the paucity of public expressions of gratitude to Antin by the young actors whose careers he launched in YA suggests they may have felt a bit ill-treated in some way.

Contrary to the information above, the critical reception of YA was not, so far as I am able to ascertain, very favorable. However, I have been able to find only two published reviews of YA based on viewing of more than the first aired episode (or, worse, merely the unaired pilot). These two reviews, one in a Baltimore weekly paper and one in the UCLA college newspaper, were both published during the week after episode 4 was aired. There appear to be no published reviews or criticism based on viewing the entire series even once. This may be, perhaps, a rectifiable omission.

s e r e n i t y

Yeah, unless one of the characters was sleeping with a teacher not much emphasis was given to their time in school

As glad as it makes me to see YA getting a tiny bit of recognition thanks to burlesque, I wish theyd get their facts right Ya had 8 episodes, not 9 Id love to find out if there were more episodes, theres gotta be a member of the cast or crew we can find on facebook or twitter and ask them this question

wolkenfuehlen

Yes, that's definitely a possibility. And however the ratings may have been, I'm pretty sure they weren't as amazing as DC's ratings, and so, by comparison, YA wasn't as successful.



Maybe they counted the unaired pilot? And isn't Antin on Twitter/Facebook? We should ask him. ... or Ian.

s e r e n i t y

but oh come on, how can they choose the fate of a show that did well based on 8 episodes not remarkable well like DC but then again what show did that well back then?

Ooh he is? I didnt know, If prefer it if he was on facebook thatd make things easier but to be honest hes a bit busy right now Id rather find Rodney somewhere

wolkenfuehlen

Hmmm...Buffy, probably? Other than that, I really don't know.

I think he's both on fb and on twitter You are such a closeted Rodney fangirl! Just admit it already!

s e r e n i t y

I ... havent searched for him on FB or Twitter

Not exactly a Rodney fangirl but as hes been the most quiet these past few years I kinda have a feelings itll be easier to get in touch with him

wolkenfuehlen

That's probably true I wonder what he is up to

Finnegan

That's a really interesting question, because you're right:

If he could be contacted, Rodney Scott may be the most accessible of YA's main actors, and more accessible than Antin. He might be able to answer a few questions.

Although I wonder whether Antin told his actors enough to enable them to understand the show any better than their teen audience did. Moennig told Christina Radish in Sept. 2000 that the Jake-Hamilton story-line was a intended to be a comedic side-show to the main story: she didn't have a clue of what Antin was using her to do. One wonders whether Rodney Scott had any clue, for example, that Krudski-as-narrator is a generation older than Krudski-as-character, and that YA is that narrator's dream of reliving a perfect youth.

After reading Moennig's interview with Radish, I suspect that Antin may be the only one worth talking to.

s e r e n i t y

Still, Id like to get a chance to talk to Rodney, see if he knew anything or had any ideas or anything

wolkenfuehlen

Yes Even when he doesn't know about Antin's vision and his ideas and thoughts about the show, he'd at least (hopefully) have some nice stories to share about the filming of the episodes etc etc

iamgre@

Everyone has a summer they will never forget...

The show was on for a summer and it has not been forgotten. It met its stated objectives and that has young americans among the most successful of tv shows.

I still haven't found details on all episodes but in general the ratings were better than repeats of Dawson's Creek which preceded the episodes each week and were better than the summer of 1999. young americans was an experiment in summer programming that would have withered into blah if it had returned for a full season or even a second summer. I want a second season but i also realise not renewing the show was the right choice for the integrity of the show.

DVDs are a different matter. Sony needs to capitalise on one of the times someone is in a hit show or movie and release young americans in a nice transfer with some commentaries and other goodies.