majesdane

59,486 - 59,608 (122)

staying afloat

Less Than Perfect

Thanks Twist.

I kind of expected it to be worse than that.

majesdane

me too. wellll, s2 starts next week, so, we'll see.

Less Than Perfect

I can't believe it's so close now!

majesdane

i know, i can't either.

Less Than Perfect

It's still curiously quiet given that this is prime promo time.

I really hope they've done enough promotion for the new time slot!

hopeless romantic

I now strongly suspect that the promotional schedule for this season has been largely dictated by Tatiana's professional commitments.

According to several interviews, she's now filming what might be an Oscar-bait type movie with Jake Gyllenhaal.

As in, she got a couple of weeks off between shooting, promoting her project with her main squeeze at a film festival, then launched into promos for OB, then became unavailable for reasons that only help the show -- and her own career.

But I fear that it was not enough for people who expect "loyalty" from television "stars."

Meanwhile, BBC America took out two sides of a billboard in Times Square to launch both the show and the aftershow, so it's not like they're ignoring the new season, especially since they've added an official aftershow, so I'm fairly certain that they've encouraged her to embrace other acting gigs....

Honestly, all of which may be more hype than good, but the previews I've seen promise a ride I wasn't expecting, which generally tends to be soooooo much better than "oh, natch, of course the tatoo revealed the secret illuminati connection, and we just weren't smart enough to see it..."

Less Than Perfect

Sure she's busy, but they could've released sneak peeks, more trailers etc. Last couple of years had heaps more promo and I don't think it involved Tat going on more shows.

majesdane

all of this.

hopeless romantic

I've seen several interviews with her wearing the same ugly dress (IOW, she did them on the same day without bothering/having time to change) and have heard her talk about her current fatigue levels.

I don't know about you, but I don't want her to get sick because she's tired.

I'm quite certain that TPTB don't want her to get sick period.

So, if promo schedules are relying more on people who aren't as crucial to the success of the show (I hate to say this, but if Donny has to die for the actor playing him to have enough of a life to want to stay on the show, etc. -- would you really be as upset as if Tatiana had a physical/mental breakdown based on working as many hours as she does?!?/ how would you schedule all of the promotion for this/the next season (based on whatever seems quite likely given contract patterns?!?).

Add in the fact that she finally got her Emmy nomination, which is quite enough for many shows top brass to sing about how they created a star, then to want to ride his/her coat-tails to movie stardom, so they want her healthy enough to not die of exhaustion....

Television may be in its "Golden Age," but Orphan Black is still being created by a tiny affiliate/subset of BBC and isn't always easily viewed worldwide, making it a growing market for the network but still not a powerhouse like the major American networks (which are, largely, in decline) or the premium networks (which are fighting tooth and nail to garner and hold on to viewership).

So the idea that the promotion for this season hasn't been a very careful balancing act strikes me as... TPTB paying more attention to what worked last year and the years before (especially since web viewing -- and especially the phenomenon of block viewing on demand are now so common); then trying to be practical.

Less Than Perfect

That's what I'm saying though. Promo doesn't have to just involve her. They could've released sneak peeks weeks in advance like they did with EW for season two. It was promo overkill, but it didn't involve needing Tat to be rundown. All they had to do was use what they already had.

They've been using the others, Jordan, Kristian and Kevin, for the cons which is great, but they appeal to the part of fandom that is probably already going to watch. More tv spots and sneak peeks being released and talked about on sites like EW are going to remind the mainstream that the show is coming out. And particularly when they're moving to a busy timeslot you'd think they'd want to be doing more promo than they have to ensure the move is a success.

hopeless romantic

There's a school of thinking that "nothing succeeds like success."

I'm not sure that I agree, but entire lines of monarchies have lasted hundreds of years on the theme of nothing more than "I was born to greatness..."

I have a bit of a sense that BBC America suffers quite a bit from similar lack of ambition to do more than aspire....

Which isn't a reflection on OB in the slightest. It is, in fact, a reflection on the problems of resting on one's laurels....

Less Than Perfect

It just seems very odd that after the last two years where there was heavy promo, that they would move to one of the busiest tv nights of the week only to tone down the promo so much so that even the fandom, who is going to be more invested than anyone is like, "Where's all the promo?"

majesdane

yeah, it really does seem weird.

majesdane