It's filming in Thailand, according to reports. Quite a commute from Canada:-).

I have to think there would have been some sort of out in her contract for the movie that if the writer's strike ended and Smallville went back into production, that she would have to fulfill that obligation. Given what we've been told about the ending of Veritas, I don't get the impression they'd be able to not have KK around for immediate follow up in the next episode. Given that, I'm sure KK may be disappointed that she may have to give up a film role, but again, I have to think it's a possibility she's been prepared for from the start.

For all of the regular contracted actors, Smallville comes first.

It was never confirmed that KK even signed a Street Fighter contract. I don't think Almiles would want to be without her, though, especially if this is their last season to have their favorite toy.

I guess they COULD make a deal, along the lines of "you can do this movie but we want you for x episodes in Season 8" but who knows. Contracts confuse me :)

I can't believe someone got bankrolled for a Street Fighter movie. I mean Uwe Boll isn't directing it so that moves it out of the Guaranteed to Suck Video Game to Movie Adaption category but only one spot into the Extremely Likely to Suck Video Game to Movie Adaption.

PIF

Ratings for this season so far

Ouch! Thats pretty bad, and big drop from last week. And now with another totally boneheaded hiatus scheduled? I foresee this show having a lot of trouble getting above 4m for the rest of this season.

I think the CW should really rethink this hiatus. Better to take a short break, then show the remaining 3 eps, then break again on the supposed Vertias cliffhanger, and then come back with the 5 post-strike eps.

This network is run by idiots, IMO.

Last night was St. Valentine's. I wasn't home to watch SV. I am not surprised other SV viewers weren't either. I would expect ratings to be hurt by the holiday. My boss told me he didn't have dinner reservations anywhere and I couldn't help but laugh at him. I suggested he make steaks at home for his wife to try to recover from what I saw as a MASSIVE miscalculation. Every decent restaurant is booked all night long with lines out the door and all bars are standing room only in my city. Single people stay out late looking to make a love connection and people who have already made theirs go home early but definitely not to watch what they tivo'd unless dinner didn't go so well....

It makes absolutely no sense to me, if Veritas was designed to end on a cliffhanger that might have been the end of the season, if not the series, why they don't just run the next three episodes right away then make us wait a few months for the pay off. Aren't people in show business supposed to "leave [us] wanting more"?

I actually think that what they might do is air the final 8 episodes in a row. They have a month before "Hero" airs which will give them a chance to start filming these other episodes. If they find that they need more time to finish the five additional episodes so they can air the 8 in a row, then they might push "Hero" back even more. Just my speculation on what they might do.

Also, having Smallville come back in the middle of March is a terrible idea because they will be returning just in time for the NCAA tournament. CBS will be showing games during Smallville for one of those three episodes when Smallville returns, then the games move to the weekends.

Over at the CW Source Blog ( http://blogs.trb.com/network/cwsource ) they have a list of when the shows will come back. Smallville is listed as returning April 17th with an expected five new episodes. Does that mean "Hero" isn't airing until April now? That's really going to hurt the ratings.

The CW ordered five new episode beyond Veritas, so I'm thinking they mean April 17th is the start of that round of episodes. Given that the usual seasonal hiatus comes in mid-May, they won't have enough time to show eight episodes - Hero to the new season finale - in that timeframe. Sounds like Hero will be back near the end of March, which is about what they had scheduled before the strike ended. I still think another month + hiatus at this point is a bad idea, but at least it's looking like it won't be much more than that.

Thanks PolarB. I didn't know if they meant "Hero" or the episodes after "Veritas." I was a bit confused lol.

There was something I was wondering about. The CW promotes One Tree Hill, America's Next Top Model, and Beauty and the Geek months in advance, so why don't they do that with Smallville? Last night the CW ran a promo for Beauty and the Geek saying how it's coming back March 11th, well Smallville's coming back March 13th (?) so why no promo saying that? The same for OTH and ANTM, they had promos way in advance of their actual air date too. It doesn't make sense..to me.

I know there are always many factors that we could point to for the downfalls of the ratings, but this latest 3 episode stint, I think a lot of people just didn't know or realize Smallville would be new and would be back.. they assumed it was in repeats just like everything else.

The "no promotion" thing seemed to work for The CW for the season premiere... but I think with all of the uncertainty re: the strike, it really was a dead zone of time, where only the die hard fans knew the show would be returning. I REALLY hope there's some promotion between here and "Hero," but then again, with even the CW Source being wrong on the scheduling, it may be a bumpy ride.

Smallville might just want to be like 24 and run a season of consecutive episodes. Unfortunately though, the CW will want new shows in September and usually only 10 or 11 can be ready in time for airing before December, if that.

I still say "Promise" cost them about a million viewers that just decided to stop caring when new EP's came on =).

I don't get how a ratings dip in the young adult crowd on VALENTINE'S NIGHT isn't expected. There is a reason why the networks usually don't air new programming on Thanksgiving night (no point competiting with football) or Christmas Eve (people are in the mood for nostalgic classics anyway). People are generally in a specific mood on holidays and change their routines accordingly. If it wasn't a holiday, then yes, I would say Fracture's drop was disappointing, but it *was* a big holiday night.

The only thing is, wasn't "Crimson" on Valentine's Day also? Or was it just a different day of the week? I can't remember anymore, really.

My feeling is just that ratings have been down, worse than usual, ever since the show returned from months of hiatus. Also as far as I know, there's nothing drawing viewers in to The CW on other nights right now besides new One Tree Hill, so the chances to promote the show are VERY limited.

Maybe the cycle of episodes later this year will do better once they have room to promote it during Top Model or something.

"Crimson" aired on Feb 1st, 2007 (and seems to have benefitted from the post-Justice viewers spike.)


Yeah, if SV aired in a later time-slot, more people would be home for it but an 8pm showing coincides with the dining out hours.

How did Supernatural do? As with SV, a great episode - I hope their ratings didn't dip too low.

Supernatural actually went up quite a bit from the previous week.

SPN's a lucky show in that it doesn't seem to rely on SV's performance as to how well it does; and it seems its fanbase is so loyal they can always bank on the same people tuning in every week. Even if it's a minimum of 2.5 million viewers, that's still good for the network. Not to mention, even with effects, I'd imagine SPN is cheaper to produce with only two leads.

No. Freak aired closest to Valentine's day on Feb. 15th. But, getting a dinner reservation on Feb. 15th is nothing like trying to get one for Feb. 14th. Some restaurants will laugh at your foolishness if you call less than a month in advance.



I think that is hurting SV somewhat. There isn't as much to keep it on viewers minds bc of lack of advertising by the network, lack of coverage by the media and lack of a lead in to help remind people to tune in. But, Siren did alright. I would say they're only down about 200,000 viewers in A18-49 from where I think they should be given the age of the series.

But, things haven't been fun and light on SV lately, so people may be putting it on their "watch later" list intentionally.

Yes the lumpy bumpy schedualing is NOT helping, as well as the lack of consistant show advertising. Out of Sight, Out of Mind! Only Diehards know when to tune in, and sometimes even we forget! I don't see SMALLVILLE's Fracture as having had a drop, I see Siren as having had a surge. I blame (or thank) the Comic Book Geeks who wanted to see Black Canary for the first time, or Green Arrow again.

Good point, very good point. I hope that the CW takes time to advertise Person, Siren, and Fracture for when they show up as reruns. If the audience that missed them the first time around is watching and then we add the devoted who will almost always find the show when the next set of episodes start, then perhaps the numbers will go up.

IA. I know some people who watched this one even though they had no idea what was going on, because they liked BC from the comics.

Yeap, It picked up again with Freak then Promise came and the rest is history.

Justice: 5.25 million viewers
Labyrinth: 4.98 million viewers
Crimson: 4.94 million viewers
Trespass: 4.7 million viewers.
Freak.: 4.8 million viewers (one day after V-Day)

But this time GA and BC couldn't hold the viewers as Justice did and IMO Siren was almost as good as Justice, yet not as promoted

Yet the network still doesn't want a spin-off... I really don't get it.

They must just be stupid if they don't see that BC/GA would make like the best TV show ever. Silly network.

Well I think as cool as GA and BC may be for some people yet they are not Superman.Who knows maybe SV is only still on air because DC is behind it?I know this argument doesnt make sense considering how good SV is in the ratings compared to other shows on the network but the lack of interest (promoting etc.) gives me this impression sometimes.

I read that even though Supernatural is getting 3 or 4 additional episodes, it won't be returning to it's normal time slot after Smallville and that Reaper will still be shown. Are they adding more Reaper episodes?

The CW's top show, America's Next Top Model, couldn't even break 4 million last night.

Pussycat Dolls 2 has been DOA.

I'm pretty sure that means Smallville S8 is a go, despite the ratings drop, unless the ratings drop even further when new episodes return.

Is it possible people are losing interest in TV?

So next Thursday they're reairing Blue. Are they're pushing back Hero, Traveler and Veritas to air with the post-strike episodes? If so, does this mean they're going to show Gemini, Persona, Siren, and Fracture again before we see new episodes? Just wondering if anyone knows. I don't think this question has been answered yet, but sorry if it has...

brianne, Hero is currently scheduled to air on March 13, with the Traveller and Veritas to follow. The new eps that they are supposed to be making are scheduled to start airing on April 17. So, we've got a 3 week break here, and then there should be another 2 week break between Veritas and 7x16.

Personally, I think the CW is going to have to do a little promo work to keep this jumbled schedule from adversely effecting ratings. Unfortunately, I don't think that will happen.

It was up against AI though.

As for a spin-off of Smallville, I don't think it would do any better than Reaper or Supernatural. Yes, adding the GA and BC to episodes of Smallville makes the ratings go up, but I wouldn't watch the Green Arrow without the characters of SV constantly being on the show.

But, wouldn't you rather see Justin Hartley in Green Arrow than in Random Forgettable Show?

I LIKE Reaper and Supernatural so that's good company.

Well, I don't watch either Reaper or Supernatural. I wouldn't care what show they put on, I still wouldn't watch it. Even if it was a spin off for Kara.

Hartley has a holding contract with the CW. So, I'm sure he will be on some show for them.

I still think that it's a huge mistake to air "Hero" in the middle of March. Smallville returning right smack in the middle of the NCAA tournament is an incredibly stupid move, IMO. I would just link those episodes up to the five new ones in April so that they show 8 in a row. You can promote the hell out of it in March and make a big deal about being the only show with that many new episodes to air at that point, IMO.

I really hope they don't push it back any further, for purely selfish reasons, as I won't be around to watch them until the end of June if they do.

IA. If it couldn't have aired tonight, I'd rather wait and have another long series of episodes to look forward to.

Yes!

According to TV guide, the March 6th episode is Persona. They're skipping Gemini? Hmmmm...

Wow, SV got an awesome bounce in the ratings when they factored in the DVR totals. I'm just not entirely able to tell from this what particular episode they are referring to. Its a bit confusing. But it seems to be Persona. I'd be interested to see what kind of bounces Siren and Fracture got.

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/02/24/top-t...n-28-feb-3/2722

26%, higher than any other show. I hope that translates into goodwill from the CW head honchos.

I know the timeshifting/web viewing is something that is being heavily taken into account with Gossip Girl's ratings. So I imagine the CW execs are fairly savy about Smallville's increased numbers as well.

Really, season eight seems kind of a lock at this point regardless.

As long as they don't start getting ideas about a ninth season. Shudder

That would be truly terrifying.

It was Persona.
DVR numbers for Siren look good too, imo: TV Ratings Top Timeshifted Broadcast shows February 4 - 10

Top 20 Largest Time-shifted Audience Broadcast TV Shows:
19 SMALLVILLE CW Persons Live+7(000): 4,528 Persons Live (000): 3,590 Timeshifed Audience (000s): 938 % Increase Over Live: 26.1%

Smallville had its audience increase by 26.1% over its Live airing placing it second for the week. Lost, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles and Las Vegas round out the largest % increase Top 5. Fox and CW tied for the most time-shifted shows on a % basis with 6 of the 20.

Top 20 Most % Time-shifted Broadcast TV Shows:
2 SMALLVILLE CW Persons Live+7 (000): 4,528 Persons Live (000): 3,590 Timeshifed Audience (000s): 938 % Increase Over Live: 26.1%

The CW has lost Smackdown to MyNetworkTV... how embarrassing:

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20080226wwe01

And how does this affect Smallville? Mostly just that if MNTV keeps growing and the CW keeps eroding, there won't be a network to schedule the show onto. But SV has only one year left anyway, so it should be fine, but still: OUCH.

MNTV sucks, but so does the CW. Dawn should have been fired a long time ago. Her girlpower idea has backfired big time. The CW is losing money because of it. At least MNTV has variety to their programming, at least its trying to reach a broad range of demographics.

Reading that article it saids that MNTV is available to 97% of the nation. Wow, that blows the CW away. If the money is compariable, of course Smackdown was going to choose it over the CW. You can't compete when another network offers more exposure.

Okay, the new numbers are confusing me. The TV By the Numbers page lists "Persona" as having a live audience of just 3.429 million. Weren't the numbers right around 3.8 million? Same goes for "Siren," which they have at 3.59 viewers (live), but I remember as being close to 4 million. I'm seeing differences in their numbers for other episodes I've looked at, too. Am I using the wrong numbers (I used to have a good handle on all the different numbers, but I've gotten a little rusty) or what?

Naxus, Live numbers are different than Live + Same Day - which are the daily numbers we see for ratings every day. Live + Same Day includes all live viewings + anyone who watches on DVR by 3 a.m. the same night. Live is just people who watch live, hence the discrepancy. :)

Heh, I was actually just about to edit my post to ask if that was, indeed, what the difference was. Thanks for the confirmation.

Not so much embarrassing as a possibly iffy decision. It wasn't like the WWE folks decided they didn't want to be on the CW anymore. The CW folks decided not to fight to keep the show. (By offering more money.)

Now, at the moment, Smackdown is the highest rated show on the network. So I'm surprised the CW didn't try harder to keep it. My only conclusion is that they were okay with not having it on their schedule anymore. Maybe it didn't gel with their "vision" of the CW.

And, while MNTV might reach 97% of the nation, most people still don't know it even exists, which shows in their ratings. On a very good day, one of their shows might get 1 to 2 million viewers, and will be considered a major success for the network.

But Smackdown should give them more exposure, so they were smart to pick it up.

In any event, the CW is going to have to find something else to put on Friday. But I doubt they will move Smallville.

Interesting info about Univision beating both CW and CBS in the Feb sweeps period.

Here is a snippit from Hispanic PR Wire
.

You can read the rest [url=http://www.hispanicprwire.com/news.php?l=in&id=10794&cha=7]here.