Start praying for All Saints
Another article appears today casting a cloud over the long term future of All Saints.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
The Australian today notes that production schedules on All Saints have been suspended after next month pending a decision on the future of the show.
It follows speculative media reports that the show could have its order trimmed from 40 weeks a year.
Another recent article noted that there could be challenges in finding studio space when the Seven Network moves from Epping to Technology Park.
The drama was recently rejigged with its Emergency Response unit, ratings continue to hover around one million. Last year it sat comfortably at 9:30pm following the powerhouse of Packed to the Rafters.
But without it, the show is being whipped by the cheaper import of NCIS. Seven’s bean counters will be looking closely at the costs of running four dramas priced at the big end of town.
It seems probable that All Saints would be the first to go if something had to give…
Source: The Australian
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- Tagged with All Saints, NCIS, Packed to the Rafters
24 Responses
someone mentioned a doing a survey created by channel 7 to see where the went wrong. I have some ideas. firstly mitch died and they moved from ward 17! everything went downhill after georgie parker left but the show really did still have significant potential if the production team got it together!
MRU is crap. and the last couple of seasons have been the same, I watched it last year and the episode featured only 2 nurses in the emergency department – all the other main characters were angst ridden, cold clinical doctor characters! hello, what was the whole point of all saints when it was successfull?!?!? let me remind you….
‘meet the staff of All saints western general hospital, The Emergency Department that is Ward 17, as seen through the eyes of the people who carry the most responsibility for it – the men and women of the Nursing Staff’,…. They may not be perfect, but the staff of ward 17 are exactly the kind of people you would want looking after you’ – thats the desciption of the show channel 7 offered back in the early 00’s anyway.
people dont always want more gadgets and gizmos, and action packed rescue scenes, thats not great drama. great drama comes from the relationships between the characters, tight and innovative writing and the chemistry amongst the cast of actors – something All saints has been lacking for a long time! If thats not possible on a 40 week programme anymore then cut it to 20, but the essential problem is that at the end of the day, the staff of the current ‘all saints’ are not people i would want looking after me at all.
my verdict: stick with AS channel seven and stop trying to be so clever – go back to the core of the show, theres not a lot in there that people cant relate to, trip the length of the season to 20 eps and let your writers come up with something realistic but though-provoking rather than trying to clutch onto the diminishing pool of viewers with pathetic over-dramatised, unrealistic stunts.
I will be sorry to see All Saints go. I don’t miss any episodes, If I need to go away I will record the episode or if more than a week I will ask someone to record the episodes. I would like to see the City Homicide show make a come back I think in the show when the cops caught the baddies they should show the gaol they in and the treatment they receive, may be that will make people think twice before they commit an offence. channel Seven keep up the good work.
I recently participated in an online survey asking what I thought of both individuals characters/plotlines and the overall changes to the show. Clearly 7 can’t work out where they have gone wrong! Needless to say, I told them the most recent changes have killed it for me forever. It’s a different show with the same name….
what page was this article on?
I used to love All Saints, and still do love the reruns that are on Seven in the afternoons. But I don’t like the “new” one so sad to say, I won’t be missing it if it goes.
Maybe instead, Seven could use the money to produce a drama that isn’t set in a hospital or a police station or some other crime related setting. Maybe that is why we like NCIS, its a lot more refreshing!
Look iam not a fan at all of this show, infact i hate it…but if 7 drops it all together that will mean about 100 odd jobs may be lost which will suck for an industry where people are losing their jobs because the government wants Freeview, which mean the money making and not money spending networks wont want to spend to much more…especially when the advertising dollars are so scarce…so sorry its time to go All saints as you can’t keep flogging a dead horse, just make sure the production staff, get new jobs fast
All Saints “MRU” is terrible. I watch it out of loyalty to the real All Saints, but groan every time I see that chopper. Whatever heart the show had died with Ricky (and the rest…) last year. There is nothing close to a meaningful relationship left between any of the characters. It’s all sensationalised garbage and I’m not surprised one bit that it’s going down the drain. It does make me sad though. As recently as last year, All Saints was one of my favourite shows. I still love watching the old series on weekday afternoons. I think those episodes would rate better in prime time than the current series.
If the current All Saints does get canned, I hope the old episodes keeps running. The DVDs are too expensive!
No, Not All Saints.
It Was just starting to get really good.
NCIS is a strong performer because it doesnt use the same ideas each week and there is a desire to watch the 25 episodes. Treat ’em keen to keep ’em keen. Channel 7 has flooded us with too much All Saints, it is more like All The Same Saints. The MRU is not adding that much value. Cut the number of epidoses in half, with the MRU used sparingly. The scenes with the MRU are simplistic not realistic. How dumb do they think we are trying to say the MRU is the only emergency team at a crash site. geesh.
i h8 alsaints now! i cant stand the new unit! i cant stand the new nurses esp the emercency unit blonde chick, hell ferral! needs to be trimmed to about 20 weeks a yr
The Georgie Parker years of the show were not spectacular – I certainly found it hard to watch – but the acting and production values these days are first rate.
I agree that cutting the episode count down and working on an overall season arc would really help tighten up the show. The MRU should also be used a lot more sparingly – it can get a bit samey having someone down a cliff or getting cut out of a car every week.
Surely, seeing as Rafters worked as a lead in, they can just run together and have the same ep count.
Oh by the way Seven when are we going to see your 2nd sd channel
Crush kill destroy
its boring boring boring
I think All Saints is great. I love medical drama’s so maybe i am biased a bit but i think it should be cut back to say 22 episodes just like a US season or even 20. I will admit there have been a few dull and boring episodes this season and i guess thats because the season is sooooo long. I dont think Seven will axe it but then again Blue Heelers keeps coming to mind. We all thought it was safe and then bye bye.
Yes, there’s a reason US shows all do 13-22 ep seasons.
40 is just ridic.
Wouldn’t you think that if you are moving to a new studio, you would be doing so in able to have more space, not less. Cut the episode order and keep Aus drama alive
No! Please seven don’t do the same thing to All Saints that you did with Blue Heelers. Please just cut the episode order.!
Oh Dear, yet another Aussie made favourite could be going. All Saints has been really good since they changed the format….sigh
Why do Ch7 need to make 40 episodes a year why not 20 or 30 to keep it fresh ???
All Saints with 40 eps a year is way too much, they should cut half of that and give another local series a shot. Something like a comedy in the vein of Lawrence Leung or Summer Heights High could go well for them. Less factuals please
It’s been a consistant (rather than spectacular) performer this year, but I doubt it’s in axing territory. A production cut could be a good move, if it leads to tighter scripts and stronger production. Might be an idea to drp the MRU as well, it seems to have taken away from what made AS…AS.
Will it rate better this week up against a NCIS re-run?
I am sure it’s bad form to dare to say so, but All Saints is, and always has been, rubbish television. A cardboard-set soapie with cookie-cutter writing and ham-fisted acting.
I won’t shed a tear if it goes.
I would be all for 13 episode miniseries of All Saints. I think 12 yrs of 40 episodes a year is a phenomenal effort for any 1hr drama. 13 Episode miniseries would allow for story archs, tighter story telling etc… its that damn NCIS’s fault lol…
All Saints has had a fantastic season. 12 seasons is a long time to sustain interest in a show. It’s told a lot of fantastic stories, and it should bow out while still going (relatively) strong.
Time for a new Aussie drama.