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Seven to halt Rafters season once again

Surpr-i-i-i-se. Seven duds viewers again by deciding that next week's Packed to the Rafters will be the "season finale."

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Channel Seven will again hit the pause button on hit series Packed to the Rafters, for the second time this year.

Last night Seven told viewers the finale would air next week.

But it will screen episode 15 of a 22 episode season, having returned the show in late August.

On November 1st the 8:30pm timeslot is still TBA.

This is the second time Seven has halted the show, having been roundly criticised by viewers and the media in mid-March.

Even cast members grumbled about the season being interrupted.

Seven’s lead in the ratings is so strong it may be willing to sustain a drop in figures in the final four weeks of the year in order to adopt a different strategy. But it’s a risky strategy when numbers have already dipped after the exit of Jessica Marais.

The episode is aptly titled “Risky Business.”

44 Responses

  2. I personally don’t see anything wrong with it. It seems that episode 15 ends on a cliffhanger of sorts which is why its better to stop the show now instead of airing the show and then leave the show hanging with 2 or so episodes left. I don’t like the fact Seven have done this to Rafters but i have no doubt that Seven have a plan surely. I am thinking the AGT specials are going to replace it for the remaining period. We will see i guess.

  3. Dear Channel 7, the last time you mucked about with a show and yanked a series off air was City Homicide. I never returned to that show as I felfthe disrespect to the treatment of viewers was unecessary. Rafters has struggled with falling ratings recently and I will not be surprised to see them fall more when it reutrns and any argument of multichannels in this case will be irrelevant.
    Television is a business and keeping viewers happy shpuld be a part of it!
    Shame on you Ch7!

  4. I haven’t watched since Jessica Marais left the show, but from the promos, it looks like they’re running out of steam very quickly and there’s only so much more cute Rafter family stuff that can be inflicted on the viewers before they tune out.
    Rebecca Gibney & Erik Thompson are really the only decent actors in that cast.

  5. Ive been watching the show since season two, the show is not as good as it used to be but apart from that i’m really annoyed that channel 7 have done this again, they did earlier in year and now they did it again , as for for winnners and losers that can bugger off what a waste of a show to be be replacing rafters, i just hope for all of us rafter fans channel 7 don’t do this 2012 but knowing them them they probably will, why lie to fans and say ” we’ll be showing 22 episodes”, then cut it down to 15, as for the show its not as good as used to be, first Mel left then Melissa character, i really hope they spice up season 5 , all of the season’s ive seen this year’s was not the best,

  6. I understand why people are upset, but America does this all the time. Though, they are a little more upfront about it and call it a “mid-season finale”. They rest the show over the new year and then bring it back for the second half…

  7. look people, television is a business, and has to maximise profit and ratings – it isn’t rocket science… and remember it is free to watch – stop moaning 😉

  8. I am not a great rafters fan so this doesn’t bother me. However once again it shows the networks are so out of touch with the reality of the internet, where their so called season finale is soon rumbled as ep 15. Australia is poorly served by fta execs who treat their viewers as dumb mushrooms (kept in the dark and fed on sh*t)

    I am so looking forward to the tba episodes, I wonder what will be in them? Tba is one of my favourite all time shows….sometimes…..

  9. I’ve got a feeling they will show the final 7 eps early next year and then have yet another break for W&L. Now that will really annoy viewers.

  10. There are 7 eps remaining. If they played all 7, the season would finish 06.12 which is outside ratings. Seven have obviously been planning this for quite some time. Why did they start the current season in late august ?

  11. I haven’t watched the show since they halted the first time. Interest was already waning and then they stopped it to show Winners & Losers. Haven’t watched it since.
    The show’s gotten stale, the writing poorer, the characters of Retta & Carbo are irritating, the loss of cast members, the stopping mid-season, it’s no wonder the ratings aren’t as good as it used to be.

  12. @D@GP – yes but for those UK shows that is a season, PTTR has 22 eps and breaking it up like this messes with the flow of the season. How long before the last 6 air? I wouldn’t be surprised if they are not shown until 2012 as Seven are not going to waste the show in the non ratings period.

    Also noted that Seven has started flogging off the first half of the season (aka Glee) on DVD, so once you buy part 2 (god knows when) you pay a lot more for the season.

    Just wondering could Seven be set to move Wild Boys into the time slot to see if a change of night will pickup the ratings? Or could they just be extending X-Factor?

    I really want to hear from the cast to get their side to this. Also could there have been production delays holding things up? Have they shot the rest of the season yet?

  14. What is it about Channel 7 always killing their own high ratings shows? They did it with All Saints and now they are doing it with Packed To The Rafters!! Admittedly PTTR’s appeal has tumbled enormously since the departure of the 2 main cast last seson. I was watching last week….thinking what a plain episode it was, and then I realised that they’ve all been plain episodes since the show returned. I may tune out of this show next year….and Channel 7…. you may find that many viewers will too!!! I think this show will go into one last season before it permanently retires……

  17. Showing a season in tranches, it usually happens to a bad-rating US drama or comedy or when it is fasttracked. Bad programming move by Seven, it should not have rested Packed to the Rafters for the premiere of Winners & Losers.

  21. well either way it’s a good episode to end on what with Tom bailing with Ben’s money- I thought that was intentionally the season end.
    But will people still care after a 3 month break, assuming that’s it til next year, considering how silly the characters of Carbo and Retta have unfortunately become and Coby’s sister and Emma haven’t lived up to Rachel Rafter and Melissa Bannon.

  22. An absolutely stupid decision by Seven. As a massive fan of the show this has really pissed me off. Also the audacity of saying it’s a season final given they advertised episode 6 as a season final earlier in the year aswell. The show is probably going through it’s most vulnerable period and this programming move is going to help one bit.

  24. This is kinda arrogant. The season story arc is 22 eps long and Seven stops playing at ep 15.

    The only reason as you state David is because they are winning the ratings for the year.

    Arrogance – I think it may backfire a bit in their face with public backlash

  25. What’s the big deal?

    English TV shows (Doc Martin, Spooks, William and Mary etc. etc. etc.) only last 6 or 7 episodes per season.

    It keeps the show from getting stale and wearing out its welcome…

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