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I found an interesting article on page 8 of Billboard for December 30, 1957, a couple of months after Sputnik went up.
Says Scherin [sic]:
NEW YORK — Anyone who hops on the space show bandwagon does so at considerable risk, according to Schwerin Research Corporation. Science fiction appeals mostly to men; the hard core of enthusiasts is exceptionally small (about a fifth of the total audience) and these fans are unusually choosy.
The success of proposed space series depends almost entirely on their appeal to this limited, difficult group, Schwerin finds, and cannot be predicated on track records of early TV shows like "Captain Video" and "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet," which were strictly juvenile appeal. Schwerin also cautions against trick endings, overuse of scientific terms, unconscious changes of mood in scripting and underestimating viewers' knowledge of impending space progress.
A lot of TV producers have forged ahead, heedless of this advice, during the past fifty-three years. Seems to me a lot of them have run afoul of Schwerin's pitfalls. Darn those unusually-choosy viewers!
Says Scherin [sic]:
Science Fic Show Buys Carry Risk
NEW YORK — Anyone who hops on the space show bandwagon does so at considerable risk, according to Schwerin Research Corporation. Science fiction appeals mostly to men; the hard core of enthusiasts is exceptionally small (about a fifth of the total audience) and these fans are unusually choosy.
The success of proposed space series depends almost entirely on their appeal to this limited, difficult group, Schwerin finds, and cannot be predicated on track records of early TV shows like "Captain Video" and "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet," which were strictly juvenile appeal. Schwerin also cautions against trick endings, overuse of scientific terms, unconscious changes of mood in scripting and underestimating viewers' knowledge of impending space progress.
A lot of TV producers have forged ahead, heedless of this advice, during the past fifty-three years. Seems to me a lot of them have run afoul of Schwerin's pitfalls. Darn those unusually-choosy viewers!
