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Clearly the time has come for change, and many of the show's fans justifiably fear that said change may come in the form of cancellation. This petition is a plea to FOX to give the show one more chance in another time slot. We propose a radical experiment in television scheduling: Friday night.
Based on the conventional wisdom that young people are more likely to go out on Friday than stay in and watch television, Friday night is for the most part conceded by the networks. Other than a few mystery dramas aimed at older (and, in the eyes of advertisers, less lucrative) viewers, Friday's prime time schedule is mostly populated by inexpensive filler programming: game shows, old movies, pro wrestling, etc. The competition for The OC's primary audience is scarce. Were it to air on Fridays at 9/8C, the show would have no rival for teens and twentysomethings other than wrestling, and none at all for females (who surely make up the majority of core The OC viewers).
Since its launch in 1986, the FOX network has been known for its innovative approach to all facets of television. The network pioneered the reality show with Cops, and found unexpected success by reviving the long-dormant genre of the animated sitcom. Its sports division has been a leader in revolutionizing the way football telecasts are presented. And the network managed to develop its first consistent hit on a night the other networks had come to ignore: The X-Files, FOX's first show to crack the Neilsens' year-end top 25, aired on Friday nights, where the show grew from a modest cult favorite into a must-see social event for hip college students around the country.
The opportunity now exists for FOX to once again rule Fridays. But does it even matter anymore? With the advent of TiVo and other digital recording devices, as well as the availability of many shows from all networks as downloadable files for portable video players, the time of initial broadcast is becoming less and less important with each passing TV season. Viewers can now watch their favorite shows whenever they choose. So why not air a show aimed at a young and, by extension, tech-savvy audience on Fridays?
Furthermore, as the social lives of today's teens come to revolve more and more around the Internet, many are spending their Friday nights in virtual chat rooms rather than out with friends. And who's to say other young viewers won't find a way to go out on Friday nights and watch TV, say in the form of weekly The OC viewing parties?
The opportunity is there for the taking; all that's needed is the right show for a trial run. The OC offers a tailor-made combination of non-traditional Friday fare and a small but devoted following. On one hand, The OC has a loyal core audience, most of whom will find a way to follow the show in whatever time slot FOX schedules it. On the other, it isn't drawing much of a wider, casual audience in its current time slot. This means FOX wouldn't risk losing too many viewers by moving it away from Thursdays.
Thus, the experiment starts here:
We, the undersigned, are die-hard The OC fans who don't want to see the show cancelled. We're the ones who watch it every week, populate the message boards and buy the DVD sets. In signing this petition, we pledge that we would continue to watch the show if it were moved to Friday nights.
If the ratings still aren't up to snuff, well, maybe there was no saving it after all. But before the show is simply cancelled, isn't this worth trying? There's plenty to gain and little to lose. Your move, FOX.
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