Memo: To Network Executives Everywhere

Please Note: Veronica Mars is not the next Buffy the Vampire Slayer

There is no next Buffy. Stop trying to make the next Buffy...or the next...ANYTHING!

There is no next X-Files.

No next Survivor.

No next C.S.I. (and that includes the NY and MIA versions...because let's just face it...Miami and NYC are little better than Mary Sue knock-offs. Sure they have fans...but then...so does really bad fanfic. MIA and NYC are there to serve the voracious appetite of a fanbase that isn't being satisfied by the endless repeats of the original product...a product that is on the cusp and needs to move FORWARD* not just sit and spin).

Cutting edge, mold-breaking shows are just that...MOLD-BREAKING. They can't be reduced to a formula.

1 Blonde Teen + 2 Goofy Friends + Crippling Responsiblity - Objectivity + Melodramatic Self Indulgent Angst = BUFFY

Smattering of techinical jargon + dash of medical gore + seedy city - personal interaction + hints of kinky behavior = C.S.I.

12 people + bickering - loyalty + money - dignity + stupid stunts = SURVIVOR

2 oddly attractive people - good lighting + slime = X-FILES

If you want a hit show formula...follow this one:

A few good writers + A few good actors + An Original Concept - Lack of Balls + Forward Momentum - Stagnation of Plot and Characters = HIT SHOW

Hey, it worked for Law & Order!

Rae
*And here I mean FOWARD with the Sara/Grissom love...enough of the angst-driven split already...happy CSI's...happy CSI's...the cry goes 'round the fanbase!