#timeless fandom

What would Lorena think of this?

That question haunted him ever since the seeds of his plan sprouted in his brain. It was almost time now, and the proof stood before in him in the form of racks of historically accurate clothes. He couldn’t help but notice a disproportionate amount of black coats. 

Acquiring them wasn’t easy. The challenge didn’t simply lay in details or Flynn’s above-average height. He’d always been picky, even as a little kid. No mom, he couldn’t wear the maroon shoes with the cherry red shirt! They were completely different types of red! Back then, his mother might have expected him to get into fashion or some other creative field. His life certainly took an unexpected turn.

This part was almost fun. It was at least the closest thing he felt to fun in a long time. He scoured thrift shops, high-end costume retailers, and even commissioned a few off of Etsy. His associates must have thought he was being a little ridiculous, what with him rejecting certain pieces for the simple fact he didn’t like how they looked. He couldn’t help himself. He had standards.

It wouldn’t be the first time his standards slowed him down. He remembered getting ready for his first date with Lorena. He was so nervous in the days leading up to it. He mentally fretted over what to wear, cycled through several outfits before setting on a black button-down with the sleeves rolled up just-so. He arrived at the restaurant 15 minutes late to see Lorena sitting at an outdoor table in denim shorts and summery top. Somehow, he’d forgotten to account for the fact that it was July. He spent dinner trying desperately to hide how much he was sweating. Lorena never let him live it down.

Every time they went out, he was always the last one ready. She liked to tease him about how long he took to style his hair or press his shirts just right.  Are you sure you ironed it enough? I don’t know if you can cut through steel with the crease just yet. The mischievous twinkle in her eye made him smile every time.

Then their daughter came along, and he was possibly more excited about buying baby clothes than anyone else, not even the grandmothers. The actual reality of having a slobbering, messy baby usually resulted in her meticulously picked outfits getting soiled, but he always knew how to get the stains out. Then, one day when she was older, they caught her in their room, surrounded by ties she’d pulled off his rack. He was about to scold her, but then she said “Daddy, these are so pretty,” and he couldn’t help but flash his wife a smug, satisfied grin. From that day on, he let her choose his tie every day. Lorena joked it actually made the process quicker.

Iris would like this, he thought, fingering an 18th century cravat. She was well on her way to becoming a little fashionista in her own right before…

He clenched his fists, wrinkling the fabric. He’d iron it out later. There was more important work to do. He took a step back and scanned each outfit, mentally calculating when and where each would be used. They were tools. Each had their part to play. Each represented another step in taking down Rittenhouse.

His eye caught a gilded button on a coat. He remembered particularly liking that one when he found it. Here he was, on the verge of bringing down a historical conspiracy, and still concerning himself with fashion. Lorena would think this was hilarious.

A chuckle traveled up his throat and escaped from his mouth. His own laugh reminded him of hers. She would be laughing at him right now. Really, Love? Really? Guess you can’t go on a time heist without a 100% silk pocket square. Make sure it’s maroon and not burgundy. What will Queen Victoria say? Given how you’re dressing, I assume she invited you to tea.

She’d joke around while he was getting dressed and he’d complain that he couldn’t fold the pocket square right if he was laughing. But she couldn’t laugh with him anymore. His own voice was the only one echoing around the warehouse.

He felt a sting behind his eyes and sunk to his knees. The laughter died on his lips and another sound took its place. Even if he won, even if he brought them back, he’d never laugh with her again. He wouldn’t deserve it. It’d be worth it, though. It’d be worth everything he’d done and everything he was about to do.

Networks enjoy looking like the fairy godmother when they choose to renew bubble shows or pick up cancelled ones and always credit the fans for saving it. It sounds better than “We can still make money off this show.” And sure, fans do have impact. Social media does have impact. Buzz matters. To deny that is silly and ignores the evolving way a show’s success is measured. That said, I firmly believe fan support is seldom, if ever, the deciding factor. Networks do not renew unprofitable shows because fans like it or are vocal online. There is no difference between Timeless fans, Brooklyn 99 fans or Lucifer fans. In my opinion, Timeless had the most vocal and longest running campaign. And yet here we are. But don’t feel bad Clockblockers. This wasn’t in our control. It’s not our fault.

Am I mad? Eh. Not really. It’s more sad for me at this point. I was so fed up with the never ending vortex of NBC’s indecision that I’m almost relieved we are out of it.  Why do I think it took so long? I do think NBC and Sony were trying to make a deal. I don’t think they were at the table every day, but I want to believe the back and forth was ongoing until the decision was made. I also think Sony and creators were trying to make deals with other networks or streaming companies. I also think NBC was trying to wait out fans and let the roar of support die down online. #dicks

One of my frustrations with the Timeless renewal last year was I felt the announcement and subsequent story surrounding the renewal was a lot of PR fluff. It was a great story saying fans saved the show in three days, but what didn’t get reported on very much at the time is that after NBC canceled Timeless, Sony came back to the table with a very big check. Sony owned Timeless and NBC paid a licensing fee to air it. In order to secure a second season, Sony gave NBC 50% ownership of Timeless. Then, they cut production costs by A LOT and the show benefited from a land tax credit. That’s how the show was made profitable again. That’s how NBC and Sony made the deal last year.  

I feel like I read somewhere that NBC’s 50% of the profits was advertising, while Sony’s piece of the pie was streaming rights and international sales. Don’t quote me on that though. I’ve been researching and reading on Timeless for a loooong time, primarily because this stuff interests me, but articles are starting to muddle together. However, if that is accurate, that could explain why NBC was so focused on live ratings. 

Yes, I know the Nielson system is archaic, but it’s the system we got. The Big Four are becoming less dependent on advertising for profits because people are not watching as much live TV anymore. Everyone has had to branch out and find other ways to make money (Hello streaming). However, live ratings still determine ad buy rates and advertising is still the primary source of income for network television. (I do not include the CW in this. They have a different business model.) When a show drops 40% in live ratings it means the network cannot charge Tide as much to air a commercial. This makes the show less profitable and renewal less likely. It is always about the money. Again, I’m sure many of you are saying “duh” but I appreciate you allowing me to purge.

Not that NBC did much to help Timeless succeed their second season. They put a family friendly show on at 9c/10 pm on Sunday night. There was a long break in between Season 1 and Season 2. NBC did very little to promote Timeless’ return and that continued while the show aired. So, it’s not all that shocking ratings dropped another 40%. I wouldn’t be surprised if 40% of the audience didn’t even know the damn show was on again. I don’t know why networks set up their own shows to fail, but they do. And by networks I mean NBC and Fox. 

Networks are also moving away from airing shows owned by other networks. The predominant trend is to air shows produced in house. NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox all have their own production studios. Sony has their own production studio but they don’t have a network to air their shows. So, Sony is struggling to sell shows right now. A lot of their pilots were not picked up for the 2018-2019 season. There’s a lot of factors I’m sure, but I think licensing fees are at play.  People aren’t watching live TV as much anymore and therefore networks are not able to charge advertisers as much. If the profitability potential is less from the outset then networks want a bigger piece of the pie. So, instead of paying extremely expensive licensing fees they are simply airing shows they own. This is just my theory. My point is simply Timeless had an uphill battle that wasn’t necessarily all about ratings.

I’ve been seeing a lot of comparisons between the shows that were renewed or “saved” versus the ones that were cancelled. I think this is always a slippery slope because these are not apples to apples comparisons. The one I am hearing a lot about is Brooklyn 99, so I’ll just quick toss out my thoughts on that. Brooklyn 99 aired on Fox, but NBC owned the show. NBC sold Brooklyn 99 to Fox before Andy Samberg (their big SNL star) joined the pilot. Greenblatt said he regretted letting the show get away. So, the way I look at it Brooklyn 99 was never canceled. NBC was going to pick it up. They were just waiting to pounce. 

Do I think Timeless will get picked up by another network or streaming company like Netflix or Hulu? I was very hopeful of that while we waited to hear on NBC’s decision. To be honest, I’ve always thought Timeless would be a better fit on Amazon or maybe even the History Channel. It works great as short episode series similar to The High Castle (which airs on Amazon). Hulu also owned the streaming rights to Timeless, so I thought it’d be an easy pick up for them too. 

Yeah. I was wrong. I have very little hope of that now. The biggest shock to me wasn’t Timeless’ cancellation. I was anticipating that. The biggest shock was the talk of the two hour movie by Kripke and cast. It seems the two hour movie is Timeless’ best bet, which means the creators and Sony have already reached out to other networks and streaming sites like Amazon, Hulu and Netflix and were turned down. Even the movie sounds like a long shot. 

Sony and the creators are encouraging fans to campaign again only to direct their efforts at Hulu and Netflix now. 

Yeah, this annoyed me. It’s not like the Clockblockers’ efforts were secret while they campaigned loudly at NBC to pick up the show. Hulu and Netflix can see the online chatter just like everyone else. If the fan enthusiasm wasn’t “enough” to convince them Timeless is worth picking up, I don’t understand how tweets directed at Hulu and Netflix are suddenly going to change their mind. This is the disingenuous part of the “fans can save the show” for me. Whatever numbers Hulu and Netflix had is what made them pass on show. It sucks but it is what it is.

Before anyone starts yelling “Yeah but what about Lucifer?” at me - I don’t know what numbers these streaming companies look at. However, Netflix already has a deal with the WB which owns Lucifer. My bigger point is, Kripke wouldn’t be talking a two hour movie if the streaming company options hadn’t already been exhausted. 

Would I love to be wrong? YES. Maybe they are trying to keep the buzz going to get the two hour movie made, but again I don’t think “buzz” will be the deciding factor with that either. Maybe the streaming websites left the door open and the creators & Sony are trying to capitalize on it. I don’t know. But at this point I am tired of seeing these people get the fans’ hopes up by selling this illusion of control. There’s very little in fans’ control. Yes, I acknowledge again this sounds cynical but I’ve danced this dance too many times. I’m old, tired and cynical about this process. I’m okay with it. If you are not - FANTASTIC. Do your thing.  This isn’t a post telling fans to stop campaigning. This is just me... venting.

This has absolutely NOTHING to do with the quality of Timeless. It was a great show. It checked off so many boxes. Funny, socially aware and relevant, amazing cast chemistry, wonderful ships (no matter which one you loved), historically accurate and informative (you LEARNED watching this show), emotional and so much more. I wanted more seasons.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that we get a movie because I HATE when shows end on a cliffhanger. There should be a law against writing cliffhangers for shows on the bubble. The writers always think the cliffhanger will stop the executives at the network from canceling the show and it never does.

Alright enough ranting. Whatever the business reasons or factors that went into this decision in the end it doesn’t really matter. It still sucks. But I guess the way I’m looking at all of this is Season 2 was a bonus for me and I’m thrilled we got it. Timeless was an amazing show that I will miss and it will join the long list of shows I have loved and were canceled long before they should have been. Mostly I’m just thankful to the cast and crew for the many hours of entertainment.