The ratings for the show have been steadily falling. The network is apparently losing faith in the show and is hurrying things along.
What happened? How could a show that started off with such a good idea and high ratings start to fail the way that Fame is? What suggestions would you give to the producers to improve the show?
My first suggestion would be to cut back on Debbie Allen's camera time. I understand that Debbie is a big part of Fame, but the show is not supposed to be about her, it's supposed to be about the contestants. Debbie should come out and take a bow and receive acknowledgement after the weekly group production number, and her dance academy should receive its weekly plug with the rest of the prizes, and that should be enough.
She should not be onstage as a co-host, nor is she needed to shout over the judges giving their opinions nor is she needed to hug the contestants after every performance. All of this camera time for Debbie is a tremendous waste of time that could be better utilized by the show.
I think they should allow the viewers to know what percentages of votes each contestant received. They could at least put a popularity rating on the Web site if nothing more.
It's hard to take the show seriously when there are dialing problems and hosts and judges stealing the spotlight from the contestants.
Aside from the very limited Web site, we know nothing about the contestants.
I think it's also confusing to viewers as to what the purpose of Fame is. Were they to find unknowns and give someone a chance, or were there no rules and anyone could enter and win? They didn't make it clear and we assumed this show was like AI, and was looking for unknown talent to groom and give them a break.
Yes, Kuka, I agree. There is too much confusion about the show. People are unclear of how the voting is working. At first the lines were open for 2 hours, then that was dropped to 1 hour. Then the voting would close according to geographic area. The voting procedure just didn't make sense.
I also agree that viewers thought Fame was looking for unknown talent to give them their big break. Several of the contestants on Fame are actually semi-professionals who are already in show business.
Another factor that I have seen people on other sites say is that the show isn't catching on because the level of talent of the contestants is not exciting enough to capture the imaginations of the public.
1. The show should be revamped, and the the talent scouts should use a different criteria to select the contestants. No cute but untalented guys, such as Justin, should be advanced.
2. Debbie Allen's camera time should be greatly reduced.
3. They should stop wasting so much time on the long dramatic pauses before announcing who is leaving and who made it. If you combine the amount of time that is given to Debbie, along with the time that is given to the long pauses, you would probably come up with an additional 10 minutes of air time.
4. Age limits should be set. Age requirements of 18-25 would eliminate having too many 16-year-olds in the competition, as well as address the issue of having too many seasoned semi-pros and pros who already have careers in the competition.
Famester: Thanks for answering my question posted awhile back. I was unclear as to what the criteria was for the selection process and you brought up some excellent points. I agree, guidelines are clearly sloppy and should be more definitive. I think too that perhaps the selection of judges may be a problem as well. That was my issue with AI. I, personally, would like to see more experienced, knowledgeable and qualified judges on these panels who can offer more constructive and useful critiquing. Some of the numbers seemed "flat" to me - in fact, so was almost all of the singing last week - some more than others. Yet, their evaluations were glossed over with undeserving praises and tired, worn-out, reprocessed euphemisms. (Personally, I'd love to see a panel of commentators in the background making remarks about the judging). (I'm only 14 what did you expect?) Anyway, if this is supposed to be a show about demonstrating exceptional talent that is equally balanced in all areas - then perhaps some of the talent represented falls short? I don't know - is it? There seemed to be more energy and excitement in the performers in the beginning - they've been looking mighty tired lately and the performances more and more predictable. In AI, one of the more exciting aspects of the show was the visible and significant improvement in some of the performers. We saw this great metamorphisis happening before our eyes - which added an element of excitement to the show. I'm not a great fan of Simon's but I will say he no doubt was a great contributor to the popularity of the show, I'll give him that he truly was the man we loved to hate.
Duran: you're right about the judges. I also would like to a team of judges who will offer constructive comments that will actually help the contestants.
The contestants are not being helped at all by being told week after week that they're "amazing" or "you made me cry" or "what planet are you from?" or "you disappointed me this week."
One of the judges, Johnny, does offer constructive criticism sometimes, such as questioning Harlemm about choosing too many songs by female singers earlier in the competition. Harlemm listened to this criticism and learned from it. He then started to include songs by male singers in his performances. Johnny also critiqued Shannon for dancing and singing up a storm at the beginning of a song and then running out of breath towards the end.
You're right that most of the performers are not showing much improvement, in fact several of them seem to be running out of gas. I agree that better judging and critiques would help these performers. Someone like Serena who is told week after week how great she is not receiving any constructive advice. Serena has a wonderful voice, but there is a lot of room for improvement in her singing technique and stage presence. She should be getting tips on how to improve from the judges, instead of being told that she's a great star already.
I think that Debbie's interruptions of the judges while they were giving advice to the contestants should not have been allowed. There is no need to have Debbie stand there hugging the contestants and dancing after every performance. Its not that I dislike Debbie, but her overwhelming presence is having a negative impact on the show. Viewers are seeing too much of her. Debbie is not supposed to be the star of the show.
Joey Fatone is not very exciting as the host. He basically just reads the teleprompter. It makes me wonder how Joey got the gig as host. It seems that he and Johnny came to the show as a package deal or something.
A team of real talent scouts should be brought in on the next selection of contestants. Thanks for responding, Duran
Originally posted by Duran There seemed to be more energy and excitement in the performers in the beginning - they've been looking mighty tired lately and the performances more and more predictable.
Duran, I'm not sure if you read some of the other posts about ratings for the show. Someone calculated there should be four shows left, not two.
It's possible the contestants have been told about the ratings and morale may have dropped. I sure would like to know for sure what's going on with the ratings, and with the voting. Something seems wrong.
