Sometimes it seems like The-Powers-That-Be are against you, especially if you're a fan of Veronica Mars.Just a few days after learning that the CW had picked up additional episodes of mystery/drama Veronica Mars (even if it had been for a back seven, rather than nine), I learned (via a tipoff from Televisionary reader Travis) that Los Angeles' CW affiliate, KTLA, would be preempting this week's episode of Veronica Mars to instead air the Clippers vs. Lakers game.
No mention of the switcheroo has appeared on-air so far and Los Angeles-based fans who anxiously watched the previews for this week's episode of Veronica Mars are sadly out of luck. KTLA is shunting this week's episode to Saturday night at 9 pm. (The same goes for Gilmore Girls as well, which is being booted this week to Saturday at 8 pm.) Which means we'll have to wait to see how Veronica reacts to her attack by the Hearst College serial rapist and the rather tongue-in-cheek kidnapping of guest star Patty Hearst.
Whah huh? But isn't this November sweeps? Won't something, you know, important happen on these crucial episodes? Aren't the CW watching Veronica's ratings with eagle-eyed precision?
Exactly. KTLA has done this before. They air NBA Basketball between November and April, I believe, and if sweeps episodes of Veronica or Gilmore Girls get in the way, so be it. Far be it for them to actually warn the fans ahead of time that their beloved shows will be seen by the rest of the country days before they reach the airwaves here in Los Angeles. Sadly, Los Angeles fans of Veronica will remember that that series got preempted more than a few times during its run on UPN...
Rumors are circulating that the chances of a fourth season of Veronica Mars are looking extremely hazy, given the fact that the network opted to order less than the traditional back nine episodes for Season Three. It's extremely imperative that the numbers for this season hold.
So, here is your Public Service Announcement from Televisionary: express your displeasure with KTLA and try to find, um, alternative means of watching show... and be ready to fight back with all your wrath when the CW tries to make it seem as though Veronica Mars didn't reach its projected numbers for sweeps. After all, it didn't end up airing in one of the largest markets when it was supposed to.
Which leads me to wonder: what would Veronica do?
Comments
Obviously this is going to cause a huge rift in the ratings, because I'm sure there were many people like my next door neighbors that wouldn't have realized it was on Saturday night had I not figured it out and told them.
If KTLA feels the need to screw us over they could at least have the courtesy to tell us when it will be on. I remember at least once last season the local UPN here in LA preempted VM for a basketball game and aired the episode at 2am the next morning.
I know that I will search to find when it will be airing, but others won't put that much effort into it.
All I know is that if CW even tries to use this as an excuse to not pick up the show next season, I'm crying foul!