S11.E08: More Than Meets the Eye

[DanaK]

Quote

Erin tries not to feel overpowered as her new boss shadows her at work just as she's trying to get a nervous eye-witness to reveal the identity of who shot her boyfriend. Also, the serial killer who previously held Danny and Baez hostage resurfaces, and when Jaime arrests an intrusive reporter who appears at a series of store lootings, it leads to a standoff between Frank and the Attorney General over the press' First Amendment rights, on BLUE BLOODS, Friday, March 5 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Fairly interesting stories. Erin needs to keep an eye on her boss; she's a shark; I think they stepped on their reporter story with the AG having an affair with her. Minus that, I think Jamie was right to arrest her when she touched the evidence. Baez got too deep with the serial killer; she's lucky to be alive

[Sake614]

I’m just going to pipe in to say that there are exactly ZERO houses on Gravesend Neck road that look like the ones they showed in this episode. And that Baez was an idiot for going in alone.
 

The  jury is still out on the new DA but I liked the dynamic between the siblings in this episode. No, the cops aren’t always right and yes, Erin does bend the rules for her brothers. But she also stands firm when there isn’t enough evidence. As is her job. So it was nice to see her brothers and father  make amends at the end.

[mtlchick]

28 minutes ago, Sake614 said:

Erin does bend the rules for her brothers. But she also stands firm when there isn’t enough evidence. As is her job. So it was nice to see her brothers and father  make amends at the end.

 

I think this along with Baez going alone, Danny chides her for it for her to reply "well, you always do" was the writers admitting to us "we do that a lot don't we?" 

I feel Erin's new boss is out to undermine her, it's a matter of when. 

[Rambler]

What gang of robbers are going to allow a witness to blatantly them film while they are committing a crime? Not only once, but twice.

Did the "high end" jewelry store in the second heist not have cameras? Just look at the surveillance footage to see the "reporter" filming the whole thing and use that get the warrant to seize the phone.

The vast majority of people will go through their entire lives without witnessing a single robbery, yet the reporter happened to be at two different robberies in a couple of days? I thought they would be going for the angle that she was being tipped off, but nope I guess we are supposed put it down to coincidence. Either that or crime has gotten so bad in New York City under Frank that you could be out for a stroll and come across a heist at any random time of the day.

Why is Danny being reasonable all of sudden? Did I miss an episode where he was ordered to see a police shrink or something? Did a gypsy place a curse on him and Baez where they switched bodies? Let’s see if personality change sticks or if he goes back to being his same obnoxious self again. I suspect the latter.

If a serial killer was discovered where the victims were killed in multiple states, then the FBI would immediately take over the case. I was so hoping that would happen and we would see Danny squirming to keep up his Mr. Nice Guy persona. What a wasted opportunity.

They never gave a motive as to why the boyfriend was shot and the witness was allowed to live. Just drop in a line that the thug was an ex-boyfriend or wanna be boyfriend or something. Jeez the writers on this show…

[Katy M]

59 minutes ago, Rambler said:

Did the "high end" jewelry store in the second heist not have cameras? Just look at the surveillance footage to see the "reporter" filming the whole thing and use that get the warrant to seize the phone.

But then why would they need it?  they'd have the surveillance video.

[preeya]

4 hours ago, Sake614 said:

I’m just going to pipe in to say that there are exactly ZERO houses on Gravesend Neck road that look like the ones they showed in this episode. And that Baez was an idiot for going in alone.

Do they still call it "Neck Road?"

[NJRadioGuy]

I lost IQ points on this one. Every other store on every block has some form of video surveillance they could pull footage from, and if it's midtown, the NYPD's own cameras are everywhere. Especially since last summer's troubles and the fact that the real NYC has major crime problems at the moment, and the justice system is a joke.

As for the girl ID'ing the shooter, what in the name of glub was this even doing at the prosecutor's level an hour or two after she gives her statement? What happened to "In the criminal justice system the police investigate crimes and the district attorney prosecutes the offenders. These are their stories. Dun dunh?" I the normal course of the universe the investigators show up, take statements, and transport witnesses to the stationhouse or HQ to be interviewed. If they get an eyewitness statement and a positive ID from a 6-pack they collect the creep and book his ass, then try to get a confession or some form of statement if possible. It could be weeks (if not months) before the D.A. starts arranging testimony and checking witness statements, etc. Then they do real police work and try to build the case by things like cell phone records (easy to subpoena then once you got an I.D.), cameras, investigating the known associates of the perp(s), etc. If they do their jobs right, by the time it goes to the prosecutor's office they don't even need the witness' statement to get enough for a conviction--and usually a plea.

Oh yeah, the primary investigator(s) is or are required to attend the autopsy in most jurisdictions. And so the M.E. discovered the connection to out of state homicides by someone with the same DNA. Guess what bunky...it's now an FBI case. They probably would have already been involved since it was a spree killer. And all that DNA from all those crimes and bupkis in every federal database?

Nice to see Michael Imperioli again, but boy has he aged since the Sopranos! I just checked and this episode pulled a 0.4 in the target demo, and it seems to have settled to that level this year. I suspect this will be the last season. The writing has gone to shit (even moreso than it has the last couple of years).

[mtlchick]

44 minutes ago, NJRadioGuy said:

 

Nice to see Michael Imperioli again, but boy has he aged since the Sopranos! I just checked and this episode pulled a 0.4 in the target demo, and it seems to have settled to that level this year. I suspect this will be the last season. The writing has gone to shit (even moreso than it has the last couple of years).

Tom Selleck was heavily featured in the ad for the Paramount + rebranding and while the demos have sunk across the board for all shows (the scheduling with less episodes has not helped) it still pulls good numbers in DVR playback to now be considered a top 5 show. If it ends this season, it would be more to either production costs (I know some crew members were released in December) or Tom Selleck wants to call it a day. 

[Sake614]

15 hours ago, preeya said:

Do they still call it "Neck Road?"

Yes. 

[jabRI]

I'm worried that Eddy will start getting the same treatment as Amy Carlson, and only allowed to speak at the dinner table.  was nice to see her on FBI Most Wanted last week 😉

[jabRI]

And I agree with the earlier post, you don't get to the prosecutor's office with your bloody jacket, the police would have already processed it. Stretched the imagination a bit too far.

[Sarah 103]

On 3/6/2021 at 1:13 PM, Rambler said:

Why is Danny being reasonable all of sudden? Did I miss an episode where he was ordered to see a police shrink or something? Did a gypsy place a curse on him and Baez where they switched bodies? Let’s see if personality change sticks or if he goes back to being his same obnoxious self again.

This was one of my biggest problems with the episode. If they want to have Danny evolve or change overtime, they can do that. Map out a storyarc/storyline for the character that unfolds over multiple episodes. This felt like a drastic change all of a sudden for no real reason (other than the plot demanded it).

I do not understand Jamie this season. When/why did he become more conservative? People change, and I'm okay with showing that, but it seems like Jamie's politics suddenly became more conservative for no apparent reason. Show the change overtime, give us small steps. Make it a multi-episode storyline instead of leaving me wondering why he suddenly changed his views. 

Overall, I feel like the quality of the writing on this series has been steadily declining for years. I hope they can improve it soon.  

[NJRadioGuy]

On 3/6/2021 at 8:20 PM, mtlchick said:

Tom Selleck was heavily featured in the ad for the Paramount + rebranding and while the demos have sunk across the board for all shows (the scheduling with less episodes has not helped) it still pulls good numbers in DVR playback to now be considered a top 5 show.

DVR playback doesn't really do much other than provide an interesting statistic. When it comes to making a renewal/cancellation decision the only demo that matters to the network people is 18-49 years old, in either live/same day or what they call "C3"--those who've watched the commercials that aired during the show within three days of it airing live.

As it is this show skews well over 18-49 (I think I saw somewhere it was mid-60s) so what percentage of the targeted demographic actually sits through ads while watching live, or even more incredulously, watches ads on a DVR playback. Advertisers need to know how many people in the targeted demo are seeing their spots before they commit to spending millions of dollars funding that show. It doesn't matter an iota to Proctor and Gamble or General Motors how many people watch the show but skip the ads. Now maybe the showrunner or Selleck himself has an in with the network folks to keep it going another year or two, but absent that, a 0.4 is "CW Network" level ratings. 0.8 to 1.0 seems to be about the threshold these days. Who knows, though. Maybe in a few years a 0.3 will be the new normal. Ten years ago if a show fell under a 5 it was toast. 

[Katy M]

15 minutes ago, NJRadioGuy said:

DVR playback doesn't really do much other than provide an interesting statistic. When it comes to making a renewal/cancellation decision the only demo that matters to the network people is 18-49 years old, in either live/same day or what they call "C3"--those who've watched the commercials that aired during the show within three days of it airing live.

As it is this show skews well over 18-49 (I think I saw somewhere it was mid-60s) so what percentage of the targeted demographic actually sits through ads while watching live, or even more incredulously, watches ads on a DVR playback. Advertisers need to know how many people in the targeted demo are seeing their spots before they commit to spending millions of dollars funding that show. It doesn't matter an iota to Proctor and Gamble or General Motors how many people watch the show but skip the ads. Now maybe the showrunner or Selleck himself has an in with the network folks to keep it going another year or two, but absent that, a 0.4 is "CW Network" level ratings. 0.8 to 1.0 seems to be about the threshold these days. Who knows, though. Maybe in a few years a 0.3 will be the new normal. Ten years ago if a show fell under a 5 it was toast. 

but do any current 18-30 year olds sit through commercials and watch anymore?  On anything?  This is why actors' salaries are going down and TV is trying to find cheaper shows such as reality shows to produce.  Advertisers are willing to spend less and less on commercials they know that nobody is watching.

And not that any advertiser would know this, but I have always read through commercials.  Only exception is if I'm eating lunch or something.

[NJRadioGuy]

On 3/8/2021 at 11:03 AM, Katy M said:

but do any current 18-30 year olds sit through commercials and watch anymore?  On anything?  This is why actors' salaries are going down and TV is trying to find cheaper shows such as reality shows to produce.  Advertisers are willing to spend less and less on commercials they know that nobody is watching.

And this is why renewal/cancellation decisions are made with far lower numbers than would have ever happened just a few years ago. It's also why expensive cast members get "killed off" in drama series and replaced by no-name newbies, seasons get shortened to 13 or 18 episodes instead of the usual 22-ish, pandemic notwithstanding, episodes run times approach 39 or 40 minutes, production values aren't as high and so on.

L/SD and C3 are the only metrics that ad buyers care about, and only in monitored households. Meaning that if you don't have a Neilsen device in your home, what you watch doesn't make the slightest bit of difference. Audience buzz in new shows can help, but what buzz is there about this? Especially given that many in the audience are seniors who don't post.

Take a quick look at the 2011-2012 numbers here: https://deadline.com/2012/05/full-2011-2012-tv-season-series-rankings-277941/ and you'll see average ratings for primetime scripted dramas and comedies that got renewed were in the 2-ish to 3-ish range. Blue Bloods pulled a 2.01 for the year in 18-49 with a 6 share (6% of all TVs being monitored at the time of broadcast were watching Blue Bloods). This episode here pulled a 0.4, and it seems that about 0.6 to 0.7 is the renew/cancel threshold.

But my guess is that the network sees this as a prestige title that they want on the schedule if they can still get the budget to work. After this season's run of 16 shows there will be 233 episodes available for syndication (66 is usually the minimum). The show is old, but it's probably not horribly expensive to produce beyond cast salaries if they keep the car chases and explosions down, and do more interior shooting to keep location costs down. If this were any other show it would probably have been cancelled a year or two ago so there's something keeping it going.

[Sarah 103]

4 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

If this were any other show it would probably have been cancelled a year or two ago so there's something keeping it going.

The explanation that I heard somewhere is that advertisers know it reaches an older audience outside the typical target demographic, but that enough companies were okay with that. They had no problem spending their ad dollars on a show that was reaching older Americans.  

[mtlchick]

2 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

The explanation that I heard somewhere is that advertisers know it reaches an older audience outside the typical target demographic, but that enough companies were okay with that. They had no problem spending their ad dollars on a show that was reaching older Americans.  

It's been the oldest skewing show on broadcast TV for a few years now (along with Dancing With The Stars) and pretty popular among conservatives. It has its niche for advertisers and it seems to work for them. 

[wknt3]

6 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

 If this were any other show it would probably have been cancelled a year or two ago so there's something keeping it going.

 

1 hour ago, Sarah 103 said:

The explanation that I heard somewhere is that advertisers know it reaches an older audience outside the typical target demographic, but that enough companies were okay with that. They had no problem spending their ad dollars on a show that was reaching older Americans.  

There are some rather simple business reasons I can think of that may be more important than ratings. It is widely syndicated and it's quite likely that the new episodes make enough money in syndication that it is worth it even with borderline ratings and ad revenue. Also it may be that they simply haven't found something they think has the potential to replace it. If the pilots suck you stick with your aging declining hit and hope that something better comes along before you have no choice.

[Sarah 103]

1 hour ago, wknt3 said:

There are some rather simple business reasons I can think of that may be more important than ratings. It is widely syndicated and it's quite likely that the new episodes make enough money in syndication that it is worth it even with borderline ratings and ad revenue. Also it may be that they simply haven't found something they think has the potential to replace it. If the pilots suck you stick with your aging declining hit and hope that something better comes along before you have no choice.

You made a good point that I had not thought of. Pilots are expensive, and it may not be worth the time and expense if they're not sure it will do better in the ratings than Blue Bloods. Also, Friday night is a hard night to program, so the network may think the ratings are good enough for the time slot, and they're not sure if they can do better. The show's been on the bubble/on the verge of being cancelled for a few seasons, but CBS decides to renew it each time. 

[mtlchick]

Some sites are feeling the on and off schedule it has this season with the limited amount of episodes this season (16) are affecting the ratings, and now it got another hit:

the episode that was due to air Friday is being pushed back as CBS reairs the Meghan/Harry/Oprah for the few people who still need to see it. 
 

https://deadline.com/2021/03/meghan-markle-prince-harry-oprah-interview-re-air-friday-cbs-reschedules-macgyver-magnum-p-i-blue-bloods-originals-1234710935/
 

it was going to be off on the 19th due to March Madness (which is normal) and it was supposed to be a rerun on the 26th so I’m assuming that will be the next episode.  

[NJRadioGuy]

4 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

Friday night is a hard night to program, so the network may think the ratings are good enough for the time slot

You're right about Fridays, and I'd forgotten about that entirely. I usually end up watching it on Sunday so I never think of it as a Friday show, but that's definitely a reason why a 0.4 could earn a renewal. Grimm had the same luck to keep it going as long as it did, and IIRC, Last Man Standing made it through five years on Friday night with lower than normal numbers when it was still on ABC.

[Brian Cronin]

It already didn't make sense that they brought in this outside person to be the new DA over Erin, but now she's, like, aggressively going at Erin. She's like a prototypical Blue Bloods antagonist, just an irrational hatred of the Reagans. 

[DanaK]

On 3/9/2021 at 10:15 PM, mtlchick said:

Some sites are feeling the on and off schedule it has this season with the limited amount of episodes this season (16) are affecting the ratings, and now it got another hit:

the episode that was due to air Friday is being pushed back as CBS reairs the Meghan/Harry/Oprah for the few people who still need to see it. 
 

https://deadline.com/2021/03/meghan-markle-prince-harry-oprah-interview-re-air-friday-cbs-reschedules-macgyver-magnum-p-i-blue-bloods-originals-1234710935/
 

it was going to be off on the 19th due to March Madness (which is normal) and it was supposed to be a rerun on the 26th so I’m assuming that will be the next episode.  

I hadn’t realized how on-off the scheduling has been this season until a recent TVLine article pointed it out. Either CBS has decided it’s the last season and just hasn’t announced it yet and therefore doesn’t care about the haphazard scheduling or thinks the show can manage because it has a devoted fanbase (usually the highest viewership of the night, but the 18-49 demo has cratered)

[AnnA]

I foolishly expected a new episode last night.  I should have checked the cable guide earlier in the week.

I thought last season was going to be the last but we managed to get a S11.   I haven't seen a renewal announcement yet.  Does anyone know if it's being renewed for a 12th season?  I hope so because based on this shortened season, I don't think there will be enough episodes left to wind down the show satisfactorily.  I feel they have to do something with Danny and a love interest.  I also believe they need to explore the new grandson, Joe and how he fits into the family.  Whatever they chose to do, I just hope they don't bring Nikki back.  I love that she's gone!

[Sarah 103]

On 3/13/2021 at 10:00 PM, AnnA said:

I foolishly expected a new episode last night.  I should have checked the cable guide earlier in the week.

I thought last season was going to be the last but we managed to get a S11.   I haven't seen a renewal announcement yet.  Does anyone know if it's being renewed for a 12th season?  I hope so because based on this shortened season, I don't think there will be enough episodes left to wind down the show satisfactorily.  I feel they have to do something with Danny and a love interest.  I also believe they need to explore the new grandson, Joe and how he fits into the family.  Whatever they chose to do, I just hope they don't bring Nikki back.  I love that she's gone!

This show is usually renewed, but at the last minute. It's usually one of the last shows CBS renews every season. This year may be different. We'll see. I want the show to have a satisfying series finale. 

[zapper]

as for Erin's new boss, I expect that her habit/practice of lying to get results will be her undoing. Something along the lines of a past conviction being examined and overturned because of her tactics in getting a witness to testify or a crook to turn or something. That will snowball into an examination of all the boss's old wins and make her unable to stay in the position.

I almost want to get a poll board started on how long the boss with last and why they will be booted.

[Sarah 103]

10 hours ago, zapper said:

as for Erin's new boss, I expect that her habit/practice of lying to get results will be her undoing. Something along the lines of a past conviction being examined and overturned because of her tactics in getting a witness to testify or a crook to turn or something. That will snowball into an examination of all the boss's old wins and make her unable to stay in the position.

I almost want to get a poll board started on how long the boss with last and why they will be booted.

Can you do polls on these boards? I love your idea for a poll. If it's possible, you should totally do it. I cold totally see the series finale involving Erin becoming District Attorney. 

[mtlchick]

On 3/17/2021 at 2:17 PM, Sarah 103 said:

This show is usually renewed, but at the last minute. It's usually one of the last shows CBS renews every season. This year may be different. We'll see. I want the show to have a satisfying series finale. 

Most of the shows have not been renewed yet.  Only a few have announced they are ending, NCIS New Orleans and Mom. CBS only has 3 dramas in the pilot stage for next season and one was just pushed off cycle so it’s no longer in contention for the fall.  There is talk that NCIS may be ending  if Mark Harmon decides to call it a day so he’s negotiating to come back in a reduced role.

 

Blue Bloods gets lumped into the press release when most of the shows get renewed and I remember that Tom Selleck had to fight just so they can get their standalone press release for season 10 renewal.  It’s still a big player for syndication and it’s produced in house.  I feel the show that they will cut loose is Clarice. 

[AnnA]

On 3/19/2021 at 11:16 PM, mtlchick said:

Most of the shows have not been renewed yet.  Only a few have announced they are ending, NCIS New Orleans and Mom. CBS only has 3 dramas in the pilot stage for next season and one was just pushed off cycle so it’s no longer in contention for the fall.  There is talk that NCIS may be ending  if Mark Harmon decides to call it a day so he’s negotiating to come back in a reduced role.

 

Blue Bloods gets lumped into the press release when most of the shows get renewed and I remember that Tom Selleck had to fight just so they can get their standalone press release for season 10 renewal.  It’s still a big player for syndication and it’s produced in house.  I feel the show that they will cut loose is Clarice. 

 

Tom Selleck wanted a 2 or 3 year contract last season but they only gave him one.  I took that as a bad sign.  As far as CBS is concerned,  I read that there's going to be a new spinoff -  NCIS Hawaii.

 

Edited March 21, 2021 by AnnA

[magicdog]

On 3/20/2021 at 8:48 PM, AnnA said:

I read that there's going to be a new spinoff -  NCIS Hawaii.

Like we really needed another NCIS!

 

[AnnA]

This is the episode that's on tonight, May 21st.  They had 16 episodes this season and started the reruns with Episode 8.

Does anyone know how they choose episodes to run in the off season?  

[Katy M]

9 hours ago, AnnA said:

This is the episode that's on tonight, May 21st.  They had 16 episodes this season and started the reruns with Episode 8.

Does anyone know how they choose episodes to run in the off season?  

Did they rerun the first 7 already during the breaks between new epis?

[mtlchick]

10 hours ago, AnnA said:

This is the episode that's on tonight, May 21st.  They had 16 episodes this season and started the reruns with Episode 8.

Does anyone know how they choose episodes to run in the off season?  

No rhyme or reason, but they will probably air from the last 2-3 seasons over the summer.  A rerun can still pull in 3 million in viewers. 

 

I rely on this page to see what's coming up. https://www.viacomcbspressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/blue-bloods/releases

[AnnA]

5 hours ago, Katy M said:

Did they rerun the first 7 already during the breaks between new epis?

That's very possible but I wasn't paying attention so I don't know.

3 hours ago, mtlchick said:

No rhyme or reason, but they will probably air from the last 2-3 seasons over the summer.  A rerun can still pull in 3 million in viewers. 

 

I rely on this page to see what's coming up. https://www.viacomcbspressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/blue-bloods/releases

Thanks.  I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[AnnA]

While I was watching the new District Attorney and Erin last night, I thought of something regarding the DA's office in Manhattan.  Erin has been unhappy about not being  appointed as the new DA.   What the show failed to recognize is that the Manhattan District Attorney is an elected position - not an appointment.    I would think that after 11 seasons, someone on the Blue Bloods' staff would have figured that out.

Edited May 22, 2021 by AnnA

[Magnumfangirl]

41 minutes ago, AnnA said:

While I was watching the new District Attorney and Erin last night, I thought of something regarding the DA's office in Manhattan.  Erin has been unhappy about not being  appointed as the new DA.   What the show failed to recognize is that the Manhattan District Attorney is an elected position - not an appointment.    I would think that after 11 seasons, someone on the Blue Bloods' staff would have figured that out.

The "new" DA is the "interim" DA until the next election.

[AnnA]

51 minutes ago, Magnumfangirl said:

The "new" DA is the "interim" DA until the next election.

OK Thanks.  I missed that detail.