Watch Under The Dome with the US

Written by Tashi from the blog Tashi's TV on 24 Jun 2014
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Under the Dome has officially beaten The Walking Dead as the show that gets to us soonest. Walking Dead has always held top status as the show we get to see within 24-hours of American viewers but now Under the Dome will get to us sooner.

Season 2 premieres on M-Net next week Tuesday but things start tonight (24 June) with a special called Under the Dome: Inside Chester's Mill. It's a one hour special episode featuring highlights from Season 1, cast interviews and a preview of Season 2.

It starts at 20h30 which means we'll be seeing it 22.5 hours after the US. It aired at 22h00 in America last night (23rd). In contrast, The Walking Dead aired 24 hours after the US.

Imagine how brilliant it would be if we could see all international TV like this ... would be unbelievably cool to be so globally connected, everyone watching together. I'm mad for the idea. Bring it on!

I'm also mad for series star Barbie, played by hott Mike Vogel. Can't wait to perve him again. I especially like his teeth.

Another appealing aspect to the new season is the fact that Stephen King wrote the season premiere. As you probably know, the show's based on his book and he's been involved with the process but he's never written an actual episode. In this interview with the LA Times he says that he was inspired to do it because: "I knew that George R.R. Martin had written a few episodes of 'Game of Thrones,' and I was very jealous."

Here's a trailer for the Chester's Mill special, followed by an extended preview of Season 2:

Actors in this post: Mike Vogel

Shows in this post: Under the Dome

Channels in this post: M-Net

4 Comments

Citanul
24 Jun 2014 09:19

>>Imagine how brilliant it would be if we could see all international TV like this<<

It would be if it weren't for American shows having so many interruptions. I'm not talking about the mid-season break (which I don't like but can live with), but rather breaks of a week here, two weeks there.

It is true that sometimes there are unforeseen circumstances that delay production, but there are also other times where those breaks are scheduled. A case in point would be the latest season of Game of Thrones where it was known before the season started that there would be a two-week gap between two of the episodes (which is why M-Net held the start of the season back a week). I know not everyone agrees with me, but I'd much rather we wait a little bit longer so that we can have an full uninterrupted season rather than stop-start one.

And 22h00 in New York is 04h00 in South Africa. So we're acutally seeing Under the Dome 16.5 hours later.

Tashi
24 Jun 2014 10:37

Oooooh Cit, you're so right, it's even better - I forgot about the time difference!

>>It would be if it weren't for American shows having so many interruptions.<<

True-true, that's the problem. The Americans manage it though so it would surely be a matter of creating a procedure for it as they do? If it became part of the way we watch TV it wouldn't be such a problem anymore, particularly if channels were set up for it and had good methods of communicating what's happening.

charmed_dude
24 Jun 2014 12:19

The facts are there is an incredible pro to such a short delay between and international broadcast and a local broadcast, especially when it comes to "event" television like The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones etc. The demand for these shows leaves us here in South Africa wanting to watch it within hours or days of it's US premiere; thus Games of Thrones being the most pirated show (source: MyBroadband).

Another factor which makes it difficult for local viewers, especially with a big delay between an international airing and one here is the internet and spoilers. It is virtually difficult to not get spoiled of major deaths and events on these shows as they are often Live Tweeted and posted all over the internet within hours.

I think for shows like that where the hype and demand to see it as soon as it's international broadcast, locally we need to think about a 24 - 48 hour broadcast window for shows like these. This often works with cable shows (The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones etc.) which have fewer hiatus' between thier shorter season opposed to a 22-episode "network" drama such as Revenge and The Good Wife which will try spread 22 episodes over 9 months.

If US networks which air shows in the sporadic 3 episodes (4 week break), 3 episodes (two week break), 2 epsiodes (8 week break) etc. could get thier scheduling act together and air shows consectutivly with a minimal break (perhaps a mid-season break) we could follow and air these shows within days of thier international premiere without fearing empty weeks on the schedules with no new episodes.

Citanul
24 Jun 2014 12:54

>>The Americans manage it though so it would surely be a matter of creating a procedure for it as they do? If it became part of the way we watch TV it wouldn't be such a problem anymore, particularly if channels were set up for it and had good methods of communicating what's happening.<<

It's not so much the management of the breaks, although that is a problem (but to be fair I think it's better than it has been in the past), but rather that they exist at all. Americans may be used to those breaks, but I remain to be convinced that it's an ideal way to watch TV.

As far as I'm concerned, the best model is a single episode of a series per week with no interruptions (and no double episodes or episodes on more than one day). If you watch a number of shows it becomes so much easier to plan your TV viewing when there's a stable broadcast schedule.

On a separate note, one point I feel needs to be made is that we do have an issue with capacity on DStv. Apart from the odd show on Fox (and maybe Sony and Universal), all the new American series are shown on M-Net or Series Showcase i.e. just two channels.

So there are limits as to how many shows can be shown close to the US broadcast date, especially as schedules are drawn up months in advance, often before the US dates are known. And I don't think it's good practice to interrupt a show so that another can be broadcast close to the US, as has happened with the last few episodes of NCIS Los Angeles being delayed so Fargo could be shown in its place.

We all know what the ideal is, but actually achieving that ideal is difficult, and I do think M-Net are doing a decent job at the moment. Whether they could do better given the constraints that they're working under is maybe up for debate.

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