State of the Blog: record-breaking

There was a great response to my post about a campaign to get BBC2's Whites back on TV, but that paled into insignificance compared to the deluge of hits my interview with writer Ben Richards (Outcasts) had last week. The comments are still trickling in, approaching the 200 mark!

I think that breaks records for DMD, which is great, for a few reasons:

• It all helps promote DMD online in various forums.
• I genuinely believe more UK TV talent should engage with their audience in this manner (ideally before their show airs, too.)
• It draws a large number of newbies to DMD, so hopefully a percentage will stick around. It's always great to shake things up and get some new opinions and perspectives here.

From reading the interview's many comments, people clearly appreciated Ben Richards answering a few early questions himself, and it was certainly a surprise to see that the vast majority of commenters loved (nay, adored) the show.

Cutbacks!

You may have noticed I've stopped reviewing some shows in recent months. Being Human USA was an understandable case, as it was recycling so much of the original for my taste (although I did a catch-up review); The Event has been on the precipice for ages, but its limp relaunch pushed it into an abyss; but Glee was a bigger surprise because it's in the throes of a second season. Usually, if I've stuck with a show for a whole year, I'll continue until its dying breath (just ask ABC's V.) But things are a-changing, folks, and I'll be ditching shows quicker from now on.

This is partly because (a) I'm growing tired of a few established shows in their middle-age, (b) I need to make room for new shows that are premiering this year, and (c) I get the feeling people appreciate the extra news or feature-based content I don't often have time to do with so many reviews. For example: many of the recent Talking Point posts have received 40+ comments, my pieces on Whites and Outcasts practically went viral, my recent "10 Ways To Improve 10 O'Clock Live" post received a notable amount of page-hits, and a few videos about greenscreens were surprisingly popular. There's clearly an appetite for variety here, so I'll keep that in mind.

However, DMD's a TV review blog at heart. That won't ever change. It's the driving force behind what I've always wanted to do here. Diversifying more will just help keep me fresh, so the surviving reviews are better.

Lack of content

We're at that funny time of the year where many shows have reached (or are about to reach) their end, but new shows for spring/summer aren't seamlessly taking over. If you look at my "On The Box" widget in the sidebar, I'm down to 3 shows being reviewed weekly. It was closer to a dozen in February!

To compensate, I may start reviewing a few shows I wouldn't ordinarily write about. Or do some special one-off reviews. I may also return to a few shows I've dropped, just to fill gaps occasionally. But more likely, I'll use the free time to post things that aren't so expected; like more Talking Points (which have gone down a treat in 2011), a weekly Poll, continue the Jump The Blast meme, and maybe a few other unique features. As always, your suggestions are welcome for ways to take up the slack, before new shows like Doctor Who and Camelot start up in April.

Ideas for features, thoughts on the blog, opinions on recent output, suggestions for future reviews, off-topic questions? The floor is yours...

(P.S - I'm unable to comment here during working hours again, as Disqus have done something to their coding that prevents older browsers from working properly. As always, I DO read every comment, but any response from myself will be delayed.)