Firefly on hiatus, according to Electronic Media by MollyBloom

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Firefly on hiatus, according to Electronic Media

POSTED BY: MOLLYBLOOM
UPDATED: Wednesday, November 27, 2002 13:16
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Tuesday, November 26, 2002 2:15 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by MollyBloom:
http://www.emonline.com/news/web112602.html

According to this article, 'Fastlane' is moving to Fridays in January and Firefly is going on hiatus, possibly moving to a new timeslot. *Sniff*

Yes, it's true. This is the official press release from FOX:

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THE SECOND EDITION OF ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ PREMIERES JANUARY 21 AND 22 WITH 90-MINUTE SPECIALS
‘That ‘70s Show’ Moves to Wednesday, ‘Bernie Mac’ gets new 9:00 PM Wednesday timeslot followed by ‘Cedric the Entertainer Presents’ at 9:30 PM, and ‘Fastlane’ moves to Friday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2002 Contact: Michelle Hooper
310-369-1570

THE SECOND EDITION OF ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ PREMIERES JANUARY 21 AND 22 WITH 90-MINUTE SPECIALS ‘That ‘70s Show’ Moves to Wednesday, ‘Bernie Mac’ gets new 9:00 PM Wednesday timeslot followed by ‘Cedric the Entertainer Presents’ at 9:30 PM, and ‘Fastlane’ moves to Friday
Last summer’s phenomenon AMERICAN IDOL will make its anticipated second-season debut on Tuesday, January 21, and Wednesday, January 22. The series’ special two-part premiere kicks off with a 90-minute episode from 8:00 PM–9:30 PM ET/PT Tuesday followed by a second 90-minute episode from 8:30-10:00 PM ET/PT Wednesday on FOX.

AMERICAN IDOL will continue with audition shows the following week, airing a one-hour episode from 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT on Tuesday, January 28 and following on Wednesday, January 29 with a 90-minute episode from 8:30-10:00 PM ET/PT.

Beginning Tuesday and Wednesday, February 4 and February 5, AMERICAN IDOL will begin airing in its regular time periods, following the series format established in season one: Contestants compete during an hour-long episode on Tuesday (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) each week and viewers’ choices are revealed in the next night’s half-hour results episode (8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT).

The addition of the series to FOX’s midseason schedule creates a Tuesday night lineup that includes AMERICAN IDOL airing from 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT followed by the Emmy-winning drama series 24 from 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: On Tuesday, January 21, THAT ‘70s SHOW will air at 9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT. On Tuesday, January 28, the President’s State of the Union address is expected to air at 9:00-10:00 PM ET. If the date is confirmed, AMERICAN IDOL will air after the speech concludes MT and at 8:00 PM PT)

On Wednesdays beginning January 22 FOX will air THAT ‘70s SHOW from 8:00-8:30 ET/PT; AMERICAN IDOL from 8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT; BERNIE MAC from 9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT, and CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER PRESENTS from 9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT.

Beginning Friday, January 10, FASTLANE will air from 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT followed by JOHN DOE from 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: FIREFLY will be on hiatus, returning to the schedule at a later date.)

SCHEDULE RECAP

Tuesday, January 21 8:00-9:30 PM ET/PT AMERICAN IDOL (Season Premiere, Part 1)
9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT THAT ‘70s SHOW

Wednesday, January 22 8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT THAT ‘70s SHOW
8:30-10:00 PM ET/PT AMERICAN IDOL (Season Premiere, Part 2)

Tuesdays, beginning January 28 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT AMERICAN IDOL
9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT 24

(EDITOR’S NOTE: On Tuesday, January 28, the President’s State of the Union address is expected to air at 9:00-10:00 PM ET. If the date is confirmed, AMERICAN IDOL will air after the speech concludes MT and at 8:00 PM PT

Wednesday, January 29 8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT THAT ‘70s SHOW
8:30-10:00 PM ET/PT AMERICAN IDOL

Wednesdays, beginning February 5 8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT THAT ‘70s SHOW
8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT AMERICAN IDOL

9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT BERNIE MAC
9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER PRESENTS

--------------------------

Brian Ford Sullivan
Editor-In-Chief
The Futon Critic
http://www.thefutoncritic.com

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Tuesday, November 26, 2002 2:18 PM

HAKEN

Likes to mess with stuffs.

How will the hiatus affect the production and the actors? Does anyone know?

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Tuesday, November 26, 2002 2:30 PM

LEEBEE

What exactly does hiatus mean? Is this a fancy way of saying the serious has been cancelled?

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Tuesday, November 26, 2002 2:35 PM

THEFUTONCRITIC

Quote:
Originally posted by Haken:
How will the hiatus affect the production and the actors? Does anyone know?

Hiatus doesn't halt production, it should continue. From the above they still haven't scheduled anything on Mondays at 9:00/8:00c. They could be deciding between "Firefly" and "Keen Eddie" (or some of their other comedies set for midseason).

Brian Ford Sullivan
Editor-In-Chief
The Futon Critic
http://www.thefutoncritic.com

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Tuesday, November 26, 2002 2:46 PM

HAKEN

Likes to mess with stuffs.

Quote:
Originally posted by thefutoncritic:
Hiatus doesn't halt production, it should continue.

This is a perfect Futon Critic question. Statistically, how many series actually come back from hiatus and survive?

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Tuesday, November 26, 2002 4:43 PM

NOVAGRASS

Doesn't every series go on hiatus around this time of the year? Holiday breaks for the writers/cast?

Angel is on hiatus, and it won't be back until January. Buffy is on hiatus, but reruns will still be there. Everything goes one hiatus.

Perhaps instead of showing reruns, they'll just show Fastlane... or perhaps it'll move to a new time slot and everything will be ok... yeah... everything will be ok...

Though, I don't imagine it's a vote of confidence for Fastlane to be moved to the Death Slot.

--Dylan Palmer, Pretentious Bastard at Large--

"Oh my god, I'm a hack!" - Joss Whedon

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Tuesday, November 26, 2002 5:44 PM

POETIC4U

If these people aren't gonna show re-runs, which in my opinion is ridiculous, they could atleast advertise a little bit more.

"Older men declare war, but it is the youth who must fight and die. And it is the youth who must inherit the tribulation, the sorrow, and the triumphs that are the aftermath of war"
- Herbert Clark Hoover

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." - Martin Luther King Jr.

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Tuesday, November 26, 2002 6:31 PM

QIXOTL

There are several different types of "hiatus" situations. Luckily, this sounds on the surface like the Angel situation last year (where another show took its timeslot for about 6 weeks) or what The WB did to Felicity (the January-Marchish break). That would mean more episodes in the future, but a probable viewership drop when the series returns to the air. It is not a good situation, but it is not fatal for the moment. Hopefully it won't equate to what happened to Doctor Who, which was semi-officially on hiatus for 7 years (at least it did return for one TV movie).

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Tuesday, November 26, 2002 7:05 PM

DOUG

I think this is great news! Leaving the show on Fridays at 8 p.m. amounted to a death sentence for the series. At least now something is happening, FOX is taking some kind of action. As much as I hate the thought of no FIREFLY for a couple of months, it's better than permanent cancellation. Now let's hope they bring it back to the schedule later in the season in some constructive manner.

In the meantime, FOX could do something like run a marathon on FX or Sci-Fi or something like that. Last year, ABC did the same thing with ALIAS, running a marathon of the show's first eight episodes on ABC Family. We can also cross our fingers and hope that FASTLANE doesn't draw better rating than FIREFLY did on Friday nights.

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Wednesday, November 27, 2002 3:36 AM

DELVO

Quote:
We can also cross our fingers and hope that FASTLANE doesn't draw better rating than FIREFLY did on Friday nights.

It presumably will, and Fox probably already knows that. A show that develops good ratings elsewhere and then moves to Friday retains some of its audience, and does better than one that was always there. Those stupendous Dark Angel ratings everyone's constantly holding Firefly up to are an example.

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Wednesday, November 27, 2002 3:40 AM

LEEBEE

This is so frustrating - all the games that are being played regarding this television show. It's like no one wants to take responsibility for making a decision on the future of Firefly: either cancel it or order a full seasons' episodes.

I've read a few of the other Firefly message boards and many of the posters think this hiatus is the "kiss of death" for Firefly. That Firefly will go in to hiatus and never come out, it just fades away. This is Fox's way of trying to "save-face," because no one at Fox wants to admit that they made a mistake by cancelling Dark Angel for Firefly. Hopefully this is not the case, as long as they continue production, there's a chance they'll bring Firefly back - at least this is what I keep telling myself. It would be interesting to know what the mood is on the set of Firefly, this must be doubly frustrating for the cast and crew (do I have a job or don't I). I wonder how all of this is being presented to them.

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Wednesday, November 27, 2002 6:59 AM

HJERMSTED

Hiatus doesn't really mean anything. Both Buffy and Angel are presently on "hiatus" until January. Production continues (Firefly has fifteen episodes ordered into production.. we've seen only eight so far)

The important news is... NEW TIME SLOT!!!
That is great news. Hopefully Fox will find a BETTER slot and not sweep Firefly into some other death slot.

So... all postcards to Fox ( www.fireflysupport.com) from now on should include your ideas on what timeslot to move into.

mattro

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Wednesday, November 27, 2002 9:17 AM

THEFUTONCRITIC

Quote:
Originally posted by Haken:
Quote:
Originally posted by thefutoncritic:
Hiatus doesn't halt production, it should continue.

This is a perfect Futon Critic question. Statistically, how many series actually come back from hiatus and survive?

Most series that go on hiatus return eventually however the survival rate isn't that high in the long run.

In the case of FOX, last season "Pasadena" was placed on hiatus only to never return.

The season before that "Freakylinks" was put on hiatus at the start of November sweeps, returned in January, and was quickly axed. (The remaining eps were burned off during the summer.)

"Grounded for Life" was put on hiatus after two airings this season only to be axed (but subsequently picked up by the WB). A handful of episodes will starting being burned off starting this Tuesday.

"Titus" was placed on hiatus last March and was canceled in May but had its remaining episodes burned off during the summer.

"Family Guy" missed huge segments of its three season run. FOX even ordered 13 additional episodes while it was on hiatus during its second season. It went on to be canceled the following season however.

That's all that jump to mind as far as FOX is concerned. Shows like "Roswell" went on hiatus for at least six weeks during its runs on the WB and UPN. "Angel" was on hiatus for about a month last season on the WB. "Once & Again" was on hiatus probably a half-dozen times during its three year run.

Anyway hope that helps.

Brian Ford Sullivan
Editor-In-Chief
The Futon Critic
http://www.thefutoncritic.com

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Wednesday, November 27, 2002 9:23 AM

THEFUTONCRITIC

Quote:
Originally posted by Hjermsted:
Hiatus doesn't really mean anything. Both Buffy and Angel are presently on "hiatus" until January. Production continues (Firefly has fifteen episodes ordered into production.. we've seen only eight so far)

The important news is... NEW TIME SLOT!!!
That is great news. Hopefully Fox will find a BETTER slot and not sweep Firefly into some other death slot.

So... all postcards to Fox ( www.fireflysupport.com) from now on should include your ideas on what timeslot to move into.

mattro

Actually "Buffy" and "Angel" aren't on hiatus. They just aren't airing new episodes until January. There's a big difference between that and hiatus. Hiatus means the show is no longer broadcast however production continues.

And again I hate to be a wet blanket but FOX says it's considering a new time slot. There's no guarantee.

Brian Ford Sullivan
Editor-In-Chief
The Futon Critic
http://www.thefutoncritic.com

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Wednesday, November 27, 2002 10:28 AM

SAINTOFCHEESE

Well, for now I'm being hopeful. I think it could be a good sign because it could mean a new timeslot. I think fox knows that they've made some mistakes and that's why they're so hesitant. They know Firefly is good, but they don't know what to do with it.

I'm going to send another round of postcards. I've got a sign in the car window. I'm having a party to get people into itHell, I'm working on Melee's website, and yesterday,we went to the video store and met a guy who loves firefly!

I think there's still hope.

~*Saint of Cheese*~

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Wednesday, November 27, 2002 10:29 AM

ATREUS

Quote:

Actually "Buffy" and "Angel" aren't on hiatus. They just aren't airing new episodes until January. There's a big difference between that and hiatus. Hiatus means the show is no longer broadcast however production continues.

And again I hate to be a wet blanket but FOX says it's considering a new time slot. There's no guarantee.

Brian Ford Sullivan
Editor-In-Chief
The Futon Critic
http://www.thefutoncritic.com

Still, given the announcement that Oliver Beene and Keen Eddie won't be seen until at least March... and the fact that there's a big hole on Monday nights and only one remaining show in production to fill it... and Gail Berman's stressing that Firefly is definitely *not* cancelled... don't those things all tend to point towards Monday nights at 9pm? Maybe they wait to start airing them after Monday Night Football is over?

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Wednesday, November 27, 2002 1:16 PM

HJERMSTED

Should we focus our lobbying efforts on Monday night then?

FIREFLY -- FOX MONDAYS!!

mattro

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