Bad time for Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV... by millernate

OTHER SCIENCE FICTION SERIES

Bad time for Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV...

POSTED BY: MILLERNATE
UPDATED: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 13:41
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VIEWED: 4762
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Sunday, November 24, 2002 5:55 PM

It has recently occurred to me just how badly genre (genre, in this case being Sci-Fi and Fantasy TV) is doing and how bad the future looks. I mean, just recently we've had the following decisions:

Farscape was cancelled
Futurama (technically SF) was cancelled
Haunted got the ax
Birds of Prey got the ax
The Chronicle got cancelled
The Invisible Man got cancelled
Tracker, Beastmaster, Earth: Final Conflict, and Lost World ended
Andromeda got dumbed down
The Outer Limits ended
Dark Angel got cancelled

Combine that with the fact that the Sci-Fi channel is pretty much phasing out its Sci-Fi TV and that Firefly is barely hanging onto life. If you factor this with the likelihood of Buffy, Angel, and Charmed ending this season then you have the makings of a lousy area for SF and Fantasy.

Yes I realize that Odyessy 5 and Jeremiah are on Showtime but a lot of people can't afford to get that. This in turn leads us to a situation in which Stargate SG-1 (which has apparently been renewed for a edited for the correct that its the Eigth Season) and Smallville as the only accessabile SF/F programming on (unless you want to spring for the $ 40 or so a month it takes to get Showtime).

With the continual drying up of the first-run syndication market (which gave us such gems as B 5, STNG, and DS9,), the decision of the Sci-Fi channel to phase out...well...Sci-Fi, as well as the increasingly conservative network decision making these paint a picture in which television science fiction/fantasy is going to pretty much be a thing of the past. I would really rather hope I'm wrong so if anyone can offer a dissenting opinion please do so.

Nathan
"It looks like a great adventure...That's what it is; that's what it feels like. When I saw the pilot, it was really engaging. It was exciting. It was unusual. It threw me off every now and then. I think people will be grabbed by it." - Ron Glass, on the pilot, during an interview with the Indianapolis Star

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Sunday, November 24, 2002 6:02 PM

LIVINGIMPAIRED

What I'm hoping for here is that the rapid dissapearance of genre TV will work in Firefly's favor. The truth is, there is a demand in America for sci-fi. That's why they make so many sci-fi movies, and those movies tend to make money. Now, it's simple supply and demand. The supply of sci-fi televison decreases, yet demand stays the same. Result: more people might give Firefly a whirl, or a second chance, in order to fill the void in our dull, drab, wretched lives.

________________

LIAM: "I'm invisible!"
CORDY: "No, you're not."
LIAM: (beat) "Oh. Excuse me."

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Sunday, November 24, 2002 6:05 PM

MILLERNATE

The problem is that most people only watch the "Science Fiction" movie because they have lots and lots of action (see: any film based on a Michael Crithon novel). We're raising a culture of more and more ignorant Homer Simpsons gobbling up the mindlessness of entertainment and the movies of Science Fiction play into that (You think 2001: A Space Odyessy could get made today? I doubt it). I don't see Firefly getting any run off from that audience.

Nathan
"It looks like a great adventure...That's what it is; that's what it feels like. When I saw the pilot, it was really engaging. It was exciting. It was unusual. It threw me off every now and then. I think people will be grabbed by it." - Ron Glass, on the pilot, during an interview with the Indianapolis Star

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Sunday, November 24, 2002 7:16 PM

ALLRONIX

No Joke! No frellin' joke!

I just came out of EFC fandom, and X-Files fandom (I've got an unfinished crossover epic between the two universes, an AU where a young Agent Sandoval was assigned to Scully after Mulder's capture).

Farscape goes off the air just as I was contemplating cable. SG1...it's good, but showing its age. Buffy...I never quite got into it.

Enterprise is a little boring. I miss early DS9. I do not want to pay tons of cash to see 1 or 2 shows, either.

Then here comes this beauthful, practically doomed little Space Western. I've not seen anything this cool since I accidentally turned on Galaxy Rangers as a kid (animated space Western). The characters, the scripts, the universe. It's screaming for fanfic!

Co-founder of the Evil Writing Crew - causing hell, one hero at a time!

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Sunday, November 24, 2002 7:17 PM

KEF

My two cents: I think the problem with sci-fi on TV is that there's been an major oversaturation in the last few years. Additionally, a SF show needs to draw in a mainstream audience (people who don't normally watch anything labeled "sci-fi") in order to be successful, particularly on network TV. Even the most accessible SF shows have never found this easy to do. And unfortunately that mainstream audience is perhaps a bit put off about sci-fi right now, due to the last couple of seasons of the X Files and the increasingly boring exploitation of the Star Trek franchise.

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Monday, November 25, 2002 12:18 PM

INVISIBLEGREEN

Quote:
Originally posted by millernate:
If you factor this with the likelihood of ... Angel, and Charmed ending this season then you have the makings of a lousy area for SF and Fantasy.

Where'd you here this? I'm not sure about "Charmed," but I think "Angel" will still be on for at least few more years.

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Monday, November 25, 2002 1:23 PM

YEAHITSME

Quote:
Originally posted by millernate:
If you factor this with the likelihood of Buffy, Angel, and Charmed ending this season

Just because it is Buffy last year doesn't mean Angel has to end too...And I haven't heard anything about Charmed ending yet but I'm not fan enough to check fan site of this show even tought I watch it everyday. And while Firefly is barely getting big rating in the general population it's doing quite well in the targeted demo so unless there's a big fall in the numbers in december it'll be alive and well. They probably ordered only 2 episodes cause they wanted to keep it in production but also wanted to be sure it would hold his audience after the 2 weeks break.

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Monday, November 25, 2002 4:38 PM

MILLERNATE

Quote:

Just because it is Buffy last year doesn't mean Angel has to end too...

It is fairly well known that Sunday's are WB's "Showkiller slot" (they've always lost there) and that this move was considered an attempt to "kill the show" by WB (do to acromony over the Buffy defection). Toss in the creative turmoil (who will be Executive Producer this week? :biggin?) and you have a show that WB could very easily be able to justify its cancellation. Charmed I'm basing its ending on some comments by one of the executive producers this summer (which is too bad since the show just hired Henry Alonso Meyers, who did some nice work on The Chronicle last year, as a writer).

Also, sad to say, it takes more to hold a timeslot than 18-34 numbers, and FIrefly's have been slipping anyway (they're down to third in the timeslot for the demographics according to the last article I read on the subject). We'll have to see but the writing seems to be on the wall and the overweight woman warming up her vocal cords...

Nathan
"It looks like a great adventure...That's what it is; that's what it feels like. When I saw the pilot, it was really engaging. It was exciting. It was unusual. It threw me off every now and then. I think people will be grabbed by it." - Ron Glass, on the pilot, during an interview with the Indianapolis Star

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Monday, November 25, 2002 4:58 PM

LIVINGIMPAIRED

Quote:
Originally posted by millernate:
It is fairly well known that Sunday's are WB's "Showkiller slot" (they've always lost there) and that this move was considered an attempt to "kill the show" by WB (do to acromony over the Buffy defection). Toss in the creative turmoil (who will be Executive Producer this week? :biggin?) and you have a show that WB could very easily be able to justify its cancellation.

Angel isn't going anywhere, except for a differnet time slot. Its ratings are better than ever this year, even in the Sunday slot of Death. And if, IF, the WB were stupid enought to cancell it, you know all it'd do is move to another network. UPN has clearly expressed interest in the show. All in all, I'd say Angel is doing alright for itself. The picture is not a grim as you like to paint it.

________________

Instead of us hanging around playing art critic till I get pinched by the Man, how's about we move away from this eerie-ass piece of work and get on with our increasingly eerie-ass day?

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Monday, December 2, 2002 10:57 AM

REYVNDARKNIGHT

Well, maybe as computer animation becomes easier to produce, perhaps sci-fi series can be produced for Internet broadband cast?

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Thursday, December 5, 2002 8:13 AM

KURUKAMI

The difficulty is that you'll still need to attract investors to get said things up and running in a reasonable amount of time, to attract voice actors, and so forth. Doing it all on a fan's whim is akin to creating a webcomic -- sure, it can be entertaining, but most people aren't masochistic enough to do it long-term.

The problem with the modern American viewing public is that the vast majority of them have sunk deeply into stagnant banality. They're no longer following dreams of heroes and epic adventures; they are for the most part seemingly content to live vicariously through various "reality" shows -- American Idol, Survivor, The Bachelor, and other other assorted drek. Most of them apparently no longer possess imagination enough to consider the nuances and subtleties of science fiction and other speculative fiction interesting -- it's all about everything being explained in easy-to-swallow intellectual soundbites and inane plotlines.

Feh. Please excuse my rant... I'm just seeing far too much good stuff go down the tubes while comparatively bland tripe remains on the air.

History doesn't always repeat itself. Sometimes it merely shouts "Weren't you listening the first time?!?" and lets fly with a club.

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Monday, December 9, 2002 9:27 AM

REYVNDARKNIGHT

True.

And if I could find the investers, I would lauch the project in a heart beat. I think in two years maximum is the length of time someone will launch just such a project, and within one year of launch, the first Internet episodes will be available for download.

As far as target audience, I am not interested in producing a series for someone who lists the aforementioned "shows" as one of "can't miss" entertainment.

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Monday, December 9, 2002 10:27 AM

ZERO

I completely agree. The is scifi market is tumbling faster than the stock market. How does this affect Firefly? I dunno, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

And to u Angel and Buffy fans, accept your fate: These shows are a dying breed. Angel and Buffy got stupid when they moved away from vampire killing and into the demon world/fate of the universe shit, and the negative character developement that followed, i.e. Willow's lesbo withcraft and Wesley's fall off the deep-end. ITS OVER!

------------------------------------------
-=ZERO=-
Check me out on WinMX, I have the first 8 episodes in SVCD format and give free starts to Firefly fans.

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Monday, December 9, 2002 10:38 AM

LIVINGIMPAIRED

Quote:
Originally posted by Zero:
And to u Angel and Buffy fans, accept your fate: These shows are a dying breed. Angel and Buffy got stupid when they moved away from vampire killing and into the demon world/fate of the universe shit, and the negative character developement that followed, i.e. Willow's lesbo withcraft and Wesley's fall off the deep-end. ITS OVER!

Speak for yourself. I happen to think both shows are at the top of their game this season.

________________

I'm alive. I can tell 'cause of the pain.

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Monday, December 9, 2002 11:41 AM

BOBKNAPTOR

I'm with LivingImpaired. Both shows are kicking ass this season. Although, Buffy is probably over, I am sure that they will have another spin-off in the works by the end of this season. *crossing fingers it isn't 'Dawn the Vampire Slayer'* (hard to type with crossed fingers...)

Anyway, Buffy has got some remarkable things happening this year (so glad they got off that whole magic=drug addiction theme...). Buffy is back to her old mostly cheerful, punning self. Willow is on the straight and narrow, using magic to help not hurt. Dawn stopped whining. Anya is once again an ex-demon. Xander has seen the error of his ways where Anya/marriage is concerned.... This feels like a good place to end the show. (granted, I would be thrilled beyond belief if they kept it going... but I don't think they will in this version of the 'verse).

Angel is just getting started. The prophecies themselves mention that Angel will have to fight his way through several apocalypses before it's all over... this is just the first. And ratings wise, Angel has been doing excellent this season.

______________
When I saw you stop the world from, you know, ending, I just assumed that was a big week for you. It turns out I suddenly find myself needing to know the plural of apocalypse.

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Tuesday, January 14, 2003 1:41 PM

XSELFDESTRUCTX

yeah i feel ur pain about the sci fi shows, it sucks but hey what can u do? Futurama is on cartoon network now, which i guess is cool. Did u catch Taken on the sci fi channel about a month ago ( i taped all those episodes) and umm Deadzone just started on the USA network last week, the 1st episode was pretty cool. i dont know what's gonna happen w/ that show but i hope it doesnt get cancelled it's pretty good. butyeah it's a sad time 4 sci fi lovers, but there's always x-files re-runs!!! lol

lata

xself_destructx

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