So all the Sci-Fi shows are for the axe this year?

Richard Dower

Lads, this is a brutal situation now!
This year alone ALL Sci-Fi/genre shows are very likely to be cancelled:
No Ordinary Family/The Event/The Cape/V/Fringe....Caprica and Stargate Universe is also gone.

Why can't Sci-Fi pull in the viewers anymore?

McLoughlin

Out of fashion the same thing happened to westerns.

Mr E

Richard Dower wrote: »

Lads, this is a brutal situation now!
This year alone ALL Sci-Fi/genre shows are very likely to be cancelled:
No Ordinary Family/The Event/The Cape/V/Fringe....Caprica and Stargate Universe is also gone.

Why can't Sci-Fi pull in the viewers anymore?

No Ordinary Family: Watchable, but No Great Show
The Event: Its just poor.
The Cape: Not good at all.
V: Not the worst - might have done better if it stuck closer to the source material.
Caprica: Not a patch on BSG.
Stargate Universe: Too slow moving, people lost interest.

Fringe: Top rated Friday show for 3 weeks. I wouldn't rule it out.

Check out Outcasts on BBC tonight... hopefully it'll be good!

Tristram

Fringe is the only show I would miss.

Fringe is amazing how could they cancel it

J-blk

Have to agree with Mr. E, I think Fringe is the most likely to get at least one more season and hopefully will, as it is the only one I would be genuinely be upset about.

From the others:
- No Ordinary Family: haven't watched a single episode.
- The Event: I watch it if I have NOTHING else left to watch, caught up on most episodes over the Christmas break. It's going nowhere though.
- The Cape: gave up by episode 3.
- V: I watch it but let's face it, it's terrible. If we had more choice when it comes to Sci-Fi, I would avoid it like the plague.
- Caprica: stopped watching when they decided to take that insane "mid" season break.
- SGU: probably the one I will kind of miss but not really upset (or surprised) about it. Very slow compared to SG-1 and SGA and simply too different. It also ended its' "mid" season on a completely pointless cliffhanger and that's how I think it will go out as well whenever the last 10 episodes air...

Also Starring LeVar Burton

If anything, I think it just means there'll be a wave of new sci-fi shows next season - personally I'd love to see a new Star Trek series or a reboot of one of Irwin Allen's shows. Most of the sci-fi shows at the moment are pure s*it, which is unfortunate.

Basq

'No Ordinary Family' is about as Sci-Fi as 'Two And A Half Men' is a comedy!

ejmaztec

Basq wrote: »

'No Ordinary Family' is about as Sci-Fi as 'Two And A Half Men' is a comedy!

It was good to see that Julie Benz had recovered from her ordeal in Dexter, if nothing else.

DeWitt

Fringe? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

How will I live knowing Fauxlivia is out there somewhere?

wes

Well, I loved Caprica, so sad to see it go, and same goes for SGU.

Hopefully Fringe, won't be cancelled, and it is apparently doing well on Fridays, so here's hoping.

Not too bothered about the other shows really. No Ordinary Family is an ok show, so out of the rest, it is the only one I think deserves a 2nd season.

Block (8

ah feck sake not fringe!!!

first I heard of fringe getting the axe :mad:

Mr E

ITS NOT GETTING THE AXE!!

People are just assuming the worst because it has been moved to the Friday Night Death Slot (where so many other great Fox shows were sent to die).

Its got good ratings, folks. I don't think its in any danger.

don ramo

sanctuary has already been renewed, granted for only 13 episodes, but its probably the strongest sci-fi/fantasy show right behind fringe,

as much as i love stargate it didnt really deserve another season, it just seemed to be going somewhere but mallozi and the other muppets took far far far to long to actualy start the mission (idiots:mad:)

caprica was just all over the place, personally i thought it started fairly well, but unfortuately the writers were made accelerate the story and rewrite it a few times, so it all fell apart,

i stopped watching no ordinary family, it just wasnt good at all,

the cape was utter tripe i watched the first 2 episodes, how in hell were they allowed to air it,

V watched episode 1 of season 2 and just didnt come back for more,

squonk

I like V. I wouldn't describe it as crap as some posters have done. I'd be sorry to see that go. Probably it needs to tighten up a bit but it's far, far better than the Event.

superflyninja

SG Universe had HUGE potential. some of the shows hinted at it but some episodes are just mired by boring storylines.i will miss it though.

Richard just what is your obsession with shows being cancelled, you repeatedly spent most of your time on the Stargate forum posting about ratings, ratings, ratings.

Fringe will not be cancelled, it's doing brilliantly in a traditional death slot for any show. Pretty damn good going for a genre show. No Ordinary Family and the Cape are not science fiction shows.

Caprica was cancelled due to the fact that it just wasn't very good, it was far too mediocre for a prequel to one of the best shows of the past decade. Had it been more similiar to battlestar in both tone and content it may have lasted longer.

Same thing happened with Universe, they replaced the shows traditional humour with a darkness which wasn't necessary. He'll a more apt title would be Stargate Galactica given how much it apes Battlestar.

ixoy

Didn't watch "The Event", "No Ordinary Family" or "The Cape" as I heard nothing positive about them. They're not strong sci-fi anyway.

"V" - It's crap. I'm not sure if I'll continue watching this season. If I do it's purely for the cheese value. If it does get canned, I won't be bothered.

"Stargate: Universe" I am sorry to see go (well I would be, given I'm the forum mod). I understand people's issues with it but I really think it's starting to realise its potential.

"Caprica" - It wasn't good. It tried to be different but ended up being muddled and dull.

"Fringe" - One of the best sci-fi shows on right now. Hopefully it will get renewed if its ratings remain strong.

"Sanctuary" - Yes it should be mentioned. The current season is very strong and it deserves a wider audience.

With all these cancellations, I doubt many networks are going to take a risk on the genre any time soon ("Terra Nova" aside). We'll see if anyone else is willing to go into space (which is even rarer!).

Dymo

What about Ghost Hunters, it's full of fiction dressed up as their own theory in the paranormal but I can't stop watching it.

Basq

At least Fox have a sense of humour about their Fringe scheduling decision..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrwXij6HthY

ScumLord

Fringe is the only show there worth watching. Everything else is ether complete muck or just barely watchable.,

Richard Dower

Deleted User wrote: »

Richard just what is your obsession with shows being cancelled, you repeatedly spent most of your time on the Stargate forum posting about ratings, ratings, ratings.

Fringe will not be cancelled, it's doing brilliantly in a traditional death slot for any show. Pretty damn good going for a genre show. No Ordinary Family and the Cape are not science fiction shows.

Caprica was cancelled due to the fact that it just wasn't very good, it was far too mediocre for a prequel to one of the best shows of the past decade. Had it been more similiar to battlestar in both tone and content it may have lasted longer.

Same thing happened with Universe, they replaced the shows traditional humour with a darkness which wasn't necessary. He'll a more apt title would be Stargate Galactica given how much it apes Battlestar.

:rolleyes: i commented on every ep. of SGU, i shared my thoughts on each ep. + discussed ratings....why?, because it was from early on in danger of being axed.

When others were in denial I looked at the numbers, and was proven right. Fringe IMO is on the bubble, it dropped this week with SN competition. We'll have to wait and see what Michael Riley thinks come May.

Richard Dower

Basq wrote: »

'No Ordinary Family' is about as Sci-Fi as 'Two And A Half Men' is a comedy!

Be fair Basq, NOF has Sci-Fi elements...and 2.5 Men might not make you laugh, but as one of the highest rated shows in the US it's certainly making someone laugh, including me.

Richard Dower

Richard Dower wrote: »

:rolleyes: i commented on every ep. of SGU, i shared my thoughts on each ep. + discussed ratings....why?, because it was from early on in danger of being axed.

When others were in denial I looked at the numbers, and was proven right. Fringe IMO is on the bubble, it dropped this week with SN competition. We'll have to wait and see what Michael Riley thinks come May.

We are all aware of ratings but you seem obsessed with them and it read like you were nearly gloat about beign right when Universe was cancelled. Also to believe that the ratings solely killed Universe is somewhat naive, why cancel a show before the second half of the series has aired? Any other network would have waited till the second half of the season was on to make a decision regarding the future of the series. Something slightly off about that but then again this is the same channel which tried to make out that the reason the Dresden Files was cancelled was because the cast accepted other projects. this was a show with a strong fan base, decent viewing figures and good DVD sales.

Fringe is not on the bubble, it has done great in a slot which others shows have crashed and burnt in. And yes the figures did drop last week but at the same time cinema attendance in America was way down, does that mean that cinemas are in trouble or rather is it to do with the biggest sporting event in America taking place that weekend? I know a few dedicated Fringe fans in the US who didn't watch Fridays episode as they instead chose to watch some Super Bowl related programming which was on, a move I imagine a lot of other Americans did also.

cena

when is fringe back on sky

Dman001

I've given up on Network TV. If you want good TV, Cable content from HBO, Showtime or AMC is the way to go.

Syferus

Dman001 wrote: »

I've given up on Network TV. If you want good TV, Cable content from HBO, Showtime or AMC is the way to go.

Mostly true. Supernatural and Community highlight that network tv can still be fantastic and funny. I'm far more discerning with network shows when it comes to giving them even 40 minutes of my time, but I'd never disregard them - you'll always miss something you'd love that way.

MaceFace

What bugs me about a number of those shows is just how unrealistic they are.
And I don't mean unrealistic as in Aliens landing on Earth (V), but the fact that the human who knows most about the aliens is a normal FBI agent - not the US President, nor any specific government agency. Seriously - the son is best friends with Anas daughter and I don't remember ever seeing him interviewed by any special task force or agency to learn what he knows.

The Event done the opposite - the President actually interogated people. There is no chance the Secret Service would allow the President in a room with a prisoner that was potentially very dangerous.

As for No Ordinary Family - I got sick of that when Vic Mackey just happened to turn up at so many crime scenes.

I really enjoued Caprica but obviously not enough to start watching it again when it came back. Just too slow with no idea of what it was trying to achieve.

In some ways I am happy they are so crap - there are too many other good shows that are consuming my time.

Tristram

That Fox ad is fantastic!

slave1

Minge is easily the best of that bunch but V ain't that bad really, I find it quite watchable

ixoy

slave1 wrote: »

Minge is easily the best of that bunch but V ain't that bad really, I find it quite watchable

Freudian slip or on purpose?

Memnoch

I'm not surprised. They're all rubbish (haven't watched Fringe.)

It's sad thouhg, the network heads will take these trash shows as examples of why people don't want to watch sci-fi anymore.

But it has nothing to do with sci-fi, they are just rubbish.

ixoy

Memnoch wrote: »

I'm not surprised. They're all rubbish (haven't watched Fringe.)

How can you say they're all rubbish if you haven't watched them all - 'Fringe' is good. As is 'Stargate: Universe' (IMO). The rest are kinda rubbish though!

But it has nothing to do with sci-fi, they are just rubbish.

I'm assuming you like some sci-fi shows then? What would you hold as an example of sci-fi they should be aspiring to?

tvnutz

slave1 wrote: »

Minge is easily the best of that bunch but V ain't that bad really, I find it quite watchable

I love me a bit of minge as well to be honest.

Richard Dower

Deleted User wrote: »

Richard just what is your obsession with shows being cancelled, you repeatedly spent most of your time on the Stargate forum posting about ratings, ratings, ratings.

Fringe will not be cancelled, it's doing brilliantly in a traditional death slot for any show. Pretty damn good going for a genre show. No Ordinary Family and the Cape are not science fiction shows.

Caprica was cancelled due to the fact that it just wasn't very good, it was far too mediocre for a prequel to one of the best shows of the past decade. Had it been more similiar to battlestar in both tone and content it may have lasted longer.

Same thing happened with Universe, they replaced the shows traditional humour with a darkness which wasn't necessary. He'll a more apt title would be Stargate Galactica given how much it apes Battlestar.

Darko, you said Fringe was safe, i said on the bubble....and this week another fall, it dropped to a 1.4 rating:

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/02/12/tv-ratings-friday-fringe-falls-further/82440

I'm not happy about this or gloating but i am correct in my observations, ratings dictate renewal and it's not looking good for Fringe

Richard Dower

Richard Dower wrote: »

Darko, you said Fringe was safe, i said on the bubble....and this week another fall, it dropped to a 1.4 rating:

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/02/12/tv-ratings-friday-fringe-falls-further/82440

I'm not happy about this or gloating but i am correct in my observations, ratings dictate renewal and it's not looking good for Fringe

Things are still looking pretty damn good for a show whose time slot is generally used to air one or two episodes before the remainder are pulled. Fringe dropped slightly but big deal it's not exactly at death's door just yet.

Ratings are important but Fringe's ratings are hardly disastrous. May not be up there with mediocre fare such as Glee or Gossip Girl but it's far from the ratings disaster which was the brilliant Terriers.

Richard Dower

^ want to make clear...i want Fringe to continue, but the recent downward trend is disturbing, it needs to maintain a 1.6 for renewal....but maybe they are happy, a 1.4 for Friday isn't horrid but it's not great.

Maybe with a budget cut S4 could come to pass, personally i'd love to see Fringe paired up with Human Target Friday next season, that'd be my dream ticket.

ScumLord

Memnoch wrote: »

I'm not surprised. They're all rubbish (haven't watched Fringe.)

Then your missing out on a brilliant character.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIeDWzls3gs

Syferus

I watched a few first season episodes of Fringe and found the stand-alone stories to be interesting and enjoyable, but the focus on Agent Dunhum and her family mostly dull. The guy from Dawson's Creek also unnerved me as he seemed too smarmy for his own good, almost like an annoying version of Dean in Supernatural.

Indeed Supernatural was part of the reason I slipped away from the series too, with them both sharing alot of their inspiration (The X-Files) and general set-up (mytharcs, stand-alone monsters/fringe science). Supernatural was (and still is) well established in my comfort zone and I didn't feel much need to preserve with a show that I didn't find as charming as it.

That said, I did purchase the season 1 blu ray set when it became cheap and have always meant to give it a real shot from the beginning. Most of the buzz I've seen here and in other places has been positive of the show but I want to go into it with the right mindset or it'll be pointless.

The vague soundings of the over-reaching story I have heard do interest me, so I was wondering how people think the show stacks up compared to my preferred brand of gore and mythology in Supernatural?

Mr E

Syferus wrote: »

The vague soundings of the over-reaching story I have heard do interest me, so I was wondering how people think the show stacks up compared to my preferred brand of gore and mythology in Supernatural?

There is more in common than you think.

Supernatural focuses on stuff like vampires, angels, demons, hellhounds etc.
Fringe focuses on things like cloning, telekinesis, alternative dimensions etc.

Supernatural started with mainly standalone episodes and developed into a very strong series of story arcs.
Fringe started with mainly standalone episodes and developed into a very strong story arc.

Supernatural has a character who is comedy gold (Castiel).
Fringe has a character who is comedy gold (Walter).

Supernatural got better with age.
Fringe got better with age.

etc. etc. etc. etc.

If you like Supernatural, watch Fringe (and vice versa!).

don ramo

Richard Dower wrote: »

Darko, you said Fringe was safe, i said on the bubble....and this week another fall, it dropped to a 1.4 rating:

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/02/12/tv-ratings-friday-fringe-falls-further/82440

I'm not happy about this or gloating but i am correct in my observations, ratings dictate renewal and it's not looking good for Fringe

yeah you should elaborate that nearly all shows had double digit percentage drops, CSI:NY dropped 21%, something obviously drew people away this week,

so you were gloating,

RolandIRL

i think it's been a bad year for telly so far this year. i don't think it's sci-fi shows that are the problem, it's just that the networks can't come up with good quality shows of any genre. i've only picked up 1 or 2 shows this year, and returned to a few returning ones.

Asphyxia

Aww! I like Fringe I'd hate to see it gone

Sideshow Mark

Richard Dower wrote: »

This year alone ALL Sci-Fi/genre shows are very likely to be cancelled:
No Ordinary Family/The Event/The Cape/V/Fringe

Here's what an expert thinks
tvline.com

Whilst The Cape is gone, NOF, The Event & V are all in with a chance of being renewed. Best of all, Fringe is almost a certainty to come back.

gazzer

Richard Dower wrote: »

^ want to make clear...i want Fringe to continue, but the recent downward trend is disturbing, it needs to maintain a 1.6 for renewal....but maybe they are happy, a 1.4 for Friday isn't horrid but it's not great.

Maybe with a budget cut S4 could come to pass, personally i'd love to see Fringe paired up with Human Target Friday next season, that'd be my dream ticket.

Well who would have guessed going by some of the posts here

Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly has insisted that he is pleased with the ratings performance of Fringe.

The sci-fi drama was previously moved to Friday nights amid concerns that it may not be renewed for a fourth season.

However, Reilly told Entertainment Weekly: "I'm so psyched about [the ratings]. It does go to show you the loyalty of the genre audience, when you get the right show. I'm so grateful to that audience [and] I'd like to shake their hands. We have a lot of passion for that show here."

(from digitalspy.co.uk)

Richard Dower

gazzer wrote: »

Well who would have guessed going by some of the posts here

Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly has insisted that he is pleased with the ratings performance of Fringe.

The sci-fi drama was previously moved to Friday nights amid concerns that it may not be renewed for a fourth season.

However, Reilly told Entertainment Weekly: "I'm so psyched about [the ratings]. It does go to show you the loyalty of the genre audience, when you get the right show. I'm so grateful to that audience [and] I'd like to shake their hands. We have a lot of passion for that show here."

(from digitalspy.co.uk)

Adding to this, Fringe showruuners say a 1.2 would be enough:

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/02/15/is-a-1-2-rating-really-enough-to-save-fringe/82885

In an interview with givememyremote.com, the Fringe showrunners Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman had this interesting tidbit to share about their take on the show’s ratings and renewal prospects:

[W]e’ve been told, as long as we’re getting a 1.2 [adults 18-49 rating] or whatever, that’s okay for Friday nights, man!

Our commenters have already brought up the interview on our site, and I’m sure it will soon be part of the Fringe fan frenzy, but I have no doubt that were Fringe to settle at a 1.2 rating it would be cancelled, regardless of what the showrunners claim.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/02/16/fox-fringe-ratings/

slave1

All this whilst Smallville was allowed to go from a great show to the utter crap it is now after 10 seasons, how has it survived so bloddy long?
Just rewatch Lost, that's what I'm doing, an episode a week...

Skerries

i see Supernatural is a safe bet, i thought this was supposed to be the final season?
i'm not complaining as this and Fringe are the only good "sci-fi" left
they need to create something as big and out and out sci-fi as the Stargate, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek universes again
oh and how the hell did The Listener get renewed when it was cancelled after 7 episodes in 2009??

Basq

Skerries wrote: »

i see Supernatural is a safe bet, i thought this was supposed to be the final season?

They said the same about last season!

But Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles are only contracted til the end of this season.

Basq

Basq wrote: »

They said the same about last season!

But Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles are only contracted til the end of this season.

I hope it continues, one of the few shows airing which I genuinely look forward to. Rewatching it from the start again and it remains a truly fantastic show. Well written, brilliantly acted intelligent and immensely entertaining.

Kiith

I still think Supernatural should have ended last season. I'm not saying season 6 has been bad, as it hasn't (actually pleasently surprised by it). I just feel that after everything that happened, it was the right time to end it.

Fringe though, better not get bloody cancelled.