Axiom’s Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

By John J. Joex

It happens every year. A new or returning series slumps in the ratings and the network it resides on gives it the axe despite the fact that the show has a legion of dedicated followers. And every year we complain about the fact that the Nielsen ratings system which tracks viewership is outdated and the networks need a new way to determine the success or failure of a show. But this season we may finally have seen the winds of change move the decision making of network executives in a new direction with the renewal of Dollhouse and perhaps to a lesser extent Heroes and Chuck. Still plenty of shows fell victim to the network executioners and over the next few days I will take a look at what led to their demise.

In Part 1, I looked at this past season’s early victims.  Now, on to the most recent round of cuts:

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Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (FOX) – In its first season, this show started out with strong ratings but saw them fade through its initial run.  Then when its second season debuted in Fall, the downward trend continued.  Despite this, FOX ordered the back nine episodes to give the show a full season and a chance to build back its viewers.  So even those people mad at the network for cancelling it have to acknowledge that they at least gave it a fighting chance.  Of course moving it to Fridays in Spring did not do the show any favors, but neither did the diminishing quality of the scripts.  Ultimately, FOX gave this show that additional chance to prove itself, but it never did and the ratings sunk so low they had little choice but to give it the axe.

Episodes Completed: 9 for Season 1; 22 for Season 2

Chances of Resurrection: Slim.  Even the show’s creator has told fans to let it go.

The Eleventh  Hour (CBS) – Why did this show get cancelled?  Because it had the misfortune of airing on CBS which seems to have a significant amount of contempt toward Science Fiction and Fantasy shows (see my Network Report Cards for more of my thoughts on the eye network).  I mean really, The Eleventh Hour was a Top 25 show that even crept into the Top 20 at times, and the show had a pretty strong fan base.  It also pulled in more total viewers than any other Science Fiction and Fantasy show that aired on the networks this season including Lost, Fringe, and Heroes.  It even beat out The Ghost Whisperer and Medium which CBS renewed and saved from cancellation respectively.  So go figure.  I thought one of the other networks might snatch this one up, but I have not seen any move in that direction and I am sure the cast and crew have already been released from their contracts.  The lesson learned here (and with Moonlight and Jericho before it) is don’t pitch a genre show to CBS.

Episodes Completed: 18

Chances of Resurrection: No idea.  As I said above, I would think another network would be interested, but not one has made a move.  Check out our Save My Show site for campaign information where fans are still pushing hard for a second season.

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Life on Mars (ABC) – This show, the second cancelled American remake of a British series for the season, couldn’t quite figure out what it wanted to be.  Was it a show about a man stuck in the past trying to get back to his own time?  Was it a show about cops of dubious moral character and the implications of their actions?  Was it a send up of 70’s cop shows?  It was really a mix of all those elements and at times it was like mixing ingredients that didn’t blend well together.  Still the series had its moments and showed promise at times.  And it started out with decent ratings though it consistently lost a fair amount of its Grey’s Anatomy lead-in.  Moving it behind Lost in January did not help and ultimately ABC decided to cut ties with the show.  At least they gave the producers the opportunity provide a conclusion (unlike what they did with Pushing Daisies and Eli Stone), though the finale proved somewhat unsatisfying.

Episodes Completed: 17

Chances of Resurrection: What would the point be?  They resolved Sam Tyler’s dilemma in the final episode.

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Reaper (CW) – This devilish little show was the Rodney Dangerfield of the past couple of seasons as it just could not get any respect.  It barely survived an encounter with its namesake after its first season, but could not avoid destiny at the end of its second.  The show received good marks from critics during both of its seasons (though I felt it really faded during the second half of Season 2), but it just never managed to pull a sizable audience, even for the CW.  And since that network has enough problems currently anyway, they couldn’t see fit to hitching their wagon to a ratings albatross for a third season.

Episodes Completed: 18 for Season 1; 13 for Season 2

Chances of Resurrection: It could happen.  Production company ABC Studios has looked at the possibility of syndicating it to the CW affiliates or selling it to one of the cable networks.  Nothing has happened yet, but the show still has a chance to beat the odds once again.

Cupid (ABC) – This poor little show just never had a chance.  Based on a failed series from ten years ago, for some reason ABC decided to greenlight a remake (instead of the more obvious choices like Firefly, Moonlight, Jericho . . . ) but lost confidence in it early on.  They cut back the episode order before it even aired then pushed it to the Tuesday 10 PM EST deathslot, then started pre-empting it after it debuted.  The show was actually not half bad, not necessarily my cup of tea, but I could see it succeeding with the proper promotion.  And its premiere actually pulled better numbers than expected, but it went quickly downhill from there.  All told, the alphabet network must have shelled out somewhere between $15 and $20 million, if not more, for production costs and promotion of this show, but it seems that early on they decided that money was just going down the toilet.  And the networks wonder why they are struggling now.

Episodes Completed: 7

Chances of Resurrection: I would say none, but then how did this show get revived in the first place?

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Kings (NBC) – This show didn’t make it because it just veered too far from what Prime Time audiences would accept.  It gave us an alternate world that mirrored our own while also varying from it in significant aspects.  And it gave us some pretty intriguing political and social drama.  However, it was probably too subtle, thus lacking enough oomph to turn it into a must-talk-about water cooler topic like Lost or Heroes (first season).  And this one debuted to poor numbers which only went down from there.  And with struggling NBC already taking on water, they decided to let go of this anchor.

Episodes Completed: 13, the seven remaining episodes will air in Summer starting June 13th

Chances of Resurrection: Slim to none

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Knight Rider (NBC) – Finally an easy one.  This show was cancelled because it was just plain bad and it had bad ratings.  This revival of NBC’s venerable franchise could have been one of those guilty pleasure, so-bad-it’s-good shows, but it missed that mark.  The peacock network does deserve some credit for sticking behind the show despite its slow start and attempting to retool it to broaden its appeal, but the fact is that the show just never caught on.  Thus it went down the same path as NBC’s last attempt to reboot a franchise (Bionic Woman) and soared off into TV oblivion.

Episodes Completed: 17 plus the two hour pilot

Chances of Resurrection: None

Next, I ask why weren’t they cancelled as I look at the unlikely renewals of Dollhouse, Heroes, and Chuck.

See also Why Were the Cancelled? (Part 1) where I consider what happened with Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, My Own Worst Enemy, and Valentine.

Related Articles:

Johnny Jay’s Network Report Cards Part 1 and Part 2

Johnny Jay’s Report Card on the 2008-09 Season

2008-09 Season Science Fiction and Fantasy TV Awards

Plus, Your Chance to Grade the Networks

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