Axiom’s Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

Is Reaper Dead? The CW cancelled Reaper, but its production company, ABC Studios, has tried to keep it alive by looking at a syndication deal with the CW’s affiliates as well as shopping it around to various cable channels. Over the past few weeks, rumors have circulated that a third season was a go, only to be dashed the next day. But now, Tyler Labine has told TV Guide that talks have come to a halt, and while the series has not been officially laid to rest “as far as everyone is concerned, it’s over.” Fans of the series have at least a little bit to look forward to, though, because according to Bret Harrison it will continue in comic books. No official word on when that adaptation will come out.

Comedy Central Orders New Futurama plus Ghosts/Aliens: They can’t keep a good show down. Despite getting cancelled by FOX in 2003, Matt Groening’s comedy Futurama came back on four direct-to-DVD movies and now Comedy Central has ordered a new season of 26 episodes that will begin airing in 2010 and will include the return of many from the original cast and crew. Also, that channel has ordered the supernatural comedy pilot Ghosts/Aliens based on Trey Hamburger’s novel of the same name. This one follows two pot smoking friends determined to prove that ghosts and aliens really exist. There is no word at this point on when the latter will hit the schedule.

UFO to Fly to the Big Screen: Plans are in the works to bring Gerry Anderson’s UFO to the big screen. This series which first aired in 1970, followed the covert war between earth, guided by the secret organization SHADO, and aliens who wanted to use humans as spare parts. It was Anderson’s first foray into live action television after spending years working on his “supermarionation” shows like Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, and Stingray. Though the series has a dated look of the late sixties/early seventies and is often decried for its cheesiness, it had first rate special effects for the time and presented some rather gritty, hard-hitting stories. Gerry Anderson has expressed interest in being involved with the production after getting shut-out of the big screen adaptation (flop) of his Thunderbirds series.

Kings Flops in the Ratings Again: After getting booted to Saturdays in the regular season following its dismal debut then getting yanked and exiled to Summer, the return of the alternate reality political drama Kings this past Saturday went almost unnoticed. The show pulled a paltry 0.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic and only 1.6 million viewers. With numbers that low, NBC may decide that the show is not even fit for Saturdays in the Summer and could pull it from their schedule altogether. If so, fans of the series will still get one more chance to see its full run as a DVD release is scheduled September. In other ratings news, the finale of Pushing Daisies dropped from the previous week’s number pulling only a 0.7 rating in the 18-49 demo and 2.2 million viewers. NBC’s Canadian import series, The Listener, also slid a bit in the ratings, pulling a 1.3 rating and 4.2 million viewers. That show did have to contend with the NBA finals, though, and it did improve its numbers in the second half of its hour timeslot which is a good thing.

Moore Thinks Virtuality Could Still Go to Series: The two hour pilot for Ronald D. Moore’s Virtuality will finally air next week on FOX. Network execs had seen the pilot previously and asked for some revisions then decided not to put it on their Fall schedule. Airing the pilot in Summer would suggest that it has little chance of continuing beyond its first two hours, but creator Moore remains hopeful. He thinks that if the series gets good reviews and decent ratings that FOX might consider giving it a chance, perhaps as a mid-season replacement. They also shot several webisodes that would have run concurrently if the project went to series, and the fate of those is uncertain at this point as well (though they would probably make it into a DVD release). Virtuality debuts on June 26th at 8 PM EST.

Flash Forward Gets Debut Date: ABC’s new serialized drama Flash Forward has received a debut date of September 24th. The series follows the lives of several people after most of the population the world experiences a blackout followed by mysterious visions. The series will run on Thursdays in the 8 PM EST timeslot. ABC has not yet announced a debut date for its supernatural drama Eastwick which will debut in fall as well.

Previous Update:

June 8th – Heroes gets a New Villain; Blade Runner Inspired Web Series; Stargate: Universe Preview

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