Ratings Results – Looking Back at the Final Results for Last Season
September 10, 2009 at 8:51 am | In John J. Joex, Ratings Results | Leave a CommentTags: Chuck, Dollhouse, Eleventh Hour, Fringe, Ghost Whisperer, Heroes, Lost, Medium, Network Ratings, Reaper, Smallville, Supernatural
By John J. Joex
Will Dollhouse survive through a second season?
A new season is kicking off, so it’s time again for fans to start wringing their hands in anticipation as they watch the weekly ratings results and worry about the fates of their favorite shows. It’s also time for all of us all to start cursing the Nielsen ratings system again and insist that there must be a better way to determine the fate of the network shows. And who knows, after last season when we saw the unlikely renewals of shows like Chuck and Dollhouse, perhaps the networks are starting to consider other factors when deciding whether or not to keep a show around. But still, the Nielsens have the loudest voice (and a virtual monopoly), so we will keep watching their numbers while at the same time ruing their existence. So as the current season is just getting started, let’s take a quick look at the final ratings results from last season.
If you look at the final tally for the Science Fiction and Fantasy shows (available at this link), the most glaring thing you notice is that the show that ended the season ranked highest among the genre offerings is not on the Fall schedule. CBS’s The Eleventh Hour ended the season ranked 22nd out of over 200 shows and averaged over 12 million viewers per episode. But as I have noted multiple times over the last few months, the eye network is not where you want to be if you are a Science Fiction and Fantasy show. Ending in the Top 25 was not good enough for that network, so The Eleventh Hour got the boot.
Next on the list is ABC mainstay Lost, which ended up ranked 28th. That’s a notable drop for that show from the prior season where it ended in the Number 19 slot. But still it did well enough in the ratings and DVD sales to assure that it would return for its sixth and last season. After Lost, we find The Ghost Whisperer at the Number 34 slot. You may wonder why this survived when the higher ranked Eleventh Hour got kicked to the curb, but this is the one exception on CBS since it airs on Fridays (a night with lower ratings expectations) and almost always wins its timeslot. FOX’s Fringe follows at the Number 43 slot then we find Heroes at the Number 50 slot. That show took quite a tumble from the Number 21 slot where it ended after its second season. Still, NBC has been struggling of late so they decided to keep it around.
After that, most of the shows left in the rankings received an axe during or after the season. Medium, which landed on the 61st rung received its walking papers from NBC, but CBS snatched it up to pair it with The Ghost Whisperer this season. Chuck, which fell to the 73rd slot after finishing 63rd in its first season, managed to survive for another year, but like Heroes that is mostly because it resides on struggling NBC (and let’s give the show’s loyal, Subway-chomping fans some credit for making their voice heard as well).
Then you get to the bottom where you find Dollhouse and the CW’s offerings. Dollhouse, which ended up ranked 133rd and averaged a 1.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic received the miracle renewal of the ages. The CW’s Smallville was next among genre shows at Number 155 and an average rating of 1.3 and Supernatural followed at Number 164 and an average rating of 1.1. The CW does not demand as high of an audience as the Big Four networks, so those shows survived (their numbers are also diluted some by extra repeat broadcasts factored into the average). Still, Reaper (174th) and Valentine (190th) slipped below that network’s tolerance levels and both ended up getting the axe.
You can see the final results for all of the Science Fiction and Fantasy shows from both the 2008-09 season and 2007-08 season at our Ratings Tracker page. And stay tuned this coming season as I provide weekly ratings updates along with my predictions on which shows are in danger of cancellation.
Countdown to Fall: A Few Spoilers for the Upcoming Shows
September 8, 2009 at 6:30 am | In John J. Joex, Previews | Leave a CommentTags: Dollhouse, Flash Forward, Fringe, Heroes, Supernatural
By John J. Joex
The Fall season for Science Fiction and Fantasy viewing kicks off this Thursday with the premieres of Vampire Diaries and the fifth season of Supernatural on the CW. So to whet your appetite for the upcoming season, I thought I would pass on a few spoilers for several of the upcoming shows. This is information that has been buzzing around the Internet of late so I thought I would bring some of it together here and provide a bit of teaser for what is to come for five of the most anticipated shows that will bow in the next couple of weeks.
Supernatural (Returns September 10th) – Last season’s finale left Sam and Dean on the verge of facing off with Satan himself. So will they go full tilt and bring us apocalypse on Earth in the coming season? According to series creator Eric Kripke, yes they will, though it will be on a “budget” since the show does not have a whole lot of money. He claims that during Season 5, the Winchester brothers will be kept quite busy trying to keep the escaped Lucifer from spreading his domain to Earth. The coming season will also focus on Sam and Dean repairing their relationship after the strain it endured in Season 4
Fringe (Returns September 17th) – As those who caught the season finale of Fringe know, Olivia crossed over into the parallel dimension and came face to face with William Bell (Leonard Nimoy). This season we will find out more about this parallel Earth (and no, King Silas is not ruling a modern day kingdom somewhere nearby). Many things are the same in this world such as Obama being president, but we already saw that the World Trade Center is still standing and we will also find out that John F. Kennedy is still alive. Plus, we will see the implications of that gravestone for Peter Bishop that we saw in the finale. It appears that the Walter Bishop from out Earth stole the Peter from the parallel dimension when he was still a child, and now he will have to face the consequences.
Dollhouse (Returns September 18th) – Many who watched Dollhouse last season felt that it got off to a shaky start and only begin to really pick up steam after about the fifth or sixth episode, and this was the result of FOX executives tinkering with the show. This year, though, FOX has promised to leave Joss Whedon alone and let him do his thing. Therefore, the series will dispense with stand alone episodes and start unfolding a story arc that follows directly from the last season’s finale but which will lead toward the future events suggested in episode “Epitaph One” available only on the Season 1 DVD set. They will deal with the implications of Alpha being on the loose and will also start to bring Sierra more to the forefront of the show. Boyd will still question the morality of the Dollhouse, but now that he is head of security, he is also responsible for keeping it running.
Heroes (Returns September 21st) – Sure, Heroes gets regularly derided for its drop-off in quality following its first season, but there is still much anticipation for its new season as it ranks in the Top 5 of our recent poll asking which shows viewers will definitely watch this Fall. We know from the way last season ended that the core group of characters will form a new version of The Company to keep tabs on people with abilities. They will also come into contact with a traveling carnival which also seeks out people with abilities and whose sinister ringleader is played by new cast member Robert Knepper (Prison Break). Also, we will get the obligatory character returning from the dead as Tracy (Ali Larter) comes back into the fold.
FlashForward (Debuts September 24th) – In this new series from ABC, everybody on the planet blacks out for two minutes and seventeen seconds during which time they have visions of future events. The series then deals with people trying to figure out what all this meant. According to the series creators, this future is six months ahead of the time of the blackouts (as opposed 21 years from to the book it was based on). They also say that by the end of Season 1, viewers will get the answers to what everybody saw because they planned out the entire season early on. They also claim to have enough additional storylines to carry the show for several more seasons, but wanted to provide some answers early on. There is no word on whether they planned for a thirteen or twenty two episode season, though.
Cancellation Watch: How Do You Know if Your Favorite Show Will get Cancelled?
September 3, 2009 at 7:47 am | In Cancellation Watch, John J. Joex | 3 CommentsBy John J. Joex
The new season is just about to start, so as you are watching your favorite returning series or starting to get attached to one of the new entries, how do you know if that show’s network will suddenly decide to pull the plug on it? Simple answer: you don’t. Who knows what goes through the minds of network executives? But there are a few trends you can watch for to give you some indicators. These are things that I have noticed over the last couple of years and they have helped me in making decisions on the Cancellation Alert status of a show in our Ratings Tracker section (which is starting back up in two weeks). Watch for these trends, but also know that many other forces come into play as well.
If you are watching a show on ABC that is not Lost (and they have three bowing this Fall: FlashForward, V, and Eastwick), don’t get too attached to it. You have to give the network credit for trying as they continue to give us new entries in the genre. In the last few years they have given us such inventive shows as Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Life On Mars. But what do all three of those shows have in common (in fact every Science Fiction and Fantasy show on the network in the past five years)? They all got the axe after short runs. ABC keeps looking for the next Lost, but unfortunately has little patience for shows that do not deliver stellar ratings. The fact is that Lost was a rare event in that it captured a large audience right out of the gates. Most shows in the genre, though, take a while to catch on and rarely perform at the top of the charts. So unless the three new entries from ABC score very well in the ratings, I do not have high hopes for them sticking around too long.
And speaking of networks with low tolerance, CBS tops the list. If it is not The Ghost Whisperer, do not get attached to it. To reinforce this, note that CBS has no new Science Fiction and Fantasy shows on its schedule this season (nor do I even think they have anything waiting in the wings). This means that Medium, which CBS grabbed after NBC cancelled it last season, is on notice. That series gets the Friday 9 PM EST timeslot that no show has thrived in for years. Sure it’s paired up with the network’s successful Ghost Whisperer, which will help. And CBS produces the show meaning that it costs them less to air it (another trend to look for, by the way). But the network has shown no willingness to support Science Fiction and Fantasy shows in the recent past. Witness their cancellation of The Eleventh Hourlast season which ended up ranked Number 21 among all shows (highest among any genre show for the season, in fact). CBS is committed to the CSI / NCIS style procedurals or sitcoms and reality shows and just does not have much interest in branching out. So if Medium sees much of a drop-off from its The Ghost Whisperer lead-in during its first season on the eye network, count it as endangered. And if a new genre series bows at mid-season, don’t get too attached to it.
And what about FOX, the network once notorious as the Sci Fi Killer? Well last year, that network seemed to experience a rebirth relating to genre shows. First, Fringe bowed early to unspectacular ratings, but FOX did not flinch. In fact, they moved the show to the post-House timeslot where it thrived and eventually became a hit. Then, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles stumbled out of the gates at the start of its second season, but FOX did not lose faith and in fact picked it up for a full season of episodes. Sure, the show eventually got the axe, but that was after it continued to lose viewers. Then there was the miracle renewal of Dollhouse which even the CW might have cut ties with based on its poor returns. So were FOX executives just smoking the good stuff last year and feeling really generous? Or have they changed their way of thinking and become more Sci Fi friendly? This one is hard to call at this point. We will have to see how things go this season, but I’m hoping for the best.
As for the actual ratings performance of a show, networks are usually not as interested in the overall viewership of a show as they are in its performance in certain demographics. The most desired demographic is the 18-49 group because that represents the majority of the people making buying decisions in a home. The more narrow 18-34 group is also quite desirable because that group tends to respond better to advertising. The continued high performance of Heroes in that group, despite its overall drop-off, helped keep it alive last year. And sometimes, networks pay attention to even more narrow groups. Last year’s clunker Knight Rider performed well with males in the 18-34 range which is apparently a hard audience to keep in front of broadcast television on a regular basis. That is how the show received an extension beyond its initial thirteen episodes despite overall poor numbers.
Cable channels do not demand as high of an audience for original shows as the networks do because along with advertising they make money from the fees they charge to the cable providers that carry them. So for example, this past Summer’s new entry on SyFy, Warehouse 13, is considered a huge hit because it has been averaging 3.5 – 4 million viewers per episode. However, on any of the broadcast networks except the CW, those numbers would assure a quick exit for the show. Of course even the cable channels have certain levels of tolerance, and will cut ties if a show drops below a certain level or does not perform well with their focus demographic, showing little more patience than the broadcast networks (witness ABC Family’s cancellation of the much-lauded The Middleman in Summer 2008 and note how this also ties back to ABC’s overall attitude mentioned above). Where these levels are varies from channel to channel, but they are there. So while many fan campaigns seek to target the cable channels as rescuers when the broadcast networks cancel a show, they should know that these venues still possess a very similar mindset, just on a smaller scale.
Another trend to look for is a network’s desire to pad out episodes to present a more attractive syndication package, and this impacts two of NBC’s returning shows. Channels looking to pick up a series through syndication prefer more episodes to less. That way if they air the show on weekdays, it would run for several months before repeating itself. Fifty episodes can make a decent syndication package if the show brings a loyal fanbase with it, but a hundred plus episodes is much more attractive. Heroes will have over 70 episodes after the completion of the upcoming season and Chuck will have close to 50. At around those numbers, the network could afford to keep one or both of the shows going even if their ratings are not that great, knowing that they will make back their money in syndication. I’m thinking this will factor in more for Chuck as that show has not seen as much drop-off in viewership as Heroes. Keeping that one alive for yet another season would bring its total to between 60 and 70 episodes after a fourth season, which helps boost its market value on the syndication network. As for Heroes, if it continues to fade and generate more negative buzz across the internet, I’m thinking NBC will go ahead and cut ties with that one.
Other factors that could affect the decision making of networks executives are DVD sales, Internet downloads, and online viewing, though it is still hard to tell how much weight each of these carries. Allegedly, the iTunes downloads of Dollhouse factored into the decision to renew that show. It regularly topped the iTunes charts for Television shows during freshman run. Also, supposedly FOX executives expected strong DVD sales for the series (and it is currently number 3 on Amazon.com for Science Fiction and Fantasy box sets). Then there is the online viewing option at sites like Hulu.com and typically at the networks’ own sites as well. That one seems to be the hardest to gauge right now (I have seen nothing which consistently tracks those numbers), but it has to be a factor because the online broadcasts include advertising spots. I believe that all three of these will become more prominent in determining the fate of many shows going forward, but it is hard to tell how quickly that will happen.
Ultimately, it’s still a guessing game. Networks have their stockholders and board of directors to answer to and ultimately they just want to show that they are turning a profit. So they act accordingly, even if their decisions often mystify us. So when watching your favorite shows this season, keep these trends in mind and know that these along with other forces could influence their fate. Also know that if the right producer gets the right network executive drunk at the right time, that could save the show as well (and I’m still convinced this is what Whedon did).
Previous: A New Season and More Shows to be Cancelled
Go to the Cancellation Watch Page for the 2009-10 Season
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New Online Viewing: Get Lost on Hulu
September 2, 2009 at 6:36 am | In John J. Joex | 2 CommentsTags: Anime, Defying Gravity, Hulu, Lost
By John J. Joex
This past Summer, Disney TV and Hulu.com worked out an arrangement to allow the online provider to air properties owned by that company which includes shows aired on ABC and the cable channel ABC Family. Of course the biggest news to Science Fiction and Fantasy fans coming out of this agreement is the fact that Lost is now available for viewing at Hulu.com. The first four seasons of the show are currently available along with the last five episodes of Season 5. I am assuming that all of Season 5 will become available once Season 6 starts (in January 2010) and that the most current five episodes of the new season will be there from that point on. Of course Lost is still available at ABC.com, and in high-def at that, but I find Hulu’s interface much easier to work with. We will include links to both sites in our online listings, though. A few other Science Fiction and Fantasy shows from ABC are also available for viewing at Hulu.com such as Day Break, Defying Gravity, and Kyle XY, and I am assuming that more will follow in the coming months.
Hulu has also added several Science Fiction and Fantasy related animated series (some in conjunction with Funimation.com) such as Fist of the North Star, Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid, Gatchaman, Negima!? Magister Negi Magi, Ramen Fighter Miki, Return To The Planet Of The Apes (the Saturday Morning animated series from the 70’s), The Mysterious Cities of Gold, and X-Men Evolution. Gatchaman is not the original 1970’s series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman which spawned the Americanized version known as Battle of the Planets, despite the fact that Hulu lists 1972 as the original airdates. It is the three part OVA (original video animation) revival of the series that appeared in the early nineties. It is still worth checking out, though, for fans of the original series (and if you are only familiar with the Battle of the Planets adaptation, be prepared for a shock when you get an idea of how much better the original was).
And since I mentioned Funimation.com, Anime fans will definitely want to check out that site. They have a huge selection of Anime series available there for free online viewing. It’s probably way too many for us to include in our Online Index, but we will start adding some of the highlights there over the next few months. In the mean time, go check out that site for a ton of fun with Anime!
Following is a list of all the most recent additions to Hulu in the Science Fiction and Fantasy television realm. And if you ask what the heck H.R. Pufnstuf is doing on this list, then I say don’t be dissin’ the Puf-Man! Those of us who grew up with this show back in the seventies know it was a creepy, bizarre, hallucinogenic romp that really sparked the imagination!
Also, check out our full list of Science Fiction and Fantasy shows available for free online viewing.
New on Hulu.com:
Astro Boy (1980)
Day Break
Dead Like Me
Defying Gravity
Fist of the North Star
Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid
Gatchaman
H.R. Pufnstuf
Kyle XY
Lost
M.A.N.T.I.S.
Manga Minutes
Merlin
Negima!? Magister Negi Magi
Ramen Fighter Miki
Return To The Planet Of The Apes
The Mysterious Cities of Gold
Warehouse 13
X-Men Evolution
Cancellation Watch: A New Season and More Shows to be Cancelled
August 27, 2009 at 6:14 am | In Cancellation Watch, John J. Joex | 3 CommentsTags: Science Fiction Television
By John J. Joex
Last season, my Cancellation Watch column tracked the likelihood of each Science Fiction and Fantasy show getting renewed. Also, in my Ratings Tracker column, I tracked a Cancellation Alert for each show. Since the two were just a mirror image of each other, and to simplify things, this year I am going to use just one method of tracking which will be the Cancellation Alert. This has five levels (Low, Moderate, Medium, Elevated, and High) and tracks the likelihood that a series will get the axe.
Not to toot my own horn too much (but I’m gonna), but last year my tracking system gave a good indication of whether a series was in trouble. I predicted that shows like Pushing Daisies, Knight Rider, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles were in trouble within their first few weeks, and I had shows like Life on Mars and The Eleventh Hour pegged as endangered as early as last November. In fact, every show which had the Cancellation Alert raised above Low was gone be season end with four exceptions: Fringe, Heroes, Chuck, and Dollhouse. Fringe I pegged as in trouble early on because it got off to a very slow start, but it quickly picked up steam especially once it was paired with House and I dropped its Cancellation Alert back to Low. Heroes and Chuck would have received the axe if they resided on any network other than NBC. And Dollhouse was the miracle renewal of the ages that nobody could see coming.
So what’s the secret to my system? I really don’t have one. I just watch the weekly numbers then just go with my gut based on the network that airs the series and how they have previously leaned toward Science Fiction and Fantasy shows. It’s that simple. Sure, it’s not as scientific as the Renew/Cancel Index published by TV by the Numbers (which is also quite accurate and I highly recommend checking out), but then I did a pretty good job of it last season so you might want to keep an eye on my predictions for the coming year.
So as we prepare for the new season, I have set up the 2009 Cancellation Watch page with the fifteen Fall Science Fiction and Fantasy shows and my pre-season predictions. I am going with these based on my initial gut feeling at this point as I have no numbers to back them up yet. But follow my weekly Ratings Tracker column which will start up in September for a better gauge on which shows are struggling and which ones are doing okay.
Go to the Cancellation Watch for the 2009-10 Season
 Catch up with last season’s episodes before the new season begins. Fringe, Dollhouse, Heroes, Lost, and more are available on DVD now. |
Countdown to Fall: Five Science Fiction and Fantasy Shows Facing Big Question Marks This Year
August 26, 2009 at 11:04 am | In Articles, John J. Joex, Previews | 1 CommentTags: Eastwick, Heroes, Stargate Universe, V, Vampire Diaries
By John J. Joex
The Fall 2009 season is almost upon us bringing us sixteen shows in the Science Fiction and Fantasy vein, ten returning series and six new entries including AMC’s The Prisoner mini-series (see our Fall Preview for more information on each these shows). That’s quite a lot of television viewing, even if you only plan on watching half of those shows on a regular basis. Last week I gave my list of five must-watch shows for the upcoming season. Now it’s time to take a look at five shows facing some pretty big question marks as they prepare for their Fall bow. This includes one returning show that faces the task of winning back fans and four new shows that I question whether it is really worth our time to commit to watching on a weekly basis.
Not dead yet!
Heroes (NBC, Returns September 21st)– How much does this one have left in the tank? After a stellar first season (weakened a bit by an anti-climatic finale, though) this show has struggled through its two subsequent seasons. And this has lead to a significant drop off in viewership as the series tumbled down to only around six million viewers by the end of last season. The creative team just cannot seem to reconnect with what made the show great early on and the show has continued to deliver erratic episodes. Bryan Fuller returned to the series late last season, sparking some sense of hope among fans, but he quickly abandoned ship. Allegedly that was planned all along, but I would much rather see his name in the credits. So we have to ask at what does the future hold for this show? How many times can they kill of characters to only have them come back to life again (and we already know Tracy is coming back)? How many times can the time travel to reset the timeline? How many more characters can they throw at us? The show has just become tired and has to rediscover itself pretty quickly otherwise NBC (who remained patient with it last year) will most likely show it the door. And there is no one in the real world who can time travel and save it.
V (ABC, Debuts November 3rd) – Those who remember the original mini-series know that it was quite an event when it aired in 1983 giving us one of the biggest special effects laden spectacles ever to be seen on television up to that point. And the follow up mini-series was kind of fun as well. But by the time they had turned this into a weekly series, they seemed to be scraping the bottom of the barrel. Now ABC will put us through the whole cycle again, but without the mini-series kick-off. My whole problem with V, which became a factor from the second mini-series on (spoilers to follow), is that once the humans found out that the aliens were actually just lizards wearing costumes, what was the point for them to keep the disguises on? Those things must have been incredibly uncomfortable, but they continued to wear them throughout the run of the series. I was hoping that the new series would dispense with that and use some sort of transformation gimmick instead, but the preview trailer suggests not. This was something I could just never get past in the original version and will apparently have to deal with in the remake. I will definitely tune in to see how the new version looks, but I am hoping it diverges significantly from where the original went after the initial mini-series.
Stargate: Universe (SyFy, Debuts October 2nd) – Trapped on a starship at the far side of the galaxy with no way home, Captain Janeway and her crew must struggle to survive with only their wits in Delta Quadrant . . . oh wait. Wrong franchise! But still, it seems like we have the same story. Stargate: Universe follows the exploits of a team who, after boarding an ancient starship, get flung off into deep space and must try to find their way back to Earth. I have never been a huge fan of the Stargate franchise to begin with, so seeing that this is following the path of that other well know “Star” franchise does not really entice me into watching the series. Still, I admit that the previous two Stargate incarnations have been watchable and have delivered consistently competent episodes, so I will at least take a peek at the early episodes of this show.
Eastwick (ABC, Debuts September 23rd) – Based on John Updike’s novel The Witches of Eastwick which also spawned the film starring Jack Nicholson, this series follows three women with magical powers who find that their abilities increase when a devilish visitor comes to town. I admit that the preview trailer peaked my interest in this a bit, but ultimately I wonder if this one will just be Charmed for an older crowd. The fact that this concept has been tried twice before on television and resulted in two failed pilots for both NBC and FOX does not bode well for Eastwick’s future. And ABC has not had a good track record recently in the Science Fiction and Fantasy realm beyond Lost for the last few years (though we have to give them credit for continuing to try). At this point, I’m thinking this will be one of the early casualties for the coming Fall season.
Vampire Diaries (CW, Debuts September 10th) – Oh my god! This series is going to be just the coolest! I mean I have all the books and Paul Wesley is just so dreamy , and . . . Oh wait. I’m not a fourteen year old girl. So maybe I’m not the demographic they are shooting for. This series is adapted from L.J. Smith’s book series of the same name and essentially gives us Twilight for the small screen. In fact, reading the descriptions of the Vampire Diaries novels, I can barely distinguish them from what I know about the Twilight series. But I guess that just shows how far off the mark I am from that target audience. I actually think that this one could be a hit for the CW (God knows they need one), but unlike Supernatural, which this will lead into, I doubt this will attract many viewers beyond its core demographic. They have to just hope that there are enough girls in that pre-teen to young teen range that will keep coming back for more of this.
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The Kirby Files: Kirby the Myth-Maker
August 21, 2009 at 10:52 am | In John J. Joex, Kirby Files | 1 CommentTags: Comics, Jack Kirby
By John J. Joex
During his career, Jack Kirby worked on several comics that had their origins in mythology such as Thor (Norse Mythology) and The Eternals (various mythologies combined) and he even created his own mythological ethos with his Fourth World series. These settings were quite fitting for the King, as they provided the grand, epic scale for a boundless imagination that demanded an expanded palette to work from. Even when working on comics that had no direct ties to mythology, he still managed to bring that same, grand scale to many of his stores. The Fantastic Four, Kamandi, his later work on Captain America, and even the more grounded world of the Losers all took on an epic feel when he worked on them.
Jack Kirby was a story-teller first and foremost, and even if you think the dialogue that he penned himself was stilted and a bit corny, you have to acknowledge that he was the master at unfolding epic larger-than-life tales. Like some animated raconteur extolling the exploits of heroes and gods around a primal campfire, he carried on the same tradition that kept folklore and mythology alive through times past. And just like those stories of old did, Kirby’s tales speak to his modern day readers. As renowned mythologist Joseph Campbell noted in his studies on heroes and the monomyth, these stories conveyed universal truths while at the same time exploring deep-rooted, personal meanings.
The characters in Kirby’s works often took second importance to the story itself, often a criticism from Kirby detractors but I believe this springs from a failure to recognize his true intentions. For Kirby, especially when did his own writing, the characters were simply another facet of the tale and he was less interested in fleshing out their particular character traits as he was with using these people to carry forward the overall story. He often gave us caricatures and archetypes, the same ilk you would find populating mythology and folklore. He did not necessarily create three-dimensional characters, but he did give us people that exemplified various traits and emotions that we find within ourselves.
Take for example Orion from the Fourth World series. Here we have a character locked in inner-turmoil between the side of himself that wants to follow the way of peace and the New Gods and the bestial inner demon linked to his Apokolips roots. Then you have one of his closest friends, Lightray, who is the eternal optimist. Throughout the Fourth World books that Kirby wrote, we are given little more character development than this for either of these two, yet for some reason they resonate with us and come alive in his stories. That is because they represent traits that we see within ourselves or strive to possess and Kirby uses this to touch on our own inner feelings. Take Kamandi as another example. What do we ever really find out about him as a person other than he grew up in an underground bunker with his grandfather? What does he like or dislike, what did he learn while there, what were his aspirations? We never learn any of this, but it never detracts from the story. Instead, somehow Kirby gets us to identify with this person as an everyman thrown into a post-apocalyptic world turned upside down and we never even think to ask those questions.
As I mentioned above, many have derided the dialogue that Kirby gave us when he wrote his own stories. And I have to admit it could get pretty whacky at times, especially when he threw in his rather clunky attempts at hip dialogue. But typically, what he gave us was grand, operatic speech that befitted the stories it appeared in. His characters spoke the way you expected someone from mythology or folklore to speak. Not in the manner of realistic discourse, but delivering lines that conveyed grand ideas or hit upon a primal nerve.
So if you are new to Jack Kirby’s work, or previously dismissed him, or are in the process of revisiting his archives, then approach his stories (especially those he wrote himself) with his tendency toward mythological story-telling in mind. If you ever saw the opening to the 80’s series Amazing Stories (which was actually one of the most un-amazing television shows ever) which showed the animated shaman-like character reciting stories to eager listeners by a roaring fire, know that Jack Kirby is that person. Recounting marvelous chronicles of bigger-than-life characters that will unleash your imagination while at the same time touch upon some deep, inner-feelings; the true sign of a master story-teller. Ultimately Kirby did more than just draw comic books, he created mythologies and folktales that spoke to his present-day readers yet would also live on to inspire future generations.
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August 7 – Who Created What?
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Countdown to Fall: Five Science Fiction and Fantasy Shows You Have to Tune in For
August 20, 2009 at 6:35 am | In Articles, John J. Joex, Previews | 3 CommentsTags: Dollhouse, Flash Forward, Fringe, Supernatural, The Prisoner
By John J. Joex
Will Sam and Dean have Sympathy for the Devil this Season?
The upcoming Fall season will bring us sixteen shows in the Science Fiction and Fantasy vein, ten returning series and six new entries including AMC’s The Prisoner mini-series (see our Fall Preview for more information on each these shows). That’s quite a commitment of television viewing if you plan on catching all of them, and if so you’d better clear your schedule for the next few months and prep your DVR. Of course most people just don’t have the time to watch that much television, so I decided to weigh in with some advice on the must watch events for the upcoming Fall. Because, do you really need to tune in for a show like Vampire Diaries (OMG, only if you are female and under 15!) or yet another rehash of a long forgotten television series like V? True, the broadcast networks and cable channels are giving us a lot more to choose from in the Science Fiction and Fantasy realm these days, but how much is really worth our time? Well in answer to that, here’s the five shows that I definitely think should make it to the top of your viewing list for the coming months. Not that you shouldn’t check out the other shows, just make sure that you don’t miss these (listed in order of debut/return date).
(Note: I am only considering the shows that will bow in the Fall which excludes mid-season entries like Lost, Chuck, and Day One. I will focus on those shows as we get closer to the new year.)
Supernatural (CW, Returns September 10th) – How can you not tune in when all Hell is about to break loose. Literally. The Season 4 finale left Sam and Dean as they were about to face off with Lucifer himself! And even though I don’t believe that Season 5 will really give us Hell on Earth, I have become quite addicted to this show about two brothers doing battle with malevolent supernatural forces, and I expect it to continue to deliver some good stories. And hey, series creator Eric Kripke wants this to be the show’s last season (the CW probably has other plans, though), so no telling what could happen in the coming year.
Fringe (FOX, Returns September 17th) – Yeah, I know. I complained about this show quite regularly last season. But I also acknowledged that when the show hit on all cylinders it really soared. And Fringe definitely went out on a strong note last season (Olivia in a parallel universe face to face with William Bell), so you have to at least tune in for the resolution. And who wants to miss out Leonard Nimoy’s return to Science Fiction television?
Dollhouse (FOX, Returns September 18th) – Many people grumbled that this series got off to an uneven start last season, but few deny that it went out on a really strong note. I actually enjoyed it all the way through and look forward to its second season which sprang from a miracle renewal. Joss Whedon’s show about people who take on different personalities for each new mission gave us something new and challenging last season in the land of rehashes. And the fact that definite personas started to emerge for Echo and the other actives despite the fact that they changed personalities each week speaks to how well the creative team developed the stories and characters. Plus, all Whedon fans know that his shows continue to improve with age.
FlashForward (ABC, Debuts September 24th) – This series, based on the Robert J. Sawyer novel of the same name, chronicles the events after the entire world blacks our for two minutes and seventeen seconds and sees visions of the future during that time. It is being billed as the next Lost and what I have seen so far looks pretty intriguing. The producers have promised to answer many of the questions posed by the first season finale (covering their bases in the case of cancellation) but also claim to have enough story ideas to carry them through several seasons. Of the new entries for the Fall, this definitely looks like the strongest one and hopefully it will pick up the torch from its network neighbor Lost which will make its exit later in the season.
The Prisoner (AMC, Debuts in November) – What can you say about the original version of The Prisoner? It was a classic of Science Fiction, a bold triumph for the medium of television, and its initial accomplishment can probably never be rivaled. That, of course, will not stop AMC from trying. With a six-episode mini-series, the cable channel plans to re-imagine Patrick McGoohan’s classic series. When I first heard about this, I said “No way!” But I have to admit they have brought in some impressive talent on the project (including James Caviezel as Number 6 and Sir Ian McKellen as Number 2), and the preview trailer looks intriguing. They seem to be taking the concept in a very different direction from the original and might just pull it off. In any case, you know that you have to tune in just to see what happens!
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Television Review – Defying Gravity
August 19, 2009 at 6:45 am | In John J. Joex, Television Reviews | 3 CommentsTags: Defying Gravity
By John J. Joex
ABC, Sundays 9 PM EST
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars
ABC’s Defying Gravity is a Summer entry for the network along the lines of NBC’s Merlin and The Listener, i.e., it is a foreign produced show which is relatively inexpensive and which serves the purpose of filling up air-time during the low-viewership Summer months. Which is not to say that any of these three shows are just cheap throwaways, but the networks have much less of a commitment to them than the shows that get the premium airspace on the Fall and Spring schedules (evidenced by NBC’s yanking of The Listener from its schedule last month).
At first blush, Defying Gravity seems somewhat similar to Ronald Moore’s failed pilot Virtuality which aired on FOX earlier this Summer. The series is set in the relatively near future and chronicles an extended space voyage through the solar system while the crew’s daily activities are recorded and transmitted back so that the people on Earth can watch. However, the similarities stop there. Moore’s Virtuality gave us a much more heady, hard science fiction look at space travel with the twist of virtual reality thrown in to occupy the crew during their extended down time. Defying Gravity essentially gives us a soap opera on a spaceship with a few science fiction plot elements tacked on for good measure. Series creator James Parriott (Voyagers!, Forever Knight) even pitched the show as Grey’s Anatomy in space (a show which he is quite familiar with, having served as writer and executive producer from 2005 to 2006). And the series does spend quite a large amount of time focusing on who slept with whom or who will to sleep with whom (or wants to, seeing as they are all wearing patches which allegedly inhibit their sex drive).
This leads to a rather odd mix of soap opera and science fiction that hits as often as it misses. The series got off to a rather typical start as we find that the two male leads from the series (Ron Livingston of Office Space fame, and Malik Yoba previously seen on New York Undercover) have a tainted past from having abandoned two of their crew members on a previous Mars mission. Of course the two female leads from the series (Christina Cox previously of Blood Ties, and Laura Harris previously seen on 24 and Dead Like Me) both have prior intimate ties with these two and they must suppress their feelings while in close quarters on the mission. In addition, the rest of the characters on the ship and at ground control have their own soap opera sub-stories winding their way through the episodes as well.
And while it might seem like this show would veer too far from the type of material that would attract the typical science fiction fan, I find it to be a bit of a guilty pleasure. The four main characters give the show a solid base (with Livingston handling himself quite well in a dramatic role), and the series has enough science fiction elements to counter-balance the soap opera divergences. And the story arc about the mysterious force known as Beta, which apparently has some sort of control over the entire mission, provides some intrigue even if it seems somewhat familiar. Plus, it is nice to see a show making at least some attempt to provide a realistic portrayal of space travel, even if it does take its fair share of liberties with science.
Since ABC is also the home to Grey’s Anatomy, it seems that this show would make a good fit for the network. However, the series mixes two very disparate genres and could just as easily turn off science fiction fans as it would soap opera fans. Its rather anemic ratings on Sunday nights so far speak to this fact. Defying Gravity is really a niche show and would likely have better success on a cable network not looking for the same numbers broadcast networks demand. The show would probably do well on Lifetime where it would court their existing female audience while possibly luring over some male viewers. It would also seem a good fit for the new direction of SyFy as they attempt to bolster their female viewership.
In any case, the series will likely not have a long life on ABC. It has pulled low numbers even for a Summer show, and the network will likely pass on the show after it has completed its thirteen episode run (assuming they allow it to air that long). The fact that the show is an import, though, means that it could live on in another venue if it does well in the international market. And I do admit to having become somewhat attached to the show and I would not mind seeing it live on beyond its first season. Of course, neither would I be particularly heart-broken if the show disappeared after its inaugural run.
Go to TV.com for more info on Defying Gravity including Episode guides and Cast bios
Watch Defying Gravity Online at ABC.com
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Ninja/Power Ranger/Spider-Man? Say What?
August 14, 2009 at 7:46 am | In Articles, John J. Joex | 2 CommentsTags: Comics, Spiderman
By John J. Joex
Many of us stateside may not realize it, but back in 1978 Japan produced a live action Spider-Man television series (not to be confused with the short-lived U.S. live action series on CBS in 1977). Apparently Marvel made a licensing agreement in the late seventies with Toei Company that allowed them to adapt several of their better known comic book characters. The Japanese company started with Spider-Man and produced a 41 episode series that looks something like the web crawler meets Ninjas meets The Power Rangers meets the Shogun Warriors meets Ultraman. As far as costume and powers, the character in this series closely resembles the Marvel version. However, the similarities quickly diverge from there.
This Spider Man has alien origins as he gets his powers from his 400 year old “brother” from the planet Spider (where else?) and must fight the sinister Professor Monster who commands the Iron Cross Army. Along with his customary powers, Spider Man has at his disposal the giant robot “Marveller” (which he pilots Shogun Warrior-style), a cool super-high tech car, and an assortment of other useful little gadgets.
I have only seen the first episode so far, which Marvel has recently begun streaming on their website, but I died laughing throughout the whole thing. Of course it wasn’t intended to be funny, but this show would make great fodder for the MST3K guys. To get an inkling of what to expect, just take a look at a few of the episode titles: “To the Flaming Hell: See the Tears of the Snake Woman”, “The Hero’s Shining Hot Blood”, “From the Unexplored Amazon: Here Comes the Mummified Beautiful Woman”. The Marvel website appears to have quite a number of episodes from the series available for online viewing, though I can’t seem to find a homepage for the show.
It’s all great cheesy fun and definitely worth your time to catch a few of the episodes on the internet. And we can only hope that the series will soon get a full DVD treatment here in the states. This one would be great viewing late at night with a group of friends and plenty of alcoholic beverages.
Axiom’s Edge Blog- New in Online Viewing: Robotech Lands on Hulu and New Provider The WB.com Joins the List November 23, 2009
- The Sci Fi Scroll: Return Dates Set for Lost and Chuck November 23, 2009
- Ratings Results for the Week of Nov 15th: Could V be in Trouble Already? November 22, 2009
- Comic Book Review: Superboy Prime enters the Blackest Night in Adventure Comics #4 November 21, 2009
- DVD Review: Twilight November 20, 2009
- Interview with Jim Caviezel about AMC’s Remake of The Prisoner November 20, 2009
- Television Review: The Prisoner (2009) November 19, 2009
- Movie Review: Paranormal Activity November 19, 2009
- Comic Book Review: Batman/Doc Savage Special November 18, 2009
- New in Comics this Week: Learn Dr. Horrible’s Origin November 18, 2009
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