Goddamned motherfucking FOX network

The BBQ Pit
1

http://www.timminear.net/archives/press/000064.html

Let me put the link in now before I forget in my blind rage.

FOX, in its infinite stupidity cancelled Wonderfalls. I should have known better than to even watch the show in the beginning after what FOX did to Firefly.

Firefly was a brillian show, with great actors and some of the best writing out there. It was the brainchild of Joss Whedon (Buffy & Angel) and Tim Minear (Angel & Wonderfalls). FOX did everything they could to make sure that Firefly didn’t make it. They didn’t advertise, the constantly moved its timeslot and they kept airing episodes out of order - in fact they aired the pilot LAST and there were three episodes that the didn’t air at all. They then had the nerve to cancel it for low ratings.

Well, what the fuck did they expect?! So what do they replace Firefly with? A slew of rancid Reality Shows. And they promoted the fuck out of them, didn’t they? You couldn’t turn on FOX without being slapped in the face with a commercial for those dumb cunts out on the farm or that insipid bitch and her faux fiancee. Or a commercial about some upcoming torture they plan to inflict on us. Hell, I can remember them airing the same episode of that fiancee show twice almost every week! Reality Television will be the downfall of our civilization, mark my words. But that’s another rant for another thread.

When I stumbled on a review of Wonderfalls by some critic (the day that the pilot was going to air) I was curious. It sounded good so I watched it. I knew as soon as the pilot was over it was going to be doomed. It was funny and well written, I loved the characters - and it was on FOX. I also found out it was the creation of Tim Minear (whose work I loved on Angel) and some other guy that was behind Showtime’s Dead Like Me (another show I love). This told me there was quality work going into this. I immediately started getting fearful and had Firefly flashbacks.

I watched the second episode, then the third and became even more entranced. Then came the news: Wonderfalls is moving to Thursdays. Well, fuck - here they fucking go. Friday was a piss-poor time slot to begin with, but let’s move it to Thursday and put it up against two heavy hitters. That should generate ratings. So the fourth episode airs, and the promise of a hit is there. You’d think FOX would want a hit show that has great writing, acting, etc., that the critics love. But no - they decide after one motherfucking episode in the new timeslot that it’s not making it.

Not making it?! They didn’t even give a fucking chance to make. I don’t know why they don’t just cancel every single show they’ve got that isn’t a Reality TV and reformat themselves to All Reality All the Time - that’s what they seem to be doing anyway.

I knew I should have known better than to get attached to any show on FOX. I’m so fucking pissed - I can only hope this is coherent.

2

It’s called capitalism. If nobody watches then the network isn’t making money. Fox has no obligation to give a show a chance. The quality of the show is completely irrelevant. All that matters is delivering an audience to watch the commercials. If a show isn’t selling the soap it’s a failure.

I’ve been disappointed when some shows didn’t make it (Family Guy, for instance) but I never get the anger that some people feel about networks cancelling shows. The networks are out to make money, not art. I understand that.

This is just IMO, but I thought Wonderfalls was kind of lame anyway. It was basically just an “edgier” version of Joan of Arcadia. I thought the premise was weird (I didn’t get the whole talking universe thing) and I didn’t care for the lead actress. I thought she was hammy and I found her character to be pointlessly hostile. I really didn’t get all the buzz for the show. It didn’t work at all for me. Of course, I generally am turned off by supernatural story devices, so YMMV. My point is that I gave the show a chance and didn’t like it. I can’t be the only one.

3

It’s not quite that simple. Some shows take some time to “find their audience” – the most famous examples (probably) being Seinfeld and Cheers. IMHO, it was the quality of those shows, and the patience of the networks, that eventually paid off big.

I think the anger is that many folks believe network execs are too short-sighted – they want something to deliver ratings NOW, and the advent of cheap, shitty reality tv that the audience gobbles up makes it much more difficult to stand behind a quality show.

4

No argument.

But I would say that pulling the plug four episodes in for a show that has received some critical praise ( I know my local critic loved it - he also predicted cancellation ), seems a bit quick on the trigger and indeed possibly economically counter-productive ( that is nine episodes of already paid salaries and production costs they just wrote off ), unless FOX has a proven money-maker ready to move straight into the slot. Shows, particularly idiosyncratic ones, often need a bit of time to find their feet audience-wise. For example I believe BTVS pulled fairly weak numbers out of the shoot as well, but eventually went on to become a moderate money-maker.

Not that I really expected it to survive, myself. Happens it was my particular cup of tea, but I do think it was niche programming better suited to a cable audience. Still…IMHO FOX got a little trigger-happy on this one.

  • Tamerlane
5

What I don’t get is why bother to pick up the show in the first place if they aren’t going to actually give it a fair chance to develop an audience. It’s like they want it to fail. I realise this isn’t rational, but it’s like FOX is picking up these shows because they are good, only to cancel them. That way they aren’t picked by another network and therefore give them competition.

6

That’s not capitalism, that’s apathy. You are not going to get a show’s complete audience in four episodes. Look at the X-Files, for example.

And when do you suppose we can be satisfied that a show isn’t selling soap? After the first episode? The second? Could other factors, like playing it Friday nights when your target audience is likely at the same kind of place the main character is, a bar, or party, etc? What’s at work there, capitalism or FOX’s own incompetence?

Then you understand FOX’s error wrt Family Guy, which is coming back due to being the biggest selling television DVD.

What you missed mentioning, Mauv, is the idea that they were moving to Thursdays because their repeat eps on Thu got better ratings. What a bunch of idiots. :mad:

7

FOXed again. Those fuckers mess up some of the best shows on TV (though this isn’t one I watched).

8

Actually, it’s called ‘inept management’. Bad decision after bad decision after bad decision, then the inevitable. You cannot hamstring a creative efort at every turn and then be suprised that it fails.

If you don’t advertise it, not many people are going to know about, so they don’t watch. If you start moving it’s time slot, you piss off the few that did watch, so *they * don’t watch. Putting a show that’s struggling to find it’s audience (because of said inept management) up against popular well entrenched shows on other networks is the KISS OF DEATH.
That said, I’ve never seen the show in question.

9

I have to agree with Diogenes, even though I didn’t watch the show, my reasons were the same as his for not liking it. I found the premise to be very similar to Joan of Arcadia, and I found the talking objects to be pure silliness. I saw it in the listings several times and simply couldn’t bring myself to watch it. I agree that it sucks when a good show gets cancelled, I just don’t think this show ever had a chance.

10

Yes, we all loved “Emeril” and took spiritual advice from it’s scripts. But who did this cancellation hurt the most? The inept cook who needed some sit-com flava in his cooking? Perhaps the water cooler retard who needed a good excuse to say BAM! again? Emeril Lagasse, who needs a real reason to justify his paycheck? No, it’s the network for forgetting that real people tend to watch TV too.

All hail Neilsen, the gods of…bullshit! Fuck those dumbasses!

Why haven’t ratings for static increased lately? I watch that shit all the time.

11

Damn, I forgot to mention that this was a /hijack, and that nobody cares about that stupid-ass show anyway. I’ve never seen it, but if it’s anything like that Angel crap I was supposed to like, it blows hot goat ass. Nothing personal, toward anyone.

12

I’m personally still pissed at them for cancelling The Kindred, and that was back in…geez…98?

Somewhere around there…I think the guy who played Julian Luna died in 98, so it had to have been shortly before that.

13

Thank goodness we still have Forever Eden.

14

!@!#!@!%%!#%!#!@!#@!#%!#%!

In one of the Cafe Society threads, someone warned me about Fox’s track record, but I allowed myself to hope… Stupid stupid stupid! I received some mid 90’s Simpsons-level enjoyment out of this show but now it’s gone gone gone. NBC, this is Must Must Must Pick Up TV TV TV!

Ah well, I’m going to be in another country by next week, anyway. But I was secretly hoping for a season 1 DVD set when I got back. @!$$%%#%@@$!

Windwalker reminds himself never to fall for a new TV show again, to the tune of Elvis Costello ello ello…

(3) [3] {3}

15

You know what I’d like to see? Fox going bankrupt, and everybody in a decision-making capacity forced to work at Wal-Mart.

Not just for Wonderfalls (never saw Firefly) but Futurama as well.

16

There’s been countless shows on FOX that have died a painful death after being scheduled on Friday night. The only long-term survivor was The X-Files only because they moved it to Sundays.

17

Don’t you know that there’s no place on network television for any type of show with creativity? That sort of programming encourages people to actually think. If more people bothered to use their brains, we might not be in the political shithole that we’re in now. Better to electronically lobotomize the voting public with more reality shows. FOX caught their mistake just in time. :rolleyes:
(cue cheesey FOX promo music)

"Wonderfalls will not be seen tonight. So sit back and enjoy yet another encore presentation of…

The Simple Life Of A Big Fat Obnoxious Bachelor Who’s Into Bestiality!

The Hendersons are in for a surprise when Becky-Sue brings home a fella who sodomizes all the animals on the farm!"

(cut to close-up shot of horse with surprised look)

18

“I’d buy that for a dollar!”

:smiley:

19

Well, this is what happens in a society in which less and less is anyone held to any kind of standard of decent behaviour, class, imagination or intelligence.

This is what happens in a society where the battle cry is “anything goes” and “if it feels good do it”. And where if a person disagrees with another’s poor behaviour one is called a “hater” and other silly things.

It’s becoming more and more common that nothing is required, in way of entertainment that requires thought and introspection and even LESS of entertainment that would teach the audience something.

What do you expect in a society of people for whom most thought that a televised prime time and involuntary viewing of a “wardrobe malfunction” was either funny or “no big deal”?

Or where a President is admired for his sexual exploits? We’re getting exactly what we’ve asked for on TV. Well, we’re getting what a majority apparently wants. If a majority of us didn’t want that, wel, we should have spoken up long ago, instead of letting the tail wag the dog. Of course, when those of us that don’t appreciate 2nd grade humor and base nastiness, dare to speak up, they’re soundly trounced for being “oversensitive” or “prudish” and so on.

Those that want a 13 year old boy booger humor mentality, and think that that’s just the dandiest form of entertainment (50 First Dates ppppphhhhhtttthhhbbbbtt), well they seem to be the ones running the show. Until enough people wanting good entertainment protest, and in such a way that pierces the void of those producing entertainment (by hitting them in the pocket book), then it’s just going to get worse and worse.

Like someone already said, are we ready for the “Big Fat Onoxious Fake Fiance’ who’s into Bestiality”? Don’t bother fastening your seatbelts, it’s going to be a sleazy, uninteresting ride.

20

Patrick Warburton has stated that Fox deliberately killed The Tick because it wasn’t owned by Fox. Your best hope is that something like what happened to The Family Guy occurs. Sadly, however, I don’t think it will.