OT: Movies You Have Seen Lately

Slynky · #1 July 6th, 2006, 05:20 PM

It's easy for a person who doesn't care about a particular show to not care much about why it was canceled. For those who do care, we looked for the reasons. Having talked with the cast and participating in many other places on the Internet furnishing info, I can say I honestly believe there were "those" who wanted to see the show fail/removed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly...vision_series)

Scroll down to "Cancelation".

Be sure to click on footnote #5 for information that contradicts your insinuation that the show didn't have much of an audience.

Speaking of cancelation, I might point out that Fox almost canceled 24, which, for this year, is the most nominated for Emmy awards. So, whether or not Fox cancels something is no indication, apparently, of its quality. It's all about making money fast. If it isn't made fast enough, then don't "get behind" the series and push it, NO, by all means, just cancel it! One other factor (my own opinion that I've not seen written anwyhere else) that may have added to the decision to cancel the series is the onslaught of visual pablum known to all the TV masses as "reality programming" which people hungered for in droves and which the networks could produce for "pennies" compared to a series employing actual known actors. Why spend a million an episode when you could spend 100K per episode and make more money? Dumbass people would watch ANYTHING in the "reality" genre.

And, the Lucas factor in the whole thing? I tend to believe where there is smoke, there's quite a liklihood of fire. After reading an excerpt of Lucas' VERY unprofessional comments about Joss' ability, I would catagorize Lucas as very likely to have had a hand in seeing the series fail. After all, IF a person is talentless and you have no worries BECAUSE he is talentless, you don't even bother your busy schedule to spend time discussing it. But, you have to wonder why someone goes out of his way to practice a bit of character assassination for a person who "competes" directly in your "arena". I think it's because he knows Joss has something that people like and he worried about his "hold" on the space genre being challenged.

Baron Munchausen · #2 July 6th, 2006, 07:07 PM

You do have to wonder if the decision to take the 'Star Wars' universe into television had something to do with the recent boom in television SciFi. If so, then surely he would use his leverage to squash a competing show right under the same corporate umbrella.

Caduceus · #3 July 6th, 2006, 10:14 PM

Fox also had Space:Above and Beyond cancelled after one season. A show that I really enjoyed, so I feel your pain with Firefly.

I don't care if Lucas likes or doesn't like Wheadon. For the studio, it is all about dollars. If it doesn't sell advertising space, forget it. This was several years before Lucas considered bringing Star Wars to television, so I don't buy that arguement unless he has a ten-year plan (which they may... "We'll release the ORIGINAL version of SW with the SPECIAL EDITION in 2008 on HD-DVD!!").

You can bet if Wheadon had made a movie that grossed $150M after costing $40M to make, there'd be a sequel in the works.

The show may have been shut down due to influence, I can't see the links on the wikipedia so they could be to Martha Stewart reruns (TV Guide). But nobody has shown that the movie wasn't promoted. It was HEAVILY promoted to the markets that would theoretically find it appealing - SciFi channel, sporting events and wrestling on TV, I saw an ad in Entertainment Weekly, there was a feature on TV Guide. It simply didn't make money because it didn't have a wide appeal for whatever reason.

I watched one show, the first one that was on, and decided that I liked it, but never saw the second episode because I thought it wasn't going to make it.

Hunpecked · #4 July 6th, 2006, 10:15 PM

Slynky: "It's easy for a person who doesn't care about a particular show to not care much about why it was canceled."

Certainly not enough to look beyond the obvious reason--low ratings--and come up with a VLWC ("Vast Lucas Wing Conspiracy") to explain it.

"Be sure to click on footnote #5 for information that contradicts your insinuation that the show didn't have much of an audience."

Um, the show was popular with TiVo users? Sure sign of a blockbuster, that!

How about this: "Back in 2002, Firefly was one of the beleaguered Fox network's many casualties, ranking 66th in the Nielsen ratings for its first episode and quickly descending to around 100th place for the rest of its run." -- http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=1910&p=.htm

Maybe Fox should have handed out more free TiVo units?

"It's all about making money fast. If it isn't made fast enough, then don't "get behind" the series and push it, NO, by all means, just cancel it!"

This suggests to me that Slynky is well aware of the show's precarious ratings, and is merely criticizing Fox's reluctance to take a bigger risk on it. Series DVD sales suggest Fox may have make a mistake, but the film's lukewarm reception indicates the TV series may never have appealed to more than a niche audience. In any case, Fox's bottom line is enough to explain the cancellation, so I'd need more than just Lucas' alleged trash talk to hang a conspiracy theory on.

BTW, now that Battlestar Galactica is poised for a third season, isn't it about time Lucas turned his Jedi mind control on the Sci Fi network?

Baron Munchausen · #5 July 7th, 2006, 12:39 AM

So far as I know, the SciFi channel is not in his reach. He is making his deal with Fox, right? The SciFi Channel is currently owned by NBC/Universal. He'd have to sue outright in open court like he did with the original, and that is now widely recognized as a very stupid move. Even George Lucas must know better than to walk right into a buzzsaw?

Atrocities · #6 July 7th, 2006, 12:43 AM

The thing is, Lucas waved the Star Wars TV series in their faces like then after he got what he wanted, the fat prick, he changes his mind and decides to "hold off" on the idea for a few more years.

About Fox, Family Guy, nuff said.

As to BSG, if we get a full 3rd season I will be impressed after how horribly they diluted the story line in the last half of the second season. An opinion shared by many, is that there will not be a fourth season.