I Think I've Figured Out the Futurama Right's Issue...

efin98 wrote:

neuroheart wrote:

panopticnic wrote:
Fox isn't exactly smart they've canceled plenty of shows that came back in some capacity. Futurama, Buffy, and firefly come to mind.

Buffy wasn't on Fox, which is probably why it ran for seven years and Firefly (which might be my favorite show in history) only got 13 episodes.

I always find it funny that people blame the networks yet have no idea how badly the show was doing in the ratings...being 98th overall in the ratings won't get you renewed no matter how well done the show is.

Well, that's what happens when a show doesn't get a consistent time slot, I guess. (I'm sure the network had nothing to do with that, though.)

neuroheart wrote:

efin98 wrote:

neuroheart wrote:

panopticnic wrote:
Fox isn't exactly smart they've canceled plenty of shows that came back in some capacity. Futurama, Buffy, and firefly come to mind.

Buffy wasn't on Fox, which is probably why it ran for seven years and Firefly (which might be my favorite show in history) only got 13 episodes.

I always find it funny that people blame the networks yet have no idea how badly the show was doing in the ratings...being 98th overall in the ratings won't get you renewed no matter how well done the show is.

Well, that's what happens when a show doesn't get a consistent time slot, I guess. (I'm sure the network had nothing to do with that, though.)

Firefly had a constant timeslot...it still couldn't get the ratings. Futurama had one and it still couldn't keep any of the audience from The Simpsons. There is a point where you can't continue to blame the network and just take it like it is: people just didn't like the show when it was on. It wasn't until it was off the air that it found an audience.

Excruciator69 wrote:
Futurama was all over the place. You never knew when it would be on. And it didn't get and keep the slot after Simpsons. Can we deal with fact? Groening wanted it right after Simpsons but FOX disagreed with that.

It only had two assigned time slots: 8:30 PM the first season and a half then 7 PM afterwards. Malcolm In The Middle was only supposed to temporarily move it from its 8:30 time slot when it premiered but had such strong ratings that it would have been idiotic to remove their new hit in favor of the show that had trouble retaining viewers from the more popular 8 PM slot.

Excruciator69 wrote:

Firefly had a constant timeslot...it still couldn't get the ratings. Futurama had one and it still couldn't keep any of the audience from The Simpsons. There is a point where you can't continue to blame the network and just take it like it is: people just didn't like the show when it was on. It wasn't until it was off the air that it found an audience.

Futurama was all over the place. You never knew when it would be on. And it didn't get and keep the slot after Simpsons. Can we deal with fact? Groening wanted it right after Simpsons but FOX disagreed with that.


From Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurama

Groening and Cohen wanted Futurama to be shown at 8:30 pm on Sunday, following The Simpsons. The Fox network disagreed, opting instead to show two episodes in the Sunday night lineup before moving the show to a regular time slot on Tuesday. Beginning with its second broadcast season Futurama was again placed in the 8:30 Sunday spot, but by mid-season the show was moved again, this time to 7:00 pm on Sunday, its third position in under a year.

Even by the fourth season Futurama was still being aired erratically. Due to being regularly pre-empted by sporting events, it became difficult to predict when new episodes would air. This erratic schedule resulted in Fox not airing several episodes that had been produced for seasons three and four, instead holding them over for a fifth broadcast season. According to Groening, Fox executives were not supporters of the show. Although Futurama was never officially canceled, midway through the production of the fourth season, Fox decided to stop buying episodes of Futurama, letting it go out of production before the fall 2003 lineup.

It was assigned TWO and only TWO time slots. Just because it was PREEMPTED does not mean it had another time slot- it only had TWO.

efin98 wrote:
Firefly had a constant timeslot...

You're joking.

September 20 (Train Job; the second episode produced)
September 27 (Bushwhacked; the third episode produced)
October 4 (Our Mrs. Reynolds; the sixth episode produced)
October 11 Baseball game
October 18 (Jaynestown; the seventh episode produced) (ratings have dropped by nearly a million viewers)
October 25 (Out of Gas; the eighth episode produced)
November 1 (Shindig; the fourth episode produced)
November 8 (Safe; the fifth episode produced)
November 15 (Ariel; the ninth episode produced)
November 22 an Adam Sandler movie is run
November 29 The made-for-tv movie "Brady Bunch in the White House"is run.
December 6 (War Stories; the tenth episode produced) (ratings have dropped by nearly a million viewers. Have we spotted the pattern yet of what happens when it's not on every week?)
December 13 (Objects in Space; the thirteenth episode produced) (show has already been cancelled)
December 20 (Serenity; the original pilot)

So, not only was it not aired consistently, it was not aired in order.
But I'm sure the network had nothing to do with that, either.

neuroheart wrote:

panopticnic wrote:
Fox isn't exactly smart they've canceled plenty of shows that came back in some capacity. Futurama, Buffy, and firefly come to mind.

Buffy wasn't on Fox, which is probably why it ran for seven years and Firefly (which might be my favorite show in history) only got 13 episodes.

Buffy almost only ran for 5 years. Started on the WB, then Moved to UPN for the last 2 seasons. Thank Goodness! And for the record Buffy wasn't canceled, Sarah Michelle Gellar didn't want to do an 8th season. Probably why Sunnydale was sucked into the hell mouth.

johncolombo wrote:

neuroheart wrote:

panopticnic wrote:
Fox isn't exactly smart they've canceled plenty of shows that came back in some capacity. Futurama, Buffy, and firefly come to mind.

Buffy wasn't on Fox, which is probably why it ran for seven years and Firefly (which might be my favorite show in history) only got 13 episodes.

Buffy almost only ran for 5 years. Started on the WB, then Moved to UPN for the last 2 seasons. Thank Goodness!

Regarding Buffy, I think by the end of the series, they had begun to run out of ideas... It was probably time for it to end. It had a good run, though!

Definitely would have loved to see more of Firefly. I was really disappointed they cancelled it.

As for Futurama - I loved it when it originally aired, and was happy when they brought it back! I never really understood why it didn't take off, even with the varying time slots. It would be great if they brought it back again!

I hope he is trying to bring it back into the spotlight with a view to possibly reviving it in the future. It would be a depressing swansong and footnote to the career of a much loved classic television series to end up as an in game tie-in on a video game based on its more popular sibling.

johncolombo wrote:

neuroheart wrote:

panopticnic wrote:
Fox isn't exactly smart they've canceled plenty of shows that came back in some capacity. Futurama, Buffy, and firefly come to mind.

Buffy wasn't on Fox, which is probably why it ran for seven years and Firefly (which might be my favorite show in history) only got 13 episodes.

Buffy almost only ran for 5 years. Started on the WB, then Moved to UPN for the last 2 seasons. Thank Goodness! And for the record Buffy wasn't canceled, Sarah Michelle Gellar didn't want to do an 8th season. Probably why Sunnydale was sucked into the hell mouth.

I think that was a pretty good ending, though. (The season 8 comics were kind of disappointing.)
I wish Angel had run one season longer or one season less, it didn't have a very satisfying end. I was glad to see a comic continuation of that one.

suetopia wrote:

johncolombo wrote:

neuroheart wrote:

panopticnic wrote:
Fox isn't exactly smart they've canceled plenty of shows that came back in some capacity. Futurama, Buffy, and firefly come to mind.

Buffy wasn't on Fox, which is probably why it ran for seven years and Firefly (which might be my favorite show in history) only got 13 episodes.

Buffy almost only ran for 5 years. Started on the WB, then Moved to UPN for the last 2 seasons. Thank Goodness!

Regarding Buffy, I think by the end of the series, they had begun to run out of ideas... It was probably time for it to end. It had a good run, though!

Definitely would have loved to see more of Firefly. I was really disappointed they cancelled it. !

What, no one is mentioning Dollhouse?

I love Joss Whedon. I think he should be considered alongside Tarantino as a unique auteur of his generation. However, that's the reason his shows have always failed to gain an audience: he's not like other writers. Buffy did miserably in the ratings and was renewed only because people in the know knew how good it was. Firefly performed as poorly in the ratings for a more-established network that already had its prestige show (yep, the Simpsons). I'm well aware of the scheduling issues--I'm a browncoat--but it wouldn't have made any difference with Firefly. It was just too different.

Not sure what any of this has to do with Futurama Right's Issues, but I just wanna say I love Joss Whedon. If nothing else, his Much Ado About Nothing kicks Branaugh's in the something or other.