New on DVD: John Dies at the End

DVDs and Blu-rays Due Out April 2nd:



More New and Recent Releases at This Link

Kickstarter Fallout: There's Already Movement on Chuck and Pushing Daisies Movies, Could Legend of the Seeker be Next?

In the wake of the successful Kickstarter campaign to fund a Veronica Mars reunion movie, last week I talked about what it would take to bring a cancelled/ended sci fi/fantasy series back and what to expect if a campaign raised enough money.  So now, with all of the uproar this has caused throughout the entertainment industry, which genre shows  you may ask have the best chance of a revival through Kickstarter?  Following are four that already have some momentum behind them and that I believe have a very good chance if every thing can get worked out (which is always a big if in the entertainment industry): 

Chuck (NBC, 2007-12, Ended After Five Seasons): You know that those crazy Chuck fans started jumping up and down as soon as they saw what happened with the Veronica Mars campaign, and series star Zach Levi must have felt the tremors that caused.  Because almost immediately he was tweeting the possibility of a movie and he's now actively in talks with the studio and other parties that would need to come together to make this happen.  A Chuck movie would need more than the $4 million (and counting) that Rob Thomas has raised so far for Veronica Mars, but not a ton more.  I'd guess somewhere in the $5 to $10 million would make it doable, and I believe that is well within the realm of possibility for those subway-chomping fans (and the studio may even consider going forward if the Kickstarter campaign raised part of the needed funds).  I don't believe that the principle cast has too much in the way of obstacles to keep them from coming together, so basically consider this one a done deal if the studio greenlights it

Pushing Daisies (ABC, 2007-09, Cancelled After Two Seasons): Just like Zach Levi, Bryan Fuller took immediate notice of what was going on with the Veronica Mars campaign and showed enthusiasm for doing the same sort of thing with his beloved, truncated series Pushing Daisies.  He had already been exploring ways to continue it since ABC axed it back in 2009 which included a movie, a graphic novel, and possibly even a jump to Broadway.  And he had started working on a script for a movie before this whole Kickstarter thing flared up.  The biggest obstacle for this one, though, will be the finances.  Fuller has said that a Pushing Daisies movie would run somewhere between $10 and $15 million, and that may be a stretch for a Kickstarter campaign.  He may be able to work a deal, though, that if he gets partial funding then the studio would foot the rest of the bill.  And Fuller is definitely passionate about this show (as are the fans), and I believe that he will do what he can to champion this one (assuming he has the time considering his current commitment to the upcoming NBC Hannibal TV series).  And most of the principle cast are not currently over-committed to over projects (short of Kristin Chenoweth).  If the finances can be worked out, this one has a chance of becoming a reality.

Wonderfalls (FOX, 2004, Cancelled After Half a Season): The other Bryan Fuller favorite would be second on his list of priorities of Kickstarter projects, but would probably be more doable money-wise than Pushing Daisies, and he has expressed interest in reviving this show as well.  It's possible that a Wonderfalls movie could be done on a budget similar to what has been raised for Veronica Mars thus far, and almost certainly within the $5 to $10 million range I mentioned above.  But has it been too long since the show went off the air to energize enough fans?  Consider this a Plan B for Fuller or a next project after a Pushing Daisies movie and his schedule frees up, but it's definitely not out of reach.

Legend of the Seeker (Syndicated, 2008-2010, Cancelled After Two Season):  The success of the Veronica Mars campaign immediately had fans talking about the shows mentioned above as well as others like Firefly and The Sarah Connor Chronicles (more on them in an upcoming post), but Legend of the Seeker was also a show I immediately thought about.  That series had a passionate fanbase that worked hard to try and win it a third season.  So I expected some noise on this front, though so far none of it has come from those involved with producing the series.  The Save Our Seeker site immediately started lobbying fans to contact all of those involved with making the series to convince them to put their weight behind a Kickstarter campaign.  I'm not certain who the essential players would be to get something moving, but co-creator/executive producer Sam Raimi is probably way to busy for small potatoes like this.  If Terry Goodkind (who wrote the novels the series was based on) stepped up, that could help.  And none of the principle actors seem too busy at the current time.  Plus, I believe that they could put together a movie in the $5 to $10 million range, so it's financially feasible.  The fans just need to get a legitimate driving force behind their campaign and I believe this one could happen.

Next I look at several shows that are longshots at best to get a revival through a Kickstarter campaign followed by several that are within reach if the stars (and producers and writers and studios) align correctly.

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Why Were They Cancelled? 
The Plight of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television in the Face of the Unforgiving Nielsens and Networks

Ever wondered why your favorite science fiction and/or fantasy show disappeared from the television schedule, never to deliver anymore new episodes? The reason why, most likely, is that it was cancelled because its ratings were low. And this book looks at those many cancelled sci fi/fantasy shows as well as the Neilsen ratings and television networks that dictate their fates. Available now for only $2.99 on Kindle from Amazon.com.

Cancellation Watch: CBS Renews Person of Interest, Will It Start to Explore its Sci Fi Possibities in its 3rd Season?

Get the Quickest Updates on Sci Fi TV Ratings at the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site

CBS announced today that the J.J. Abrams pre-crime show Person of Interest would be coming back in Fall for a third season.  That comes as no surprise as it has performed well in the ratings during its second season, consistently ranking in the Top 20 broadcast shows.  But this series may not have been high on the list of many genre fans because even though it has sci fi elements as part of its core premise (a supercomputer that can predict crimes before they happen and can identify the victims), it has rarely explored its potential in that direction.  It has followed more of the crime drama path that's typical of the CBS brand while also throwing in a little bit of the superhero angle (sort of like a high-tech take on the late-80's series The Equalizer).  And while it has compiled some decent episodes and it has the strong dual leads of Jim Caviezel and Michael Emerson in its favor, it has in the opinion of many genre fans left a lot of material on the table.  It has steered away from the cynicism and paranoia you might expect from the uber-surveillance society that it focuses on and also avoided many of the moral dilemmas associated with the ability to predict crimes before they happen.  But with the third season renewal, will they take the opportunity to start delving into those story possibilities?

J.J. Abrams is no stranger to risky, edgy television and I'm guessing that its mostly been CBS that has hamstrung the show and insisted that it not veer too much from the procedural formula expected from their dramas.  But the renewal may give Person of Interest some leeway.  Typically these days, when one of the broadcast networks greenlights a show for a third season, they are also giving it a de facto fourth season renewal as well.  You see, the syndication market looks for a minimum of somewhere around 88 episodes (four full seasons) so that a show can air continually in reruns for several months before repeating itself.  Three seasons brings a show to 66 episodes, which is a less attractive package for syndication.  So if the network is going to foot the bill for that third season, they likely have already earmarked it for a fourth (short of a total ratings collapse) to get it to the episode count the syndication market prefers because that's when a series really starts to see a return on its investment.  So assuming all that holds true with Person of Interest (no reason to assume otherwise), maybe the show will now have some freedom to take more chances with its storylines.  And it would definitely be nice to see them plunge headlong into some of the sci fi aspects of its premise.  I'm sure CBS tempered that a great deal for its first two seasons because they have demonstrated a notable aversion to genre shows for the past five plus years.  But now that it has proven itself, maybe they will give it a bit more rope.

Or maybe they will decide that it's best not to mess with success, and keep it bound to the formula it has followed thus far.  I'm hoping not, but we will have to wait until next season to see for sure.  In the mean time, there are plenty more renewal and cancellation announcements that will be coming over the next month in a half prior to the May upfronts (when the networks finalize their schedules for the next season).  Keep an eye on this site and the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site for breaking news and also watch for my final round of predictions due out soon.

See the latest status of Person of Interest at the Cancellation Watch page

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Sci Fi Trifles
Useless but essential pop culture tidbits and trivia from the worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror

Did you know that Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski wrote a proposal for a Star Trek reboot years before the J.J. Abrams movies came out? Did you know that Han Solo was originally supposed to be a green-skinned alien and some of the early actors considered for the role included Billy Dee Williams, Al Pacino, and Chevy Chase? How about that FOX originally wanted someone more like Pamela Anderson to play the roll of Scully on The X-Files? Or that in 1974, science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke predicted the Internet? Ever hear of Varney the Vampire?

Find out the truths about these and more in Sci Fi Trifles.  Trivia, anecdotes, little known nuggets and more that present an addicting glimpse into the story behind the story of sci fi. Once you've started reading them you will wonder how you have managed to life so long without knowing them!

Available now for only $2.99 on Kindle from Amazon.com. 

Buy a New Kindle Reader for as Low as $69

Cancellation Watch: Did the Four Month Hiatus Hurt Revolution's Chances of Renewal?

Get the Quickest Updates on Sci Fi TV Ratings at the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site

NBC's post-apocalyptic series Revolution (from J.J. Abrams and Eric Kripke) last aired a new episode on Monday November 25th before its return from hiatus two days ago on March 25th.  That was exactly a four month absence and it was the same sort of extended hiatus that many blamed for the deaths of shows like FlashForward and The Event.  So has this prolonged break harmed Revolution as well?  Hard to tell at this point.  The show pulled a 2.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic with just over seven million total viewers for its mid-season premiere.  That's a drop from the 2.9 rating it had November 25th and it also matches the series low for the show.  But it's still not a terrible rating (these days at least) and it won its 10 PM EST timeslot just like it did on a regular basis last Fall.  If it stays above a 2.5 rating, then it should be a good bet for a second season renewal.  So we will have to track the next few weeks closely to see how it trends.  If Revolution starts to head closer to a 2.0 rating, it will definitely be on the bubble.  But then again NBC has championed this show all season as a winner for them, so they would be hard-pressed to cancel it after only one season (unless it drops below a 2.0).  It's too early to make a determination at this point, but the next few weeks should be telling.

Also on Monday night, FOX's The Following hit a season low of a 2.3 rating in the 18-49 with 6.66 (bad omen?) million total viewers.  But then NBC's The Voice is back giving it some strong competition and it already had some serious contention from the comedies airing over at CBS in the same hour.  The show has already been renewed for a second season, so no need to worry too much about this one.  Over on Syfy, Being Human didn't appear to be impacted by all of the competition over on the broadcast networks as it pulled its highest rating in a while with a 0.6 score and 1.16 million total viewers.  And on A&E, the second episode of Bates Motel matched the rating of the premiere, pulling a 1.3 with 2.8 million total viewers.  That indicates that the numbers from the first episode either did not just represent curious onlookers, or that the show managed to hook them into watching at least one more installment.

On Sunday night, The Walking Dead continues to rule both the cable and broadcast networks as it posted a 5.4 rating in the 18-49 demo and just barely under eleven million total viewers.  That rating represented slip of one tick from the prior week, but it was still the highest rated and most watched show on all of television from Monday through Sunday of last week.  Not so lucky was ABC's Once Upon A Time which sunk to a 2.2 rating and 7.4 million total viewers.  More likely than not, that one will still get a renewal,  but then its struggles during the second half of the season could give ABC a reason to think twice.  I'm raising its cancellation alert to Moderate, but consider it right on the border between that and Low.  Keep a close eye on its numbers in the coming weeks to see if it continues to sink or if it finally makes a turnaround.

Keep an eye on the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site for the early returns from the rest of this week's shows and you can see the Cancellation Alert status of all the shows currently airing plus the final results from prior seasons at my Cancellation Watch page.  And for questions on how the ratings work and my Cancellation Alert statuses, you can see the Cancellation Watch FAQ.

Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers

Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2013 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.

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New in Comics: Guardians of the Galaxy #1

A few choice selections from the comics due out March 27th:

Guardians of the Galaxy #1
Marvel

Description: There's a new rule in the galaxy: No one touches Earth! No one!! Why has Earth become the most important planet in the Galaxy? That's what the Guardians of the Galaxy are going to find out!! Join the brightest stars in the Marvel universe: Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, Groot and--wait for it--Iron-Man, as they embark upon one of the most explosive and eye-opening chapters of Marvel NOW! These galactic Avengers are going to discover secrets that will rattle Marvel readers for years to come! Why wait for the movie? It all starts here!

By: Brian Michael Bendis, Steve McNiven

B.P.R.D.: Vampire #1 (of 5)
Dark Horse

Description: After the horrific events of B.P.R.D.: 1948, we follow one doomed agent's quest for revenge against a clan of vampires and their Gorgon-eyed queen Hecate.

* From the pages of Hellboy!

* A direct sequel to the critically acclaimed B.P.R.D.: 1948!

* From the Eisner Award-winning creators of Daytripper!

By: Mike Mignola, Fábio Moon, Gabriel Bá, Fábio Moon, Gabriel Bá, Dave Stewart


Savage Skullkickers #1
Image Comics

Description: SAVAGE SKULLKICKERS: a modern reinterpretation that gets back to the roots of these timeless characters. It's a bold new direction, a continuing story and a newly added adjective!

Our twentieth issue is brand a new #1! Welcome to comic math.

By: Jim Zub, Edwin Huang

Zombies vs. Cheerleaders Vol. 2 #1
3 Finger Prints

Description: Don't miss the exciting relaunch of Zombies Vs. Cheerleaders! Always thrilling, pretty freaking funny, and never disappointing. Check out what all the commotion is about - macabre humor featuring, it can never be overstated, two things everyone loves: Zombies and Cheerleaders! Featuring a hot wraparound cover by Mike DeBalfo, the first issue contains an 8-page bonus story!

By: Steven L. Frank, Matt Hebb, Mike Debalfo

More of This Week's Comics at This Link 

Cancellation Watch: Arrow and Supernatural Return Steady After Reruns

Get the Quickest Updates on Sci Fi TV Ratings at the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site

After two weeks of reruns, The CW's Wednesday night genre shows returned with new episodes and ratings numbers pretty much where they left off.  Arrow pulled a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic with three million total viewers and Supernatural had the same rating score with 2.2 million total viewers.  On that same night, ABC's alien sitcom The Neighbors pulled a 1.4 rating again with 4.8 million total viewers.  That's low for that network, but then the show was sandwiched between repeats for the second week in a row, so it's to be expected.

On Thursday, Vampire Diaries pulled a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demo with 2.7 million total viewers which is one of the better scores that show has enjoyed over the last few weeks.  Beauty and the Beast, though couldn't even match half that rating, pulling only a 0.6 with 1.7 million total viewers.  CBS' Person of Interest was preempted for the night by NCAA Basketball.

On Friday, NBC's Grimm continues to pull decent ratings for that night with a 1.4 score and five million total viewers.  FOX's Touch on the other hand continues to track low, pulling only a 0.7 rating and 2.8 million total viewers.  On The CW, Cult barely registered with only a 0.2 rating and less than three quarters of a million viewers.  Nikita was preempted.

Below are the full ratings results for last week's shows, and I already covered the early week shows (including the premiere of Bates Motel) in my previous mid-week column.  NBC's Revolution returns tonight after a four month hiatus, so keep an eye on the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site for the early returns from that as well as rest of the Sunday and Monday shows from this week.  You can see the Cancellation Alert status of all the shows currently airing plus the final results from prior seasons at my Cancellation Watch page.  And for questions on how the ratings work and my Cancellation Alert statuses, you can see the Cancellation Watch FAQ.

Ratings Results for the Week of March 17:
Once Upon A Time (ABC Sun 8 PM) Rating: 2.3 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Low
The Walking Dead (AMC Sun 9 PM) Rating: 5.5 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Renewed
The Following (FOX Mon 9 PM) Rating: 2.5 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Low
Being Human (Syfy Mon 9 PM) Rating: 0.4 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Low
Bates Motel (A&E Mon 10 PM) Rating: 1.3 | Trend: n/a | Cancellation Alert: Low
Arrow (CW Wed 8 PM) Rating: 1.0 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Low
The Neighbors (ABC Wed 9:30 PM) Rating: 1.4 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
Supernatural (CW Wed 9 PM) Rating: 1.0 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Low
Vampire Diaries (CW Thu 8 PM) Rating: 1.3 | Trend: Up | Cancellation Alert: Low
Person of Interest (CBS Thu 9 PM) Rating: Preempted | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Low
Beauty and the Beast (CW Thu 9 PM) Rating: 0.6 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Medium
Nikita (CW Fri 8 PM) Rating: Preempted | Trend: Up | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
Cult (CW Tue 9 PM) Rating: 0.2 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: High
Touch (FOX Fri 9 PM) Rating: 0.7 | Trend: Up | Cancellation Alert: High
Grimm (NBC Fri 9 PM) Rating: 1.4 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Low

Revolution resumes March 25th. Lost Girl and Continuum not as heavily tied to U.S. ratings

Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers

Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2013 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.

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Why Were They Cancelled? 
The Plight of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television in the Face of the Unforgiving Nielsens and Networks

Ever wondered why your favorite science fiction and/or fantasy show disappeared from the television schedule, never to deliver anymore new episodes? The reason why, most likely, is that it was cancelled because its ratings were low. And this book looks at those many cancelled sci fi/fantasy shows as well as the Neilsen ratings and television networks that dictate their fates. Available now for only $2.99 on Kindle from Amazon.com.

New on DVD: Continuum Season One, Star Trek Enterprise Blu-ray, and More

DVDs and Blu-rays Due Out March 26th:



More New and Recent Releases at This Link

Kickstarter Fallout: What It’s Going to Take to Revive Your Favorite Cancelled Sci Fi Show and What to Expect

The success of the Kickstarter campaign to fund a Veronica Mars reunion movie has made some major waves in the entertainment industry and has fans of many cancelled (or ended) shows chomping at the bit to see a similar effort to bring back their own favorite shows.  But several creators of beloved TV shows like Joss Whedon (addressing Firefly) and Josh Friedman (addressing The Sarah Connor Chronicles) have already warned fans that this sort of effort won’t work for every series (more on them in a later post), and the fact is that the best we can hope from a similar campaign targeted at a genre series is a one-off movie that may not be able to pull all of the cast together.  And there’s plenty of other hurdles to get over as well such as the amount money needed and the issue of who holds the rights to a particular property as well as prior commitments that the original cast and creative talent currently have on their schedules.  But all that aside, now that Veronica Mars has shown the way, I’m certain that at some point one or more genre shows will find new life (however briefly) from a similar effort.  So here’s my thoughts on what I think it’s going to take to make something happen and what you can expect if a Kickstarter project does get funded.

What It’s Going to Take:

We're ready for a movie

1.) Money.  And a lot of it.  Probably no less than $4 million and possibly considerably more.  Rob Thomas’ initial goal for Veronica Mars was $2 million, though as of this writing the campaign is approaching $4 million.  That latter number would most likely be the starting target for any genre series as they usually cost more to produce.  Consider that a typical television episode runs somewhere between two and four million dollars, so a movie—which would run longer—would cost even more to produce.  Also factor in that they may have to start it from the ground up as the sets from the original series have likely long since been disposed of (which typically happens after a show is cancelled or ends).  Of course there’s the possibility that the campaign may try to raise part of the money to convince the network or studio that owns the series that there is a commitment to the project.  So let’s say for example that Jericho producers determine that a movie would cost $6 million (just a for instance, I haven't heard of anything actually in the works) and they work out a deal with CBS that if the raise half of that then the network would foot the rest of the bill.  I haven’t heard that scenario mentioned, but it seems like a possible way to go.  And Rob Thomas worked out a deal with Warner Bros that if he raised the money to pay for the production costs, they would pay to promote the movie.  So there’s different ways to slice it and make it happen, but still it all comes back to money--and a big pile of it--to get a project like this off the ground.

2.) A Driving Force.  Series creator Rob Thomas provided that for the Veronica Mars movie.  Zach Levi could take that role for a Chuck movie (he's already hinted at it), and it looks like Bryan Fuller may put out the effort for a Pushing Daisies/Wonderfalls movie.  And this driving force has to have some strong connection to the series, it won’t succeed with just an effort by the fans.  I don’t think Kickstarter would even let fans put up a campaign like the one Rob Thomas did without someone closely involved with the series onboard (I could be wrong about that, though, not certain how Kickstarter handles these things).  Though it is possible that fans could do something separate from Kickstarter and maybe raise commitments to donate and then go to the studio or the creator of the series with that as an indication of what the fans are willing to do to see more of their favorite show.  That may sway some people and lead to an actual Kickstarter campaign to raise the money.

Please bring us back!

3.) Cooperation from the Network/Studio.  The fact is that a television series is owned by a network and/or a studio and they are the ones that ultimately decide what happens with the property.  Rob Thomas could have raised all the money he wanted, but without the involvement of the Warner Bros studio he could not legally produce a Veronica Mars movie.  Why would the network or studio not cooperate if the fans are the ones footing the bill to produce the film?  Because they are networks and studios and who knows what drives their decision making.  They could have other plans for the property that conflict with any sort of fan-funded film.  For example, there could be plans for a new Stargate series (I haven’t actually heard of any, so SG fans don’t get excited) or they could be planning a reboot (again, just a for instance).  Thus revisiting the old series might be seen as a sign of undermining their future plans.  I do know that Netflix was in talks with CBS about reviving Jericho last year, and something like that could throw in a wrench to a Kickstarter campaign as well.  CBS won’t greenlight a fan-funded Jericho movie, no matter who is behind it, if they have bigger things in the works (though, from what I understand, the Netflix talks have since stalled).  Plus, the network and/or studio is probably going to have to dig into their own pockets at some point.  As I mentioned, Warner Bros is paying for the promotion of the Veronica Mars movie and that will probably likely be part of any deal like this.  They still stand a good chance of making their money back, but they may be reluctant to throw more money at a property they previously abandoned.

What to Expect:

A One-Off Movie. (With maybe one or two more to follow).  As I said above, it’s going to take a lot of money to get anything like this off the ground and that only goes so far.  For some genre properties, a fan-funded movie looks like a real possibility (Chuck, Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls).  But hoping for more is surely a stretch (though if the first one takes off, maybe the network or studio will foot the bill for more).  Those thinking that an entire season could be funded this way should think again.  Let’s say that a season costs $2 million per episode (a low estimate) and they shoot for thirteen eps (the typical order for a cable series).  That’s no less than $26 million you are asking fans to come up with and that’s likely not a feasible goal.  Now it’s not impossible that a recently cancelled series could be saved if fans kicked in enough money to fund part of the season, say one third which is more in the realm of possibility.  But then that would need the cooperation of the network/studio to fly, and I don’t know how amenable they would be to the idea.  So for now, I’d say the best fans could hope for is a one-off movie that could give them some sort of resolution or at least one more visit with their favorite characters.

Where This Could Lead:

I expect to see several more campaigns like the Veronica Mars one crop up over the coming months and years, but I don’t know how long this sort of effort will continue to prove viable (fans are going to start to run out of money at some point).  But I do see where this could help set a precedent that could potentially change the way some shows are funded.  What if instead of fans donating money for the promise of a T-shirt or a future DVD release they bought shares of the property?  This may start at $100 per share and the number of shares they have guarantees them some percentage of the profits.  One share wouldn’t get them much, but the more they buy the larger percent they get.  Of course the network and/or studio still gets the lionshare, but those who funded it get a piece as well.  This is the case where you have the potential to fund an entire season of a series.  The show could potentially raise more money if those kicking in the dollars see the potential for a return on their investment.  This could also work for existing properties like Chuck or Pushing Daisies or Farscape as well as new projects from up and coming creators trying to fund web series or independent movies.  The networks/studios may resist this sort of funding because it erodes their stake in the property, but then it also reduces their initial cash outlay.   Of course the dust has not completely settled from the Veronica Mars campaign yet, so we don’t have a clear view of the future direction, but I see this as a very real possibility that could change the way at least some shows are funded and produced going forward.

Next, I look at some of the shows that have at least a decent chance of getting a revival through a Kickstarter campaign.

Cancelled Sci Fi/Fantasy Shows on DVD from Amazon.com:

Why Were They Cancelled? Zero Hour

Many science fiction and fantasy fans out there decry that there is a conspiracy amongst the networks against genre shows.  They believe that the broadcast networks and many of the cable channels as well want sci fi shows to fail because they don’t like them and want to use that as a justification not to produce them anymore.  And fans believe that the networks intentionally handicap genre shows with bad scheduling, poor promotion, and a lack of commitment.  Now the biggest flaw to this argument is the fact that the networks are businesses trying to make a profit on their products and it just makes no sense that they would sink money in a property—which totals to millions of dollars for a television series—while intentionally planning for it to fail.  That would represent an incredibly bad decision business-wise and would surely lead the networks eventually to shut their doors.  So logically, in a highly competitive, dog-eat-dog environment, it makes absolutely no sense that the networks would sink tons of money into a sci fi/fantasy show while all the while planning to undermine it and assure that it fails.  Right? 

But then you have the case of ABC’s Zero Hour . . .

Let’s back up a bit to last Fall when ABC debuted their twenty-minutes-in-the-future, “what if?” war drama Last Resort in the 8 PM EST Thursday night timeslot.  First of all, that’s a highly competitive hour with CBS basically owning it with the top-rated show currently on television—The Big Bang Theory—leading the hour and NBC giving some competition with its Thursday comedy shows (though those faltered this season) and The CW airing its top-rated show Vampire Diaries there as well (then at mid-season, FOX brings in American Idol).  Plus, it’s a younger-skewing audience that typically tunes in during the 8 PM EST timeslot all nights of the week.  So when the arc-heavy, more mature drama of Last Resort debuted in that hour last Fall, the odds were heavily against it and it quickly sunk in the ratings to the point that it was barely competing with fifth place CW in the hour.  And even though Last Resort received the thumbs up from many critics and developed a bit of a following, ABC never tried to reschedule it to a better timeslot where it had more of a chance of finding an audience, deciding instead to just cancel it.

So fast-forward to mid-season and what does ABC do with that rather brutal hour?  They schedule Zero Hour to air there, another arc-heavy series that appeals to a more mature audience—probably a lot of the same people who tuned in for Last Resort.  And to twist the knife just a bit more, the show debuts on Valentine’s night, when viewership is typically lower than usual.  Anybody else out there starting to wonder if there might be some truth to those conspiracy rumblings?  (Interestingly enough, this conspiracy was against a conspiracy-themed series!)

Of course, Zero Hour had plenty of other issues that would likely have sunk it anyway.  The truth is that it was a mess of a series with a convoluted story arc where they piled on one cliché after the next (Nazis, a hidden map, an ancient secret society, an impending apocalypse, and that was just the first episode).  In addition, Anthony Edwards' milquetoasty Hank Galliston just didn’t seem like a strong enough lead character to carry viewers through the show’s byzantine storylines.  And perhaps ABC execs saw that the show had gone awry and just lost confidence in it (but why did they greenlight it in the first place, because the problems start with the first ep?).  Still, an inauspicious beginning does not necessarily mean that a show can’t correct course at some point.  Just go back and watch the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation and tell me how many worthwhile episodes beyond “Encounter at Farpoint” it delivered in its first year.  Zero Hour definitely had its problems, but it showed some promise as well and could have worked its way into a decent series.  And considering that they had already sunk the money into the first thirteen episodes, they could have at least given it a better chance of succeeding than they did.

But that’s not the way networks role.  Just like NBC did with Do No Harm (more on that one at this link), ABC yanked Zero Hour from the schedule after only a few episodes had aired (three to be exact).  They may eventually air the rest as a Summer burn-off, but the show has been officially cancelled and has no chance of continuing beyond its initial order of episodes (and no, I don’t see much of a chance of a Kickstarter campaign helping this one). 

I don’t believe that this proves any sort of conspiracy, just that networks are too driven by the overnight ratings and don’t see the bigger picture, especially where genre shows are concerned.  Plenty of other sci fi entries started with low ratings or never managed to make much in the way of waves with the Nielsens but still went on to become enduring and profitable franchises (a few names come to mind like The Twilight Zone, Star Trek: The Original Series, Babylon 5, and The X-Files).  But if the networks axe the shows before they even have a chance (after stacking the deck against them in the first place) how many franchises with potential have the missed out on because of knee-jerk reactions?

Oh, and back to that conspiracy thing again for a moment: I tried to debunk that above by saying that if the networks continued to undermine their own programming they would end up putting themselves out of business, right?  Well, the fact is that the ratings for the broadcast networks continue to shrink notably each year with several of them facing potential bankruptcy or buyout if they don’t turn things around soon.  But no, there’s no conspiracy against science fiction and fantasy shows.  Which is exactly what you would expect me to say . . . 

Read more about how the Nielsen ratings work and how the networks rely on them as well as the many science fiction and fantasy that have fallen victim to them:

Why Were They Cancelled? 
The Plight of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television in the Face of the Unforgiving Nielsens and Networks

Ever wondered why your favorite science fiction and/or fantasy show disappeared from the television schedule, never to deliver anymore new episodes? The reason why, most likely, is that it was cancelled because its ratings were low. And this book looks at those many cancelled sci fi/fantasy shows as well as the Neilsen ratings and television networks that dictate their fates. Available now for only $2.99 on Kindle from Amazon.com.

Cancellation Watch: Bates Motel has Good Debut but Walking Dead Still Rules Television, Plus More Kickstarter Fallout

Get the Quickest Sci Fi TV Ratings Updates at the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site

AMC's The Walking Dead pulled a 5.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic this last Sunday with 10.8 million total viewers which was a drop of two ticks in its rating score, but it was still the top ranked show on the cable and broadcast networks over last week's Monday thru Sunday timeframe.  It beat everything on the broadcast nets including the CBS juggernaut (and geek friendly) The Big Bang Theory and also topped all of the cable broadcasts including the History Channels upstarts The Bible and The Vikings.  The former actually pulled a slightly higher number of total viewers (10.87 MM vs. 10.84), but The Walking Dead was the clear winner in the all important 18-49 demo, almost doubling The Bible's 2.8 rating that it pulled in its 8-10 PM EST airing.  And the recap/discussion show The Talking Dead beat the rating that The Vikings pulled on Sunday with a 1.9 score for the former vs. a 1.5 for the latter.  I'm not certain how many seasons The Walking Dead can keep up this momentum (as well as the intensity of its episodes), but expect it to remain a force for at least a few more seasons.

On A&E, their Psycho prequel series Bates Motel had a decent bow with a 1.3 rating and just over three million total viewers.  That's nowhere near Walking Dead numbers, but still decent for a basic cable series.  It's possible, though, that the debut attracted a lot of people curious about its connection to the Alfred Hitchcock original, so we will have to see if the show experiences a notable drop off with its second installment.

In other ratings news, ABC's Once Upon A Time remained steadily low with a 2.3 rating in the 18-49 demo and 7.5 million total viewers this last Sunday.  That night in general has experienced some significant ratings erosion (what with the competition over on AMC and History) and Once Upon A Time is still one of the top rated Sunday shows, so I guess it's okay for now.  On Monday, FOX's The Following slipped a bit to a 2.5 rating with 7.3 million total viewers.  That one has already been renewed for a second season.  Over on Syfy, Being Human remained steadily low with a 0.4 rating and about one million total viewers and Lost Girl pulled basically the same numbers.  The Continuum season finale did not make it into the Cable Top 100, but that show has already been renewed in Canada where Season 2 will start airing in April, and U.S. audiences will probably see that in Fall 2013 or mid-season 2014.

As expected, the Kickstarter campaign that successfully funded a Veronica Mars reunion movie (more on that at this link) has set off tremors through the entertainment industry prompting many fans to start clamoring for similar campaigns to bring back their own shows.  Zach Levi has already hinted at the possibility of a Chuck movie and Bryan Fuller has indicated he would like to take this approach to revisit Pushing Daisies and/or Wonderfalls (how about a crossover movie?).  But a couple of creators have made statements claiming that a Kickstarter campaign would not be bringing back their shows any time soon.  Joss Whedon has indicated that his current commitments to Marvel (with Avengers 2 and the SHIELD TV series) would make it impossible for him to focus on a Firefly movie any time soon.  And there's also the issue of getting the cast together with Nathan Fillion and others committed to other projects.  And Josh Friedman has put the kibosh on a Sarah Connor Chronicles movie citing primarily licensing issues as well as the fact that most sci fi shows would need a much higher budget than what is currently targeted for Veronica Mars.  But still, I wouldn't be surprised to see a Kickstarter campaign for one or more genre series in the near future.  Keep an eye on this site for a post looking at some of the most likely candidates. 

Keep an eye on the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site for the early returns from the rest of this week's shows and you can see the Cancellation Alert status of all the shows currently airing plus the final results from prior seasons at my Cancellation Watch page.  And for questions on how the ratings work and my Cancellation Alert statuses, you can see the Cancellation Watch FAQ.

Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers

Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2013 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.

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Amazon Prime: Get Free 2-Day Shipping, Instant Access to Thousands of Kindle Books, and Free Streaming of Recent Sci Fi TV Shows Like These:
 

New in Comics: Judge Dread Year One, Poison Elves, and More

A few choice selections from the comics due out March 20th:

Judge Dredd Year One #1
IDW

Description: 'The Long Hard Road' begins here!

In an all-new adventure from Joe Dredd's early days as a Mega City-One Judge, writer (and Eagle-award-winning 2000 AD Editor) Matt Smith presents a tale where 'all the young juves, carry the news,' only in this case, the news is delivered with a lethal blow!

By: Matthew J. Smith, Simon Coleby, Greg Staples

Poison Elves #1
Ape Entertainment

Description: Part 1: 'Presumed Dead.'

Continuing the master work of departed indie legend, Drew Hayes, Ape Entertainment is proud to present the return of Poison Elves!

Available with covers by Darick Robertson, Osvaldo Montpelier, and Terry Moore.

By: Robb Horan, Osvaldo Pestana Montpeller, Darick Robertson

Green Hornet #1
Dynamite Entertainment

Description: The Hornet faces his most dangerous enemy ever--an egotistical, arrogant Britt Reid!

In his alter-ego as a powerful newspaper publisher, the Hornet has lost control, becoming a social crusader far too sure of himself and of his judgment.

But when he finally goes too far, an innocent man pays a terrible price--and the legend of the Green Hornet begins its cataclysmic collapse!

By: Mark Waid, Daniel Indro, David Rivera

Time Warp #1
DC

Description: Let's do the time warp again!

It's time for another fantastic Vertigo anthology filled with spectacular sci-fi stories. Robots, deep space and lots of time travel twists by a bevy of comic greats and the up-and-coming stars of tomorrow.

Damon Lindelof and Jeff Lemire bring us a blast from DC's past, plus another installment of the 'Dead Boy Detectives' from Toby Litt, Buckingham and Victor Santos, Matt Kindt presents a stirring story of man vs. machine-and so much more!

By: Dan Abnett, Mark Buckingham, Eduardo Risso

More of This Week's Comics at This Link 

Cancellation Watch: Most Late Week Shows Sci Fi/Fantasy Shows Struggling to Find Viewers

Get the Quickest Updates on Sci Fi TV Ratings at the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site

Most of the Wednesday through Friday genre shows continued to pull mostly poor numbers as only one of those managed to score anything north of a 2.0 rating this last week.  The one that did was  CBS entry Person of Interest which improved its numbers from the prior week by a tick with a 2.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 14.3 million total viewers.  All of the other late week genre entries were considerably lower than that, though.  On Wednesday, ABC's sci fi sitcom The Neighbors sunk to a series low of a 1.4 rating with 4.7 million total viewers.  But then it was stuck in the middle of repeats among that networks other Tuesday night comedy block shows, so the drop off is not surprising.  The CW's Thursday night shows returned from two weeks of repeats, but the network's flagship series Vampire Diaries could only muster a 1.1 rating with 2.4 million total viewers with lead-out Beauty and the Beast pulling its typically tepid 0.5 rating with 1.4 million total viewers. 

On Friday night things were worse.  NBC's Grimm slipped to a 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demo with 4.9 million total viewers, though that's still pretty good for a Friday night show.  The CW's Nikita improved its number from the prior week, but "improving" to a 0.5 rating is nothing to be cheering too much about.  FOX's Touch slipped to a 0.6 rating with 2.4 million total viewers as that one airs out what will certainly be its last season.  And The CW's Cult continues its Friday burnoff pulling only a 0.3 rating and less than seven hundred thousand total viewers.

Below are the full ratings results for last week's shows, and I already covered the early week shows in my previous mid-week column.  And you can keep an eye on the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site for the early returns from Sunday thru Tuesday shows from this week.  You can see the Cancellation Alert status of all the shows currently airing plus the final results from prior seasons at my Cancellation Watch page.  And for questions on how the ratings work and my Cancellation Alert statuses, you can see the Cancellation Watch FAQ.

Ratings Results for the Week of March 10:
Once Upon A Time (ABC Sun 8 PM) Rating: 2.3 | Trend: Up | Cancellation Alert: Low
The Walking Dead (AMC Sun 9 PM) Rating: 5.7 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Renewed
The Following (FOX Mon 9 PM) Rating: 2.7 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Low
Being Human (Syfy Mon 9 PM) Rating: 0.4 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Low
Arrow (R) (CW Wed 8 PM) Rating: 0.4 | Trend: Up | Cancellation Alert: Low
The Neighbors (ABC Wed 9:30 PM) Rating: 1.4 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
Supernatural (R) (CW Wed 9 PM) Rating: 0.4 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Low
Vampire Diaries (CW Thu 8 PM) Rating: 1.1 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Low
Person of Interest (CBS Thu 9 PM) Rating: 2.9 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Low
Beauty and the Beast (CW Thu 9 PM) Rating: 0.5 | Trend: Steady | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
Nikita (CW Fri 8 PM) Rating: 0.5 | Trend: Up | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
Cult (CW Tue 9 PM) Rating: 0.3 | Trend: Up | Cancellation Alert: High
Touch (FOX Fri 9 PM) Rating: 0.6 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: High
Grimm (NBC Fri 9 PM) Rating: 1.4 | Trend: Down | Cancellation Alert: Low

Revolution resumes March 25th. Lost Girl and Continuum not as heavily tied to U.S. ratings


Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers

Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2013 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.

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Why Were They Cancelled? 
The Plight of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television in the Face of the Unforgiving Nielsens and Networks

Ever wondered why your favorite science fiction and/or fantasy show disappeared from the television schedule, never to deliver anymore new episodes? The reason why, most likely, is that it was cancelled because its ratings were low. And this book looks at those many cancelled sci fi/fantasy shows as well as the Neilsen ratings and television networks that dictate their fates. Available now for only $2.99 on Kindle from Amazon.com.

New on DVD: The Hobbit, The 10th Kingdom, and More

DVDs and Blu-rays Due Out March 19th:



More New and Recent Releases at This Link

Kickstarter Fallout: Is Kickstarter the New Save-My-Show Route? Could a Chuck or Pushing Daisies Movie be on the Way?

So it looks like Kickstarter has breathed some new life into the cancelled non-genre show Veronica Mars (which some genre fans may have a soft spot for).  Series creator Rob Thomas (who's also responsible for the cult favorite Cupid) got the show's star Kristen Bell (who we know from Heroes) onboard and worked out a plan for a low-budget movie, and Warner Bros (who owns the property) agreed to promote it if he could raise two million dollars for the production costs.  He then started up a Kickstarter campaign and they have gone well beyond the goal in only a couple days with over three million pledged as of this writing (and set Hollywood abuzz in the process).  That's surprisingly proved a pretty successful way of energizing the fanbase and Chuck's Zachary Levi has already gone to Twitter to hint that a similar effort could lead to a movie spin-off from that series.

So is this the newest way for fans to keep their beloved shows alive after the networks callously boot them off the Prime Time schedule?

Possibly, but it won't work in all cases.

The important thing to note about the Veronica Mars campaign is that it was initiated by the show's creator with the series star onboard and the studio agreeing to work with them if they raised the money.  If a bunch of fans get together a Kickstarter campaign to finance something like a Firefly or Jericho movie, that doesn't mean much if they do it independent of the creators, cast, and studios that need to be involved.  They can raise money all they want, but if they don't have the right people onboard--which would definitely be a challenge with a show like the two mentioned--they are basically wasting their time.

And then there's the question of how much money is needed.  Rob Thomas targeted two million--he's getting more--and already had a story in mind that he could bring together on that limited budget.  But two million is about the budget of a single one hour television episode, and it's actually on the low side for what the broadcast networks typically spend.  Doing a movie on that money, especially for a show that relies heavily on special effects like Firefly or has a sizable cast like Jericho would be rather tight.  Sure, you can up the ante to four million or more, but that's peanuts when it comes to the budget of a big screen production.  It could be targeted as a TV movie or direct to DVD release, but then you still have the challenge of rounding up everybody who needs to be involved.

Fans should temper there efforts at this point and wait to see if some of the creators or stars try to follow Rob Thomas' lead and try to make something happen with their shows.  It sounds like there could be some movement with a Chuck movie, and Bryan Fuller has already started talking about the possibility of a Pushing Daisies movie.  Could Josh Friedman take a stab at a Sarah Connor Chronicles wrap up?  These would depend on getting the casts back together and they would almost certainly be one-off movies (it's just not feasible to continue a series on this type of funding).  But the success of Veronica Mars definitely suggests that this is a viable way for fans to get some sort of resolution when their show gets cancelled or at least one more visit with their favorite characters.  You know that Chuck fans are probably already chomping at the bit after Levi's twitter comment.  And expect fans of Firefly, Jericho, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Legend of the Seeker and more to star coming out of the woodworks. It will be interesting to monitor the fall out from this in the coming months.

Related Links:
BleedingCool.com: Joss Whedon Explains Why He Isn’t Kickstarting Firefly… Yet
Blastr.com: 8 sci-fi series we wish would use Kickstarter to come back to TV

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Why Were They Cancelled? 
The Plight of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television in the Face of the Unforgiving Nielsens and Networks

Ever wondered why your favorite science fiction and/or fantasy show disappeared from the television schedule, never to deliver anymore new episodes? The reason why, most likely, is that it was cancelled because its ratings were low. And this book looks at those many cancelled sci fi/fantasy shows as well as the Neilsen ratings and television networks that dictate their fates. Available now for only $2.99 on Kindle from Amazon.com.

Cancellation Watch: Star Wars The Clone Wars CANCELLED!!!

Get the Quickest Sci Fi TV Ratings Updates at the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site

Sorry, couldn't resist that search engine baiting headline, and the fact is that Cartoon Network's Star Wars: The Clone Wars will come to an end after its five season run.  And all across the internet there's plenty of other headlines just like the one above that are announcing the "cancellation" of the show.  But the truth of the matter is, with the Star Wars franchise sale to Disney and all, this is just a symptom of the current change in direction and potential shift of focus away from the prequel era.   Lucasfilm has said that they "feel the time has come to wind down the series" and that they have "decided to pursue a new direction in animated programing," and I don't know how much further beyond five seasons they planned on taking this animated series to begin with.  George Lucas originally claimed that he had at least a hundred episodes worth of material for the series, and it's actually reached a little beyond that point with its fifth season finale (108 eps total).  I stopped watching the show several seasons ago, so I don't know how much of a conclusion the last episode provided, and if it left some threads hanging I'm sure they will be resolved at some point (the cost of a final TV movie to wrap up all the storylines is just a drop in the bucket for Lucasfilm/Dismey).  But any future Star Wars television projects will likely move over to one of the Disney channels, and there is something on the horizon as Lucasfilm has announced plans of "exploring a whole new Star Wars series set in a time period previously untouched in Star Wars films or TV programming."  This news may not please Clone Wars fans too much, but fans of the franchise in general should look forward to this new direction.  One unfortunate additional casualty of this new direction is the planned Star Wars Detours animated parody series from Robot Chicken creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich.  That one has not been completely scrapped, but its future is currently in limbo.

As far as the most current ratings, The Walking Dead is still kicking the butts of both the cable and broadcast networks.  You may be hearing plenty of spin about how History Channel's The Bible is the most watched show and how The Vikings are plundering the ratings, but it's the zombies who are really on top.  That show pulled a 5.7 rating again in the 18-49 demographic with its most recent episode and 11.5 million total viewers.  That beat The Bible's 2.5 rating with 10.8 million total viewers and the 1.3 score and 4.6 million total viewers for The Vikings.  In fact, The Talking Dead--the post TWD show that discusses the most recent episode and the series in general--beat the latter with a 1.8 rating.

On the broadcast networks, Once Upon A Time slightly improved its numbers on Sunday edging up to a 2.3 rating with 7.6 million total viewers.  And on Monday, FOX's The Following slipped a tick to a 2.7 rating with 8.2 million total viewers, though it was the top rated scripted show for the evening.

On Syfy's "Powerful Mondays" (not so much), Being Human pulled a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demo again with 1.1 million total viewers.  Lost Girl had almost the exact same scores but Continuum did not make it into the Cable Top 100.

One additional note of interest: FOX has announced the season finale date for struggling Friday night series Touch.  That show will wrap up its current season on May 10th indicating that they will apparently let it air out its episodes despite pulling poor ratings during its sophomore year.  But short of a miraculous ratings turnaround in the upcoming weeks (unlikely), that one will almost certainly not be returning for any future seasons.

Keep an eye on the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site for the early returns from the rest of this week's shows and you can see the Cancellation Alert status of all the shows currently airing plus the final results from prior seasons at my Cancellation Watch page.  And for questions on how the ratings work and my Cancellation Alert statuses, you can see the Cancellation Watch FAQ.

Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers

Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2013 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.

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Amazon Prime: Get Free 2-Day Shipping, Instant Access to Thousands of Kindle Books, and Free Streaming of Recent Sci Fi TV Shows Like These: