A Look at the Sci Fi Shows from the Last Few Years that Were Killed by the Ratings Death Spiral

In my previous post, I discussed the possible reasons why recent high profile broadcast network sci fi shows debuted to strong ratings then went on a death spiral that lead to their cancellation after one or two seasons.  Here is a look at those on show by show basis:

Invasion (ABC, 2005-6, Cancelled after One Season):  This show seemed like a sure thing debuting in the coveted Lost lead-out slot during that show's second seasons and also delivering a similar story-arc driven sci fi series.  But the problem was that it was too much of a slow burn.  It started off with a somewhat creepy and intense tone that offered plenty of promise from a story-telling perspective.  But then nothing seemed to happen for episode after episode and viewers just lost interest.  By the end of the season its ratings had fallen pretty far and ABC just decided to pass on a second season even though the show ended on a pretty major cliffhanger.  And as it turned out, even though Lost continued to be strong performer in the ratings, its lead-out slot ended becoming somewhat of a cursed hour and no show managed to succeed there during its six year run.

FlashForward (ABC, 2009-10, Cancelled after One Season):  This series was officially dubbed by ABC as the “Next Lost” before it debuted and that brought on plenty of curious onlookers when it first debuted.  And the first episode showed promise even if it did not quite live up to all the hype.  But then the series completely failed to explore the full implications of its near-apocalyptic premise and decided instead to follow the procedural with a twist route with soap opera asides.  And even worse, it became just plain boring.  It did course correct, though, at mid-season, but the audience attrition had already set in and it didn’t help that it had a long hiatus between its fall and spring runs.  This show had promise, but that was squandered early on and it never fully recovered and was axed on a cliff-hanger that looked to reboot the series to an extent if it had continued into a second season.

V (ABC, 2009-11, Cancelled after Two Seasons):  This series was a dubious choice to begin with because even though the original 80’s mini-series was a huge ratings success, it failed to hold onto its audience when it turned into a weekly series.  Still, the reboot drew a huge number of curious onlookers early on (it had the highest rating for a sci fi show that is not The Walking Dead or Lost in the past ten plus years), but those numbers dropped quickly.  That’s largely because it failed to deliver the sfx-heavy production that it teased, and it was really pretty bad.  It descended into bad camp as it appeared to deliver a pro-conservative, anti-Obama allegory that offered little in the way of insightful or challenging stories.  ABC still gave it a second season renewal despite the fact that it had fallen fast and far by the end of its first season.  But quality-wise it did not course-correct enough in its second year and the network gave up on it at that point.

The Event (NBC, 2010-11, Cancelled after One Season):  Another show that was dubbed as the “next Lost” (though by a competing network), but this one suffered mostly because it was just a mess of a show.  The first episode showed promise with its fractured story-telling that seemed to offer an inventive twist on the Lost-style flashbacks.  But that quickly became just plain confusing and it seemed obvious that the writers were as baffled by the show’s story as the audience was.  Probably the main problem with The Event was that it seemed more like a corporate boardroom derived attempt to replicate Lost than any idea driven by creative inspiration.  Its high debut ratings plummeted quickly, and NBC admitted defeat by season end by cancelling it.

Terra Nova (FOX, 2011, Cancelled after One Season):  This one had plenty of hype and a large number of fans intrigued as it promised to deliver a dinosaur epic on the small screen.  But out of the gate it suffered from hackneyed, copy and paste scripts along with contrived, unnecessary family soap opera sub plots.  People tuned in to see humans struggling to survive in a world of dinosaurs but instead saw stale, teen angst melodrama.  Terra Nova actually debuted to less that spectacular (though still decent) ratings, but it went quickly downhill and never recovered.  And this one was too expensive of a production to survive on cult series ratings so FOX made it extinct after a short, one season run.

Alcatraz (FOX, 2012, Cancelled after One Season): This J.J. Abrams mystery/time travel series debuted to decent ratings but started a steady downhill slide when audiences found it to be little more than a procedural series with a twist.  Had it spent more time exploring its premise instead of just delivering escaped, time-traveling Alcatraz convict of the week stories, it might have built more of a cult following.  But FOX already had low-rated sci fi cult show on its schedule in Fringe, and apparently didn’t want to make room for another.  It was cancelled after only a thirteen episode run.

Touch (FOX, 2012-13, Cancelled after Two Seasons):  This show drew a lot of curious onlookers early with star Kiefer Sutherland’s presence and also Heroes creator Tim Kring’s involvement.  But it’s Touched by an Angel with numbers concept grew stale all too quick and audiences quickly began to tune out.  FOX still gave it a second season and tried to retool the show a bit, but the rot had already set in and the move to Friday nights didn’t help its prospects either.  It got the axe after completing the thirteen episodes ordered for its second season.

Revolution (NBC, 2013-, Not Cancelled Yet, but on the verge):  The J.J. Abrams / Eric Kripke connection piqued the interest of many viewers early on and the show’s post-apocalyptic setting offered plenty of potential as well.  But that was all quickly squandered as the show delivered stock television stories, copy and paste scripts, unnecessary soap opera diversions, and somewhat dull characters.  Its high premiere numbers had dropped far by the end of its first season, but NBC couldn’t quite bring themselves to give up on it.  It returned this year with a bit of a course-correction, but it lost its cushy lead-in from The Voice and has slipped to its lowest ratings yet.  The network may give it the full season to see if it can turn things around, but at this point its prospects look pretty grim.   

Agents of SHIELD (ABC, 2013-, Not Cancelled Yet):  Looks like this one may have turned around its numbers, but you can read more about it at this link.

Cancelled Sci Fi TV on DVD and Blu-ray:

 

Why Did Sci Fi Shows Like V, FlashForward, The Event, Terra Nova, and More Start Strong then go into a Death Spiral?

Since Lost became a surprise hit on the broadcast networks in 2004 and proved that science fiction could be a viable genre on the Prime Time Schedule, network execs have made multiple attempts to recreate that success with genre offerings yet have constantly fallen short of meeting that show’s mark.  But it’s not for a lack of interest because many shows like V, FlashForward, The Event, and Terra Nova have debuted to high or at least respectable ratings before heading on a death spiral that led to eventual cancellation.  And this season we seem to be seeing that same trend once again with ABC’s Agents of SHIELD (more on that at this link).  So why are viewers tuning in to these shows then just as quickly tuning out?  Here’s a few reasons that I believe could be driving this trend:

Lack of Spectacle:  Science fiction and fantasy has dominated the Box Office since the beginning of the 00’s and has actually been a major force there since Jaws and Star Wars kicked off the blockbuster era back in the mid-1970’s.  But not because people are going to the theaters to see the intelligent, thought-provoking stories that hard-core fans of the genre prefer, but for the spectacle.  The audiences flocking to the theaters to see sci fi blockbusters seek those rollercoaster-ride, sense-shattering thrills that high dollar, sfx-ladden big budget films can deliver.   Take a look at the list of Top 100 domestic grossing films unadjusted for inflation so that it skews toward the most recent crop of films.  You will see there that sci fi / fantasy has a tight lock on that list of one hundred films, but many of these are the ones that place spectacle over story.  The Transformers films, the Star Wars prequels, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and other CGI-bloatfests are frequent entries on the list.  And even some of the better regarded genre films such as The Avengers, The Dark Knight, and even the Harry Potter films still relied heavily on the sfx “Wow” factor and these entries are not necessarily what we think of when putting together a list of classic sci fi films.  Spectacle is what sells at the Box Office and the fact is that is hard to replicate on the small screen.

Many of genre films in that Top 100 list cost well over $100 million to produce whereas the budget for a single episode of a television series probably tops out around $5 million and comes in much lower in many cases.  A TV production just doesn’t have the finances to work with to produce that same level of spectacle and ultimately falls short of what larger audiences are looking for.  Shows like V, FlashForward, and Terra Nova all seemed to promise blockbuster level thrill-rides on the small screen but could not deliver that on a weekly basis to the satisfaction of the larger audience tuning in.  And the many curious onlookers who checked out the early episodes quickly lost interest when they didn’t see the level of spectacle they expected based on their big screen experiences.  They don’t want to hear excuses about how a television show can’t deliver a mini-blockbuster each week.  They just want their sfx/action fix, and when a TV series doesn’t deliver they move on pretty quickly.

Lack of Understanding of the Genre:  So the broadcast nets are already falling short on the expected spectacle from their sci fi entries, then they typically show an inability to grasp the genre and what fans are really looking for beyond just sfx thrills.  If a sci fi series is not going to deliver the sfx-gasm that the mass audience is looking for, then they need to compensate for that with stories that will appeal to fanbase of the genre.  And this doesn’t mean to throw in every sci fi / fantasy cliché with just a new locale and different set of faces.  This means to offer a show with some type of substance and an idea that can sustain it across multiple seasons.  Shows like V, FlashForward, The Event, Terra Nova, and others all fell short in this area and that had a lot to do with why they failed.  These shows all seemed promising when they started but quickly fell victim to hackneyed, uninspired delivery that played out across watered-down, stock television plots.  Sci fi has so much potential to challenge its viewers and we have seen it do that many times with shows like Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Babylon 5, the Battlestar Galactica revival, and more.  But the network executives typically fail to grasp and/or tap into that potential and the final product that they deliver ultimately falls short on all counts.  Current off-network shows like The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and American Horror Story have succeeded because they push the boundaries of television and take chances (even if that last one mentioned tends to be a bit of a mess) while also succeeding at delivering just the right amount of visual appeal that fans are looking for.  But the product that we get from the broadcast networks (and several of the basic cable channels as well) all too often pulls it punches or hints at taking chances but often retreats from delivering what it promises. 

NBC had a chance to pick up The Walking Dead before that show eventually landed on AMC, but they wanted the producers to ease back on its darker, boundary-pushing tone.  So TWD goes on to become a huge off-network hit (it’s currently the highest rated non-sports show on all of television), and in answer NBC offers Revolution.  That one, though, probably gives us a good idea of how The Walking Dead would have played out if the producers had followed the networks directives.  Revolution, while having a somewhat interesting initial concept, has offered watered down stories, uninteresting characters, copy and paste dialog, and its attempts to be “daring” by killing off major characters seems to be driven more by lazy, uninspired writing than any attempt to focus on good story-telling.  Not surprisingly, that show--which started out very high in the ratings--has been on an extended death-spiral that has it on the brink of cancellation.  The other shows that have tracked this same path (most ending after a single season) include V, FlashForward, The Event, Terra Nova, Touch, Alcatraz, and perhaps now Agents of SHIELD.

Lack of Understanding that Sci Fi Really is a Cult Genre: Along with this lack of understanding of how to creatively direct sci fi shows, the networks often fail to understand what to expect from these shows ratings-wise.  The fact is that sci fi shows--even some of the biggest names like Star Trek, Babylon 5, and Battlestar Galactica--have rarely enjoyed high ratings.  Lost was one of the few exceptions in that it stayed in the Top 20 all six years that it aired.  But sci fi rarely has this sort of long-term lasting ratings appeal.  FOX’s Fringe--which managed to survive through five seasons--only had high ratings in its first season when it had American Idol as its lead-in.  After that, its ratings plummeted, but FOX--in a rare moment of insight--treated it as the cult show it was and moved it to Fridays where it could survive with acceptable Nielsen results.  NBC is currently doing the same thing with Grimm and that has worked out well for that show.  But all too often the networks want their high-profile sci fi shows to deliver strong, sustained ratings results which is something that the genre has rarely achieved.  If the networks can temper their ratings expectations to the cult shows these typically are, then they might have more patience with them and even give some stumbling shows the chance to turn around quality-wise (though admittedly ABC, FOX, and NBC all appeared to do that with V, Touch, and Revolution respectively and that didn’t really work out).  

Lack of the Ability to Learn From Mistakes Made and What Actually Works:  The trend of high profile sci fi flops trying to replicate the success of Lost really began in 2005 with Invasion.  And this has been replicating itself to different degrees pretty much every season since then.  And yet the networks have failed to really grasp why these shows are stumbling as they repeat the same mistakes (detailed above) over and over.  And then they fail to grasp what is really driving the successes of the cable shows like The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and American Horror Story.  As mentioned above, Revolution is a clear example of that as it tried to deliver a post-apocalypse, Walking Dead type series but has fallen victim to the same pitfalls as the network failures that preceded it.  

The fact is that blockbuster style sci fi on TV--which is what many of the shows mentioned here strove for--rarely works out because of the limitations of the medium and the short-sightedness of network executives.  And if these shows don’t have the quality to make up for the lack of spectacle, then the core fanbase won’t stick with them either.  And the networks just can’t quite learn from their own mistakes and continue to fall victim to the same blunders which leads to more shows failing each year.

Next up, a look at several of these high-profile sci fi shows that were victims of the death-spiral and why they failed.

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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 $1.99 on Kindle from Amazon.com.

Cancellation Watch: Almost Human Slips in the Ratings Again, Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Sets Records and Boosts Atlantis Premiere

FOX's sci fi buddy cop series Almost Human aired its third episode on Monday and and saw its ratings drop yet again.  The latest installment slipped to a 1.9 score in the 18-49 demographic with 6.6 million total viewers.  That drops the show below the 2.0 threshold and at first appears to suggest a tenuous future for the show.  But it gets a bit of a respite for the moment because this is Thanksgiving week and a typically low viewership time for the broadcast networks.  Most all of the Monday shows were down including AH's lead-out series Sleepy Hollow which dropped to a season low of a 2.2 rating with 5.8 million total viewers.  It's possible that Almost Human's numbers could go up next week, but then December is a typically low viewership month as well (and thus the reason most shows go on hiatus).  The late start that FOX gave this show did it no favors and may hurt it from building up an audience going into mid-season.  I'm putting it at a Moderate Cancellation Alert status for now, though we may not get a good gauge on the show's health until January.

The 50th anniversary episode of the Doctor Who aired on Saturday night and set the Guinness Record for the largest simulcast of a TV drama as it went out to 94 countries.  It also enjoyed it largest audience in Britain in years, pulling in 10.2 million total viewers.  Plus, it was the Number 1 show tracked on Twitter and Tumblr and set a record for BBC America pulling 2.4 million total viewers.  All that attention helped out the premiere of new series Atlantis which followed the anniversary special and pulled 840 thousand total viewers which is a strong number for that cable channel.  Unfortunately, my main ratings source TV by The Numbers does not typically track Saturday cable ratings so it will be difficult to get reports on that show in the coming week.  It's renewal is dictated more heavily by its performance in its home country, though, so those numbers are not quite as telling.

In other ratings news, The Walking Dead slipped again on Sunday to "only" a 5.7 rating in the 18-49 demo with 11.3 million total viewers as the Governor-centric episodes have not seemed to be as popular as those focusing on the main group at the prison.  But then the series took a similar track to this last season before seeing its numbers jump with the mid-season finale which arrives this coming Sunday.  Over on Lifetime, The Witches of East End rose a tick to a 0.6 rating with 1.5 million total viewers.  That show received its second season renewal announcement last week which was pretty much expected.


On Friday, The CW's Nikita returned for its final six episode season and raise your hand if you were one of the handful of people who tuned in for the premiere.  That series sunk to a low of a 0.2 rating in the 18-49 demo with only 700k total viewers which I believe has to be one of the lowest premieres ever for a scripted series on the broadcast networks.  No matter, it's wrapping up after these six episode anyway.  Also on Friday, ABC's The Neighbors stayed low at a 0.9 rating with 3.9 million total viewers and I still believe it will be off the air by the time mid-season kicks into full gear in January.  Also on Friday, Haven pulled another tepid 0.4 score with 1.5 million total viewers as that winds down its current season and faces a very uncertain future.

On Thursday, The CW's Vampire Diaries had another strong outing for that network as it pulled a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demo with 2.7 million total viewers and ranked third place in its 8 PM EST timeslot.  In last place in that hour was ABC's Once Upon A Time in Wonderland which again pulled only a 0.9 rating with three and a half million total viewers.  That one will get kicked out of this timeslot in January with no word yet on where it will land to burn off its remaining episodes (as I mentioned last week, consider it and NBC's Dracula de facto cancelled). 

Preempted last week and this week were Grimm, Dracula, and Once Upon A Time and expect more of those during this holiday week.  Here are the season to date numbers and standings through November 25th for all the shows that have bowed so far (sorted by most likely to get cancelled):

Series	Network / Airs (EST)	Cancel- lation Alert	StD Rating	StD Eps	Tracking
Dracula	NBC / Fri 10 PM	High	1.2	4	Low
Once Upon A Time in Wonderland	ABC / Thu 8 PM	High	1.2	6	Low
Beauty and the Beast	CW / Mon 9 PM	High	0.3	8	Low
The Neighbors	ABC / Fri 8:30 PM	High	1.0	9	Low
Revolution	NBC / Wed 8 PM	Elevated	1.5	9	Low
Almost Human	FOX / Mon 8 PM	Moderate	2.3	3	Down
The Tomorrow People	CW / Wed 9 PM	Moderate	0.7	7	Low
Haven	Syfy / Fri 9 PM	Moderate	0.4	11	Low
Grimm	NBC / Fri 9 PM	Low	1.6	4	Up
Arrow	CW / Wed 8 PM	Low	1.0	7	Down
Supernatural	CW / Tue 9 PM	Low	1.0	7	Down
The Originals	CW / Tue 8 PM	Low	1.0	7	Up
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.	ABC / Tue 8 PM	Low	2.9	8	Up
Once Upon A Time	ABC / Sun 8 PM	Low	2.3	8	Down
Vampire Diaries	CW / Thu 8 PM	Low	1.2	8	Up
Person of Interest	CBS / Tue 10 PM	Low	2.1	9	Up
Nikita	CW / Fri 9 PM	Final Season	0.2	1	Low
The Walking Dead	AMC / Sun 9 PM	Renewed	6.7	7	Strong
American Horror Story: Coven	FX / Wed 10 PM	Renewed	2.3	7	Decent
Witches of East End	Life / Sun 9 PM	Renewed	0.7	8	Decent
Sleepy Hollow	FOX / Mon 9 PM	Renewed	2.8	9	Down

I will not be putting up my regular Friday post this week covering the Tuesday and Wednesday shows, but look for a catch-up post on the weekend and I will try to get numbers on the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site as time (and connectivity) allow over the next few days.  You can see the current status for all this season's genre show at this link.  And for more information on the ratings numbers and how I determine the Cancellation Alert status of a show, see the Cancellation Watch FAQ.

Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers

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

Numbers Overload: Almost Human Lands in the Broadcast Network Top 10 with its Debut

FOX’s Almost Human debuted this past Sunday to strong ratings and that found the show taking the Number 8 slot among broadcast network shows based on the ratings in the 18-49 demographic.  It’s a pretty impressive bow, but unfortunately the show dropped considerably in the ratings the next night when it took up its regular Monday 8 PM EST timeslot.  Based on the numbers from that episode (a 2.3 rating), the series should still be in the Top 25 when the next ranking comes out, but somewhere closer to the bottom.  As for the other genre shows in the broadcast network Top 25, Sleepy Hollow leap-frogged Agents of SHIELD and looks to stay ahead of that show in the coming weeks.  In the cable charts, The Walking Dead took the top spot based on total viewership, even beating out football this time around.  Person of Interest moved up the broadcast network charts based on total viewership to the Number 7 slot.  And on the DVR gains chart, Vampire Diaries snuck into the Number 22 slot as Agents of SHIELD and Sleepy Hollow slipped out while in repeats for the week tracked (October 28th to November 3rd). 


Top 25 Nov 11th to Nov 17th  

Cable Networks

Total Viewers:  Live + Same Day viewing from the overnights
1. The Walking Dead (AMC) 12.0 Million (Prior Week - #2, 12.2 MM)
9. American Horror Story: Coven (FX) 4.2 Million (Prior Week - #12, 3.8 MM)
10. The Talking Dead (AMC) 4.1 Million (Prior Week - #9, 4.3 MM)

Broadcast Networks

Ratings:  18-49 demographic in Live + Same Day viewing from the overnights
8. Almost Human (FOX) 3.1 Rating (Prior Week - n/a)
17. Sleepy Hollow (FOX) 2.6 Rating (Prior Week - #20 2.5 Rating)
23. Agents of SHIELD (ABC) 2.2 Rating (Prior Week - #19 2.5 Rating)

Total Viewers:  Live + Same Day viewing from the overnights
7. Person of Interest (CBS) 12.6 million (Prior Week – #9, 11.8 MM)

Live+7 Day DVR Ratings: 

Top 25 Ratings Increase for the Week of October 28th to November 3rd  
9. Once Upon A Time: Rating Increase - 1.2, Final Rating - 3.5
12. Grimm: Rating Increase - 1.1, Final Rating - 2.6
15. Person of Interest: Rating Increase - 1.0, Final Rating - 2.9
20. Dracula: Rating Increase - 0.9, Final Rating - 2.2
22. Revolution: Rating Increase - 0.9, Final Rating - 2.3
22. Vampire Diaries: Rating Increase - 0.8, Final Rating - 1.7

Dropping Out: Agents of SHIELD and Sleepy Hollow (In Repeats that Week)

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Sci Fi TV in Comics Due Out November 27th:

Battlestar Galactica #6
IDW Publishing

Description: What is it like to be amember of the Battlestar's valiant crew? Find out in this issue as we follow the highs and lows of one duty shift aboard the Galactica... just a day like any other in the fight to keep Mankind alive!

By: Dan Abnett, Cezar Razek


Dark Shadows #23
Dynamite Entertainment

Description: It is a turning point in the lives of the residents of Collinwood. Reeling from the aftermath of their confrontation with Dark Barnabas and his family of vampires, no one has been left unscathed. With no place else to turn, and little hope of surviving another vampire encounter, Willie is forced to call in help from the most unlikely of sources... vampire hunters.

By: Mike Raicht, Nacho Tenorio, Francesco Francavilla


X-Files Season 10 #6
IDW Publishing

Description: Hosts, Part 1 of 2: Scully and Mulder try to come to terms with the fallout from recent events, but before they are able to catch their collective breath, they become embroiled in reports that a creature from their past as returned: 'Flukeman'!

By: Joe Harris, Elena Casagrande, Carlos Valenzuela


More of This Week's Comics at This Link  

Syfy Announces its January Debuts Which Include Ronald Moore's Helix and the Werewolf Drama Bitten

Syfy has not had much in the way of scripted programming on their schedule of late with Friday night's Haven being the only original non-reality show that the network has currently airing.  But that will change in January with two returning shows (Being Human and Lost Girl) and two new debuts (Helix and Bitten).  The highly anticipated Helix comes from Battlestar Galactica's Ronald Moore and delivers a drama about a team of scientists trying to stop a deadly virus that could lead to the annihilation of the human race.  Bitten is a supernatural werewolf drama based on the Women of the Otherworld novels by Kelley Armstrong that looks to grab some of the ratings love that MTV's Teen Wolf has enjoyed. That one will be joining the three hour Monday night block of shows that also includes Lost Girl and Being Human.  Following is the schedule and premiere dates as well as Syfy's official synopses for each of the show.

Monday:
8 PM EST Lost Girl (Season 4 Premiere January 13th)
9 PM EST Being Human (Season 4 Premiere January 13th)
10 PM EST Bitten (Series Premiere January 13th)

Friday:
10 PM EST Helix (Series Premiere January 10th)

Series Info:

Helix (Series Premiere January 10th)

Helix is an intense thriller about a team of scientists from the Centers for Disease Control who travel to the high-tech research facility, Arctic BioSystems, to investigate a possible disease outbreak, only to find themselves pulled into a terrifying life-and-death struggle that may hold the key to mankind’s salvation or total annihilation.  However, the lethal threat is just the tip of the iceberg, and as the virus evolves, the chilling truth begins to unravel.

Billy Campbell (Killing Lincoln, The Killing) stars as Dr. Alan Farragut, leader of the Centers for Disease Control outbreak field team called upon to investigate and control a potential outbreak. Hiroyuki Sanada (The Wolverine, 47 Ronin) also stars as Dr. Hiroshi Hatake, director of Arctic BioSystems and its mysterious viral research program.

Helix also stars Kyra Zagorsky (Supernatural) as Dr. Julia Walker; Mark Ghanimé (Emily Owens, M.D.) as Major Sergio Balleseros; Jordan Hayes (House at the End of the Street) as Dr. Sarah Jordan; Meegwun Fairbrother as Daniel Aerov; Catherine Lemieux (White House Down) as Dr. Doreen Boyle, and Neil Napier (Riddick) as Dr. Peter Farragut

Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica, Outlander), Steven Maeda (Lost, The X-Files) who is also showrunner, and Lynda Obst (Contact, Sleepless in Seattle) are Executive Producers. The 13-episode series is produced by Tall Ship Productions, Kaji Productions and Lynda Obst Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television. Prolific director and producer Jeffrey Reiner (Friday Night Lights) directed the premiere episode, which was written by creator and co-executive producer, Cameron Porsandeh.


Lost Girl (Season 4 Premiere January 13th)

This season on Lost Girl, fate casts a wide shadow over the Fae world. With Bo’s (Anna Silk) return, the lines between Dark and Light Fae are blurred, causing her embark on a journey of discovery. Bo and company will ultimately realize that, regardless of the challenges and enemies they face, they’re stronger when they confront them together. George Takei (Star Trek) and Ali Liebert (Bomb Girls) are among the new season’s guest stars

Lost Girl also stars Ksenia Solo as Kenzi, Bo's human sidekick and street-smart confidante; Kris Holden-Ried as Dyson, the shape shifting homicide detective and noble warrior of the Light Fae; Zoie Palmer as Lauren, the brilliant human doctor who competes with Dyson for Bo’s affection; Rick Howland as Trick, Bo’s grandfather and the ancient and mysterious Blood King, and K.C. Collins as Hale, Dyson’s partner and a Light Fae siren born of noble blood. Paul Amos returns as the ever devious Dark Fae Mesmer, Vex, and Emmanuelle Vaugier reprises her role as the evil Dark Fae leader, The Morrigan.

Lost Girl was developed by Prodigy Pictures, in association with Shaw Media and Showcase. Executive Producers are Jay Firestone and Emily Andras. Vanessa Piazza and Wendy Grean are producers. Lost Girl is produced with the participation of the Canadian Media Fund created by the Government of Canada and the Canadian cable industry, and with the assistance of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit Program.


Being Human (Season 4 Premiere January 13th)

Season 4 of Being Human picks up four months from last season’s shocking finale and, for Aidan, Sally, Josh and Nora, the past is about to come back to haunt them!

Aidan (Sam Witwer) and Nora (Kristen Hager) struggle to save Josh (Sam Huntington), who is trapped in his wolf form. At the same time, an unbelievable visitor collides with Aidan, forcing him to make impossible choices between the people he loves the most. Meanwhile, Sally (Meaghan Rath), having been dragged down into her death spot by Witch Donna (guest star Amy Aquino), finds herself trapped and at the mercy of her foe, but Sally’s newly imbued magical powers could change everything.


Bitten (Series Premiere January 13th)

Based on the New York Times best-selling Women of the Otherworld novels by Kelley Armstrong, the 13-episode Bitten is an emotionally charged Supernatural thriller starring Laura Vandervoort (Smallville, Ted) as Elena Michaels, the lone female werewolf in existence.

Desperate to escape both a world she never wanted to be part of and the man who turned her into a werewolf, Elena (Vandervoort) has abandoned her Pack and taken refuge in a new city. There, she works as a photographer and hides her werewolf existence from her new boyfriend. When bodies start turning up in her Pack’s backyard, Elena finds herself back at Stonehaven, the werewolves’ ancestral domain. Torn between two worlds and two loves, she quickly realizes that – when push comes to shove – she’ll stop at nothing to defend her Pack.

Bitten also stars Greg Bryk (A History of Violence) as werewolf Pack “Alpha” Jeremy Danvers, Greyston Holt (Alcatraz) as Elena’s werewolf ex-boyfriend Clayton Danvers, and Paul Greene (The Client List) as Elena’s current beau, Philip McAdams.

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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 $1.99 on Kindle from Amazon.com.

Cancellation Watch: Agents of SHIELD Rises, if Only Just a Little; Revoultion Still Hanging in There

After six consecutive weeks of falling ratings, ABC's Agents of SHIELD finally saw its numbers rise just a bit this past Tuesday.  Its latest episode pulled a 2.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 6.9 million total viewers.  That's only up two ticks from the series low of a 2.2 score it had the week prior, but at least it stopped its downward trend for one week and got itself off the hot seat for the moment.  That episode had a direct tie-in to Thor: The Dark World which is currently playing on the big screen, so that may have given it that extra boost.  Though it seems like Marvel/Disney flubbed the chance to give a stronger push to the TV extension of their comic book franchise.  I saw this Thor this past weekend expecting some sort of callout to the show, but there was nothing.  They could have run a quick promo before the movie and even worked in a cameo appearance by Coulson and perhaps the rest of the team, but no.  Aren't the TV show and the movie produced at the same studio, and they likely would have been in production at about the same time.  Thor gave Captain America a nod, so why not Agents of SHIELD?  Seems like a major lost opportunity.  According to Hollywood Reporter, the series will have a tie in with next Spring's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but it's possible that could be too little too late.  Maybe they thought the show would be a sure fire hit (I did) and wouldn't need any help from the movies, but it definitely could use any help it could get at this point.  Expect the show to drop off again next week because the Thanksgiving week is alway harsh on viewership.  And then it has a two week break before its mid-season finale, so we will likely have to wait until January to gauge whether this show can turn things around.

Also on Tuesday, The CW's The Originals was preempted for a Lady Gaga special and that seemed to hurt its lead-out Supernatural as that show dropped to a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demo with two million total viewers.  Consider that just a blip, though, as Supernatural has been having its strongest season in years ratings-wise and seems a sure bet to ride into a tenth year.  On CBS, Person of Interest held steady with a 2.0 rating and 12.3 million total viewers.  Its ratings in the demo have suffered since moving to Tuesday nights, but it still usually ranks in the Top 5 CBS shows based on total viewers (which holds more weight with that older-skewing network), so this show remains safe.

On Wednesday, NBC's Revolution slipped back to a 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demo with 5.4 million total viewers.  That network's spin department keeps trying to make this one's numbers look good, so I'm thinking they have not given up on it yet and will let it ride out the full season order they gave it last Spring.  But I can't believe it will go any further than that short of a drastic ratings turnaround.  On The CW, Arrow continues its up and down performance as it slipped to 1.0 rating with 2.7 million total viewers after reaching a season high of a 1.2 the prior week.  Still, this one is doing well for the fifth place network and could potentially be paired up with a Flash companion series next year.  And that put's The Tomorrow People on notice as it pulled another mediocre 0.6 rating with 1.7 million total viewers.  It received a full season order, though, so it has until Spring to turn its numbers around.  Over on FX, The American Horror Story: Coven again won the night among cable shows (and topped half the broadcast network offerings) as it pulled a 2.2 rating with right at four million total viewers. 

The preliminary numbers for the Thursday night shows will be available later this morning, so keep an eye on the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site for those and other ratings-related news.  You can see the current status for all this season's genre show at this link.  And for more information on the ratings numbers and how I determine the Cancellation Alert status of a show, 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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Firefly: The Board Game

Firefly, the popular TV series created by Joss Whedon, comes to life in a new boardgame from Gale Force Nine and Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products! In Firefly: The Game, players captain their own Firefly-class transport ship, traveling the 'Verse with a handpicked crew of fighters, mechanics and other travelers. As a captain desperate for work, players are compelled to take on any job: so long as it pays. Double-dealing employers, heavy-handed Alliance patrols and marauding Reavers are all in a day's work for a ship's captain at the edge of the 'Verse! 

Social Network Rankings: Once Upon A Time Tops the GetGlue Broadcast Network Chart

ABC's Once Upon A Time may be struggling some with its ratings in its third season, but it remains pretty popular on the social networks according to GetGlue as that one topped the chart of broadcast network shows for the week of November 11th through the 17th.  Agents of SHIELD also held steady on that chart despite its ratings struggles.  Rounding out the broadcast net Top 10 were Sleepy Hollow and the usual four CW shows (Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, The Originals, and Arrow).  On the GetGlue cable Top 10, we saw the usual suspects with The Walking Dead and American Horror Story at the top of the list and The Witches of East End edging up to the Number 5 slot.  Syfy's Haven slipped off the list this week, though.  And on the Nielsen Twitter Rankings, The Walking Dead and American Horror Story made their usual appearances as the only genre shows on that list.  I'm going to take a guess that Almost Human will show up in the GetGlue broadcast net Top 10 when next week's chart hits based on the buzz leading up to that one's season premiere earlier this week.  So do these numbers impact network decision making when it comes to renewing or cancelling a show?  I discuss that in more detail at this link.

November 11-17
GetGlue Broadcast Nets
Series	Network	Rerun	Rank	Prior Rank	Move -ment
Once Upon A Time	ABC	N	1	2	Up
Supernatural	NBC	N	2	1	Down
Sleepy Hollow	FOX	N	4	3	Down
Agents of SHIELD	ABC	N	5	5	Same
Vampire Diaries	CW	N	6	4	Down
The Originals	CW	N	7	8	Up
Arrow	NBC	N	8	6	Down
GetGlue Cable
Series	Network	Rerun	Rank	Prior Rank	Move -ment
The Walkind Dead	AMC	N	1	1	Same
American Horror Story	FX	N	2	2	Same
The Witches of East End	LIFE	N	5	7	Up
Nielsen Twitter Rankings
Series	Network	Rerun	Rank	Prior Rank	Move -ment
The Walking Dead	AMC	N	1	2	Up
American Horror Story	FX	N	3	3	Same

See the full GetGlue Top 10 Charts at this link

See the full Nielsen Twitter Rankings as this link
 

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Sci Fi TV in Comics: Battlestar Galactica, Samurai Jack, True Blood, and More

Due out November 20th (note that some of these release dates are tentative):

Battlestar Galactica TPB Vol. 01 Memorial
Dynamite Entertainment

Description: The original Battlestar Galactica returns in an all-new, star-spanning adventure, celebrating the 35th anniversary of its original sci-fi TV airing! Overwhelmed by a surprise Cylon assault, the crew of the Battlestar Galactica turns to forbidden temporal weapons as their desperate last resort. However, the experimental technology backfires, throwing two Viper pilots, Apollo and Starbuck, into an alternate reality where their beloved capital ship never existed. In a universe without the Galactica... the Cylons rule supreme! Can Apollo and Starbuck survive the brutality of the Cylon overlords and return home?

By: Dan Abnett, Cezar Razek, Alex Ross


Samurai Jack #2
IDW Publishing

Description: Jack can defeat almost any foe in single combat, but how will he fare against a pair of perfectly synchronized warriors who can exploit his every weakness? Cartoon Network's hit animated series is back at IDW and bigger than ever.

By: Jim Zub, Andy Suriano

True Blood TPB Vol. 02 Tainted Love
IDW Publishing

Description: A sweet gesture by Hoyt to surprise Jessica with the prom night she never had goes awry when Tru Blood served turns out to be part of a poisoned batch-and Jessica becomes its first victim! Sookie, Bill, and Eric race to track down the culprits responsible, and find it's all part of a nefarious plot. Now there are mere hours to locate Jessica... before the maddening effects of the tainted elixir drive her to the true death!

By: Marc Andreyko, Stephen Molnar, J. Scott Campbell

Ben 10 #1
IDW Publishing

Description: Who knew vacation could be this exciting? Ben Tennyson and his teammates kick off a maelstrom of action when an ocean cruise brings Ben in the cross hairs of Ssserpent, who's out to find a long-lost underwater society. But does Ben's new, slightly oddball love interest harbor dark secrets of her own? Aliens, superpowers, ships and swimsuits: the perfect ingredients for high-seas adventure.

More of This Week's Comics at This Link  

Cancellation Watch: Almost Human has Jekyll & Hyde 2 Part Debut, and Consider Once Upon A Time in Wonderland and Dracula De Facto Cancelled

FOX’s Almost Human had its debut in two parts on Sunday and Monday, and it started out the first night looking like a winner, but then things got a bit ugly with its second episode.  The Sunday premiere scored a 3.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 9.2 million total viewers which at first looks like a pretty impressive bow.  But then it had a boost from its football lead-in (which was the whole point of kicking off on that night in the first place) and its regular Monday night timeslot debut delivered the more telling performance.  With that episode, Almost Human dropped 29% to a 2.2 rating with 6.6 million total viewers which represents a more modest audience than its Sunday night crowd.  Still, that’s about the same numbers that Bones was pulling in that timeslot, so it’s not completely bad news.  But it also means that the show does not have much leeway, and if it starts to trend down (which almost all shows do after their debut), it will quickly find itself in dangerous territory.  Maybe FOX should consider switching the higher rated Sleepy Hollow to the 8 PM EST hour to give Almost Human a better lead-in.  At this point, I’m not going to raise any red flags on the newbie, but if it drops next week there will be reason for concern.

It was bad news once again for ABC’s Once Upon A Time in Wonderland and NBC’s Dracula this past week.  Both pulled yet another 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic with the former drawing 2.7 million total viewers and the latter scoring 3.0 million.  Both ranked last place in their timeslots among the broadcast nets with Wonderland getting outpaced by fifth place network The CW’s Vampire Diaries.  Both of these shows entered the season as limited run “event” series (each with a continuation plan if they did score well in the ratings), and it looks like that is how they will end it as well.  Consider them both de facto cancelled at this point and I expect that Wonderland will get cast to Saturdays at some point to burn off the rest of its episodes or maybe just keep running through low viewership December to hurry it off the schedule. 

Also on the way out is ABC’s The Neighbors which sunk to a series low of a 0.8 score in the 18-49 demo (based on the final numbers) with four million total viewers this last Friday.  I really can’t see a scenario where this one sticks around past its current thirteen episode order which is a bit of a shame because it actually has improved considerably quality-wise during its second season.  And The CW’s Beauty and the Beast can’t be far behind as that show scraped up another 0.3 rating on Monday with only about 700k total viewers.  It has yet to score higher than the 0.3 level since debuting last month and it’s network has several shows waiting in the wings, so expect this one to be gone (or cast to Fridays or Saturdays) after the Winter hiatus.

In other ratings news, Sleepy Hollow dropped slightly on Monday as it pulled a 2.5 rating in the 18-49 demo with 7.1 million total viewers (based on the preliminary numbers).  That’s still a decent performance and marks it currently as the top rated genre show on the broadcast networks (not counting Almost Human's debut numbers) with Agents of SHIELD continuing its ratings slide.  On Sunday a Governor-centric episode of The Walking Dead slipped to a 6.0 rating with twelve million total viewers.  That still won the night among the cable and broadcast networks for non-sports programming and will also likely be the highest rated scripted show from the last week once all the numbers are tallied.  Over on Lifetime, The Witches of East End slipped to its lowest numbers yet for its first season as it pulled a 0.5 rating with 1.62 million total viewers.  That’s probably still okay for that network, especially when you factor in its overall performance so far in its freshman season. 

Also on Sunday, Once Upon A Time sunk to an all-time low for the series as it pulled only a 1.9 rating in the 18-49 demo with 6.6 million total viewers.  That’s become a pretty sad night for the broadcast networks in general, though, and the fact is that despite its tepid numbers Once Upon A Time ranked right up there with the higher rated shows on the Big Four (when you factor out Almost Human’s football fueled debut).  So taking that into consideration and the fact that it is in its third season and on the downhill run to an episode count attractive to the syndication market, it is still okay.

On Friday, Grimm rebounded as expected from the drop it saw the prior week and pulled a 1.6 rating in the 18-49 demo (based on the final numbers) with 5.8 million total viewers.  That one looks to continue pulling its solid Friday night numbers as it coasts into a fourth season renewal.  On Syfy, Haven slipped back a tick to a 0.4 score with 2.9 million total viewers and still looks at a dubious future based on its low numbers.  On Thursday, Vampire Diaries pulled its best numbers of the season and actually its best rating since March as it edged up to a 1.3 score with 3.7 million total viewers.  It also ranked third in its timeslot beating out Parks and Recreation on NBC and Once Upon A Time in Wonderland on ABC (and actually tying FOX’s The X Factor with its rating in the demo). 

Here are the season to date numbers and standings through November 18th for all the shows that have bowed so far (sorted by most likely to get cancelled):

Series	Network / Airs (EST)	Cancel- lation Alert	StD Rating	StD Eps	Tracking
The Neighbors	ABC / Fri 8:30 PM	High	1.0	8	Down
Beauty and the Beast	CW / Mon 9 PM	High	0.3	7	Low
Once Upon A Time in Wonderland	ABC / Thu 8 PM	High	1.2	5	Low
Dracula	NBC / Fri 10 PM	High	1.2	4	Low
Revolution	NBC / Wed 8 PM	Elevated	1.5	8	Low
Haven	Syfy / Fri 9 PM	Moderate	0.4	10	Low
The Tomorrow People	CW / Wed 9 PM	Moderate	0.7	6	Low
Person of Interest	CBS / Tue 10 PM	Low	2.1	8	Up
Once Upon A Time	ABC / Sun 8 PM	Low	2.3	8	Down
The Originals	CW / Tue 8 PM	Low	1.0	7	Up
Vampire Diaries	CW / Thu 8 PM	Low	1.1	7	Up
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.	ABC / Tue 8 PM	Low	3.0	7	Down
Witches of East End	Life / Sun 9 PM	Low	0.7	7	Decent
Arrow	CW / Wed 8 PM	Low	1.0	6	Up
Supernatural	CW / Tue 9 PM	Low	1.1	6	Steady
Grimm	NBC / Fri 9 PM	Low	1.6	4	Up
Almost Human	FOX / Mon 8 PM	Low	2.7	2	Down
Sleepy Hollow	FOX / Mon 9 PM	Renewed	2.8	8	Steady
American Horror Story: Coven	FX / Wed 10 PM	Renewed	2.4	6	Up
The Walking Dead	AMC / Sun 9 PM	Renewed	6.9	6	Strong

Keep an eye on the Cancellation Watch Twitter Site for the latest ratings results and other ratings-related news and check back here on Friday for my analysis of the Tuesday and Wednesday shows.  You can see the current status for all this season's genre show at this link.  And for more information on the ratings numbers and how I determine the Cancellation Alert status of a show, 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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25 Must-Watch Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies

So many science fiction and fantasy movies and so little time. Metropolis, King Kong, War of the Worlds, Fantastic Voyage, Star Wars, The Terminator, The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, Inception . . . Plan 9 From Outer Space . . . and so many, many more. Where to start and which ones to watch? Well that's what this book is here to help you with. It may not cover all science fiction movies, and not even all of those mentioned above, but it gives you a heck of a good start starting point. This book begins with 1927’s Metropolis and then treks through 24 more genre films ending with 2009's Moon to give you an extensive look at some of the best of the best of science fiction and fantasy cinema. Each entry includes a synopsis, review/commentary, cast and crew information, as well as a few nuggets of tidbits and trivia relating to the films. Whether you are new to the genre and trying to figure out where to get started or a grizzled veteran who has logged many hours in the cinema watching sci fi, 25 Must Watch Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies is sure to entertain. And even if you have already seen the movies covered in the book, there's a good chance you could walk away knowing a little bit (or maybe even a lot) more about these films than you did previously.

A great primer for science fiction and fantasy cinema and a fun read as well!

Available now on Kindle from Amazon.com. 

Buy a New Kindle Reader for as Low as $69

Numbers Overload: Agents of SHIELD Still in the Top 25, for Now at Least

ABC’s Agents of SHIELD may be on a dangerous slide based on its overnight numbers, but it is still managing to stay in the broadcast network Top 25 even if it is slipping down the ranks.  For the week of November 4th through 10th, that show landed at the Number 19 slot on the list (after dropping out the prior week with a repeat episode).  And based on this week’s ratings, it looks like it should stay there next week, though it will be right at the edge.  The show is still scoring well in the GetGlue Top 10 for the broadcast networks, so it has that in its favor as well.  But its continued ratings downfall needs to turnaround if this show wants to stick around past its freshman season.

Sleepy Hollow also returned to the broadcast net Top 25 after being out two weeks because of repeats and preemptions.  Once Upon A Time slipped out for the week, though.  For the cable shows, The Walking Dead took the Number 2 slot based on total viewers, losing out only to football.  That show still had the highest rating (a 6.2 score) in the 18-49 demo for any non-sports programming on either the cable or broadcast networks.   Grimm and Dracula both made appearances in the Top DVR gains chart with their premiere episodes.  The latter show is probably going to drop out pretty quick, though, based on its ratings slide since its initial episode. 

Top 25 Nov 4th to Nov 10th  

Cable Networks

Total Viewers:  Live + Same Day viewing from the overnights
2. The Walking Dead (AMC) 12.2 Million (Prior Week - #1, 13.3 MM)
9. The Talking Dead (AMC) 4.3 Million (Prior Week - #5, 4.3 MM)
12. American Horror Story: Coven (FX) 3.8 Million (Prior Week - #11, 3.7 MM)

Broadcast Networks

Ratings:  18-49 demographic in Live + Same Day viewing from the overnights
19. Agents of SHIELD (ABC) 2.5 Rating (Prior Week - Not in Top 25)
20. Sleepy Hollow (FOX) 2.5 Rating (Prior Week - Not in Top 25)

Dropping Out: Once Upon A Time (ABC) (Prior Week - #22, 2.3 Rating)

Total Viewers:  Live + Same Day viewing from the overnights
9. Person of Interest (CBS) 11.8 million (Prior Week – #9, 12.0 MM)

Live+7 Day DVR Ratings: Top 25 Ratings Increase for the Week of October 21st to 27th 
4. Agents of SHIELD: Rating Increase - 1.7, Final Rating - 4.4
11. Grimm: Rating Increase - 1.2, Final Rating – 3.0
12. Dracula: Rating Increase - 1.2, Final Rating - 3.0
16. Once Upon A Time: Rating Increase - 1.2, Final Rating - 3.4
19. Person of Interest: Rating Increase - 1.1, Final Rating - 3.3
21. Revolution: Rating Increase - 1.0, Final Rating - 2.4

Dropping Out: Sleepy Hollow (In Repeats that Week)

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New on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.com on November 19th:



More New and Recent Releases at This Link