Slashdot Mirror
Farscape Frelling Cancelled
Mukaikubo writes "The Sci-Fi Channel has decided to cancel their second largest show, Farscape. Because networks respond better to phone calls and snail-mail letters than a mass e-mail campaign and there is contact info on a fan-run Message Board. Time is of the essence, as the Network wants to tear down props at the end of next week. Help save one of the best science fiction shows on TV today!" Other articles can be found here and the chat log is online too.
They aren't the science fiction channel, they are the SciFi channel which is a much broader, and shallower genre. Unfortunately it includes pablum like "The Dead Zone" which really belongs on the Women's Channel because the plots are so touchy-feely it is ridiculous, not to mention the bogosity of John Edwards and his feel-good show.
If they aren't going to do space shows, does that mean SG1 is doomed? How about the rest of the Dune movies?
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
One, everyone is right in that the Show was less linear in the 4th season and had more single episode bubbles. I think the reason is cause SciFi wanted another Star Trek and not another Babylon 5. They needed a show that they can show in ANY order in the reruns and not have to worry about keeping the story arc going. One of the reason Star Trek is so popular is cause with its overall single episode ways, they can be rerun like mad and anyone, not even star trek fans can see an episode and get into it and not worry about why, who, when.. I LOVE babylon 5 but i have to admit, if i watch the reruns, its much harder if i wasnt already aware of the series plot.
As for why it was canceled? Face it people. Scifi and USA Networks isnt Paramount with its huge cash reserves. It takes money. While Paramount can keep up with the costs, SCiFi cant. All those CGI effects, costumes, salaries, Puppets, etc..all cost money.
I hate it. I wish they didnt cancel it. But SciFi can actually make MORE money rerunning POPULAR scifi shows and have fans watch then make a new series or new season.
Think about it. They get money for the commercials and stuff for simply reruning a show that was already made or has already paid for it self.So instead of spending money on it, they can start making money. I think they simply figured 88 epsiodes are enough backlog to show reruns and have the fans keep coming back out of nastalgia.
sad sad. Witchblade is canceled too!! Cause its TNT. Sad. Cause a cable TV isnt as big as Paramount or not enough money..original and great shows get cancled.
Witchblade,
First wave,
etc..
now..Frascape.
i think it's about time for a cable channel that's entirely programmed by the viewers, kinda like a slashdot channel.
yeah, it wouldn't have much original programming, but i imagine it would be the best mix of reruns and syndicated shows available. and with this crowd, a lot of sci-fi and classic thinking-person's shows (ooh! a channel that would show "The Prisoner" would get my vote)
maybe with enough karma-minded contributing viewers, it would have enough clout and advertisers to afford to get some original shows produced...
*shrug*
it's an idea. not my best...
- Entertaining Bits from the Ancient Kernel Tree
I hate to say that I agree completely. Occasionally season 3 had a weird episode here and there ("Scratch & Sniff," "Revenging Angel") but also some really over-the-top good stuff. The "Daedalus Demands"/"Icarus Abides" saga that started way back in "Eat Me" was some really amazing television.
But Season 4 has just blown, hitting what I think was its low point with "John Quixote."
But I'm easy. If they would throw me a bone with something as good as "The Flax" or "Crackers Don't Matter," I'd be right back in front of my tee vee.
(God, I'm a geek. Quoting all these episode titles, I sound like Comic Book guy. Time to go soak up some real life.)
Frill. They are the SciFi channel! Space shows are they're bread and butter!
The problem with television is that relatively new emerging networks (Fox is another example) is their history:
Hmmm... Lots of traditional businesses follow a similar path now that I think of it...
Solution?
I swear by MacOS X. Although I use to swear *at* MacOS 9...
Therefore, they insist that "good" science fiction is a completely different genre from "bad" science fiction.
I can debunk this silly notion with 2 words: Starship Troopers. Anybody who has both read the book and seen the movie based on it knows exactly what I mean.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
I attended WorldCon, in which some of the executives of the SciFi channel were at a panel.
They gave no clue that they were cancelling Farscape, but it was clear that the relationship with Farscape was different then many of their other shows. Basically a number of their shows are produced by either themselves or by a sister company under Vivendi Universal, but Farscape is not.
Thus they have very few rights to Farscape, basically first broadcast rights. They may have decided that they needed more rights or control to the properties that they do broadcast then what Farscape was offering. Think about it, with the Dune miniseries, they own it completely. They get money from every DVD, every overseas sale, etc.
This adds up, and may be what makes them believe they'll make more money producing their own or their sister companies shows then continuing to promote Farscape which owns all such subsidiary rights.
BTW, re: the comments about starting in January being a bad sign, the executives also said in the panel that they don't try to do new stuff in the fall like the other networks. Instead, they counter-program, and thus introduce new mini-series and events in December when most networks are doing their first reruns, and introduce new shows in January and Summer when the momentum for network shows is down.
-- Herder of Cats
The SCIFI web page for FarScape has no mention of a cancellation, and in fact they are touting new epsisodes in January. They are also touting the new FarScape video game.
On top of that, SCIFI doesn't seem (from my brief research and the recollection of the credits) to have anything to do with production, they seem merely to purchase the show for "broadcast". What I understand is that Jim Henson Productions owns the show (characters, plots, elements, etc). So if JH owns the show, why would SCIFI cancelling the show cause JH and the production company to tear down sets when apparently the show runs on several other channels/stations in other countries (like BBC2 in England, FoxTel in Australia, etc).
While SCIFI has a history of cancelling good shows, and I can't completely discount this as rumor/hoax the story just doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and there is no press release or the like that I can find on a credible site.
If you do believe that the story is true and SCIFI is indeed cancelling FarScape, then I suggest that along with your letters/calls/emails/faxes to the SCIFI headquarters, that you also write/contact the programming managers at some other stations, just in case.
HBO comes to mind, they are a major force in commercial-free original series, and they currently lack a SciFi based show. In order to compete with Odyssey 5 and Jeremiah on ShowTime (don't they also show SG-1?), HBO might very well be willing to pick up FarScape along with the installed viewer base. A letter writing campaign to them might better scure the future of FarScape in the event of cancellation by SciFi Network and cesssation of production by Henson, et al.
Article X: The powers not delegated... by the Constitution...are reserved...to the people
Perhaps not, but they do put out their series at prohibitively high prices. $25 for 2 episodes? The series may be good, but $275 per season is a bit much for me...
Stargate SG-1, on the other hand, sells for only $70 per season. True, it's an MPAA company, but at least they're not going to bankrupt me if I want to buy their shows.
--The Rizz
Yeah it's dumb. You have to spend money to make money. But it's the way business works these days. Investors see everything in terms of the quarterly bottom line. This was true even when the economy was booming and is doubly true now. The company I work for has been profitable for 8 quarters straight, has a huge amount of cash, and no long-term debt. And yet we have to jump through hoops to justify even tiny expenditures -- even ones that would obviously save us money in the long term.
The cash issue explains a lot of stuff at SciFi that had me puzzled. Their unwillingness to show Farscape episodes that supposedly had already been paid for. Their sudden disappearance of other shows because of "poor ratings". (Ratings that are poorer than the "Tales From the Crypt" reruns they used as filler?) I'm afraid the bottom line is this: SciFi's strategy of becomming a first-run entertainment provider is dead, and it's back to reruns of other networks' shows.