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Still Hope for Farscape
An anonymous reader wrote in to say that the "Save Farscape" campaign thinks there is still hope. If the next 11 episodes (starting Friday, January 10 on
the SciFi Channel) pull the right numbers ). According to this interview with David Kemper:"If we were to do 2s, straight across the boards for these eleven eps, I would be expecting to have phone conversations with people immediately..." Of course that is pretty unlikely- but my household won't miss an episode. To bad the cats don't count in the nielsons ;)
I never understood why people always get so riled up by that prospect.
USA Networks (which owns channels like Sci-Fi and USA) is following the current trend of "own your own shows and make more money."
USA Networks does not own Farscape.
USA would rather pump out garbage like Tremors: The Series, The Dream Team with Anna and Michael and other crap... because they own it and would reap the windfall if the shows become syndicated later on.
Now I did not say this plan makes sense. It doesn't. Disney has tried this with ABC and fallen to the bottom of the ratings heap. Far to the bottom. So much so that they are losing a tremendous amount of money on ABC. How is this better than working with a variety of production companies to create hits and making money the old way? It isn't.
But that is the current wisdom.
Also, USA Networks thinks showing the same programs on USA and Sci-Fi is a good idea and so is showing cheap black-and-white shows that get low ratings.
This is "smart."
For reference, the most popular TV show last week was CSI, followed by Monday Night football. CSI got 13 points, Monday Night Football 11 (data here). So though a 2 isn't blockbuster (the lowest scoring show in the top twenty got a 6), it is still impressive. I don't know if farscape can do it.
This is due to the differences between broadcast and network television. While Fox is a broadcast channel that essentially every television in the US can get, the Sci-Fi Channel is only available to those who have cable, and in some cases not available with the basic package.
This means that there a fewer potential viewers for a show that is on cable instead of broadcast television, and expectations for ratings are different. If Farscape was on Fox it is extremely likely that it could get a 2.4 or higher rating.
We have a chance here, lets not blow it.
I share your pain, but we have no chance. In geek-speak, it's the Kobayashi Maru, we ain't Kirk.
The Trio channel ran an interesting series of "Brilliant But Cancelled" shows in December. (Including my much lamented favorite, Profit) They also ran a documentary on cancelled TV shows, and talked about Fan campaigns to save shows. The bottom line, straight from the horse's mouth, is that they just won't work. Period. Every case except the original (ST:TOS) where a show has risen from the grave was due to some other force at work. Even the show's producers said "Thanks, but save your energy."
Ratings = $. Letters = recycling.
SCIFI has no intention of renewing Farscape. The 2.0 would not only exceed any of Farscape's ratings so far, but would be the highest of any SCIFI series (except the "Taken" miniseries).
Someone even Graphed the Ratings
Everything Dies... Best advice: Go out with a bang, don't wither and whimper. One more thing: less TV, more life.
Agreed, except that Farscape was written to be a five season show. One of the things that makes Farscape so exceptional is that it has a huge story arc running over all five seasons. Killing the show after the end of season four is particularly brutal because the storyline will never be resolved. They only had one season to go.
Sailing over the event horizon
For those who want to keep trying to Save Farscape, here are some things you should know:
I do believe that SciFi changed Farscape's scheduled viewing hour for the second time this season to further cut down on viewership so the suits could point to even lower Nielsen Ratings as a reason for cancellation.
So, for these next 11 Fridays, tune into SciFi channel for 1 hour, Support 'Scape, and then tune in to another station. :)
Support bacteria! It's the only culture most people seem to get.
Actually, Ben Browder (and I think even David Kemper) said himself that the sets were falling apart after 4 seasons and that re-building them from scratch would have been cheaper and faster than trying to salvage them.
:(
Though I agree that they are going to have to pull consistent 2s or higher in the Nielsen ratings to get this series saved. Anyway, I'll be watching. Too bad I don't have a Nielsen box.