Sci-Fi TV Sunday: FlashForward, Fringe, Heroes, Lost, Smallville, Dollhouse + more September 27, 2009
by Rosario T. Calabria , Filed under: Sci-Fi , trackback
This week is premiere week on the broadcast networks, and we’ve got you covered with an in depth analysis of the ratings to go along with the latest sci-fi TV news from the last week, including an update on the Terminator: TSCC DVD movie campaign, a look at Leonard Nimoy on Fringe, and all the latest images and videos and much, much more.
GENRE TV NEWS
Strong Debut for FlashForward + Producers Say Show Needs At Least Three Seasons
Ratings for ABC’s premiere of "FlashForward" were very strong Thursday, with an average total audience of 12.47 million viewers (and a 4.0 A18-49 rating–#2 for the evening). A more extensive analysis is included at the bottom of the column in the Sci-Fi Ratings section–click here to read it now. The producers, meanwhile, are again talking about the show’s long-term plans. Marc Guggenheim told the British SFX Magazine (via Digital Spy) that at the very least they need at least three seasons to tell a complete story:
"We know what the ultimate season is and the penultimate season is. For in between, we know the various seasons but we are treating it like an accordion. In success, [the show] can go seven years. In less success, it would need to go three years to work. The end game of the show, to be properly done, really requires two full seasons focusing on the end game."
And here’s what co-creator and executive producer David Goyer said:
"We pitched [ABC] a fairly excessive plan… I mean, we know exactly the shot that season one ends on! They obviously said this resembles Lost, in that it’s a really cool script, but [they asked], ‘Do you have any idea where it goes?’ We said, ‘Yeah we know how the whole season ends and how the whole series ends’, and they went, ‘Holy shit!’"
Meanwhile, SpoilerTV has a press release for episode three – "103 Sekunden", which you can check out here. "FlashFoward" airs Thursday nights at 8:00 on ABC.
Episode three – "137 Sekunden" [more at SpoilerTV]
Episode four – "Black Swan" [more at TVOvermind]
Interview with Sonya Walger (Olivia Benford) and Joseph Fiennes (Mark Benford)
Watch another interview with Courtney B. Vance (Stan Wedeck) and John Cho (Demetri Noh) here
Promo for episode two – "White to Play"
Fans Still Fighting for Terminator: TSCC + Producer Speaks Out
Fans of the canceled Fox series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" have taken to the streets, literally, in support of the show. The website www.savethescc.com is pushing for a DVD movie and last week they drove around a "Bring Back The Sarah Connor Chronicles" billboard truck in Los Angeles, including in and around the Warner Brothers Studio lot (WB produced the show).
Their efforts have not gone unnoticed. io9 recently got the chance to ask ‘TSCC’ producer James Middleton about the campaign, and Middleton revealed that there actually have been discussions about a DVD movie:
"The quick answer is, yes, there have been many discussions. I can’t go into more detail about the subject until I have something truly substantial to report. What the fans should know is that I hear them and I too would love to see T:SCC come back in some form."
You can watch a video of the Mobile Billboard embedded below:
Fringe Falls In Week Two + Synopsis Released For Leonard Nimoy’s Return Episode
After a solid premiere — considering it’s time slot switch to a new night — week two of Fox’s "Fringe" couldn’t break from the pack and fell to a series low. The show had to deal with added competition by way of CBS’s ‘CSI’ and ABC’s "Grey’s Anatomy", which resulted in a signficant week-to-week decline of 27% among viewers (to 5.73M) and 23% among adults 18-49 (to a 2.3 rating). Meanwhile, Fox has released the synopsis for episode four "Momentum Deferred", which features the return of Leonard Nimoy’s character William Bell:
Recuperating from the traumatic and alarming meeting with Massive Dynamic founder William Bell (guest star Nimoy), Agent Dunham consumes a powerful “fringe” concoction that Dr. Bishop prescribes to stimulate her memory. Meanwhile, the Fringe Division investigates a series of robbery cases that are tied to shape-shifting. As clues are tracked and memories are jogged, another woman experimented on by Dr. Bishop is introduced and a flashback reveals more about Olivia’s visit to the alternate reality in the "Momentum Deferred" episode of FRINGE airing Thursday, Oct. 8 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
In other news, check out an interview with John Noble (Walter Bishop) at the LA Times blog Show Tracker. "Fringe" airs Thursday nights at 9:00 on FOX.
Season two episode four – "Momentum Deferred" [FOX]
More images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Promo for episode three – "Fracture"
Watch Four Minutes of SGU: Stargate Universe
"SGU: Stargate Universe", the latest television spinoff in the Stargate franchise, premieres next Friday, October 2nd at 9:00pm on Syfy. Ahead of that premiere, SCI FI Wire has debuted a new new four-minute extended sneak peek which I’ve embedded below:
Check out some more promos/videos from the upcoming series below.
Eli Wallace Promo (Sky One)
Robert Carlyle Q&A – Part 1
Weak Debut for Dollhouse S2
This isn’t at all surprising, but for fans of the show, it’s sure to be disappointing. After a surprise last-minute renewal after below-average numbers, "Dollhouse" made its second season season debut on Friday and the results were very disappointing. According to preliminary numbers, the show managed just 2.56 million viewers and a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49. That’s an enormous 46% decline among viewers (-2.20M) and 50% among adults 18-49 (from a 2.0 rating to a 1.0 rating) from last season’s premiere. Among original programs, it finished dead last for the hour (and tied for last place for the evening) and finished ahead of only a repeat of The CW’s "America’s Next Top Model". Not good. In show news, Buffyfest (via io9) quoted Joss Whedon admitting that Fox’s involvement in crafting the first season was more harmful than helpful:
[Dollhouse] became just a scoach too whore-y. Never had a better meeting, everything was great, then they [FOX] said "so they’re kinda like prostitutes and that’s not ok" Word came down that it wasn’t ok. I wanted to make a show that’s about feeling bad about feeling good or good about feeling bad. Fantasy is just that, fantasy. FOX wanted to back away from these implications. Every episode [of the first season] is ridiculously hard, because the central core has been ripped out just enough, that we’re constantly dancing around our own premise.
Rounding out the week’s "Dollhouse" news, Alan Tudyk revealed that he expects to be in the last three or four episodes of "Dollhouse" this season, while The CW issued a press release (via SpoilerTV) for episode three "Belle Choose", which features guest star Michael Hogan ("Battlestar Galactica"):
Echo and Victor’s imprints collide when Echo is sent on an assignment as a fun-loving, seductive college student and Victor is imprinted as the psychotic nephew of a Dollhouse shareholder (guest star Hogan) in the “Belle Chose” episode of DOLLHOUSE airing Friday, Oct. 9 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
Season two episode three – "Belle Chose" [FOX]
More images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
Promo for episode two – "Instinct"
Ian Somerhalder Interview + More Lost Set Reports (with Images/Videos)
Ian Somerhalder (Boone) was recently interviewed by NYMag and talked a bit about his recent shoot for the sixth and final season of "Lost":
You recently took a trip to Hawaii to shoot Lost. How was it being back?
It was really nice to be back. It was very quick, and it was a lot of fun to see everyone, to be back on the set, and to see the island, even if it was just for a few hours.Were you surprised to hear that Boone would be back on the show?
Initially, yes, I was surprised. And then I was thrilled and grateful to Damon [Lindelof], and I think it’s neat that they have a lot of people going back. It’s going to be a really powerful thing for the story. And it was very strange putting on wardrobe stuff that I’d worn literally five years ago.Is there anything at all you can tell us about what to expect?
It is so secretive. I wouldn’t want to say something that jeopardizes in any way, shape, or form the secrecy and integrity of what they’re trying to keep off-the-radar. I think Damon would come after me with a machete.
In other news, EW’s Michael Ausiello reports that the fourth episode of the season will be Locke-centric and will be titled "The Substitute". Rounding out the "Lost" coverage, several new set reports have appeared on the internet over the last week, here are some links:
- Alan Dale (Charles Widmore) will be back in Hawaii to film some scenes for season six. [Lost-Spoilers]
- Episode 6×03 Set Report [The ODI]
- Sawyer and Kate at Dock [The ODI]
- Details of filming at the Hawaii Film Studio lot [HawaiiBlog]
- Detailed scene descriptions [SpoilerTV]
Set images [more at Lost-Spoilers (and here, here and here)]
V Production Delay Extended; Will Still Premiere in November, But Heading to Hiatus Until After Olympics
The previously announced two-week hiatus for ABC’s "V" is getting extended. An ABC insider has confirmed to EW that the series will be broken up into two segments. It will air for a limited four-episode run in November as planned and then return to the schedule after the Olympics in March:
News of the show’s unique rollout comes amid rampant speculation that the Warner Bros. TV drama was undergoing a serious overhaul after news broke that it would halt production for a two-week hiatus. Now, an insider confirms, the hiatus will extend for another four weeks to prepare for the show’s previously announced Nov. 3 debut. An ABC spokeswoman says it was always the network’s intent to the run the science fiction drama in “pod” form to treat it more like event programming.
New promo
NEW IMAGES
Doctor Who
Set images [more at Digital Spy]
Heroes
Season four episode four – "Acceptance" [more at Heroes-France]
Sanctuary
Season two premiere – "" [more at SpoilerTV]
Supernatural
Season five episode four – "The End" [more at SF Universe]
The Vampire Diaries
Episode four – "Family Ties" [more at ShockTillYouDrop]
Episode six – "The Lost Girls" [more at SpoilerTV]
CASTING BITES
- A casting call for The CW’s "Supernatural" is looking for two characters to guest star on the show’s ninth episode "The Real Ghostbusters". [SpoilerTV]
- Henry Rollins will reportedly voice the role of Cliff Steele (aka Robotman) in an upcoming episode of Cartoon Networks’ "Batman: The Brave and The Bold". [Comics Continuum via MTV]
- The CW is looking for two actors to guest star — with the potential of one of the characters becoming recurring — the seventh episode of "The Vampire Diaries".[SpoilerTV]
NEW VIDEOS
Doctor Who: "Dreamland"
Part 1 of an interview with executive producers Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner
Watch the other parts here, here and here
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
Primetime Emmy Awards Skit
Family Guy
Various clips from the eighth season premiere – "Road to the Multiverse"
Click here to watch more
Heroes
Promo for season four episode three – "Ink"
Season four extended promo: "Normal Life"
Sanctuary
Season two trailer
Smallville
Promo for episode two – "Metallo"
Supernatural
Promo for season five episode four – "The End"
The Vampire Diaries
Promo for episode four – "Family Ties"
Clip from the episode
TV BITES
- Season two of the Syfy original series "Sanctuary" will feature a time-travel episode, plus more historic characters including another appearance by Tesla which will feature a new spin on vampires. [SCI FI Wire]
- Alan Ball has confirmed that he’s currently casting for the role of Talbot, "trophy husband" to Denis O’Hare’s King of Mississippi to appear in the third season of HBO’s "True Blood"… [EW]
- …Also, Stephen Moyer (Bill Compton) revealed that series creator Alan Ball has told him that we can expect to see werewolves in the show’s third season. [ExtraTV via ShockTillYouDrop]
- Send in your questions to Lou Diamond Phillips ("SGU: Stargate Universe"). [SCI FI Wire]
- The official description for the fourth episode of The CW’s "The Vampire Diaries", titled "You’re Undead To Me", has been released. [VampireSite]
- "Warehouse 13" producer Jack Kenny talks about what’s in store for season two of the hit Syfy series. [iFMagazine]
- Rosanna Arquette has been cast in ABC’s "Eastwick". She’ll play Greta Noa, a New York City art gallery owern and old friend of Daryl Van Horne (Paul Gross). Arquette is currently booked for only the November 18th and 25th episodes… [TV Guide Magazine]
- …In related news, check out the press release for the show’s third episode "Madams and Madames" at SpoilerTV.
- The BBC has released the synopsis for "Prisoner of the Judoon, Part One and Part Two", the first two episodes of the third season of "The Sarah Jane Adventures". [BBC via Blogtor Who]
- The title for the fifth episode of "Chuck" has been revealed. The episode will be called "Chuck Vs. First Class". [ChuckTV]
- The CW has released the synopsis for the fifth episode of "Supernatural". "Fallen Idol" features guest star Paris Hilton playing herself. [SPNSite]
- Kristin Chenoweth took home an Emmy for best supporting actress in a comedy for her role as Olive Snook on ABC’s canceled sci-fi series "Pushing Daisies". The series also won three creative arts awards. ABC’s "Lost" also won an emmy in the acting category, with Michael Emerson (Ben Linus) taking home an Emmy for best supporting actor in a drama series. [Emmys]
- The CW has released official descriptions for episodes three ("Rabid") and four ("Echo") of "Smallville" season nine. [KryptonSite: here and here]
Monday
"Heroes" (NBC) opened its fourth season/fifth volume with a mediocre two-hour average audience of 6.10 million viewers and a 2.8 A18-49 rating. Compared to the season prior, the show was down 40% among viewers and 44% among A18-49.
Wednesday
"Eastwick" (ABC) debuted with a so-so 8.50M viewers and a 3.0 A18-49 rating. That was good enough for second place on the hour, but held onto only about 70% of its lead-in’s total audience.
Thursday
As I noted above, "FlashForward" had a very solid premiere with 12.47 million viewers and a 4.0 A18-49 rating. Remarkably, it was the first time a series has beaten CBS’s "Survivor" in the time slot since 2004. It’s too early to say whether ABC has another hit on their hands, but consistent viewership figures through each quarter-hour, and growth from start to finish of 7% is not a common occurrence when it comes to series premieres so it’s a good first start. "FlashFoward" drew 12.11M viewers for its first half-hour, before increasing to 12.83M for its second (+6%) and was up an impressive 13% in adults 18-49 for the comparable period (from a 3.8 rating to a 4.3 rating). The show peaked in its final quarter-hour with 13.16M viewers and a 4.5/12 A18-49 rating/share. Other than "FlashForward" and "Fringe", which I discussed above, The CW also had its ‘Vampire Diaries’/"Supernatural" pairing on Thursday night. ‘Diaries’ (3.80M, 1.7 A18-49 rating) held steady from the week prior, with a slight gain among viewers (+20,000) and in A18-49 rating (+6%), while "Supernatural" (2.66M, 1.2 A18-49 rating) took a slight hit (-120,000) among total viewers, but was even in A18-49 rating. The issue there remains compatibility (with retention hovering around 70%).
Friday
As expected, "Smallville" did not make a good transition from Thursday to Friday nights. According to preliminary numbers, the ninth season premiere drew just 2.50 million viewers and a 1.0 A18-49 rating. Those are 42 and 44 percent declines, respectively, from the season prior. Although those numbers do put "Dollhouse’s" premiere numbers (2.56M and a 1.0 A18-49 rating) into perspective. It’s not a good sign when The CW is drawing numbers close to or even beating other broadcast nets. Also premiering on Friday night was "Ghost Whisperer" and "Medium". "Ghost Whisperer" opened its fifth season down slightly from the year prior (-9% among viewers and -12% in A18-49 rating) with 8.58M and a 2.2 rating, while "Medium" made a mostly successful transition to a new night and new network. I say mostly because while the show improved upon its season five premiere on NBC last season among viewers (+3% to 8.78M), there was a significant hit in A18-49 performance (down 31% from a 2.9 rating to a 2.0 rating). Shows that air on Friday night, however, are given more leeway in terms of their A18-49 performance, and the show proved to be compatible with new lead-in "Ghost Whisperer" (91% in A18-49 rating). The complete SF&F chart from the week prior follows below. As always, the chart is one week behind. Numbers from programming airing during this current week will be available in chart form next week.
CHART (9/14/2009 to 9/20/2009)
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Follow Russ on his blog: Your Entertainment Now and on Twitter: Twitter.com/YourEntNow.
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Comments»
I sincerely hope that Fringe is able to pull its ratings up. It’s easily my favorite show next to “House” and I would love to see it continue for many seasons to come.
Smallville was great. I hope the low numbers are OK for CW and their Friday expectations. If not, move it back!!!
Isn’t it about time to wrap up the long-winded Smallville storyline and put this prolonged “coming of age” show out of it’s misery?
Where was Wargames shown? SyFy (sic)? USA?
Flashforward was surprisingly good. Don’t know if they’ll be able to sustain it for very long, but so far I’m hooked.
And I saw Smallville for the first time in ages, and… ugh. That show has just gone completely off the rails. It looks more like that cheesy Birds of Prey show from several years ago than anything having to do with Superman.
smallville is no longer interesting or compelling. This farce of a show bears NO resemblance to the source material, not that it is any better.
Please….cancel this now.
Why is “Heroes” still on TV when nobody watches that crap? Please, I’d like to know, while other good shows have gotten axed.
anyone else think the new doctor looks a bit like the 3rd doctor but much younger?
I’ve watched Smallville from the beggining. I agree. Kill this b*tch. I’m glad they finally killed off the Lana Dawson’s Creeky crap last season, but without Lex this show has nothing to draw me. Unless he wears the damn suit at some point.
How can a show about Superboy last for so long? What is he now? 40?
*sigh*
Leonard Nimoy is still as beautiful as ever.
How can a show about superboy last for nearly a decade……………..and he still has yet to become superboy. Total Crap. No matter what, you just can’t polish a turd!!!
#4. AdmNaismith
If you are asking about the sequel, I think it aired in my market a week ago on the weekend on the CW over the air TV station.
Had some twists I didn’t expect.
The CW needs to put Smallville back on Thursday nights.
Flash Forward is on Channel Five,starts in the UK on Monday September 28th. Irish viewers (like me) should be able to pick it up.
#8 I think Matt Smith actually has a very Second Doctor vibe about him.
Any word on when BBC 2 are showing the farce that is Heroes?
Please don’t make Stargate Universe suck…
I wouldn’t complain if I got a Sarah Connor Chronicles DVD Movie either. The format has worked wonderfully for Staragte SG-1 people…. so far. Eventually, Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper are going to let SG-1 through the gate for the last time. The question is… Will they let them go out on a bang, or a sad, slow deacy, a la Smallville?
I guess I’m the contrarian: I was underwhelmed by ‘FlashForward.’ Certainly wasn’t compelling enough to prompt me to tune in next week.
On the other hand, I’m reading the original book right now, and it’s MUCH more interesting….
yay! more Dr. Horrible! :D
Flashforward is freakin’ awesome!
#10
“How can a show about Superboy last for so
long? What is he now? 40?”
Now that’s funny! I’ve been thinking about that
for the last 5 years. Please – the powers that be -
give Clark the uniform and transition him into new
movies. How hard can that money making idea
be?
Please, now. I’m tired of Whedon blaming Fox for everything. If you are so concerned about your artistic vision… don’t go with them. The best shows thrive despite these limitations. In the end, it’s 90% the show’s fault for not attracting viewers. I mean, Heroes and Smallville in my opinion were promising shows that have gone on too long, but you don’t see me blaming the networks…
Please, now. I’m tired of Whedon blaming Fox for everything. If you are so concerned about your artistic vision… don’t go with them. The best shows thrive despite these limitations. In the end, it’s 90% the show’s fault for not attracting viewers. I mean, Heroes and Smallville in my opinion were promising shows that have gone on too long, but you don’t see me blaming the networks…
I see the Fx for ‘V’ has lost the old Plasma Shield that most Sci-Fi movies like to use to save on Alien UFO representations. That is a nice feature but in ways it helps make the Alien ships lose their UFO mystic. I just hope the scrpit writting has just as big a development.
I have all the DVD’s from the old 80’s version. Wonder how long I’ll have to wait to get the new DVD’s. And I hope they make both DVD and BR versions.
Now to wait a little more than a month away.
Too bad Paramount didnt pay any real attention to the campaign to save Enterprise. I still think that Enterprise should have been given a season 5. It was finally getting good with 4 and they just got impatient. Would it have been as good as TNG or DS9, I doubt it, but I think it could have gone out stronger than Voyager.
I love Whedon. Buffy was excellent to superb, Angel was so-so to really good, and Firefly was nearly flawless in its brilliance. So when it was effed up by Fox and canceled way before it ever had a chance, why the hell does Whedon go back to them? Even my cat was smart enough to not cross the street ever again after getting hit by a car.
The fact is that Dollhouse was a weak concept to begin with, and you know what happens to houses built on faulty foundations. When you combine that with the incompetence of Fox, it’s a recipe for failure. I was amazed they renewed it. Was Fox feeling guilty about killing Firefly? Then why not do the show again? Hell, they’re rebooting everything else out there. As for the Firefly actors, everything they’ve done since then has been pale in comparison. Get the poor people back on Serenity and let’s do it right this time.
By “doing it right” I mean not doing it on Fox.
My .02 worth:
FRINGE better pick up their game fast to keep people interested. The premiere was a letdown and episode 2 might as well have been a typical filler episode from THE X-FILES. Some plot holes can be forgiven, but they’ve used a ton of mulligans in the first two episodes. Am hoping it pulls out of the early stall/spin quickly but have a bad feeling about it.
FLASH FORWARD is worthy of continuing attention but stretched credibility in many plot areas and suffers from weak casting. I can’t see three seasons to resolve the box they’re painted into, let alone seven. But if you’re gonna BS the brass why not lather it on.
I saw “FlashForward” tonight. Wow! This is phenomenally good! I cannot remember being so excited about a new show.
Awesome! Awewome! Awesome!
#22: I agree! “ST: Enterprise” should never have been cancelled. Those idiots at UPN never knew what they had.
Why do TV shows carry on even after their story has dried up? There is a simple answer and that’s $$$.
At rare times few have ended the story plot before it lost new ideas.
The 3 biggest shows that did most here know of. (TNG,DSN,VOY) The only other show I can recall right now is MASH, but that show converted a 3 to 4 year war into 11 years of TV, and only 30 minute shows at that. But humor does not need story time to have effect.
The writers for Heroes made almost every character have a turn at being a bad guy. They blurred the line between who was good and who was bad so much that in the end I found that I hated every character except for Hiro and Ando. And this is why I will never ever watch it again.
20. davidfuchs
Whedon (and more particularly his sycophantic fans) blames everybody else for anything that doesn’t work: if it’s not the studio, it’s the director or the actors.
It seems only Joss Whedon can make productions from Joss Whedon scripts.
I loved Buffy/Angel and like Firefly/Serenity when its annoying psycho-fans aren’t overhyping it, but have no interest in Dollhouse. Can’t be bothered with it and I’m even more annoyed that it was saved in favour of TSCC. Even Whedon said TSCC was the better show!
Here’s hoping for a TSCC DVD film!
I think they should end Smallville with Clark permanently losing his powers and just becoming a normal guy. This version of Kal doesn’t have what it takes to don tights and a cape.
I loved Flash Forward and I thought the casting was spot on. I am looking forward to the next episode.
Heroes was great the first season and then it started a downward turn. I stopped watching it last season.
I would love to see a TSCC DVD film. I loved that show and wish they had renewed it.
27:
Sometimes shows will do what it takes to extend their runs to at least 7 years despite ratings downturns in order to become profitable in syndication. 7 is a magic number for some reason. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” actually changed networks from the WB to UPN for its last two seasons in order to do this. Others (Angel, ENT) simply don’t have the legs with the viewing public to make it that far.
The prevalence of DVD’s these days may be changing all of that.
I thought Tom Welling was the worst actor on Smallville until I saw Erica Durance show up playing Lois Lane! Peee-yoooo!! What an amateur!
Take some acting lessons, baby!
Ouch, that’s a very bad sign for “V”.
Attn: Smallville Bashers: Loyal fans still love the show. It is unrealistic in modern times to expect a hero to put on a blue suit with red undies over the top. Clark wears the symbol of the house of EL and he wears black to cloak his presence in the night. If you had watched the show last season you would have seen the heros from 1000 years in the future. They asked Clark, “Hey Cal, where’s your cape”? They figured out that their legend of “Superman” might have gotten stretched over the years into what we know of “Superman” in cartoons. This in reminicient of how the image of George Washington got polished up after his death. The stories of “I cannot tell a lie, I cut down the cherrie tree father”. This was fake or exaggerated as are many of the tales of “Superman” in the Smallville universe. It lends a lot credibility to the genre.
Having said all that I would still trade in season 9 of Smallville for a third season of “Terminator, The Sarah Connor Chronicles”. SIGH…
#36 YES!!!!
And please, CANCEL Dollhouse!!!
Also- Joss- stick with bringing us more Dr. Horrible.
They have just dragged Smallville out entirely toooooo longgg at this point.. Bring Lex back or put on the cape and tights…something…This Zod had better bring some life back into the old girl or it’s history….Friday is the death nail for sure…how did them Dukes and Dallas do so well on Friday nights…..only 3 channels I guess..
Well, regardless of what the future people think, Superman has always worn his suit and cape. The show is just too chicken to do it.
“Whedon (and more particularly his sycophantic fans) blames everybody else for anything that doesn’t work: if it’s not the studio, it’s the director or the actors.”
But it is literally true in the case of Dollhouse that the network interfered with the first few episodes of Dollhouse, which is why the show felt like a show-by-committee until episode 6, when the finally relented and let Joss start to tell the story he’d wanted to tell from episode 1. This isn’t insider info, all the reviewers noted the sudden improvement as well.
It isn’t opinion to note that, it is not blame casting, it is just factually noting who was responsible for Dollhouse being a failure from the outset.
Now the current season, there’s no blame being cast on anyone. The quality of the show is great, and now it needs to attract fans. How many it attracts may be a bit limited by the show being on a Friday night with a What’s Happening! type sitcom as the lead-in, but, the quality of the show is there now.
It’s ratings will reflect all the factors. The fanbase just happens to be aware of all the factors, because they’re kinda smart, and well informed.
I have to agree with #16 and #25 about FlashForward. It passed the time, but I can’t see them getting three seasons out of it.
And Joseph Fiennes accent? Yuck.
Problem with television is that it takes a short story and tries to stretch it into the length of an encyclopedia. I haven’t been able to watch anything on TV with consistency since Moore’s BSG, which told its story and came to an end.
If a story starts out good but doesn’t know when to shut up it’s face, it stops being a good story. Personally, I wouldn’t want my show to become the guest who had to be told to go home.
I’ve watched Smallville since day 1, and I too have to reluctantly say that they’ve stretched this out too long. I’ve been saying for 2 seasons they should have Clark transform to Superman. Now it’s almost too late. The season premier did sucketh quite a bit. But I watched it.
Harry Ballz (33), as for Erica Durance and Tom Welling’s acting, Erica is pretty and Tom is prettier, so I never noticed the acting…. :D
33, 43: Welling and Durance are awful as an on-screen couple. They should stay away from each as much as possible.
I was at the International Auto Show in Toronto a couple of years ago where I chatted with one of the gorgeous models working there. I mentioned to her how she had a passing resemblance to Erica Durance and she smiled and said that they knew each other from modelling together years ago. I piped up, quite spontaneously, and bluntly observed that Durance stunk as an actor. The girl looked surprised that I would be so candid, but she also had a look on her face like she agreed as she weakly replied, “she’s taking acting lessons!” I said, “I hope so!”
In a way I hope my comment got back to Ms. Durance. If you have the nerve to audition for a big show and then get on it and stink up the place, you should be told the truth!
Get good or get off the stage!
23: Believe me, If I had access to red matter and a black hole, I’d probably go back and pitch the DVD movie angle… like TSCC. All the sets still existed in storage for another year and half after cancellation.
I hope Sarah Connor fans get their wish, if only to prove somebody in gives a damn about the fans.
SGU looks good–except for the shaky cam technique.
Even just one TSCC movie to wrap up the series would be really nice.
My diatribe for the day:
Author Robert Sawyer of Flash Forward did an interview which is linked on Roddenberry.com essentially saying Science Fiction is dead in this country. He pointed out George Lucas and his Star Wars saga has relegated Science Fiction to the overgrown adolescent boys demographic. Also pointing out that a good series like Battlestar Galactica only gets 813,000 viewers in a country of 315,000,000 people. Sawyer and his executive producer are downplaying the science fiction elements and focusing on character drama. Excuse me? When did Science Fiction become mutually exclusive of character drama? Sawyer also said the familiar science fiction elements such as aliens, flying cars, robots, etc will not appear in the show because that will turn off a lot of people. What has happened to our society? Are we so cynical because of 9/11 that we are caught up in “reality” TV and hard edged crime dramas, courtroom shows, medical dramas and espionage shows? I realize I may be preaching to the choir here but does anyone else see the alarming direction out society is taking? So deeply rooted in “practical” shows? Is that why our space program has taken a “practical” course the last two decades? Robot missions, no manned exploration of the Moon or Mars? I thought television was supposed to be an escape? Who wants to be rooted in the reality of rapes, wars, corrupt politicians, overpaid lawyers and doctors on TV everyday? Don’t we get enough of that in our everyday lives? What happened to getting inspired about humanity’s future? The mysteries of the universe to unlock? I don’t know if my critical review of this interview is actually directed at Robert Sawyer or our society’s television tastes as it stands right now. I hope the next Star Trek movie inspires. I hope it is fun and inspires and opens eyes for all these people who are mired in their middle-eastern wars, espionage, crime dramas, medical mysteries and singing competitions to the world that is our universe and the….possibilities.
#39 Go back and watch SINGERMAN RETURNS and let me know what you think of that suit. Smallville has redefined Superman for a new generation. If they still had the big budget the show would be better.
There should be a SMALLVILLE MOVIE, bring Lex back!
50 – I agree, and put Tom in the cape!
To save the show: get Lex back and put tom in the cape. If necessary, make it a new series, with new writers (for a fresh start), and call it “Metropolis” or “Superman.” And if Durance is really that bad (I never noticed), then get someone else…..
Damn, I knew I should have watched the Emmys. That was awesome.
Dreamland sounds pretty cool. RTD is always fun to listen to — so enthusiastic. Even though he did mis-pronounce “Newfoundland”. ;)
Smallville the walking dead lumbers on for yet another season, and yet Sarah Connor Chronicles got cancelled. It’s a travesty of justice, I tells ya.
I completely agree with you about TSCC.
They should rename TSCC, The Sarah Palin Chronicles, love her or hate her, people would tune in at least once.