Most of the television shows that bowed in the Fall 2007 season are in the process of wrapping up there initial run this month. With no resolution to the current writer’s strike in sight, though, it is uncertain if we will see any new episodes of these shows in the second part of the season. Currently, all of the programs that aired episodes during the first half of the season are on hold or in limbo pending the outcome of the strike and/or network decisions on their fate. And as of this date, I only count five Science Fiction and Fantasy shows that have new episodes scheduled to air during the second half of the current season. Three of these are returning shows and two are mid-season replacements.
The strike is actually somewhat of a boon for several of the shows scheduled for 2008.
New Amsterdam, FOX’s show about an immortal detective (not to be confused with the vampire detective roaming around on CBS’s
Moonlight), had originally been scheduled to bow at the beginning of the Fall 2007 season. It was then pushed to a mid-season replacement, then the network pulled the plug altogether after the completion of only a handful of episodes. Had the writer’s strike seen an early resolution, this show may have never made it to the airwaves.
Jericho is another series that could benefit from the prolonged strike. Unceremoniously canceled after its freshman season, CBS agreed to bring it back for a truncated second season in response to a fan uprising. With a dearth of other scripted series available in 2008 and with a strong lead in from
Big Brother, this show has a chance of pulling better ratings when it returns to the air. The Sci Fi channel’s
Flash Gordon may get the same lift as well. It returns with new episodes in January to finish out its inaugural season, which has so far seen only anemic ratings, and may also succeed in drawing a few more viewers.
Lost returns on a new night (Thursdays at 9PM EST) on January 31st, but only eight out of planned sixteen episodes for its fourth season have been completed. It is uncertain how this will affect the highly complex storyline of this series if the additional eight episodes of the current season are not competed (the producers of
24 elected to hold off on new episodes altogether rather risk an interrupted and/or incomplete run).
The only other entry for the genre currently on the schedule is FOX’s
Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles which is set for a January 14th bow. I currently consider this one to be the odds-on favorite as a mid-season hit. It already has a built-in audience from the movie franchise, and the bleak landscape for scripted series could lead to a large number of viewers tuning in to escape from the plethora of reality series the networks will throw at them.
Lastly, some of the series which bowed in Fall of this year could actually benefit from the writer’s strike. If the labor dispute continues much longer, it could affect the 2008-2009 pilot season. This is when the networks and cable channels are reviewing pilots for new series that could make to next year’s schedule. If little is available during the pilot season, networks may consider holding over series that only garnered mediocre ratings during their initial run. Series such as
Bionic Woman,
Cavemen,
Journeyman, and
Reaper could fall into this category. They may even rerun these series in Spring to try and build up an audience in case they elect to bring them back with new episodes. In the meantime, the networks have been mum on cancellations and the fate of these shows remain in limbo as their production is on hold with no new scripts in the pipeline.
So the start of 2008 looks pretty bleak for Science Fiction and Fantasy programs (or any non-reality genre, for that matter). When this season began, we had fourteen different Science Fiction and Fantasy related shows to choose from. Now, if the strike continues, we will have only five offerings with new episodes during the first part of 2008. We will continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates on each of these series, as well as new additions, as we receive additional information.
Addendum(12/18/07): I inadvertently left
Medium off the original list. It returns for its fourth season in January with an undetermined number of episodes completed. It will occupy the slot formerly held by
Journeyman.
Check the Axiom's Edge website for a
list of all the Science Fiction and Fantasy shows from the current season with their status as of this writing. We will continue to update this list as we receive more information.
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The U.S.A. Network confirmed this past week that they were cancelling their two original Science Fiction and Fantasy series The 4400 and The Dead Zone. Rumors had been circulating about their fate and The 4400 create Scott Peters had sent a post to the U.S.A. message board last week announcing the series cancellation and thanking fans for their support. Both were Summer series with The 4400 having completed four seasons and The Dead Zone having completed six seasons. Both had seen a drop off in ratings over their last couple of seasons and the network decided to drop them to make room for non-genre related original series. The last season of both series will be available on DVD in 2008.
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