By now, all of the series that bowed in the Fall have wrapped the last of their new episodes produced for this season, and by all appearances, no additional episodes are forthcoming with the writer’s strike still unresolved. A few Science Fiction and Fantasy mid-season replacements shows are starting to pop up (Sarah Connor Chronicles, New Amsterdam in March) and a few series that had a planned late start are due shortly (Lost, Jericho). But other than that, reality shows have taken over Prime Time with the dearth of scripted shows available. So this seems like as good of a time as any to look at the first part of the season as well as to mull over what’s coming through the end of the season and beyond.The 2006-2007 season surprise hit Heroes was probably one of the most anticipated returning series this past Fall. This series about people with super-powers grabbed viewers attention in its freshman season with its ensemble cast and engaging story arc even if its conclusion was a bit of a let down. Unfortunately, the let down continued into its sophomore season with its uneven and at times confusing second story arc which resulted in a downturn for its ratings. However, the last four episodes proved much stronger and provided a satisfying conclusion to this storyline. And Heroes ratings also showed an improvement toward the end as well. The other returning series (Stargate: Atlantis, Supernatural, The Ghost Whisperer, and Smallville), seemed to maintain their quality as well as the ratings they had previously enjoyed.
For new series in the Science Fiction and Fantasy vein, the Fall 2007 season had quite a lot to offer. Eight series bowed in Fall ranging from Science Fiction (Flash Gordon) to Fantasy (Pushing Daisies) to Spy/Espionage (Bionic Woman) to Supernatural (Moonlight) to Horror/Comedy (Reaper). The quality varied widely amongst these series (and even from episode to episode within the same series), but at least viewers had a variety of choices.
Among the better shows were Pushing Daisies with its quirky, picaresque, storybook feel which quickly grabbed viewers attention and garnered an early full season pick-up (later made into a moot point because of the writer’s strike). The vampire drama Moonlight also rose above the rest despite a few uneven episodes. It presented a gripping tale of a man trying to deal with the curse of his vampirism and scored well in the ratings early though it showed a drop-off in later episodes. Journeyman got off to a shaky start with multiple contrivances seeming to add unnecessary baggage to its storyline. However, it wrapped up strong as we found that these contrivances all led up to a pivotal decision that the central character had to confront. Unfortunately, the show started with weak ratings and only went downhill as the series progressed (though fans are staging a campaign to convince NBC to keep it on the air once the strike is resolved).
A couple of the new shows were somewhat middle-of the-road on quality, neither impressing too much nor generating too much revulsion. Reaper actually came out of the gate quite strong with its initial episode directed by Kevin Smith (Clerks, Dogma) who also serves as creative consultant for the show. However, this Horror/Comedy about an unwitting bounty hunter for the Devil quickly settled into a formulaic routine and has yet to live up to the potential of its pilot. Chuck, a series about an unwitting secret agent who has government secrets downloaded into his brain, has never really excelled nor reviled, but it did eek out enough ratings to get a full season order (again made moot by the strike).
The underperforming new shows have not been terrible, but they definitely failed to overwhelm their viewers. Bionic Woman was probably one of the more anticipated new shows with the pedigree of David Eick as producer. It actually started strong, but quickly found itself burdened by its own contrivances, and the viewers in turn started to abandon it in droves. The Sci Fi Channel’s Flash Gordon somehow managed to take one of the most colorful Science Fiction/Fantasy characters of all time and make him just plain boring. The producers’ claim that this is a re-imagining of the character is just plain false because there is little if any imagination in this latest incarnation. Caveman was probably the most ridiculed new show to bow in fall, but actually proved itself not nearly as bad as most people expected. Of course neither did it do much to justify the presence of such an ill-conceived, commercial-inspired concept in Prime Time, it just didn't suck too bad.
The good news for all of these shows is that none have officially been cancelled (though NBC let their option expire on Journeyman which is almost the same a cancellation). Most likely the networks hope to use these shows currently in limbo as bargaining chips once talks resume with the writers. The bad news is that this season is pretty much history now. Even if miraculously a resolution was reached on the strike this week, it is unlikely that any new episodes would be produced for the current season. So this puts the fate of even series like Pushing Daisies and Chuck, which received full season orders, in doubt considering the fickle nature of the entertainment industry. When next season comes around, will network execs re-commit to any of these series, or will they already be looking to move on to the next big thing? And the fact that most of the mid-season reality replacement series have outperformed these shows in the same timeslots also does not bode well for their continuation.
For the remainder of the current season, we have a few shows with new episodes to give us a respite from the onslaught of Reality programming. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles got off to a strong start mid-January and Lost returns January 31st for its forth season (even though only eight of the planned sixteen episodes have been completed). Medium returned at the beginning of January and Jericho will begin running its full second season order of seven episodes on February 12th. In March, FOX will give its cast-off series New Amsterdam a chance to pick up viewers and Sci Fi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica will return for its fourth and final season. And there is no word yet on whether the planned Galactica prequel series Caprica will make it to the air this season. The strike could actually prove to be a boon for these series, especially those with iffy status such as Jericho and New Amsterdam, since few non-Reality offerings will be available to viewers.
Stay tuned to the Axiom’s Edge website as we continue to provide updates on the writer’s strike and Science Fiction and Fantasy television in general.
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