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atching the monster-of-the-week movies with ex-Star Trek actors, I have to ask: Why doesn't the SCI FI Channel produce an ongoing Trek-like saga in the future with the Trek actors? It wouldn't have to take place aboard a starship. It could take place aboard a station or some futuristic setting. It's frustrating to watch the catastrophe movie or monster movie-of-the-week when SCI FI could actually build a franchise of its own. Many of the actors from Trek and other sci-fi series that are no longer on the air could be utilized in a SCI-FI-produced series!
R. Lloyd
[email address withheld by request]
have to second what was said in letters from two others in this column recently: "Threshold Wasn't Given Fair Shake" by Lisa Thompson and "Fox Butchered Whedon's Baby" by Don Boyer.
Although I still like my TV direct-to-DVD idea better, it's too bad if UPN, The WB or SCI FI Channel doesn't pick up Threshold ... and even Firefly to continue their aborted runs.
Just because the ratings weren't to CBS' high enough standards doesn't mean Threshold wasn't being watched. Not every household in America is registered Neilsen's Ratings viewers, and those ratings don't take into account data collected from TiVO users and anyone on digital cable or satellite. I'm sure if they did, there would be a greater number of viewers accounted for. The system is unfair and just doesn't work.
As for Firefly, the ratings problem was what ultimately led to its demise as well. I agree with Don (see above). The way Fox aired shows out of order would really have made the show difficult for anyone to follow. I, on the other hand, had taped every one just because it was a Joss Whedon show and just had to see what it was all about! Once the cancellation was announced and it was reported, the actual pilot episode would be shown finally. I was devastated.
Not because I liked the show, but because I hadn't even started watching it yet and then to know the first episode had yet to air. ... Once it did, I started watching with the pilot and then went back to the start of Fox's run. Seeing it in this way I immediately fell in love with the series. It was too bad not everyone in America had the luxury of seeing the show in this way until after the DVD release.
And how about Tru Calling? Ran on Fox its first season against CBS' ratings juggernaut, Survivor. What were they thinking? Of course, moving it to 9 against CBS' other ratings juggernaut (C.S.I.) didn't help. Then again, they had the strange idea that people watching The O.C. would stick around for this kind of show?
The same happened when they tried the wonderful Point Pleasant at 9 on Thursdays. Neither this one nor Tru Calling have much in common with The O.C. except young, hip and attractive casts. Why couldn't their programmers see this?
M.E. Knightwatch
MichaelEMead(at)webtv.net
urther to the Threshold discussion: It's a shame that the planned casting changes weren't given a chance either. The addition of Catherine Bell alone would drag a quite a few JAG fans out of their depression to check out Threshold. A lot of what I've read criticizing the show has usually involved comparisons to Invasion, which I don't understand myself despite being a fan of both shows.
Evan Harris
dngn_rdr(at)yahoo.com.au
'm outraged at CBS' quick cancellation of Threshold, a series that had the makings of a major hit. I don't know how it was faring in the ratings, but if the numbers were poor, it was because the show was buried on Friday nights.
I still hope CBS will relent. If they don't, I hope Threshold will be picked up by NBC (it's a much better show than Surface) or the SCI FI Channel.
Kay Kelly
wilusa(at)earthlink.net
t would seem that the arrangement between the ABC network and Apple Computers was a success. Indeed, in the first month of downloading video content, there were almost 2 million downloads of music videos and television episodes, the first of which were the hit shows Lost and Desperate Housewives.
Earlier today, it was announced that the NBC network has followed up with an arrangement of their own with Apple, putting a number of new shows onto the program, including the new Battlestar Galactica, Law & Order, Surface and the Jay Leno show, among others, all told about 12 new shows to now download and watch on your iPod or computer.
Apple has proved that the world of television can now enter the Internet, given the huge number of downloads in such a short amount of time. It is not, however, the first foray into the downloading business that NBC has looked into. Shortly after the announcement between ABC and Apple, NBC and CBS both announced that they were starting DirectTV systems, where you can download an episode of a number of their shows for 99 cents, for a 24-hour period. The problems with that is that it's only a 24-hour period, and for a dollar cheaper than what iTunes charges. However, with iTunes, you can watch the same thing just twice in two days and make back the extra dollar. NBC seems to have realized this and has moved to this medium.
With their addition to iTunes, users can now download 3,000 separate music videos, short videos, television episodes and Pixar movies.
This represents a big change in the landscape for television. It's entirely possible that it can help add to revenue quickly instead of just relying on ratings. Episodes of Lost are placed online after they have aired, allowing for a couple of things:
—While cable is popular, not everyone has it, either by location or by expenses. Downloadable content gives networks access to a huge number of people who might not be able to watch some of these shows.
—This also affects the timing of episodes. Dead slots might not be as lethal to a show any more, as Threshold and Firefly have shown (Friday nights are killers). The ability to download a show could make an otherwise dead show somewhat profitable if people are able to download it at their leisure.
—Cost. At $1.99 per episode, it's a very small expense, and iTunes also offers entire seasons as a bundled package at a slightly cheaper price. The entire first season of Battlestar Galactica is around $25. The first half of season two is just $20. Compare this to the price of their respective boxed sets at around $50 per season. I've decided that I'm going to start downloading all of my music albums because it's so much more cost-effective this way. I can now theoretically download the episodes of TV shows that I want to watch and never have to pay for cable TV.
—No commercials. For the past two years, I've caught up on major SCI FI shows on DVD, and it's such a nice thing to watch entire episodes without commercial breaks.
It has been suggested that the direct-download market, because of these conveniences to consumers, may have saved shows that have been canceled, namely Firefly. While the shows that have been put on iTunes have for the most part been highly successful, they certainly aren't going to be hurt by this arrangement. Fledgling shows that are struggling to survive, such as Arrested Development, may very well become profitable this way should their networks and Apple come together. With ABC and NBC's push to the Web, it's expected that other networks, such as CBS and Fox, will follow shortly thereafter. As this happens, networks are most likely going to look at how shows will do in the ratings, but also how well they will sell online.
Andrew Liptak
jeditrilobite(at)gmail.com
ne would have thought, nearly 40 years after the debut of the original Star Trek, that enough network officials would have died off and been replaced to guarantee a solid core of executive VPs and so on who would understand the impact, draw and marketing of sci-fi programming. In a perfect world.
Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world. Several years ago, someone (no one knows who) decided that even though Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5 were exceptionally successful in syndication, with each completing its projected run (TNG and DS9 7 years each, and B5 five years), syndication was on the wane and it was time to put sci-fi back on the networks, where it undoubtedly belonged.
After all, The X-Files ran an unprecedented nine seasons on Fox, and Star Trek: Voyager even managed to finish its run of seven seasons. Whoever was making these decisions must have known what they were doing ... right?
Obviously not.
While obviously low-rated compared to other networks, UPN's Star Trek: Enterprise was canceled after four seasons. Still, it was drawing higher numbers than cable, and the quality of writing and production was actually rising, even with cancellation on the horizon.
Next, the Big Three announced a slate of sci-fi programming after the surprise hit Lost smashed the competition. More sci-fi shows were scheduled on network television at one time than at any time since the mid-'60s.
Now, at mid-season, despite stellar attempts by the producers, writers and directors, two shows (Threshold and Night Stalker) are gone, and one has to wonder how long Surface and Invasion will last.
As always, with the exception of Invasion, these shows are suffering from bad scheduling. Set against Without a Trace and ER, Night Stalker would have needed divine intervention to garner major ratings. Threshold was showing fair ratings until shuffled off to Tuesdays to save a show that was failing and was itself canceled.
I've often stated that television is a business, and it is. Sci-fi programming is very expensive, and if it doesn't hit big quick, like Lost, then it needs to be dropped quick to avoid losing money. That's the business decision.
Yet dropping a show in the middle of a storyline is bad business. It turns people not against the show, but against the network. The network execs should drop back to the 1960s when trying to float shows. They are depending entirely too much on immediate responses when they should give a show at least 13 weeks, if not a full season.
Is that a good business decision?
Hmmm, it could be.
If nothing else, let the show finish its storyline before dropping it.
There will be less viewer anger that way.
Keith Kitchen
boyoklaatu1(at)aol.com
s stylish sci-fi mystery thrillers go, Aeon Flux is probably as successful as it could be. Charlize Theron does the role of the futuristic heroine justice, and Karyn Kasuma's live-action direction of the originally animated story is impressive. The complex love story between Aeon and Goodchild (Marton Csokas) is as inventive as can be expected in this decade's ambition to keep futuristic films thriving. Jonny Lee Miller underplays the villainous Oren with an effective delicacy. Sophie Okonedo is dynamic and fascinating as Sinthandra. Frances McDormand and Pete Postlethwaite may not have the best roles, but their presence remains significant. Metropolis is the first futuristic film to depict an apparently healthy society with a dark secret. Compared to others that have followed in this genre, Aeon Flux is not a profound film. But is works reasonably well. I am giving it a seven.
Michael Anthony Basil
mike.basil(at)sympatico.ca
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