Fox execs explain why they kept Dollhouse and Killed Sarah Connor

Monday, May 18, 2009

Fox execs explain why they kept Dollhouse and Killed Sarah Connor

Why did Fox pick up Dollhouse and not Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles for the fall television season? Network executives discussed their decisions on those shows, as well as reasons for moving Fringe to Thursdays and other scheduling moves, during a conference call with journalists before today's upfront fall television presentation.

Kevin Reilly, Fox's president of entertainment, said that ratings were not the only factor when it came to deciding whether the low-rated Dollhouse would get a second season and remain on Friday nights.

"First, it's a bet on creatively and that's something that has never changed," Reilly said. "And I'm happy to say we're doing that. You know how inspired Joss Whedon is. It's a bet on Joss. The DVR numbers are a marker for us, so it is a factor, and we did see an uptick in the ratings from a 1.5 to a 2. That was a pattern for us that we liked, betting on Joss, and I think you're going to see it grow next season."

But is it the factor of "the devil you know," as opposed to the bringing in a new unproven series? "Absolutely," Reilly added. "In fact, I venture to say that if we had put new shows on Friday night in particular there'd probably be a lot of cynicism about, 'Well, wait, ... you're creating an entire new night of television?' Not to mention if we'd canceled Joss's show I'd probably have 110 million e-mails this morning from the fans," he said with a laugh. "So that's exactly right. Bet on something that has a core that you believe can work."

But that doesn't mean Fox will accept low numbers on Friday nights, said Peter Rice, Fox's chairman of entertainment. "We think that we can grow the show," he said, adding: "The show became much stronger creatively during the course of the season. Joss feels very energized about it. And we believe in him as a creator. We've had a lot of success in the past, and we feel that he can build the show, and it can grow in the new season ... and that Friday is a good place for it to do that."

As for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Fox executives viewed that series quite differently. "Terminator has completed its run," Reilly said flatly. "And I think it had a nice little run. It was a good show. It was not an either/or [with Dollhouse]. We did see it tailing off a bit. It had a nice creative core, but ultimately we made the bet on Dollhouse for the night. We had some other shows we thought would make a better profile for the night. So that's it for Terminator." Dollhouse will follow two comedies, the new series Brothers and the returning Til Death.

According to Reilly, Terminator "was not an inexpensive show," and Fox had to "make some choices on the night. But, ultimately, we looked at the ratings track on Monday, where it had a pretty consistent run, and then on Friday, where it moved to. And that trend line was not pointing in the right direction. ... But we make no apologies for that show. We had a huge launch for that show, as you remember. We gave it a lot of support and some consistent scheduling. We tried, and felt it was time to move on."
The other big bit of programming news was Fox's decision to move Fringe to Thursdays opposite the enormous hits CSI on CBS and Grey's Anatomy on ABC—that is, assuming those series remain on Thursdays after CBS and ABC announce their schedules this week. Reilly does expect the two networks to keep both shows on Thursdays. "Who knows?" he said. "But that would feel like a very, very risky move. Particularly with CSI, which has had quite a bit of decline this year. A move at that point in a show's cycle tends to accelerate decline."

Reilly added: "I think if you look at Thursday night, ... the door's more open on this night than it's been in a long, long time. Eight o'clock is a soft time period. Bones went in there and did a job that beat the other scripted shows consistently. I think it will continue to do that. And at 9 o'clock, [CSI and Grey's Anatomy] are two still terrific, appointment shows, but they're down. They are not consuming all the oxygen at 9 o'clock. You saw Fringe do a very consistent ratings, about a 4.1, maybe 4.2, week in and week [out] every week of the season. Whether it holds a 4, I don't know. But if you watched that show, it finished strong. We've got a huge amount of buzz coming out of the last batch of episodes. People talking about it like it is now the Fox classic. I think that audience is going to move, and it's a real alternative to both of those shows. It's not an overlapping audience."

One other big move during midseason will be the launch of Past Lives and Human Target after American Idol, Reilly said. "On Tuesdays, Past Life, which is a fast paced thriller," he said. "It's a mystery that needs to be solved in both the past and the present. And on Wednesdays, Idol is going to platform another drama, which really feels like it's got a lot of great Fox DNA. It stars Mark Valley, the guy who did terrific work, ... a great arc for us, on Fringe last season. And this show finds its roots in the fun action dramas of the '70s and '80s. But it's updated with modern production values."

And just to make sure you don't miss the premiere of Human Target, the series will kick off between the NFC Divisional Playoff Game and the two-hour season premiere of 24 on Jan. 17, before moving to its regular Wednesday night slot after the American Idol results show.
In one other midseason note, Fox picked up the Tyler Labine comedy, Sons of Tucson, for Sundays, which can't be a good sign for The CW's Reaper when it comes to a renewal for that series, ... unless Labine has figured out a way to be in two shows at once (he's currently committed to Reaper as his first priority).

sci-fi wire....

1 comment:

AnonymousMay 19, 2009 at 9:08 PM
Interesting discussion - frequently you wonder why one show makes it and not another.
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Enjoy The Prologue From My Upcoming Book.. "Strolok"............by R.Goldberg

"WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOUR RACE WAS TARGETED FOR EXTINCTION?"

The Sun is a powerful force in our Universe. It brings us light, warmth and a promise of a galaxy beyond the stars. Often we associate massive flashes of light with the reflection of our Sun's light bouncing off of another surface.

This is not always the case though, especially if you believe that we are truly not alone in the Universe. When we witness things that we can't readily explain we sometimes turn our heads and shrug our shoulders in a display of apathy.

A display such as this occurred on Friday January 29, 1982 at the Crater Lake National Park just outside of Chemult, Oregon. The snow had been falling steadily for a period of four days. The winds had been whisking about at 40 miles per hour.
Then there was one of those unnatural flashes of light. This created an eerie silence as a lanky boy, just nine years old, seemed to appear from out of that flash. If he had walked to this point there would have been a distinct trail in the newly fallen snow.
There was no trail and as a matter of fact the only tracks in the snow were the ones that outlined his feet where he was standing.

He began to trudge through the snow wearing what could only be described as dark brown long johns. He seemed dazed yet, at the same time, very clear about the direction that he was travelling. This boy with no identity or name seemed to be on a mission that would take him to places he had never been before.
His main goal was to reach Chemult, Oregon and he had no intention of stopping until he accomplished this. As strange as it seems the extreme cold seemed to have little or no effect on him at all.

Why Chemult? What was so special about this town located at an elevation of 4,758 feet above sea level in a frozen winter wilderness in Oregon?

The town of Chemult was first opened to the local traffic in 1926 and here in 1982, with its population of only 241, offered little in the way of comfort for a nine year old boy who was all alone. This journey, although prompted by something deep inside of him, did not provide a feeling of comfort and yet he had hoped that he would at least experience a feeling of accomplishment once he reached the town.

The wind was getting stronger and he noticed a small piece of yellow paper tattered and torn from whipping about in the snow. He only stopped long enough to
pick up this paper..........it read:

.....With the winter season here there was a lot of fun to have. Travelling miles of open trails on snow mobiles skiing or simply hiking, but there are dangers of doing so. Please remember safety first. Do not travel alone and be sure someone knows where you are and where you are going before travelling our trails, and please read the safety rules and codes of ethics before hiking the trails...

Nightfall was near and he had already walked 38 of the 40 miles needed to reach Chemult. He was just off of Route 97 when he spotted an old barn just about 200 feet NE of his present location. Making his way to the barn he went in and found it to be totally deserted, it was a perfect place to rest for the night.

Morning had arrived and once awake the boy started to look around the barn in the daylight light to see if there was anything that was lying in the barn that he could use to assist him on his trek.

Over in the far corner of the barn he found an old metal locked box that had long been forgotten. It was all rusted out and the key was nowhere to be found. After several failed attempts to open the box the young boy closed his eyes, sat back on his tired limbs and placed the palm of his right hand on top of the box. All of a sudden a dull red glow appeared from his right palm and the box lid flew open. Strangely enough once the red glow disappeared all that remained was a faint thin black outline where the outside of the red mark had appeared on his palm. Inside of the box he found several items all of which were unfamiliar to him and it was obvious that they had been there
for a very long time.

The contents included a tattered passport with the picture missing, a pocket knife, a compass, an antique pocket watch with a broken crystal, a time-worn souvenir porcelain coffee mug with the words; "Atlanta, Georgia, The Peach State, A Perfect Place to Live", on it and a frayed map of the Metro Atlanta Area It was difficult to make out the name on the passport but with a couple of light brushes with his fingers he saw the name Jason Tredmore. This is now who this boy would become.

Sci-Fi Blast

Monday, May 18, 2009