I was looking through some TV listings to determine why there aren't going to be as many shows to watch in this new season as there was last year. While on this quest, I determined that the Fox network is a bunch of morons.
Basically, there are a few shows that Fox cancelled for no good reason. These shows are Firefly (although not everyone would agree), Futurama, and John Doe. Why did Fox cancel these shows? I guess viewership was down. But the real question is what are they being replaced with?
Here is a list of shows from Fox's site:
| Type | Show Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Drama | 24 | |
| Drama | Boston Public | |
| Drama | Skin | New |
| Drama | The O.C. | New |
| Drama | The X-Files | Cancelled? |
| Game | Test The Nation | |
| News | 55th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards | One-shot |
| News | Teen Choice Awards 2003 | One-shot |
| News | The Pulse | Cancelled |
| Reality | 30 Seconds to Fame | Cancelled |
| Reality | America's Most Wanted | |
| Reality | American Idol | |
| Reality | American Juniors | New |
| Reality | Cops | |
| Reality | Divorce Stories | New |
| Reality | Love Again | New |
| Reality | Paradise Hotel | New |
| Reality | Performing As... | New |
| Reality | Stupid Behavior Caught on Tape | |
| Reality | Temptation Island 3 | |
| Sitcom | Anything for Love | |
| Sitcom | Cedric the Entertainer Presents | |
| Sitcom | Futurama | Cancelled |
| Sitcom | King of the Hill | |
| Sitcom | MADtv | |
| Sitcom | Malcolm in the Middle | |
| Sitcom | Oliver Beene | |
| Sitcom | That '70s Show | |
| Sitcom | The Bernie Mac Show | |
| Sitcom | The Simpsons | |
| Sitcom | Wanda at Large |
I really can't fathom what Fox is up to here. Of course they're getting their best ratings from reality shows, it's the only thing they show in prime time after you exclude 24 and the remaining teen drama drivel.
I would think that with the massive following of Firefly fans (and the impending filming of the Firefly movie) they would have kept that show on for at least another season. Instead, it's more reality TV. What a waste of my time!
Well, there are a few new shows on Fox that aren't on this list somehow, even though I took it straight from their web site.
Tru Calling is a show starring Eliza Dushku (aka Faith from Buffy) who gets to relive days and right wrongs on their second run-through. Sort of like Groundhog Day, except only once and at will. It could be interesting, and it's a drama that Fox would like to compare to Alias and CSI, which are good and decent shows, respectively.
But then there are a couple of the other kind of 'good ideas'...
Norm Macdonald plays an editorial news reporter who decides that he needs to live the opinions he espouses on his show, so he moves in with a butler and a cheese magnate's son, and eats at a diner owned by a gay couple. Ah, yes, very clever.
And then there's this gem about a girl who hears the voices of ceramic animals which convinces her to help other people. Fox themselves describes it as "Touched by a crazy person." And they think these obvious stinkers will float?
And even then there's Bonzai, which is a parody of those oftentimes funny Japanese game shows. The weird part is, can they actually make a parody of something that is unintentionally funny? Is that possible? I've seen previews of the show's "contests". One of them involves two guys trying to score soccer goals on each other. One is missing an arm and one is missing a leg. It was interesting to watch, but I think the show could be somewhat dull when completely assembled.
Anyhow, this is what tripe Fox would like us to eat. Didn't Fox used to be a decent second-rate network? What happened to the network that produced Space: Above and Beyond? And X-Files? Now it's all about voting divorced singers off the island of tempting child wannabes before that Bad Boys tune plays in the background...
