Riding Into The Sunset

As I keep being reminded by Twitter, one of my favourite series is returning for it's fifth and final season very soon. Despite being under almost constant threat of cancellation from the start, Fringe has been given a 13 episode run for it to end how its' writers see fit. It has been cancelled, of course, it's just that it's been given a whole season's notice. It may, or may not, end the way we want but at least it's getting a chance to end on its' own terms.

There are many series I have watched and enjoyed only to have the rug pulled out from under me with a sudden and abrupt cancellation. One of the most vicious was possibly Alien Nation which ended on a cliffhanger in 1990. Fortunately that was resolved in a series of TV movies, but not until four years later!

I recall numerous cancellations - Terra Nova, Alcatraz, Caprica, The Event, Defying Gravity, Firefly, Jericho, Flash-Forward and Stargate Universe to name but a few. Of course some may have been more deserving than others and not all are sadly missed ... *cough* Terra Nova *cough*.

It seems to me being a Sci-Fi fan is likely to cause a disproportionate increase in cancellation-frustration compared to fans of any other genre, mainly due to the fact that so many shows include such high-concept hooks which we have to accept are not going to be resolved for years, let alone by the end of season one. They require a certain amount of dedication by the viewer.

Take a series like CSI. If you miss an episode, or watch a couple out of order, it's unlikely to spoil your enjoyment of the rest of the season. If you missed an episode of Lost however, there was a good chance you won't have the faintest idea what was happening the following week and could well give up on it altogether.

Casting aside the question of 'Do the writers actually have any idea where it's all heading in the end?' for now - and that's another blog entry entirely - I admit that, sadly, these are the types of shows I enjoy the most. I've always preferred those shows where characters and situations develop throughout the series over those that like to hit that big red reset button on a weekly basis.

 

I say sadly because these are the shows where cancellations are most heavily felt. Yes, hands up, I enjoyed FlashForward and was gutted that the second flash in the closing episode of season one led to ... nothing whatsoever. As for Stagate Universe, having previously enjoyed both SG1 and Atlantis, I genuinely considered SGU to be the best of them - in fact, one of the best Sci-Fi shows out there - but two series in and ... CHOP!

I've spoken to many people about new shows and increasingly I get comments along the lines of 'yes, it sounds good, but it will probably be cancelled before we know what's happening so I won't bother watching it', so are the networks just shooting themselves in the foot and pushing future audiences away ?

I know this is just wishful thinking but it seems to me that if the networks want to rebuild their audience figures then the process of commissioning a new show should include a provision for a resolution, a chance to let the writers end a series when the time comes, regardless if it's five episodes in or several years down the line. Yes, the networks are spending the money, but we are committing something much more valuable - our time to watch it and talk about it.

We'll just have to cross our fingers that, given the chance, they come up with a better ending than they could muster for Battlestar Galactica ...


Ade