or


[04/05/04 - 12:00 AM]
'Wonderfalls' Sent Packing by Fox
By Brian Ford Sullivan (TFC)

CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- "Well, not sure what to tell ya'll -- but we're cancelled," "Wonderfalls" executive producer Tim Minear told readers of his "Minearverse" section of Buffistas.org on Saturday afternoon.

"The cow creamer will be silent this Thursday and forever forward. Once we recover from the not-shock, Todd [Holland], Bryan [Fuller] and I will see if there's some venue in which to air the remaining episodes," he continued. "As I have said from the start, the thirteen taken as a whole tell a story and go to a place, so a run of this "limited" series would not be unsatisfying elsewhere. It's a question as to whether the studio will want to invest in a DVD release of a failed series. Maybe the episodes will sit in a warehouse someplace with that sled and the arc of the covenant. Thanks for all the support and enthusiasm."

The news comes as little surprise as the FOX series posted a mere 2.0 rating/3 share in households and a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49 for its time slot premiere on Thursday, according to fast national data. Only one other broadcast - an October encore of "24's" season premiere - has performed as badly in the Thursday, 9:00/8:00c hour for FOX this season.

With 13 episodes in the can, that leaves nine installments of the series still on the shelf. Encores of FOX's new reality series "The Swan" are set to fill "Wonderfalls'" former Thursday, 9:00/8:00c home beginning this week.

Later on Saturday when asked about what fans can do to revive the series, Minear added: "In terms of 'saving' the show? Not really anything you can do. The network is a non-starter here. The studio, 20th, is possibly a different matter. If they get the sense that people would buy a complete series DVD set, it might happen that the series becomes available in future. But please don't waste your time or money on trying to revive 'Wonderfalls' for a pick-up with Fox. Ain't gonna happen."

"When we first began this series, I was asked by many why I would put my trust in the network that mishandled 'Firefly' so terribly. Well, because it felt different to me. Initially, there was real excitement and belief in 'Wonderfalls' at the network. My feeling with 'Firefly' was always that since they didn't much like or understand it from the brilliant pilot, that we were kind of doomed. I felt that if a network didn't believe in a show, no matter its potential, that it couldn't launch it or sell it with any measure of success."

"And again, 'Wonderfalls' felt totally different to me. At first. Then, at some point in the process, I could sense an erosion in enthusiasm. Even as we were finding our footing and delivering to them some really exceptional episodes (ones you never got to see!), things got chilly. Then they couldn't seem to find any place on the schedule for us. Then they did... and it was Friday night. I tell you now, the moment that was announced, I knew it was over. They were dumping us into Friday nights and that was that. When the smashing reviews started coming in... and coming and coming and coming... I think they didn't know what to think or do. You have but one chance to make a good first impression. But they'd given up on the show before it ever aired, and even when the lion's share of critics were hailing the show, it was too late for them to backtrack and launch the series with any kind of conviction. My 'Firefly' experience was repeating itself. I think it was USA Today that said this may be 'the wrong show, in the wrong season, on the wrong night, on the wrong network.' Just so. I do think market forces were at work here, too. Not just incompetence."

"I don't know if any network could have brought an audience to this show. Certainly no network that dumped it on Friday night, promoted it in such as way as to try and trick people into thinking it was 'Dawson's Creek,' or that didn't, apparantly, agree with the things the critics were saying about it. I do think any network wants whatever they pay for to be a success. I don't think they MEAN to strangle something in the crib. I know that the next time I shop something to a network, I'm going to hope to find a network that understands and believes in the thing they ordered. And if they thought it looked good on the menu, I'd hope they'd still have a taste for it once it got to the table."

Click here and here to read Minear's original posts.





  [april 2004]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· 24 (FOX)
· SWAN, THE (FOX)
· WONDERFALLS (FOX)





[05/21/13 - 02:54 PM]
Monday's Cable Ratings: "WWE Raw" Claims Top Spots for USA
Plus: numbers for Bravo's "Newlyweds: The First Year," ABC Family's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" and Syfy's "Warehouse 13."

[05/21/13 - 01:51 PM]
Sunday's Cable Ratings: "Game of Thrones," "North America" Top Charts
Plus: numbers for HBO's "Family Tree," Showtime's "The Borgias" and E!'s "What Would Ryan Lochte Do?."

[05/21/13 - 01:46 PM]
Saturday's Cable Ratings: Game 6 of Knicks/Pacers Puts ESPN on Top
Plus: numbers for Discovery's "Zombie Preppers," HBO's "The 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony" and OWN's "Life with La Toya."

[05/21/13 - 01:44 PM]
Live Twitter Event with Cast Members of "Rookie Blue" During the Fourth-Season Premiere of the Series, Thursday, May 23
Missy Peregrym, Enuka Okuma, Peter Mooney, Priscilla Faia, Rachael Ancheril and Matt Gordon are among those participating.

[05/21/13 - 01:24 PM]
NBC to Air "Devastation in Oklahoma" Special Tonight in Place of "Voice" Recap
The one-hour special is set for 8:00/7:00c, leading into "The Voice" results show at 9:00/8:00c.

[05/21/13 - 01:21 PM]
"North America" Dominates Sunday Cable in Total Viewers and Persons 25-54 with 3.4 Million Viewers
Discovery further spins the numbers for Sunday, May 19.

[05/21/13 - 12:56 PM]
Oxygen's "Bad Girls Club" Season 11 Returns to Miami Airing Tuesdays This Summer
Miami was previously home to season five, and the seven newest cast members are ready to live up to their predecessors' wild antics.

[05/21/13 - 12:19 PM]
A&E's Ground-Breaking Crime and Justice Series Return Thursday, May 30
"Beyond Scared Straight" kicks off its fourth season at 10:00/9:00c immediately following the return of new episodes of "The First 48."

[05/21/13 - 12:01 PM]
Blake Shelton, Sheryl Crow to Perform Live Next Week on NBC's "The Voice"
Shelton will perform "Boys 'Round Here" on the May 27 edition of the show, while Crow will sing "Easy" on May 28.

[05/21/13 - 11:54 AM]
Nine New Shows Ordered from ABC Studios for the 2013-14 Season
ABC Studios had the most drama orders of any studio.

[05/21/13 - 11:48 AM]
Smithsonian Channel to Commemorate Life of Music Innovator Ray Manzarek with Encore Presentations of "The Doors: Mr. Mojo Risin' - The Story of L.A. Woman"
The one-hour documentary is an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the making of what would be the iconic rock band's final album together.

[05/21/13 - 11:15 AM]
NBC Delivers Its Most Competitive TV Season and May Sweep in Nine Years
NBC spins the numbers for the season to date.

[05/21/13 - 11:11 AM]
"48 Hours Special: The War in Chicago" Is First on Saturday at 10:00 PM with Adults 25-54
CBS spins the numbers for Saturday, May 18.

[05/21/13 - 11:05 AM]
Microsoft Unveils Xbox One: The Ultimate All-in-One Home Entertainment System
Plus: Steven Spielberg will executive-produce an original "Halo" live-action television series with exclusive interactive Xbox One content.

[05/21/13 - 11:01 AM]
CMT Greenlights 11 Additional Episodes of Hit Series "Dog and Beth: On the Hunt" to Begin Airing in August
The full first season order will now total 22 episodes; production on the back 11 will begin immediately, and will air in August.