Another Friday, and another batch of freak out worthy ratings for Fringe and FlashForward.
How long will FOX tolerate the middling ratings for Fringe?
Barring a decision by FOX to move Fringe to a better time slot, or some statement from FOX along the lines of "We love this show, we love JJ Abrams, and we don't care how bad the ratings are we will air this show forever," I wouldn't plan on it being back for a third season.
I know, we'll hear a lot of "wait for the DVR numbers", "New Moon opened last night!" and "It will be back to a 2.2 next week, just wait and see..."
Hear me, Fringe fans: root for a better time slot anyway!
Fringe is no Lost
FOX has enough data to realize already that Fringe is no Lost.
If last night is any indication it is never going to approach Lost levels of intrigue for me. Last night was supposed to be a big mythology episode. Only it just wasn't that great. Don't get me wrong, I didn't think it completely sucked or was even bad. But it didn't have any "Wow! I can't believe THAT happened" moments in it.
If you loved last night's episode and it made you giddy with delight, I'm happy for you. Truly. But you should probably root for a schedule change then, and not to Fridays!
Did anyone really think a bunch of bald, pale skinned, no eyebrow having white guys would be a huge draw?
If there was a market for bald pasty faced white guys who like spicy food, I would be an international sensation! Short of stunt-casting Patrick Stewart (Jean Luc Picard) and Michael Chiklis (Vic Mackey from The Shield) as Observers, you probably aren't going to be able to use the Observers as a big marketing ploy.
FlashForward Finally Introduces a Likeable Character!
As for FlashForward it's good news, bad news. The good news (at least for me) was that last night was one of the better recent episodes, the bad news is the ratings are still falling and I'm probably going to cut bait on the show anyway. I did like last night's episode better than most for one simple reason: the Keiko character was fully introduced and it was like "finally, a character I actually like and care about!" As a bonus the back/forward story for Bryce got more interesting due to Keiko as well..
Too Little Too Late? What's the story?
But the down side is it took to almost Thanksgiving to get a character I actually was interested in and...it was in an episode where there's almost no discussion about why the flash forwards happened. What's up with the dead crows? How can you have Dominic Monoghan playing an evil villain and hardly use him in a way where he gets to be an evil villain!?
It will be very interesting to see where ABC slots FlashForward in the new year. With Lost taking the Tuesday at 9pm spot, it seems likely FlashForward will stay put where it is for season one, but some think it will be moved to 10pm on Tuesdays to be paired with Lost (but the betting money is on "V" occupying the 10pm slot).
Some other network has to pick up Fringe. It’s such a great show!!! So well written. This makes me cry.
I feel for Fringe. Decent show in a terrible time slot. We won’t get a new episode for 2 more week’s and I think that’s it for 2009. Move the show already, Fox!
Unless Fox moves House or AI to Fringe’s time slot it has nothing that can complete against Grey’s Anatomy, The Office, & CSI.
Fringe will have a third season. Mark my words.
Fringe is a great show on a night of established great shows. The word clusterf*ck comes to mind. It is far better than last year. It’s just a shame Fox is run by shit-for-brains execs. FlashForward was very intriguing in the beginning, but became very boring quickly. And Joseph Fiennes is HORRIBLE.
I’m actually ho-hum about Fringe. I was hoping it would do well, but I personally couldn’t get into it.
Here comes Kitchen Nightmare/Hell’s Kitchen!!
I don’t watch those shows either, but price-wise, their ratings justify their existence.
Unless they move Fringe to Fridays before the end of this season, I’m more certain than not that Fringe will come back for a third season.
Yes, the ratings aren’t great, but this is a show Fox has confidence enough in to deliberately put up against stiff competition. It doesn’t make much sense to do that, and then simply assume it has to go because it doesn’t work there.
This isn’t T:SCC, failing when there’s nothing else on TV.
Do you think they won’t give a second timeslot trial period for Flashforward? It seems logical to at least try it somewhere else, before the axe is drawn. I’m glad somebody else enjoyed the latest episode, it was indeed better then most, although, for those who enjoy action packed FF, and Judging from the promos, the next episode should take care of your needs no problem. I Feel just a little pain inside when I think a procedural like Bones or Castle get better ratings than this show. It’s just not possible that procedurals are still this popular. CSI has been here for 10 years, isn’t it time for a tide change, already?
Fringe and Flashforward are excellent shows, and both not for their leads. Olivia is great, but Walter and Peter are the money on that. Flashforward seems to do better away from Mark and Olivia, and last ninght’s episode benefited from that. If FlashForward and V and Fringe end up going this season, and things like Bones and NCIS LA keep growing, there’s something really screwed with american television.
Squiggleslash — if Fringe were going to win some Emmys, maybe. But aside from special effects that’s not going to happen and so FOX will be in the position of:
1. trying another scripted show that might do better (a difficult task)
2. figuring a 1.8 rating that costs nothing is better than a 2.0 that costs a lot!
Hell’s Kitchen can do MUCH better in that time slot, but it doesn’t look like FOX wants to air more Hell’s Kitchen in-season and plans to stick with the the spring/summer route.
I do think Fringe will get a Third season as well.
By the end of this season it’ll be at 40 episodes so it’s possible WB will lower the fee for Fox to produce another 22 episodes to get it into syndication (may not be the perfect number, but it would still be at 60 episodes).
Brad, it’s not even clear to me Fringe has a back nine for THIS season yet.
Really? I thought it was picked up for a full 22 episode season? If not, I imagine there would be other sites worrying about its (now very late) back 9 order. Isn’t the midseason schedule do soon?
Brad, the mid-season schedules are due soon. And I take it back, FOX did pick up Fringe for 22 episodes when it announced its pick up last May!
Wait, you guys posted it got picked up for a full second season
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/05/04/fox-renews-fringe/17977
yep, sometimes I’d do better to rely on the press releases from the networks we post than to rely on The Futon Critic’s database, but for some things their search is much easier than ours
Ahh, we posted at the same time. I knew I remembered a full season pickup.
I know this is a ratings site BUT I have to say the following. First off I was an avid X Files fan back in the day. This show is just a poorly done version of the X Files without the character chemistry that Mulder and Scully shared. Walter Bishop’s character is such a baffoon and unbelievable to the point of being annoying. From the botton left hand corner on the X Files stating where the scene was to the big block letters used on Fringe.
20 (S1) + 22 (S2) leaves the option for a 22-23 episode Third season to hit 65 episodes. I can see WB doing a deal to get that Third season. But I’m still in the camp that thinks Fox will renew it and hopefully move it to a better night.
Robert, did Fringe say 13 when you looked on TFC, because right now it’s ??? Just wondering if they are really monitoring the comments here that closely.
I don’t want the show to get canned, I loved yesterday’s episode. I’m going to hope for whatever possible way to save the show for a while but I won’t be surrealistic. In this new world order, we can’t get attached to scripted broadcast shows anymore. Every time a new show that I love starts, in never gets to do better than 1 or 2 weeks. I really really hope that Fox will AT least give the writers the opportunity of giving us a decent ending. No shitty TSCC, Las Vegas or one of those canned show.
Only shows you can have a decent hope of seeing until the end are cable shows end CW shows (Supernatural!!!!)
Look at stargate SG1 and Atlantis, there is still direct to dvd movies coming out for both series. Look at Las Vegas, or Dead zone, 5-6 seasons end all of a sudden… boom, canceled, no ending, screw you fans.
So let’s enjoy the show we get now, but not to much, they’re not going to last long anyway.