Firefly Discussion (Merged)

[Villano]

I just did a little checking and it seems that Firefly scored a 2.9 on the overnights, which is up from last week.

It did say that the rating weren't final, yet. However, whenever I've seen the overnights reported, they tend to go up when it's all finalized, so it may even have done a 3. I guess we'll have to wait until the weekly ratings come in to see (I think they're announced on Tuesdays).

 

[Whodat]

Schedule update.

Episode #8 will air on schedule: Nov 15

Episode #9 looks like it will be preempted… for three weeks. According to the FOX page, they have had a break scheduled for a while now. This episode is scheduled to air Dec 6.

Episode #10 will air on Dec 13

Episode #11 will air Dec 20.
It looks like we will get to see the un-aired two-hour pilot after all!


Okay, now speculation… (all of which is IMO)

First off, the three-week break probably is not a sign of Firefly getting cancelled.
1) The hiatus has been planned for several weeks.
2) FOX is showing a movie in this time slot which also affects John Doe. So, unless John Doe gets moved to a new timeslot, it would have to be a double cancellation.
3) All indicators are that FOX still has faith in this show. There are rumors (and let me emphasize that they are RUMORS) that FOX is considering moving Firefly out of the Friday-night timeslot of death. Preliminary talk says Wednesday, or Monday nights.


Okay, now commentary…

Regardless of the schedule, I think the plan stinks. In fact, it couldn’t come at a worse time. Firefly needs to get its ratings up. That means getting viewers. Pre-empting the show is only going to make it harder to find.

 

[Villano]

The official ratings have come in and Firefly scored a 2.9, a slight gain from last week.

However, what makes it interesting is the huge bump it made in the weekly rankings. It rose roughly 10 places to 89th (doing better than Futurama's premiere).

As of Nov. 1st, Fox has order 3 more scripts beyond its original comitment, so that seems to indicate that it wants to stand by the series. Hopefully, if it continues gaining viewers, Fox will bring it back for another season *fingers crossed*.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

However, what makes it interesting is the huge bump it made in the weekly rankings. It rose roughly 10 places to 89th (doing better than Futurama's premiere).

I'm glad it wen't up, but as for it doing better than Futurama that is still debateable. I was one of I'm sure several markets that did bot get to see Futurama because it was preempted for football overrun.

 

[Villano]

I'm glad it wen't up, but as for it doing better than Futurama that is still debateable. I was one of I'm sure several markets that did bot get to see Futurama because it was preempted for football overrun.

Actually...maybe not.

Granted, my knowledge of the rating system is limited, but from my understanding, this is somehow taken into account in the weekly ratings.

And I learned all this from wrestling.

Well, I should explain that. While I don't watch it anymore, I still check out the wrestling news online. Some of these website lists the ratings for the shows.

Now, here's what I've picked up. There are times where a show gets prempted in a certain area. When they list the overnight ratings, these sites usually add a comment about how these ratings will change because the show wasn't available in certain markets.

Sooo...it might just be good news for Firefly (and bad news for Futurama...although I hear that this is the last season for that show anyway ).

 

[Chun-tzu]

Sooo...it might just be good news for Firefly (and bad news for Futurama...although I hear that this is the last season for that show anyway ).

It is true that they have stopped producing new episodes (BOO!!!) but IIRC, I think they have two seasons worth of episodes in the can (probably from it being pre-empted all the stinking time by football running overtime).

 

[Villano]

It is true that they have stopped producing new episodes (BOO!!!) but IIRC, I think they have two seasons worth of episodes in the can (probably from it being pre-empted all the stinking time by football running overtime).

On the plus side, I've heard that Cartoon Network will be showing the reruns after the series ends (on Adult Swim, IIRC).

 

[Pielorinho]

Why Mondays or Wednesdays? It seems to me that the very best time slots would be Sunday at 8 (to catch the pre-Angel crowd), or Tuesday at 9 (to catch the post-Buffy crowd).

Daniel

 

[Villano]

I was surfing around looking for last week's rating numbers, when I found something pretty intriguing.

'Firefly' Takes Two
Mon, Nov 18, 2002 02:32 PM PDT
by Kate O'Hare
Zap2it

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - A source close to Mutant Enemy, the production company for FOX's struggling Friday-night science-fiction drama "Firefly," reports that the network has ordered two more episodes produced, keeping the series before the cameras through December.

The new episodes come from six scripts previously ordered, over and above the original order of 13 episodes.

Series creator Joss Whedon is currently at work directing an episode of "Firefly," a 20th Century Fox Television production that follows the crew of a spaceship trying to make ends meet in a post-civil-war world 500 years in the future. The show's original, two-hour pilot - seen only in abbreviated form by TV critics and not at all by the public - will likely air Dec. 20.

Interesting. This means that there will be at least 15 episodes this season.

What makes it more interesting is that the decision to film 2 more episodes beyond Fox's original commitment comes after the ratings of last Friday's episode, a 2.9.

A 2.9 isn't great, but it's the same as the previous week's, which means that the series is holding, at least.

So, Fox is aware that the series is averaging around a 3 (like I said, not a great rating for a major network), yet they want more episodes. Obviously, this shows that the network has some faith in it.

The decision to order more shows shot would seem to indicate that they have longterm plans. However, such plans don't usually involve shows with a 2.9. This seems to point to Fox believing that the ratings will rise.

On the other hand, it's been holding at around 3 for a few weeks now. I can't believe that they think that ratings will suddenly increase. Obviously, hopes that there will be a boost lie in another timeslot.

And, with the series being preempted for a few weeks, what better time for a new timeslot than when it returns?

 

[Mistwell]

Why Mondays or Wednesdays? It seems to me that the very best time slots would be Sunday at 8 (to catch the pre-Angel crowd), or Tuesday at 9 (to catch the post-Buffy crowd).

Daniel

Tuesday at 9pm is 24, one of the highest rated "newer" shows. I for one love Firefly, but I would dump it in a second for 24. In fact, not only is 24 highly rated, but even the repeat of 24 that shows every week is more highly rated than Firefly right now. It would not be a great move.

Sundays at 8 is Simpsons. That's a switch I might make, however many people won't. Simpsons is still one of the highest rated shows out there, and has a lot of cross-over audience to Firefly. It would make a great lead in to Alias on that night however (which is a FAR better show than Angel, and also decently rated).

In addition, Firefly is currently garnering better ratings in its crappy time slot than Angel, which at a 2.4 and nearly out of the top 100, stands itself the risk of being cancelled.

My thinking is that Monday's at 9 might work. Yes, it would have massive competition from Everybody Loves Raymond, but I am not sure how much cross-over interference there would be. Everybody does love Raymond, but few feel that the show is a must see. It's more one of those shows people will watch if it is on and nothing else is on that is better (which is currently the case), but they might be willing to try new things.

This would also put it just after Boston Public, which is doing quite well for Fox (though again not much cross-over for the show).

Could try it Saturday night, but that might be an even worse slot than Friday night.

Or could just leave it right where it is. Not a great time slot, but not the worst slot either, in such a tight TV market. Next year might be better, as some aging (but still higly rated shows) finally go off the air for lack of interest on the part of the actors.