What's the real reason Farscape was cancelled?

[John Crichton]

Personally I think it's all about the puppets. Puppets, you say? Yep. When Henson does puppets for children's shows then they've got a ready source of continuing income after the release of the puppets. Elmo DDR. Cookie Monster Cookbook. Big Bird Chicken Nuggets. Farscape didn't have that, plus it was weird in "let's take a lot of drugs" sort of way that a lot of people, including a lot of scifi fans, just don't appreciate as much as some do. Flashback continuity is fine if you're religiously following the series, as is the "and we skip to the end" way that Farscape sometimes handled realtime, but it's damned hard for newcomers to find entry to. So basically they presented a huge barrier to new people watching the show, relying on their fan base to spread the pros of the show by word of mouth, while simultaneously not doing anything particularly normal on their own marketside to hedge their bets. If they were going to do puppets then they needed more puppets and some to sell to legions of the faithful. S&M guy masks. Farting hand puppets. Farscape generic leather pants. Anything.

For a minute there I thought you were serious. That was funny.

 

[John Crichton]

it was management BS: investment vs return taking into account ratings and demographics. I don't think they concidered the DVD market, which on sales alone would pay for a season if sold 1.5 million, which I don't think they saw as possible.

Could be. It's unfortunate that the DVD season sets are so damn expensive. That doesn't help matters. They should have been more around the $60-70 range rather than the $125 range. Makes them harder to buy for those not already watching the show.

The Buffy/24/Angel/ER, etc method is the best way to maximize sales ($60 full season boxed sets). A good price point and with online sales and extras people are more willing to jump on board. Just look at what happened with Family Guy & Firefly.

 

[blindrage]

Could be. It's unfortunate that the DVD season sets are so damn expensive. That doesn't help matters. They should have been more around the $60-70 range rather than the $125 range. Makes them harder to buy for those not already watching the show.

The Buffy/24/Angel/ER, etc method is the best way to maximize sales ($60 full season boxed sets). A good price point and with online sales and extras people are more willing to jump on board. Just look at what happened with Family Guy & Firefly.

Umm $125? I can find them on Amazon.com or BestBuy.com for under $100 and good used on for around $50 on Amazon. The most I paid for one of the season box sets was about $95.
And they have tons of extras on them too.

 

[John Crichton]

Umm $125? I can find them on Amazon.com or BestBuy.com for under $100 and good used on for around $50 on Amazon. The most I paid for one of the season box sets was about $95.
And they have tons of extras on them too.

Yes, I know they sell them for less but look at the MSRP. That's what I'm referring to.

The Farscape boxed sets sell at retail for $150. Which, yes, means you can get them for less than that. The same goes for the Buffy/24 sets. However you usually can get them for ~40. That is a reasonable price to expect to pay. $100 is a bit much.

Additionally, many people don't trust ebay. The sets have to be accessable and at a $150 price point, they are not. There is no chance for the "impulse buy." It's something you usually have to save for.

I also realize the amount of extras is a little more than the typical DVD collection. But again, I refer to the Buffy/Firefly DVDs which also have a nice set of extras.

 

[Truth Seeker]

Farscape was cancelled because you touch yourself.



And because television executives don't seem to want to air shows for the 'geek' demographic. Not even on the Sci-fi Channel.

Don't worry, RR...has that sick sense of humor... Thats' why I didn't answer it, right away.

hehehe....

 

[satori01]

Scheduling did not help, but then I am a proponent that SCI -FI shows should not have a friday time slot. I tend to believe sci-fi schews to younger viewers and younger viewers go out.

Despite saying this, I actually believe the article presented. I could see a show turning down a mini-series. Supposedly Joss Whedon did for Angel, apparently a lot of producers see the mini series as a slap in the face.
Farscape also did itself a diservice with a lot of cast and plot volitility. Now I love active and mallable series, however Farscape became almost incomprhensible after missing a couple of episodes,(again the Friday night conudrum). It became :"Who is that alien redhead, and where is that other alien redhead that was on before?".

Both sides contributed heavily to Farscapes removal from the air.

 

[Storm Raven]

We have no way of knowing, of course, but this is something that networks sometimes have to do when the production company isn't delivering episodes.

We can draw some inferences from the availabale evidence though. Given the acrimony following the cancelling, one would have expected that, if this were the case, the Sci Fi chennel would have said something like "one of the reasons we felt compelled to cancel Farscape was that Henson just wasn't able to deliver such a complex show on time." Thus, they absolve themselves of some of the blame and possible mollify some Farscape fans.

But they didn't. This absence of explanation, combined with the Sci Fi channel's proclivity for breaking up seasons (like they have done with Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis this season) leads me to conclude that production delays weren't a problem.