Screwed by the Network/Live-Action TV: Difference between revisions

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* ''[[Drive (TV series)|Drive]]'''s first three episodes were aired over two nights; the fourth aired a week later, and then it was canceled, giving all of four episodes and nine days. This after the initial thirteen-episode order was split in half, so even if it hadn't been canceled it would have run for a month, followed by a three-month hiatus. This proves once again that [[Tim Minear]] (who also produced both ''Wonderfalls'' and ''Firefly'', see above) and [[Fox]] go together like peanut butter and nitroglycerin. Minear is reportedly now two shows into a six-show deal with FOX.
* ''[[Drive (TV series)|Drive]]'''s first three episodes were aired over two nights; the fourth aired a week later, and then it was canceled, giving all of four episodes and nine days. This after the initial thirteen-episode order was split in half, so even if it hadn't been canceled it would have run for a month, followed by a three-month hiatus. This proves once again that [[Tim Minear]] (who also produced both ''Wonderfalls'' and ''Firefly'', see above) and [[Fox]] go together like peanut butter and nitroglycerin. Minear is reportedly now two shows into a six-show deal with FOX.
* In 1985, [[The BBC|BBC]] controller [[Michael Grade]] (you know, the one [[Chris Morris]] [[Brass Eye|called]] a [[Country Matters|c**t]]) cancelled the original series of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' -- a show he reportedly loathed, until public pressure resulted in the cancellation being modified into an 18-month hiatus. To his credit, he allowed the series to continue afterward, but is blamed for the decision to fire then-star Colin Baker. He later claimed that he did the former out of spite and the latter out of dislike for the actor's style. He also scheduled the show against popular [[Soap Opera]] ''[[Coronation Street]]'', which was a major factor in the show's 1989 death.
* In 1985, [[The BBC|BBC]] controller [[Michael Grade]] (you know, the one [[Chris Morris]] [[Brass Eye|called]] a [[Country Matters|c**t]]) cancelled the original series of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' -- a show he reportedly loathed, until public pressure resulted in the cancellation being modified into an 18-month hiatus. To his credit, he allowed the series to continue afterward, but is blamed for the decision to fire then-star Colin Baker. He later claimed that he did the former out of spite and the latter out of dislike for the actor's style. He also scheduled the show against popular [[Soap Opera]] ''[[Coronation Street]]'', which was a major factor in the show's 1989 death.
** The new series was not immune to this too. The series debuted on the US [[Sci Fi Channel]] in 2006 and was screwed from the start. Varying minutes of material was cut from episodes for time, ("Journey's End", originally 65 minutes, was cut down to 45 minutes. Editing over-kill.) the trailers for the show the channel ran often revealed hefty spoilers, and finally they got rid of the show completely in 2009. [[BBC America]] picked it up and have been treating it much, ''much'' better than [[Sci Fi Channel]] did.
** The new series was not immune to this too. The series debuted on the US [[Syfy]] in 2006 and was screwed from the start. Varying minutes of material was cut from episodes for time, ("Journey's End", originally 65 minutes, was cut down to 45 minutes. Editing over-kill.) the trailers for the show the channel ran often revealed hefty spoilers, and finally they got rid of the show completely in 2009. [[BBC America]] picked it up and have been treating it much, ''much'' better than [[Syfy]] did.
* ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' was victimized ''twice'' by network heads (Doug Herzog at [[Comedy Central]] and Bonnie Hammer at [[Sci Fi Channel]]) who professed not to understand the show's sense of humor and clearly resented having it left to them as a legacy program from previous executives; they wound up fighting a war of attrition against the show's small but vocal fan base while looking for an excuse to cancel the series. Despite this, the show enjoyed a ten-season run, plus almost five years of reruns on the [[Sci Fi Channel]], before finally signing off for good in 2004. [[The Movie]] is well known for being screwed by the ''studio''.
* ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' was victimized ''twice'' by network heads (Doug Herzog at [[Comedy Central]] and Bonnie Hammer at [[Syfy]]) who professed not to understand the show's sense of humor and clearly resented having it left to them as a legacy program from previous executives; they wound up fighting a war of attrition against the show's small but vocal fan base while looking for an excuse to cancel the series. Despite this, the show enjoyed a ten-season run, plus almost five years of reruns on the [[Syfy]], before finally signing off for good in 2004. [[The Movie]] is well known for being screwed by the ''studio''.
* Bonnie Hammer and [[The Dragon|Mark Stern]], while separating the schedules of ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' and ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]'' in what would end up the last season of the former and penultimate season of the latter, put the former after a remake of ''[[Knight Rider]]'' (and against ''[[Monk]]'', which not only tops Nielsen cable ratings but is also on USA, whose scheduling is ''also'' done by <s>Wolfram</s>Hammer and <s>Hart</s>Stern) and delayed the latter's season premiere until ''six months'' after the finale last season. When the [[Ratings]] fell, they canceled the former (on the [[And Your Little Dog, Too|200th episode airing party]], no less) and moved the latter to an even worse timeslot.
* Bonnie Hammer and [[The Dragon|Mark Stern]], while separating the schedules of ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' and ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]'' in what would end up the last season of the former and penultimate season of the latter, put the former after a remake of ''[[Knight Rider]]'' (and against ''[[Monk]]'', which not only tops Nielsen cable ratings but is also on USA, whose scheduling is ''also'' done by <s>Wolfram</s>Hammer and <s>Hart</s>Stern) and delayed the latter's season premiere until ''six months'' after the finale last season. When the [[Ratings]] fell, they canceled the former (on the [[And Your Little Dog, Too|200th episode airing party]], no less) and moved the latter to an even worse timeslot.
** Bonnie Hammer = Satan has been around a while. Ask any ''[[Forever Knight]]'' fan about the treatment their show got on [[USA Network]]. The last four episodes were the first original dramatic program on the [[Sci Fi]] Channel... because [[USA Network]] dumped the last four episodes on a channel that, at the time, had about 500,000 subscribers.
** Bonnie Hammer = Satan has been around a while. Ask any ''[[Forever Knight]]'' fan about the treatment their show got on [[USA Network]]. The last four episodes were the first original dramatic program on the [[Sci Fi]] Channel... because [[USA Network]] dumped the last four episodes on a channel that, at the time, had about 500,000 subscribers.
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** It was also expensive to produce (shot on location in England), and a prime target for [[Moral Guardians]] due to its violent content.
** It was also expensive to produce (shot on location in England), and a prime target for [[Moral Guardians]] due to its violent content.
* When the BBC originally aired ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', they broadcast it at inconsistent hours and preempted it with the ''Horse Of The Year Show''. This is the reason for some of the show's [[Biting the Hand Humor]] and malicious jokes about BBC television programming. Terry Jones even had to buy the original tapes from the BBC to prevent their destruction, as TV studios at the time were in the habit of taping over shows they no longer wanted.
* When the BBC originally aired ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', they broadcast it at inconsistent hours and preempted it with the ''Horse Of The Year Show''. This is the reason for some of the show's [[Biting the Hand Humor]] and malicious jokes about BBC television programming. Terry Jones even had to buy the original tapes from the BBC to prevent their destruction, as TV studios at the time were in the habit of taping over shows they no longer wanted.
* ''[[Cupid]]'' was bounced around from the [[Friday Night Death Slot]] to Saturday (the two nights nobody is ever home to watch a romantic dramedy) to Thursday against NBC's Must See TV, justifying its cancellation before the end of the season. Oddly enough, the show may be [[Un Cancelled]] as ABC has given its creator permission to try again.
* ''[[Cupid]]'' was bounced around from the [[Friday Night Death Slot]] to Saturday (the two nights nobody is ever home to watch a romantic dramedy) to Thursday against NBC's Must See TV, justifying its cancellation before the end of the season. Oddly enough, the show may be [[Uncancelled]] as ABC has given its creator permission to try again.
** An awful [[Revival]] series was made. It bombed. End of story.
** An awful [[Revival]] series was made. It bombed. End of story.
* ''[[Angel]]'' was suddenly canceled to the confusion of those making the show, as it was consistently high-quality with high-ratings. The reason the network gave was even more confusing: that the show was so popular and good, that they wanted the series to end on a high note instead of letting it die in obscurity. Possibly the only example of a show being canceled (ostensibly) because ''everyone liked it too much''.
* ''[[Angel]]'' was suddenly canceled to the confusion of those making the show, as it was consistently high-quality with high-ratings. The reason the network gave was even more confusing: that the show was so popular and good, that they wanted the series to end on a high note instead of letting it die in obscurity. Possibly the only example of a show being canceled (ostensibly) because ''everyone liked it too much''.
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* The ''[[Growing Pains (TV)|Growing Pains]]'' spin-off ''Just the Ten of Us'' was screwed by its network [[ABC]] because of politics. Although ''Just the Ten of Us'' did well in the ratings on Friday nights (and frequently won its 9:30 p.m. timeslot), ABC wanted all shows in the TGIF block to be produced by Miller-Boyett Productions (as was the case with ''[[Full House]]'', ''[[Family Matters]]'' and ''[[Perfect Strangers (TV)|Perfect Strangers]]''). Ultimately, after finding no other suitable timeslot for ''Just the Ten of Us'' in time for the 1990-91 season, the series was canceled outright and replaced by a short-lived series called ''Going Places'' (which lasted only one season).
* The ''[[Growing Pains (TV)|Growing Pains]]'' spin-off ''Just the Ten of Us'' was screwed by its network [[ABC]] because of politics. Although ''Just the Ten of Us'' did well in the ratings on Friday nights (and frequently won its 9:30 p.m. timeslot), ABC wanted all shows in the TGIF block to be produced by Miller-Boyett Productions (as was the case with ''[[Full House]]'', ''[[Family Matters]]'' and ''[[Perfect Strangers (TV)|Perfect Strangers]]''). Ultimately, after finding no other suitable timeslot for ''Just the Ten of Us'' in time for the 1990-91 season, the series was canceled outright and replaced by a short-lived series called ''Going Places'' (which lasted only one season).
* ''[[Caprica]]''. Very much so. For a breakdown of how it was Screwed By The Network, see [http://www.capricatimes.com/what-syfy-isnt-telling-you-about-caprica here].
* ''[[Caprica]]''. Very much so. For a breakdown of how it was Screwed By The Network, see [http://www.capricatimes.com/what-syfy-isnt-telling-you-about-caprica here].
** One of the factors of ''Caprica'''s cancellation was [[Sy Fy]]'s decision to re-promote ''Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome'' from a webseries back into a backdoor pilot movie, and choosing to favor it alone over having two ''Battlestar'' spin-offs airing simultaneously. That was back in 2010. It has since been demoted back to a webseries, and [[Sy Fy]] remains noncommittal over whether or not it will even ''air'' the damn thing now, especially in light of the upreicidented amount of press coverage and fan interest generated by the leaked trailer for the premier episode, which [[Sy Fy]] has been sitting on for nearly two years now. Why does Syfy hate this Peabody Award-winning franchise? It's like they're determined to look as terrible as possible on the matter.
** One of the factors of ''Caprica'''s cancellation was [[Syfy]]'s decision to re-promote ''Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome'' from a webseries back into a backdoor pilot movie, and choosing to favor it alone over having two ''Battlestar'' spin-offs airing simultaneously. That was back in 2010. It has since been demoted back to a webseries, and [[Syfy]] remains noncommittal over whether or not it will even ''air'' the damn thing now, especially in light of the upreicidented amount of press coverage and fan interest generated by the leaked trailer for the premier episode, which [[Syfy]] has been sitting on for nearly two years now. Why does Syfy hate this Peabody Award-winning franchise? It's like they're determined to look as terrible as possible on the matter.
*** And now Universal is planning another reboot, as a film directed by [[Bryan Singer]]. I guess Universal just wanted space battles and lots of CGI.
*** And now Universal is planning another reboot, as a film directed by [[Bryan Singer]]. I guess Universal just wanted space battles and lots of CGI.
* Channel 4's 2004 comedy series ''[[Garth Marenghi's Darkplace]]'', a spoof "rediscovered" forgotten low-budget British horror-fantasy show from the '80s, failed to find many viewers and subsequently only had a single series. This was largely blamed on Channel 4's mysteriously failing to do much in the way of promotion for the show, despite signing-up the Perrier award-winning character of the title (played by comedian Matthew Holness). Despite only attracting a small audience on its initial broadcast, word of mouth and DVD sales brought a strong cult following. Even more absurdly, Channel 4 responded not by commissioning a second series but by instead commissioning a spoof chat show (''Man to Man with Dean Learner'') featuring many of the same actors playing the same characters. Not only did this also flop but it attracted nothing like the cult following or appreciation of the "parent" series. Why Channel 4 didn't just recommission ''Darkplace'' remains a mystery.
* Channel 4's 2004 comedy series ''[[Garth Marenghi's Darkplace]]'', a spoof "rediscovered" forgotten low-budget British horror-fantasy show from the '80s, failed to find many viewers and subsequently only had a single series. This was largely blamed on Channel 4's mysteriously failing to do much in the way of promotion for the show, despite signing-up the Perrier award-winning character of the title (played by comedian Matthew Holness). Despite only attracting a small audience on its initial broadcast, word of mouth and DVD sales brought a strong cult following. Even more absurdly, Channel 4 responded not by commissioning a second series but by instead commissioning a spoof chat show (''Man to Man with Dean Learner'') featuring many of the same actors playing the same characters. Not only did this also flop but it attracted nothing like the cult following or appreciation of the "parent" series. Why Channel 4 didn't just recommission ''Darkplace'' remains a mystery.
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* The same fate befell ''[[Unforgettable]]'' on CBS four years later; Top 20 ratings and first for the timeslot, but almost no buzz at all and it didn't do better than what ''[[The Good Wife]]'' did the previous season.
* The same fate befell ''[[Unforgettable]]'' on CBS four years later; Top 20 ratings and first for the timeslot, but almost no buzz at all and it didn't do better than what ''[[The Good Wife]]'' did the previous season.
* ''Jonny Zero''. While no means a great show, it suffered at the hands of FOX as well. It was aired completely out of order and was stuck in the [[Friday Night Death Slot]].
* ''Jonny Zero''. While no means a great show, it suffered at the hands of FOX as well. It was aired completely out of order and was stuck in the [[Friday Night Death Slot]].
* Let's produce [[The Cape (TV series)|a comic-book superhero show]] to replace [[Heroes (TV series)|that other comic-book superhero show we had]]. Let's promote the hell out of it for two or three months in advance. Now, let's put it in a timeslot where it's directly competing against [[Being Human Remake|this other new show that has pretty much the same audience]] on [[Sci Fi Channel|that other network we own]], because we like that show a whole lot more anyway. Then, when the ratings start to smell worse than day-old roadkill, let's cancel it and only air the final episode on our website! Because hey, we're NBC, and that's how we roll.
* Let's produce [[The Cape (TV series)|a comic-book superhero show]] to replace [[Heroes (TV series)|that other comic-book superhero show we had]]. Let's promote the hell out of it for two or three months in advance. Now, let's put it in a timeslot where it's directly competing against [[Being Human (USA)|this other new show that has pretty much the same audience]] on [[Syfy|that other network we own]], because we like that show a whole lot more anyway. Then, when the ratings start to smell worse than day-old roadkill, let's cancel it and only air the final episode on our website! Because hey, we're NBC, and that's how we roll.
* ''[[Friends]]'' spin-off ''[[Joey]]'' got screwed by NBC in its second season when it was moved to the timeslot opposite ''[[American Idol]]'' (a fate nearly as bad as, if not worse than, the [[Friday Night Death Slot]]) and of course its ratings soon declined considerably. Even worse, the show was suddenly cancelled mid-season with no warning, leaving eight episodes unaired in the U.S. The only way to see them (other than downloading them of course) is to import the somewhat pricey season 2 DVD from Canada.
* ''[[Friends]]'' spin-off ''[[Joey]]'' got screwed by NBC in its second season when it was moved to the timeslot opposite ''[[American Idol]]'' (a fate nearly as bad as, if not worse than, the [[Friday Night Death Slot]]) and of course its ratings soon declined considerably. Even worse, the show was suddenly cancelled mid-season with no warning, leaving eight episodes unaired in the U.S. The only way to see them (other than downloading them of course) is to import the somewhat pricey season 2 DVD from Canada.
* ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'' was initially saved by FOX, as they kept it around a year longer then they planned to because of its critical acclaim, but they soon screwed it over by changing its timeslot constantly and barely giving it any advertising.
* ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'' was initially saved by FOX, as they kept it around a year longer then they planned to because of its critical acclaim, but they soon screwed it over by changing its timeslot constantly and barely giving it any advertising.
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* ''[[Moesha]]'' was a very tragic example, as the execs at UPN were the ones that demanded the infamous storyline of Frank's infidelity and Dorian being his son, the series creator strongly objected to the storyline and the [[Retool]] of the show and was let go. The ratings sharply declined following the introduction of the infidelity plot, and then [[It Got Worse]]-UPN cancelled the show on the SAME day that the cliffhanger season finale aired, leaving many loose-ends unresolved (they were supposed to be resolved on the spin-off ''[[The Parkers]]'', but that never happened, presumably due to Brandy Norwood getting tired of her character and the show) it's like they had already made up their minds about what they were going to do to the show before the season had ended.
* ''[[Moesha]]'' was a very tragic example, as the execs at UPN were the ones that demanded the infamous storyline of Frank's infidelity and Dorian being his son, the series creator strongly objected to the storyline and the [[Retool]] of the show and was let go. The ratings sharply declined following the introduction of the infidelity plot, and then [[It Got Worse]]-UPN cancelled the show on the SAME day that the cliffhanger season finale aired, leaving many loose-ends unresolved (they were supposed to be resolved on the spin-off ''[[The Parkers]]'', but that never happened, presumably due to Brandy Norwood getting tired of her character and the show) it's like they had already made up their minds about what they were going to do to the show before the season had ended.
** Ironically the show that replaced ''Moesha'' - ''[[One On One]]'' - ended up suffering almost the exact same fate ([[Executive Meddling]] during the last season, an unresolved cliffhanger) after the UPN/WB merger, the CW cancelled ''[[One On One]]'' a mere THREE days after the network's debut, the CW execs claimed they intended to renew the show but simply couldn't find a spot for it on their schedule, which sounds like a really lame excuse. It's obvious the CW was more interested in focusing all their attention on the shows carried over from [[The WB]] while barely giving the UPN shows the time of day, so the execs more then likely cancelled ''[[One On One]]'' just so they could free up space for they're new shows.
** Ironically the show that replaced ''Moesha'' - ''[[One On One]]'' - ended up suffering almost the exact same fate ([[Executive Meddling]] during the last season, an unresolved cliffhanger) after the UPN/WB merger, the CW cancelled ''[[One On One]]'' a mere THREE days after the network's debut, the CW execs claimed they intended to renew the show but simply couldn't find a spot for it on their schedule, which sounds like a really lame excuse. It's obvious the CW was more interested in focusing all their attention on the shows carried over from [[The WB]] while barely giving the UPN shows the time of day, so the execs more then likely cancelled ''[[One On One]]'' just so they could free up space for they're new shows.
* ''[[Eureka]]'' was screwed over by [[Sci Fi Channel|SyFy]]. They ordered what was supposed to be a sixth season - the final one - with six episodes. A week later, they then cancelled the show and took back the season six order, leaving the writers scrambling to wrap up the series.
* ''[[Eureka]]'' was screwed over by [[Syfy]]. They ordered what was supposed to be a sixth season - the final one - with six episodes. A week later, they then cancelled the show and took back the season six order, leaving the writers scrambling to wrap up the series.
* Fans of ''[[Lois and Clark]]'' had no reason to suspect Season 4 would be its last, as 4 and 5 had been confirmed for some time as part of a single contract deal. Then ABC got both new Disney ownership and leadership who wanted the timeslot for a revival of ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', and the contract was reneged on, leaving the cliffhanger unresolved and the hasty removal of "To be continued..." over the last scene.
* Fans of ''[[Lois and Clark]]'' had no reason to suspect Season 4 would be its last, as 4 and 5 had been confirmed for some time as part of a single contract deal. Then ABC got both new Disney ownership and leadership who wanted the timeslot for a revival of ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', and the contract was reneged on, leaving the cliffhanger unresolved and the hasty removal of "To be continued..." over the last scene.
* TNT screwed with ''[[Memphis Beat]]'' by hardly ever promoting the show during its two seasons on the air (despite the fact that the show starred Jason Lee and had none other than [[George Clooney]] as executive producer). Instead, TNT put most of its marketing power on ''[[Franklin and Bash]]'' and its other in-house productions.
* TNT screwed with ''[[Memphis Beat]]'' by hardly ever promoting the show during its two seasons on the air (despite the fact that the show starred Jason Lee and had none other than [[George Clooney]] as executive producer). Instead, TNT put most of its marketing power on ''[[Franklin and Bash]]'' and its other in-house productions.
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