Sci Fi Tracker - This Week in Sci Fi - Scheduling Scrimmages! Some Succeeded, Some Got Served....

by Julia Diddy
May 22nd, 2009 | 9:43 PM | Comments 1

This week, some of sci fi TV’s biggest cliffhangers were resolved. As the networks make their intentions known in a fiery burst of scheduling psychosis, many questions were answered. Well, kind of. Er…..OK, there were a few confounding occurrences that defied explanation. But confounding occurrences, on either side of the camera, are par for the course for sci fi fans.

Furthermore, if your favorite sci fi show has been renewed, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll find it where you last left it. Fringe is moving to Thursdays, Smallville is moving to Fridays, Medium moves to CBS, Reaper (maybe) moves to syndication via ABC, Heroes moves time slots…….this is all on top of that gaggle of new kids moving into the neighborhood, with their unexplained blackouts and motherships and caldrons and crucifixes being unloaded from the backs of moving vans.

For some highlights and lows from this whirlwind week, read on.

More Playing With Dolls In Whedon’s Future

Joss Whedon claims to be as surprised as anyone about Dollhouse’s stay of execution. In talking with The Hollywood Reporter, he paints a broad picture of what to expect from a second season. Budget cuts! The still-sucky time slot! A lukewarm sitcom as the new lead-in!

Watch full episodes of Dollhouse here

And there’s some talk too about the story arc becoming more satisfying…..

So, If I Walk Through One Of Those Alternate Reality Portals On Fringe, Will Sarah Connor Still Be on TV?

Fox suits - and Fox prez of entertainment Kevin Reilly in particular - have gone on record to explain why they renewed Dollhouse’s lease while foreclosing on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Which isn’t to say that TSCC’s devoted fans are buying the explanation. In response to Sci Fi Wire’s coverage of Reilly’s decision-making process, out of the 193 (and growing) comments, the word “dumb” is brandished about 190 times. (More, if you count permutations like “dumb-ass.”) In said piece, Reilly insists that the decision wasn’t an “either/or” between Dollhouse and TSCC. (True. They could have easily axed both.)

But the decision still stings, particularly after Reilly points out that he’s a guy who is perfectly willing, in some cases, to look beyond low ratings. (Yeah? Especially if there’s a cute chick in a miniskirt and push-up bra behind ‘em?)

Watch full episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles here

OK, OK. That was a tad bitter. Perhaps we can all take a page from Josh Friedman’s book. He opts for the gentlemanly way out with his goodbye on Fox’s official TSCC blog,and entreats fans to channel their anger into more productive outlets beyond scouring a thesaurus for five hundred different ways to say “dumb-ass.” “Good shows are cancelled every year,” Friedman notes. (Deadwood, The Wire, and Arrested Development top his list of ones he’s been sad to see go.)

One of my favorite observations on Terminator’s failure comes from Stuart Turton at Den of Geek: “Sarah Connor was a non-populist, meditative, complex piece of television on a smash-bang, show-me-the-ratings kind of network.”

At least we got two seasons of a non-populist, meditative, complex piece of television from a major network. [Insert group hug here.] Maybe we can console ourselves by wondering what awesome thing Josh Friedman will be working on next.

Attack of the Alien Invasions!

Yes, ABC’s V is poised to do the ‘us vs. them’ thing quite spectacularly - and if you’re one of the few sci fi fans who hasn’t yet salivated over the promising promo clips, take a gander here. Now TNT is looking to jump on the bandwagon spacecraft with their own alien invasion series, as reported by Variety.

While it may seem like ABC’s version is sucking up all available cast and buzz in this particular universe, take note: none other than Steven “I Made E.T., Close Encounters, And Some Other Good ‘Us Vs. Them’ Stuff” Spielberg is listed amongst the impressive cadre of exec producers linked to the TNT one.

Sorry, Lex Luthor - But Seeing As How You Don’t Shop At Hot Topic…..

‘Thursdays Go Goth!’ proclaims the CW as they prepare to pair up Supernatural with the new Vampire Diaries. Which forces Smallville to relocate to Fridays.

You’re so square, Clark! Would it have killed you to put on some black fingernail polish? Maybe pierce a nipple or something? Everyone knows that crucifixes are the new kryptonite. Like, duh.

The reverberations of all these scheduling comings and goings will be felt for many months to come, and most keenly come fall.

What a week.