Current Shows

We list 34 science fiction and fantasy shows in the 2000-2001 season, down from 39 in the 1999-2000 season. New offerings fared poorly this season. In the 1999-2000 season, half of the freshmen series were picked up for a 2nd season. In a strict "season" sense, only three series made it through the 2000-2001 season successfully, one for each of broadcast, cable and syndication. They are Dark Angel (FOX), Mysterious Ways (PAX) and Andromeda (syndicated). Technically these were the shows to do so that began Fall, 2000. Mysterious Ways is unique in that PAX is both cable and broadcast, AND the show also appeared simultaneously on a broadcast-only network, NBC, where it was cancelled. This is the first series ever to be simultaneously BOTH cancelled AND renewed (can "they" make it even MORE difficult to summarize a season?!) Andromeda, on the other hand, had a three-year committment before it was even aired. If you factor in its popularity, however, it was truly successful.

Also, The Invisible Man ended its first season and began its second season during the 2000-2001 season, so it should be deemed a successful freshman series as well.

But most have fallen to the wayside. Of most disappointment was the "crash and burn" of FOX's highly anticipated attempt to focus on a genre season. Despite the success of Dark Angel, Freakylinks and The Lone Gunmen are gone and The Tick didn't make it out of the box until next season. UPN was worse, without a freshman hit. All Souls, Freedom and Level 9 were all cancelled after only airing a few episodes each. Dead Last (UPN) & Night Visions (FOX) are both in short summer seasons with no word as to renewals, but the ratings on the latter make its renewal unlikely.

Eighteen first-run, genre shows are returning, down from 20 shows returning last year and 23 the year before. This declining number is in line with most reports indicating that the era of genre shows has passed its high point. But there is a sense of stability in the fact that for the past two years, roughly 50% of the first-run shows that air return.

Nine of those returning shows (50%) appear on broadcast networks. All air on the younger FOX, UPN and WB networks. No surprise since NBC was the only network of the older "Big Three" to schedule genre shows, Mysterious Ways and 3rd Rock From The Sun, in the 2000-2001 season. Both have been been cancelled, but in the upcoming season, CBS will take its turn as the single "Big Three" network to schedule a genre series - the lycanthropic drama, Wolf Lake.

The SCI FI CHANNEL has had a defining year, finally proving it is THE cable channel for new genre series. Its hit, Farscape, was joined by the popular The Invisible Man and The Outer Limits (as well as LEXX and First Wave.) The group of first-run shows gave SFC multiple "Prime Time"-labeled nights with ratings that could actually be measured. SHOWTIME continued its "Sci-Friday" with the solo airing of fan-favorite Stargate SG-1. But the trend to the SCI FI CHANNEL continues with the network's announcement that it has picked up the show for its sixth season, to begin June, 2002.

As for the rest of cable, only TNT developed a new genre series. It found record viewership in Witchblade during the summer, but its 1999 commitment to develop genre shows has obviously waned after dropping, Babylon 5 and the spin-off Crusade two seasons ago. TNT seems now focused on limited productions like the two Pretender tele-films of last season, mini-series (evidenced in this summer's The Mists of Avalon) and the eleven-episode season of Witchblade.

Of Note This Season:

The X-Files tried hard to make a minimal Duchovny year work. But producer Chris Carter has racked up TWO other shows that were cancelled after their barely-begun first seasons (The Lone Gunmen last season and Harsh Realms the year before.) He was late in deciding to join the upcoming Mulderless ninth season, citing his desire to surf as taking some precedence over a future on television. Clearly here the blush is off the rose and, despite decent ratings, the viewership has been just as clearly on the decline for the show. It's difficult to figure out just what ran out of steam - the X-Files concept or its creator, but the absence of any awards last season is likely indicative that it is the latter.

The other genre creative genius, Joss Whedon, learned the down side of network politics last season. The WB refused to pay the higher per-episode production cost required for the sixth season of the series. In stepped (read that "ran") UPN to be the white knight that will be keeping the show on the air. After UPN's horrible past season genre performance, and Buffy's slightly lower ratings of this past season, some pundits question the merits of the move. Under the threat of probable dismantling (the FCC gave Paramount an excuse to give up UPN, as a requirement for network-merging), the unprofitable UPN came up with a strategy to renew itself: focus again on genre shows and this time try to get it right!! So Whedon, along with the producers of Roswell (also grabbed from the WB), were in the right place at the right time to continue their efforts. Both shows will join Special Unit 2 and the real lynchpin of the UPN strategy, the new Star Trek series, Enterprise, in the upcoming season.

Whedon's Angel continues airing on WB network stations, having met with moderate success last season. Taking that into account, along with the strong fan-following for Buffy, Joss Whedon has proven that he, unlike Chris Carter, is no one-hit wonder. The only question we have is: Joss, is it REALLY necessary to produce a Buffy musical episode this season?

Stargate SG-1 was supposed to be beginning its final (fifth) season in June. But the SCI FI CHANNEL obviously made them an offer they couldn't refuse and a sixth season will be produced. The Stargate Universe would surely persist for even longer, but the stumbling block to that happening seems to be series star and executive producer Richard Dean Anderson. In late August, he told Science Fiction Weekly that the sixth season on the SCI FI CHANNEL "will definitely be my last year with the show." He continued by saying, "What I'm looking forward to now that we've been picked up for a sixth year is that we're going to be able to arc the rest of O'Neill's story." We know that Stargate SG-1 has more than one additional season of stories to tell, and can hope for more than a movie every now and then. A spin-off series, to expand the Stargate Universe, would be welcome. Anderson had 7 seasons on MacGuyver, ending in 1991. After a respite, he began what will be six seasons of Stargate SG-1 in 1997. We guess that he is tired again. It's just too bad that his enthusiasm for continuing Stargate SG-1 at this point doesn't match that of the show's fans.

But the circumstances of the three producers, Carter, Whedon and Anderson, serve as a reminder to us that the business of television production, and the personal perspective of its progenitors, supercedes our enjoyment as viewers. When you factor in all the circumstances involved in producing a popular series, it's a wonder we have them at all. So, like life in general, we have to appreciate what we have while we have it.

We hope that we did just that with the notable old favorites that have gone the way of the world. They include Star Trek: Voyager, Xena: Warrior Princess and 3rd Rock From The Sun. But, as we always remind our readers, there is next season to look forward to (and lacking that, unlike life, TV has re-runs.) In addition to UPN's new genre commitment, several new genre shows will be on the air, most notably the WB's Superman-inspired series, Smallville. SCI FI CHANNEL will be offering still more original programming on cable with two possible new series (see "New Shows", below), two mini-series (Taken, and the second Dune tale) and the Babylon 5: Tales Of The Rangers telefilm that is intended as a series' pilot. Don't overlook the fact that some episodes from The Outer Limits are intended to be trial pilots as well. Syndication will give us Mutant X and Tracker (a little-touted show to keep your eye on - we feel it might be a surprise hit.)