24 November 2005

CBS cancels Threshold, ABC pulls the plug on Alias

After the success of Lost, ABC, NBC and CBS decided that genre shows might work again; then all three announced in May that each would have some sort of alien invasion show. ABC had Invasion, NBC announced Surface and CBS went with Threshold. Each were similar in many ways, but each were also unique. But everyone who knows TV was just curious which -if any -would survive the 2005-06 TV season.
While all three shows did not score high ratings, both ABC's Invasion and NBC's Surface were scoring with the critics and were building a dedicated audience. Still, there were many critics who were enjoying Threshold and were vocal about why the show had not yet been picked up for a full season of 22 episodes. After all, both the Alphabet and Peacock networks had given the green light for the back nine of each of their sci-fi shows.
While CBS has maintained a stronghold on the all important 18-49 demographic with its CSI franchise, Survivor, The Amazing Race and its Monday night line up, it discovered that while the Friday lead-in of The Ghost Whisperer was doing great, the audience the show built was lost when Threshold aired. Plus, it seemed, the network was supporting the low-rated CSI clone like Close To Home more than its new sci fi series -which initself is not big news. The Tiffany network is not known for producing out-and-out genre shows, sticking to the more down to earth fanatsy shows like Touched By an Angel and the quick rise-to-bust Joan of Arcadia. It also seemed that Close was generating a large female audience and had already discovered that Ghost was doing the same.
So, on Friday, November 18, CBS switched out Threshold with Close To Home and -no suprise here - the ratings for Close where better than Threshold. CBS quickly announced they were picking up Close for the remainder of the season and the show would stay put in 9pm, Friday timeslot.
On Tuesday, Novemeber 22, CBS aired Threshold in its new timeslot and predictably, the show stumbled. In its original Friday slot, the alien conspiracy show was earning a low 5.2/9 share (Nov. 5) and a 5.7/10 share (Oct. 22). Its 11/22 air date only scored a 4.4/7 share, finishing a distant third that night and giving CBS all the excuse it needed to offically cancel the show.
Its failure marks another blow to show runner Brannon Braga (who is the sole reason I stayed away from this show, other than the boring plot lines), who only this past winter was handed his walking papers when UPN cancelled Star Trek: Enterprise after four uneven seasons. And while he was recently hopefull CBS would give the go ahead to finish out the season, it was also reasonable to think that three genre shows with similar themes would not survive.
Surface has done reasonably well, despite many sci fi fans complaints that they steal directly from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. And ABC's Invasion has held on, mostly because its huge lead-in audience is coming from Lost. But, if critical praise was a barometer at which to gage a success, both Surface and Invasion have won more than Threshold.
Meanwhile, in a surprise move (and something that could save Invasion), ABC announced they are pulling the plug on the five-year old spy series Alias. No clear exlpanation was given for this move, but the show is very expensive to produce and has never been the big hit ABC expected to be, judging by the several attempts over the years to reboot the shows concept to gain a higher audience.
But Alias' demise could assure a second season of Invasion. Despite full season pick-ups of both Surface and Invasion, it does not guarantee a second year. But with Alias now gone for the 2006-07 TV season, Invasion could find itself in a rather safe timslot after the Lost.
Time will tell.

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