"Almost Human" - Season the First

[YingJanshi]

Yeah, though funnily enough FOX is the only one that even bothers to air scifi anymore. But I don't know why they bother. They pick them up, decide to air them...then it seems like they intentionally handicap them from the start. What gives?

[ColonelCody]

Well, we have FX, CW and a couple of the basic networks now too. It's no longer just Fox willing to run these shows.

[cavingjan]

It isn't just plain ratings. There is a cost to produce component too. I don't know if it is as simple as viewers/dollar spent but that would explain the reality shows as they are significantly cheaper to produce.

[Foxx Ital]

They just wanted to pull another fireFly

[YingJanshi]

It isn't just plain ratings. There is a cost to produce component too. I don't know if it is as simple as viewers/dollar spent but that would explain the reality shows as they are significantly cheaper to produce.

Yeah, but I would think they would have a good idea how much a show would cost before airing it...

[I am Belch II]

If it was such a popular show why was it cancelled?? 
It just sucks that Karl Urban couldn't get a show going, he is much better in movies tho.

[monbvol]

I actually suspect that may be part of the problem.  Karl Urban was eventually going to be tapped to make a movie again and FOX knew they wouldn't be able to keep him despite how well he did do in the part and knew the rest of the cast wouldn't be able to carry the show with such a cast change.

[cavingjan]

Yeah, but I would think they would have a good idea how much a show would cost before airing it...

They may have a decent estimate but CGI costs on a show like this can very tremedously based upon the focus of the episode. And of course they don't know what the viewers/ratings are going to be.

[YingJanshi]

If it was such a popular show why was it cancelled?? 

I have two words for you. "Star" "Trek".

Most good Sci-Fi shows take at least two seasons to find their audience. And also most networks have never really been comfortable with Sci-Fi. Star Trek fought every season to stay on. Babylon 5 had pretty low ratings and yet it finished it's run. The BBC was always trying to kill Doctor Who.

Honestly, I would say yeah, it's sad and walk away if it wasn't so blatant that FOX had sabotaged it from the start. If they had put it in a better time slot, if they hadn't cut the number of episodes at the last minute before filming and if they had shown the episodes in the intended order...it may have done very well. But FOX never gave it that chance. So yeah, I'm a little pissed. Not so much that one of my favorite shows if gone, but that FOX gave it a chance then turned around to pull the rug from under it before it even had a chance to grow.

It just sucks that Karl Urban couldn't get a show going, he is much better in movies tho.

Yeah, and the sad thing is, he said that if AH was cancelled, he probably wouldn't ever return to TV.

I actually suspect that may be part of the problem.  Karl Urban was eventually going to be tapped to make a movie again and FOX knew they wouldn't be able to keep him despite how well he did do in the part and knew the rest of the cast wouldn't be able to carry the show with such a cast change.

That would probably have been taken care of in his contract. How do other movie stars handle staring in a TV series and making movies at the same time?

[monbvol]

That would probably have been taken care of in his contract. How do other movie stars handle staring in a TV series and making movies at the same time?

Considering how long it has been since I've heard of an actor having to film for both a role in a TV series and a role in a movie at the same time, I'd say for the most part the scenario doesn't come up anymore and I rather think any existing contract with FOX would not be a problem.

[YingJanshi]

Considering how long it has been since I've heard of an actor having to film for both a role in a TV series and a role in a movie at the same time, I'd say for the most part the scenario doesn't come up anymore and I rather think any existing contract with FOX would not be a problem.

I can think of several right off the top of my head: Kevin Bacon, Kevin Spacy, Aston Kutcher, Alec Baldwin...

[YingJanshi]

Okay, a bit of a thread necro here, but wanted to share a couple of things.

Firstly, from what I've been able to gather, the show wasn't axed because of it's poor ratings (which relatively weren't bad at all), but because FOX got into a disagreement with WB over profits from distribution rights.

And secondly, it seems like "Almost Human" may become a second "Star Trek". There is currently an online petition going on to try to get another network to pick it up (supposedly NetFlix is tentatively interested). Can read about it here: Fox's cancelled Almost Human is seeing the Star Trek effect with online campaign. 
So if you really loved the series I'd suggest signing the petition (it's linked to in the above story).


I came upon an interesting quote the other day. By Bjo Trimble about her efforts to save Star Trek from being cancelled:

NBC was also convinced that Star Trek was watched only by drooling idiot 12-year olds with no buying power. They managed to ignore the fact that people such as Isaac Asimov, a multiple PhD, and a multitude of other intellectuals enjoyed the show. So, of course, the Suits were always looking for reasons to cancel shows they didn’t trust to be raging successes. They used faulty Neilson Rating numbers to “prove” that Star Trek was failing badly, and decided to cancel it. Fans decided to take action, and we did it very well, thank you very much! So well that NBC came on, in prime time, and made a voice-over announcement that Star Trek was not canceled… so please stop writing letters.

It's interesting, but it seems like that is the exact same attitude the major networks still have about sci-fi shows.
(If you don't know who Bjo Trimble is, you should most certainly read the rest of the interview here.

[Brother Jim]

Thanks, I've signed it.

[WarGod]

signed the petition for all that is good for.   look at firefly, huge petition but still not resurrected.  Arrested development was resurrected for one season on netflix. 

[YingJanshi]

signed the petition for all that is good for.   look at firefly, huge petition but still not resurrected.  Arrested development was resurrected for one season on netflix. 

Yeah, I know...but I'm trying to stay hopeful...

[TS_Hawk]

Be nice if it can be brought back on Netflix

[grimlock1]

Yeah, though funnily enough FOX is the only one that even bothers to air scifi anymore. But I don't know why they bother. They pick them up, decide to air them...then it seems like they intentionally handicap them from the start. What gives?

I've been asking that question for 20 years.

[Von Jankmon]

I have two words for you. "Star" "Trek".

Most good Sci-Fi shows take at least two seasons to find their audience. And also most networks have never really been comfortable with Sci-Fi. Star Trek fought every season to stay on. Babylon 5 had pretty low ratings and yet it finished it's run. The BBC was always trying to kill Doctor Who.

 cant talk much about the others but I can talk on Doctor Who.  It was cancelled, or rarther descheduled with vety little presence in the 80s because the BBC chiefs, who are fsr more political figures than TV executives simply collectively disliked science fiction.  They are suits, and have their own suity prefeeences which didnt string to make believe.

Once Doctor Who came back a decade ago, it came back to stay.  The show is a money spinner for the BBC and attitudes there have changed somewhat.  Science fiction isn't frowned upon by the top for personal reasons, and as a result there is a lot of experimentation.

There is very little risk of Doctor Who being cancelled nowadays, its a stable like it was in the 60's and 70's.