Fox does it again

So much to my dismay, it seems that that the FOX conglomerate is actually run by fun-hating nuns or circus monkeys. Maybe I’m being too nice because it’s probably some hybrid mutant combination of both.

The sad thing, is by now you’d think any lover of fun would be use to the poor decision making skills of FOX’s fascist board. Time and time again, they have violated the basic components of what makes entertainment…. entertaining. Let’s take a look at their track record:

Family Guy: cancelled. (Only restarted in part to Time Warner)
Firefly: cancelled. (Still gross’s the highest incomplete season DVD box release)
Freaks and Geeks: cancelled. (Now boasts the highest grossing comedy box office alumni)
Fox News: Hypocrites. Right-wing biased reporters spewing filth that only poisons the perceptions of weaker-minded vulnerable Americans. Bill O’Reilly is the anti-christ. Or at least a tool.
Marvel license: Movies raped of their dignity and continuity, but nevertheless made to make money off the brand. i.e. X3, Wolverine Origins, Daredevil, Elektra, etc…

As stated, FOX already has a less than stellar and completely tarnished record. So with that kind of history, how could they still get under my skin? Five words:

Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles. Cancelled.

I’m not entirely surprised they made the choice, it had weak viewer audience mostly impart to its fatal broadcast slot. Anything shown on Friday nights is like leaving a paraplegic strapped to a hotdog cart to fend for himself in the woods. Add in the fact that it was a Sci-fi show which translates into major geek appeal and internet viewing, the show’s future was about as grim as the one it portrayed.

Another element levied heavily against SCC was FOX’s other Sci-fi step child, Dollhouse. Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some Dollhouse and love me some SCC and when both rock gorgeous feminine star power, Dushku and Glau respectively, it’s tough to say which would come out on top of some deliciously twisted version of thunderdome. In the end, maybe it was ratings, maybe it was FOX apologizing for screwing over Joss Whedon in the past and trying to make amends. (Why that man even pitches ideas to FOX is beyond me. WB was kind to him during his Buffy days) Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.

So why am I getting worked up about this? It was pure stupidity to let go of SCC. The show was a radical undertaking. It was borrowing from an already incredibly successful franchise and re-writing it. Apply the new Star Trek formula to it. They completely omitted the suck that was T3 and promised something new in the rise to power of Skynet across not just two meager hours, but over a day’s worth of television. That’s huge. No TV show has ever dared try that before except cartoons which can be easily dismissed or embraced depending on their success.

The bigger issue? FOX ignorantly stamped out SCC right on the eve of Terminator: Salvation. Talk about putting a ceiling on your own success. Before the movie had even released it had gained impressive amounts of hype, from roller coaster rides, to Slurpee flavors and even that dramarama where Bale went cuckoo for Coco puffs validating all of his until-then-denied emotional outburst and abuse.

And FOX pulls the plug? That’s like telling kids on Christmas Eve that there is no Santa Clause and they won’t be getting presents in the morning. Bad move FOX. Bad move.