Fox saves Sarah...Connor, that is
Let's hear it for Fox TV! No, you don't need to check my meds. I'm seriously giving a shout-out to Fox for their latest move. Despite so-so ratings, Fox has renewed Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles for the remainder of the 2008-9 season. This says that Fox understands that shows -- especially the sci-fi genre -- need time to develop and grow an audience. The greatest sci-fi success of all time, Star Trek, struggled for three years on NBC in the 1960s where the network was very frustrated with the show because it wasn't a ratings smash. Imagine, if you will, how much NBC might have made if they had stuck with ST and mined the cult success that exploded into a cultural phenomenon?
Now, I'm not saying that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is going to follow suit -- or that it's even the best Terminator spin-off. What I'm applauding is the network showing faith in a show and sticking with it. Right now, for instance, I bet there are voices up at the Black Rock (CBS) who are wondering if giving Moonlight a second season at Friday night at nine o'clock might have been a wiser move -- a fan move for sure -- than greenlighting the American version of an Israeli show, The Ex-List, which, by the way, is sliding in the ratings worse than Moonlight ever did!
CBS thinks that giving Jericho a second season proved that backing shows with cult followings is a mistake. That's the real reason Moonlight didn't get a second season. It's probably going to be the reason we'll never see another Swingtown episode on CBS. At some point, CBS needs to rethink their formula. More procedurals, like The Mentalist which they're crowing about, doesn't make for a very diverse schedule
Which is why I'm giving props to Fox for Sarah C. Chronicles! But just so you don't think I'm just a cheerleader, there are reportedly other good reasons for the network making this move. Joss Whedon's new show Dollhouse isn't ready for midseason. Fox's plan of a Dollhouse/24 Monday night has been put on hold because the former isn't ready to go.
The Hollywood Reporter also writes that Fox is anticipating all their shows to rise in the ratings once American Idol returns in 2009. The ratings across the board on Fox tend to shoot up when AI is dominating their schedule. Terminator could wind up with a much stronger second half of the season than the first.

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