Brannon Braga now in charge of Terra Nova

[Christopher]

Interesting study along with the results...I applaud Fox as others have done for taking the risk in the first place when other networks might have passed or shown no interest in them but the fact still remains that these shows (maybe popular was the wrong term to use when describing them) with a cult following were still canceled before their potential could be fully realized.

Well, what do you expect? A television network is not a charity. No matter how much its executives want to keep a show on the air, they can only afford to do so if that show gets high enough ratings to make a profit. And a cult show, by definition, does not have a very large audience. It's very hard for any cult show to get good enough ratings to last long. That's hardly FOX's fault; it's merely the way the business works. Every network has cancelled genre shows with cult followings. If they can't afford to keep airing them, they have no choice. It is not even remotely unique to FOX. Again, the only reason FOX cancels so many genre shows is because it buys more genre shows by far than any other network.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Well, Braga does okay when he isn't constrained too badly by idiot Execs so I'll give him another shot.

There are networks without idiot execs?!? Maybe AMC or HBO, but we're talking FOX.

 

[DarthPipes]

Braga's in charge? Oh, boy...

 

[Neroon]

STAR WARS FTW!!!!!!! SPOCK SUCKS!!!!!!

Infraction for spamming.

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[DWF]

Interesting study along with the results...I applaud Fox as others have done for taking the risk in the first place when other networks might have passed or shown no interest in them but the fact still remains that these shows (maybe popular was the wrong term to use when describing them) with a cult following were still canceled before their potential could be fully realized.

Well, what do you expect? A television network is not a charity. No matter how much its executives want to keep a show on the air, they can only afford to do so if that show gets high enough ratings to make a profit. And a cult show, by definition, does not have a very large audience. It's very hard for any cult show to get good enough ratings to last long. That's hardly FOX's fault; it's merely the way the business works. Every network has cancelled genre shows with cult followings. If they can't afford to keep airing them, they have no choice. It is not even remotely unique to FOX. Again, the only reason FOX cancels so many genre shows is because it buys more genre shows by far than any other network.

Yeah but since The X-Files ended in 2002 how many of Fox's genre shows have lasted more than two seasons? Buying more genre shows also means cancelling more genre shows too.

 

[JiNX-01]

Oh well. It's about dinosaurs. How badly can he screw that up?



Right now, I'm so starved for actual, fun, imaginative sci fi that isn't a cop show in skimpy disguise that even Space Nazi dinos would be welcome.

Oh, God. Are the dinosaurs the time travelers?

 

[Jack Bauer]

I wonder what Manny Coto is up to these days. He and Braga wrote quite a few (pretty good) episodes of 24 together in it's final 2 seasons.

 

[AvBaur]

I wonder what Manny Coto is up to these days. He and Braga wrote quite a few (pretty good) episodes of 24 together in it's final 2 seasons.

According to IMDB, he's working on the new season of Dexter now.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Something else that doesn't help is scheduling.

Airing half a season and then waiting several months to air the second half loses tons of viewers because they might not remember the damn thing is on or have their TiVos or DVRs set.

Added to that, not everyone is counted in the Nielsen ratings so it is not really a true figure of viewership. Moving shows from one night to another mid season or in subsequent seasons loses viewers, especially if they watch a lot of TV and can't record everything at once, so it really is amazing that anything lasts long these days.

FOX is no worse than any other network for doing things like this.

 

[Christopher]

^Networks are increasingly trying to take DVR and other delayed-viewing ratings into account. I've heard that some shows lately have been saved by their DVR ratings, or at least had their cancellations postponed.

 

[PsychoPere]

^ As one example, Kurt Sutter, creator of Sons of Anarchy, urged DVR viewers via Twitter to make sure they watched the season three premiere episode by this previous Monday at the latest in order for FX to consider the DVR numbers for the premiere's ratings.

 

[Noname Given]

Bragga's the reason Ron Moore left Voyager. It would have ben a much stronger show if Moore had stayed and Bragga had left.

Umm, he's also the one that convinced RDM to come to the show nd give it a shot. The difference ad friction I hink arose from the fact that previously in their writing relationship they were equals; and once RDM was on VOY, Braga was now his boss; and didn't have to go with his suggestions.

Personally, while some niche fans an a few critics hold nuBSG and a 'boldly written and amazing show' - honestly, if that's an example of what RDM wantred, no thanks. Hell, the Cylons didn't really have a plan (he admitted it just sounded good for the intro); and I suppose if you like emo sci-fi - nuBSG is for you; but sorry, harsh and depressing people with enough mental neuroses to write 100 PHD theses' doesn't equal 'realistic'. <---- Realism for those folks as presented would be either the Cylons just erradicating them; or the group commiting mass suicide.

My point: Aside from the occassional Klingon story; RDM wasn't all that great a writer on Star Trek; and even though I like a lot of DS9 - in terms of TV - nothing he was doing there was groundbreaking, and occassionally, it delved into bad soap opera at times.

I'm also no fan of Braga (or VOY for that matter); but it's not Braga's fault RDM didn't realize exactly what position he was being hired for in the VOY production hierarchy.

RDM showed what a show he reallynwanted wa like; and got the chance to do it - but again, aside from a few rabid niche fans, and a few reviewers who (probably bevcause they didn't really understand it, but figured 'hey it's different from the rest of the TV I review, so it MUST be good/avent garde'; overall nuBSGs ratings beyond the miniseries (which also capitalized on the original BSG1978 fanbase, which was sizeable); and the first few first season episodes were nothing spectactular (which is the reason it didn't get the 5 seasons originally envisioned, all RDM's 'spin' on that aside); and hell other sci-fi/syfy channel shows got equal or better ratings (namely Eureka and Warehouse 13 atm).

So yeah, this ran longer than I thought; and again while I'm no fan of Braga; I don't think he was the real problem for RDM per se - the problem was RDM's ego at the time.

 

[Christopher]

I think Moore had legitimate reason for being unhappy with the kind of storytelling restrictions that were imposed on him at VGR, after the creative freedom he'd gotten used to on DS9. But those restrictions were mainly UPN's doing. If Braga can be faulted for anything there, it's for not standing up to UPN enough, not fighting hard enough to make the show better despite their restrictions. But then, the people who did try fighting to make the show better, like Piller, Jeri Taylor, and Moore, always ended up leaving eventually (some sooner than others).

Now, though, Braga is a substantially more experienced showrunner with more clout, and this show is on a network that, under its current executive regime, has shown a willingness to give its showrunners creative freedom. (I know there are people who whine about Dollhouse being a repeat of what happened with Firefly, but that's untrue; Whedon has made it very clear that he agreed with the network about the growing pains the show was having and the need to make refinements.) So I'm willing to believe that Braga will do a better job here.

 

[Anwar]

Taylor didn't really fight to make things better. If anything she made them worse. Berman had the right idea for when the show should've been on and how to make it fresher (air it after DS9, and hire a new writing staff) while Piller and Braga had the right idea of how to produce the show itself.

 

[AviTrek]

Interesting study along with the results...I applaud Fox as others have done for taking the risk in the first place when other networks might have passed or shown no interest in them but the fact still remains that these shows (maybe popular was the wrong term to use when describing them) with a cult following were still canceled before their potential could be fully realized. One could argue that NBC did a similar thing with Conan by axing him based on their perception of poor ratings while Jay Leno current at last report was doing worse ratings than Conan. I'm not really sure what i'm even attempting to say really except that Fox has disappointed fans time and time again.

Bad example with Conan/Leno. NBC didn't axe Conan. NBC axed Leno's 10pm show because it killed the local affiliates news. Once Leno at 10pm was canceled, NBC determined it was cheaper to pay off Conan than Leno.

 

[PsychoPere]

(I know there are people who whine about Dollhouse being a repeat of what happened with Firefly, but that's untrue; Whedon has made it very clear that he agreed with the network about the growing pains the show was having and the need to make refinements.)

Very true. Any similarities between Firefly and Dollhouse in terms of "production difficulties" are superficial at most. Everyone knows the pilot issue regarding "Serenity" versus "The Train Job" for Firefly; Dollhouse may also not have aired its original pilot but that was Joss's decision, not FOX, whereas the "Serenity" screw-up was entirely FOX.

My only "trepidation" with this Terra Nova change (and I wouldn't even call it that, really) is that I'm disappointed David Fury is leaving. He's done fine work on other shows in the past, but I'm sure he'll pop-up again somewhere before too long. He's too talented to be without regular work for long.

 

[Christopher]

Very true. Any similarities between Firefly and Dollhouse in terms of "production difficulties" are superficial at most. Everyone knows the pilot issue regarding "Serenity" versus "The Train Job" for Firefly; Dollhouse may also not have aired its original pilot but that was Joss's decision, not FOX, whereas the "Serenity" screw-up was entirely FOX.

Also, unlike "Serenity," the original Dollhouse pilot isn't as good as what finally aired. It's too cluttered, just one talky expository scene after another. The individual scenes are well-written, but they don't add up to an effective whole. It has too much telling rather than showing, and it gives away too many secrets right off the bat. I prefer the way things were revealed more gradually in the series, giving it a sense of mystery, and giving us time to get to know the characters so we'd have reason to care about the explanations and twists.

My only "trepidation" with this Terra Nova change (and I wouldn't even call it that, really) is that I'm disappointed David Fury is leaving.

That I'll agree with. I think Braga gets unfairly demonized, but I don't think he's as good a writer or showrunner as Fury.

 

[AviTrek]

My only "trepidation" with this Terra Nova change (and I wouldn't even call it that, really) is that I'm disappointed David Fury is leaving.

That I'll agree with. I think Braga gets unfairly demonized, but I don't think he's as good a writer or showrunner as Fury.

I think Braga needs a partner. He's great with coming up with out there crazy sci fi ideas. But he needs someone to bring him down to earth and focus on the characters. Moore was a good match until they each worked separately and then had ego issues collaborating. Fury I thought would have been a good match. With Fury out I hope they can find someone else to balance Braga.

But on a more macro level, the real concern is this is a show that has been delayed once and now is seeing an exec-producer leaving over creative differences. This feels like a crash and burn from day one. I hope I'm wrong, but I've got a bad feeling about this...

 

[Mr Awe]

Well, Braga does okay when he isn't constrained too badly by idiot Execs so I'll give him another shot.

Actually, he needs to be constrained. He's terrible when he's in charge. He can write some good stuff when constrained by others.

Mr Awe

 

[BrotherBenny]

Who are the best "sci fi" showrunners/writers out there?

The guys behind Stargate?

Gough and Millar (Smallville)? --OK, scratch them. That show is 6 years past its sell-by date.

I'm hoping Manny Coto comes up with something cool.