January 21 will mark a day that will either bode very well or very poorly for fans of FOX's sci-fi braintwister Fringe. After all, it will mark the timeslot premiere of the show -- and it's in the Friday death slot. Many (though apparently not the show's execs) are worried that this is spelling the end for what many think of as the best show on television. Acknowledging that, Fringe is deciding to reference this through the title of its midseason premiere episode. The tongue-in-cheek name? "Firefly."
Firefly, if you don't know already, is one of the best -- and shortest-lived -- sci-fi television shows of all time. The show starred many actors who only came to fame after the show's cancellation, including Castle's Nathan Fillion, The Cape's Summer Glau, and V's Morena Baccarin. Even Mad Men's now-iconic Christina Hendricks, then unknown, had a recurring role. Sounds like a recipe for success, right?
The show was cancelled after just three months. Guess what day of the week it aired?
So by invoking the sacred name of Firefly, it seems pretty clear that Fringe's writers aren't too worried about the potential cancellation that comes with Friday slots. After all, Firefly wasn't the only one: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Dollhouse all met their ends in the dreaded FOX Friday spot. Hopefully, Fringe will be able to survive there where others were not.
Fringe will air its midseason finale, "Marionette," tonight at 9/8c on FOX.
Sam,
When listing the now famous actors that starred in Firefly, how could you miss Adam Baldwin of Chuck fame?
Not snubbing him by any means — but I wanted to keep the list somewhat short, and the ones I noted were all more widely notable.
The cancellation – and before that the grotesque mis-handling – of Firefly by Fox is still an open wound for literally millions of sci-fi fans around the world. Following that, the premature dismissal of two more outstanding science-fiction shows in Terminator:TSCC (unbelievable finale to leave hanging) and Dollhouse (the only one to get to tell an actual story, and even that abridged) made it quite clear that FOX didn't deserve yet another promising sci-fi series to fall in their laps – but Fringe did.
Somehow Fox managed to (more or less) leave it alone and as a consequence, it has flourished… until now, of course when they dump it into the dreaded Friday night slot with the same misguided arrogance we've come to expect. Perhaps they think the DVR generation won't care what time it actually airs. Perhaps they're right. But history has taught us that pretty much any decision FOX makes with fan-favorite shows will probably be the wrong one and will lead to the series' ruination. Here's hoping Fringe manages to buck that trend now that they've actually been allowed to be on the air long enough to gain a loyal following.