Axiom's Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

By John J. Joex

When ABC’s remake of V debuted just three short weeks ago it was the toast of the town as the highest rated premiere for a new series this season. Now, after two weeks of steep slides in the ratings, some sources already have a deathwatch out for the show. I’m not certain if I would go that far, and I’m not raising the Cancellation Alert just yet, but I would say that the future of the show is somewhat murky. After posting a 29% drop in its rating among the 18-49 demographic after its premiere, the third episode of the alien invasion series dropped another 16% to a 3.1 rating. Now that is still an acceptable number, and if the show can stop the attrition, it should be okay. But it’s hard to say for certain. Sci Fi Wire made a good point that since production on the show was halted and ABC decided to air the first four episodes as a trial, they may decide not to resume production on the rather expensive series. If the ratings take another significant drop this Tuesday, I would consider that a definite possibility. If they hold steady, or even improve a bit (unlikely being a holiday week), ABC may go ahead with the remaining episodes. But even if they do that, the series will not return until March which in itself will result if a drop-off of viewers. I will see how this Tuesday’s episode fairs in the Nielsens, but I would suggest not getting too attached to this one.

Another series not to get attached to is FlashFoward. That one continues to lose viewers and almost certainly will not see a second season unless it has a significant turnaround. In fact, it’s not impossible at this point that ABC could cut back on the nine episodes that it ordered to complete the season. For this reason, I’m going to go ahead and move the Cancellation Alert on this show to Moderate.

I’m not touching Fringe yet, though. I know what TV by the Numbers is saying about the show and I know their Renew/Cancel Index is fairly accurate, but I have to hold out some faith in FOX on this one (foolish me). Word is that FOX has remained supportive of the show, and I can’t see why they would just kill off a promising franchise. I will continue to keep a close eye on that one in the coming weeks and months, though.

Here is the full breakdown of the numbers for all of the Science Fiction and Fantasy shows that aired on the broadcast networks this past week:

Source: TV by the Numbers

Previous Results: Numbers for V Take a Dive for Second Episode

For more on the Cancellation Alert for each show, see our Cancellation Watch column