Whedonesque : Comments on 6521 : 'Fox dumps Tru Calling finale for The Simple Life'.

Wow. ADD much? Pour some more salt in the wounds of the show's fans. There's one - er, apparently there's two - left. Two. Put it on at one in the morning or something so that fans can see the last ep there is.

edited because I didn't realize there were two eps left, not one.

[ edited by Angela on 2005-04-19 07:35 ]

Angela | April 19, 09:15 CET

What? Oh, come on! This decision is just plain stupid. And way to aggravate TC fans even more. I hate The Simple Life. Grumble grumble.

[ edited by electricspacegirl on 2005-04-19 07:34 ]

electricspacegirl | April 19, 09:33 CET

Oh. My. God.
The geniuses at Fox never cease to amaze me. Why don't they just air wrestling as well?

WhoIsOmega? | April 19, 09:35 CET

Yeah, I can't believe that. They did air the episodes in New Zealand and I remember reading that in some country the season 2 episodes were released with the season 1 dvd, so I guess if you have a region free dvd player you could import.

Odysseus | April 19, 10:13 CET

That's just taking the piss.

Simon | April 19, 10:14 CET

I just checked, and yes in the UK the complete series is being release

Amazon.co.uk - http://tinyurl.com/ey22d

News story - http://www.zetaminor.com/news_archive/news_2005/news_2005_03_wk3.htm

Odysseus | April 19, 10:20 CET

I just can't wrap my head around the logic of this one. The best I can think is that FOX is actively trying to piss people off.

That's it. When I grow up, I'm buying a network.

Jet Wolf | April 19, 10:32 CET

Paris Hilton is the anti-christ... Oh wait, the anti-christ would probably be interesting. She's some sort of evil portent anyway.

smog | April 19, 11:07 CET

Fox had a problem airing just two more eps?

These guys have MAJOR issues, man. The only shows they've ever been able to keep were 90210, MP, MWC, and The Simpsons.

They need new management. Stat.

Emma Frost | April 19, 11:10 CET

WTF?!

And I'd just gotten into the habit of watching it again -- I can't imagine how pissed I'd be if I was really invested.

Oh, wait, I actually can. This is pretty much what they did to Firefly (except a maybe a smidge less crushing because at least TC got part of a second season). How gratifying to see Fox didn't learn a damn thing about winning friends and influencing audience loyalty from that debacle.

Wiseblood | April 19, 12:11 CET

FOX is so freaking evil I swear. They go through more pilot trials than any other network as well. Just cut out the middleman and pick up the NZ broadcast which is still around the net in the usual places.

TaraLivesOn | April 19, 14:35 CET

Ever since Chris Carter's great shows were canceled early, Millennium, Harsh Realm, and The Lone Gunmen, these guys respect no one, even the guy who gave them the X files, they never put any effort in backing his other shows. When Fox like a show and the show is good, it's great, when they don't, it's gone.

SeanValen | April 19, 15:24 CET

So, this week is the last one?

MySerenity | April 19, 15:49 CET

W&H; MUST own FOX!

Angel_1 | April 19, 16:16 CET

I haven't been watching Tru Calling but this gets my blood boiling. With Fox, everything comes down to sheer commercial crassness and greed, apparently. Fox wouldn't know "narrative integrity" if it bit Fox in the ass. I know, I know, it's network TV. Thank god for subscription channels like HBO. They actually nurse their little-watched shows and give them years to develop.

phlebotinin | April 19, 17:13 CET

TaraLivesOn - I was going to suggest that, but wasn't sure how the owners of this site felt about that type of thing.

Thank god for subscription channels like HBO. They actually nurse their little-watched shows and give them years to develop.

Yeah I watched the first season of Carnivale, thought it was well written and acted, but paced way too slowly for my taste. So I didn't bother with the second season, until one day I was bored and checked out the first episode of it on HBO-on-demand and was totally blown away. The second season was just amazing, such an impressive change in the show.

Odysseus | April 19, 17:33 CET

This sucks!
I never saw Tru Calling the first season as I was working second shift...now that I do have a 9-5 jobb (and Tivo) I have really enjoyed Tru Calling. The last episode was really, really good!

Fox BETTER show the last episode some how.

...but then, I have hated FOX since they canceled Keen Eddie :-(

Jonas | April 19, 17:46 CET

tag fix ^^

The final episode is a Christmas episode, maybe Fox will just save it up for the holiday season...

"Tonight... on a very special Holiday episode of 'Tru Calling'"

I figure that is the main reason that it was pulled, and because there is absolutely no closure in the episode itself. In fact, I think it likely opens up doors to many new questions (I can think of at least two things that made me wonder where the writers were going to head with those plot points).

Hopefully since the DVD's will be mastered for other regions, Fox will put them out here in the States at some point.

Tensai | April 19, 17:54 CET

Rawk on Nicky and Nicole!

At least if they're doing this they're not paddling in the gene pool.

ReeQueen | April 19, 17:57 CET

I think this is as bad as it gets. First there is a renewal. Then they change their minds, and cut the primere and don't air it. THEN they cancel it for a new show. The new show is Marti Noxon's Point Pleasant, which was kind of pleasant. Then they cancel that, to find that the ratings for their previously cancelled Tru is doing better than PP. Now the fans are happy because they get to see Tru Calling again... but now, after pulling strings, and poking us with blunt objects for nearly a year, they take a huge crap on us and decide to air complete utter nonsensical crap instead. Thanks FOX. We hate you too, and condemn you to a world of nothing but shrimp. (Let's make the shrimp eat their flesh too... that could be fun.)

tnewebmaster | April 19, 17:57 CET

LMAO
...
Oh, those networks. ;)

Christopher | April 19, 18:21 CET

Well, that puts the nail in the coffin. With TC gone, there are no shows worth watching on FOX. You can probably forget "The Inside" if it ever airs. With Tim Minear, Jane Espenson and David Fury writing for it, it's marked for execution.

I think FOX is doing this to boost DVD sales. If they hook people, but don't let them see a show to completion, they can sucker people into forking over more money.

I'm not falling for it anymore.

ETA: "W&H; MUST own FOX! "

It's a Bush family property. Pretty much the same thing.

[ edited by Nebula1400 on 2005-04-19 16:24 ]

Nebula1400 | April 19, 18:22 CET

It's bloody ridiculous, they have 6 episodes, and air 5 of them, makes absolutely no sense. You'd have thought they'd have been better off not airing any of them "6 UNAIRED EPISODES" looks a lot better on a DVD than "1 UNAIRED EPISODE", and many more people would have likely bought a copy for 6, but will probably just turn to the internet for the 1 remaining episode (which is very good, just provides absolutely no conclusion).

And for the f*ck*ng Simple Life, a show that coupled with a sex tape has made a huge star of someone with absolutely no talent, bloody ridiculous.

It's almost a shame there'll still be a few shows on Fox that I like next season: Simpsons (which I'll never be able to give up on), King of the Hill and, hopefully, Arrested Development. And I'm really glad Family Guy is coming back, but if you didn't want to watch Fox, it's going to be on Adult Swim 11 days later. I want to be able to hate Fox, but there's still shows there I like, don't have that problem with The WB, as there's only Smallville, which I wouldn't be that bothered about losing.

Ghost Spike | April 19, 18:39 CET

Nebula - a Bush family property? Well that makes sense, then. Much sense.

Fox is lame. When they cancel my new favorite show (Arrested Development), chances are we won't have anything to watch there anymore. Even The Simpsons is getting old these days.

GrrrAargh | April 19, 18:47 CET

It really does make more sense when you realize there's only a Christmas episode left (acc. to IMDb) and that they are apparently still showing the penultimate episode this Thursday.

ETA Not that I am anything like an apologist for Fox!!

[ edited by melsta on 2005-04-19 16:50 ]

melsta | April 19, 18:49 CET

I readily admit that I have no concept of what goes on in television. But it seems to me that it would be cheaper for Fox to keep shows like FF, WF, TC and PP than to have to order a slew of new pilots each year.

To me, new pilot says bigger (?) budget, new writers, new concepts, new actors, etc. times 5? or 10? each year.

If they kept shows around long enough for syndication, even if they were mediocre (which some weren't), they'd still be making money from syndication and DVD sales. This just makes no sense to me.

And I don't watch ANY reality shows on Fox.

brownishcoat | April 19, 18:59 CET

Talk about opening old wounds. Not really surprised after how Fox treated 'Firefly' and 'Wonderfalls', just more of the same. I do feel sad for the 'Tru Calling' fans. You've think they would show the final episode. Perhaps this is why Fox is falling to third and fourth ranking in the networks as of late.

Madhatter | April 19, 19:04 CET

The problem is that it's a Christmas episode and that's the first day of May sweeps. Not many people are going to be in the holiday spirit then and will probably think it's a repeat.

All anyone at Fox cares about is ratings. I'm surprised they didn't just do another one of those Stars Without Makeup specials or something equally heinous.

FaithFan | April 19, 21:42 CET

Was there really a Stars Without Makeup special, or are you just making that up to be funny?

Part of me is so glad I finally sprang for cable. I really can't stand 99% of what is on TV at this point. Up side: It does make it easier to make time to watch DVD's.

newcj | April 19, 21:52 CET

Newcj, there really was a Fox special called Stars Without Make Up and it had 9 million viewers last month, beating The OC and more than doubling the ratings of what Fox typically has had on Thursdays for the past 5 years. Unfortunately it just goes to show that some people will watch garbage television and new Fox president Peter Liguori is willing to do anything for ratings.

FaithFan | April 19, 22:10 CET

FOX is a bit weird. I'll admit, I only watch The Simple Life and The OC on there. If I miss the first episode of something, I all but about refuse to start on it. I hate coming into something that's not from the beginning. Albeit that's the reason for no Veronica Mars and Tru Calling on my weekly schedule. But anyhoo ...

SlayerTV | April 19, 23:26 CET

(sigh) Good grief Faithfan, I was afraid of that.

When I was a kid I learned a valuable lesson while watching Hollywood Squares. (No, honestly.) I realized that if a question started with, "Has anyone ever..." the answer was "Yes." It did not matter what the rest of the question was.

Although TV is already proving the quote that went something like, "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the American public." by the time we are out of this reality/gossip programming hell, I am afraid the answer to any question starting with, "Was there ever a tacky reality show based on..." will also be "Yes." ...Or are we there already? I don't pay enough attention to know, but it seems like it.

Thanks for the info. (sigh)

newcj | April 19, 23:29 CET

W&H; MUST own FOX!

Actually, they do. Remember the employee orientation video sequence at the beginning of "Harm's Way"? The voice-over says something like "Wolfram & Hart has branches that reach right into the heart of every major corporation, including...Newscorp (Fox's parent company)." Case closed!

gorramit | April 20, 00:11 CET

W&H; also represents the Bush family. Lorne says something about it; I think the episode is 5.1., the scene where they are in the conference room looking at the files.

So yes, all correct.

brownishcoat | April 20, 00:45 CET

Talk about adding insult to injury...

bookrats | April 20, 01:37 CET

think FOX is doing this to boost DVD sales. If they hook people, but don't let them see a show to completion, they can sucker people into forking over more money.

I think you may have something here. Honestly, I think that anything made by Fox that looks good, I won't watch because of this ultimate act. I did not realize Cris Carter had made Millenium, which I loved and was cancelled. Man the X-Files ran for ever and had a major movie released while it was still runing on TV!
Joss NEVER work for FOX if you can try!!! (altho I suspect you most certainly already feel this way)
Fox = Pure Evil

nixygirl | April 20, 04:55 CET

FOX + The First Evil = OTP.

Daromaius | April 20, 05:21 CET

Actually, FOX is owned by Newscorp, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, but Bush's cousin, John Ellis, was assigned to a crucial position at FOX during the 2000 election. John Ellis was the person put in charge of calling the winner in each state, and was the individual who first called the election in Florida for George Bush.

The reason I bring this up is that there were implications throughout Angel in season 5 of an evil W&H;/FOX/Bush connection. The hints were sometimes subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, but they were there.

Unless FOX signs Joss Whedon for a guaranteed, non-breakable contract to air new shows from the Whedonverse without cancellation, I have no use for the network. I've long outgrown "The Simpsons" and stopped watching "24" after the first season. They have nothing else to offer, and I prefer to keep my hard-earned money.

Nebula1400 | April 20, 07:20 CET

A$$H0L&$!!!

"but now, after pulling strings, and poking us with blunt objects for nearly a year, they take a huge crap on us and decide to air complete utter nonsensical crap instead"

Right On, thewebmaster!

Xander | April 20, 07:22 CET

Nebula, yep. That's been discussed here before. Yank the show while it still has an interested fan base, tack all the "unaired episodes" on a dvd - Ka-CHING! Rake in the bucks. Trouble is, it works.

We're all such suckers. We pay for all their summer homes, while most of us budget just to AFFORD the damn dvd sets. But what's the alternative? We boycott and get zero in the pleasurable entertainment department.

"Oh Willowy, don't be bitter!"

Fuck Fox.

Willowy | April 20, 07:22 CET

and to piss in salted wounds, its a re-run of a shitty show! People have said in the TC message board that the show has bad acting. And is Paris Hitlon Oscar material?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will join you Willowy.
Fuck Fox!

Xander | April 20, 07:39 CET

So are we officially boycotting Fox and The WB?

Christopher | April 20, 18:37 CET

Nick Brendon is still with FOX with his pilot, which I have good feeling about.

[ edited by Koos on 2005-04-20 16:56 ]

Koos | April 20, 18:55 CET

And don't forget Tim Minear's "The Inside".

brownishcoat | April 20, 20:41 CET

I've already set up a "Protect The Inside" shrine. Tim decent good treatment by Fox after all the lousy crap he's had to endure. And there's Jane Espenson and Adam Baldwin! Am I leaving anyone out?

I hope Nick Brendon's show does really well, too. I'm not a fan of 24 and don't watch it but if Fury's moving to that show then I wish him well on Fox, too. Nope, can't boycott Fox entirely.

phlebotinin | April 20, 21:28 CET

For "The Inside": David Fury is doing some writing/producing (season 1 only?), Gareth Davies (Firefly, Angel) is a producer and Robert Kral is a (the?) composer. [from IMDB]

And if you're a Wonderfalls groupie, there's Katie Finneran.

brownishcoat | April 20, 22:11 CET

I believe that David Fury has a 6 episode contract with FOX on "The Inside" before he switches over to (correct me if I'm wrong) co-exec on "24."

tnewebmaster | April 21, 08:19 CET

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