December 20, 2018 – FOX has had only two sci-fi successes, and many sci-fi failures. There seems to be a sci-fi curse at FOX. To be fair, maybe they’ve tried for more sci-fi shows than the other major networks. But still. What’s most frustrating is that some of their so-called failures were actually decent shows. Maybe those decent-but-failed shows just weren’t marketed well by FOX. (?)
I’m not a fan of this series, but many people are. The series was so successful that they had two spin-off movies, and then the series was brought back in 2016 after a 14-year hiatus.
Creator: Chris Carter
Cast: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi
IMDb: 8.7
This was a hit for FOX. No spin-off movies, but a popular show for five seasons. For me, the show was good but not great. Yet I watched all the episodes.
Creators: J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci
Cast: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble
IMDb: 8.4
Just as Star Trek became a bigger hit after it was cancelled, over time Firefly has garnered a huge following, even though it lasted for only one season on FOX. The show’s IMDb rating is extremely high. Popular demand led to a spin-off movie called Serenity in 2005 (IMDb 7.9).
Creator: Joss Whedon
Cast: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk
IMDb: 9.0
I enjoyed this show quite a bit, as did many of my friends. But yet it couldn’t last on FOX. As you can imagine, it had some great action scenes. Oh well.
Creator: Josh Friedman
Cast: Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau
IMDb: 7.7
This show had promise, too, but fizzled. Might be worth a watch if you haven't seen it. This show was another “failure” for Firefly creator Josh Whedon (The Avengers).
Creator: Joss Whedon
Cast: Eliza Dushku, Harry Lennix, Fran Kranz
IMDb: 7.7
A group of humans are transported back in time to prehistoric days, because the earth in their time period (2149) is dying. This one was a dud and deserved cancellation.
Creators: Kelly Marcel, Craig Silverstein
Cast: Jason O'Mara, Shelley Conn, Christine Adams
IMDb: 6.8
A human cop with an android partner. And starring major motion picture stars Karl Urban and Michael Ealy. Yet, even with an IMDb audience rating of 8.0, FOX couldn’t (or didn’t want to) keep this show afloat. I tried to like it, but couldn’t.
Creator: J.H. Wyman
Cast: Karl Urban, Michael Ealy, Minka Kelly
IMDb: 8.0
This show had a slew of movie stars. Only a sliver are mentioned below. The story was wild and different. Yet FOX couldn’t make the show last. I liked the first season.
Creator: Chad Hodge
Cast: Matt Dillon, Melissa Leo, Carla Gugino, Toby Jones
IMDb: 7.5
Based on a Philip K. Dick short story. The movie version with Tom Cruise did well in 2002. Had high hopes for the TV series, but alas, it was another dud. The FOX curse lives on.
Creator: Max Borenstein
Cast: Meagan Good, Stark Sands, Nick Zano
IMDb: 6.0
Well-liked show by many, and got a second season. It would be watchable as a half-hour adventure comedy, but they’ve stretched it into an unwatchable, hour-long comedy/action/melodrama. I tried to like it, but couldn’t. For me it’s a failure even if many like it.
Creator: Seth MacFarlane
Cast: Seth MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald (The Larry Sanders Show)
IMDb: 8.0
Personally, this one is the biggest disappointment on the list, because I’m a fan of the X-Men franchise. How can you not do a cool show with X-Men? However, instead of a smart, compelling action-drama (which Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was), FOX decided to make the normal dumbed-down major network type show. This was the kind of show that you thought an episode was almost over, but it was only 20 minutes in. It felt slow even when fast-forwarding on your DVR.
Creator: Matt Nix
Cast: Stephen Moyer, Amy Acker, Sean Teale
IMDb: 7.4
In Summary: I don’t know what’s going on at FOX. But since they seem to appreciate sci-fi, I’m hoping they keep at it. However, I’m hoping they try for something more intelligent. Maybe a sci-fi show with the sophistication of the Battlestar Galactica reboot, or Humans (AMC), or Westworld (HBO), or Counterpart (Starz).
The sad thing is, I think many of their offerings to date could have been on a much higher level, but the shows got mangled in the major-network-dumb-down machine.