Fox Cancels Alcatraz, Renews Touch and ABC Stays Mum on Once Upon a Time
Well crap. I hate to say that this news doesn’t surprise me, but it doesn’t. Word came down yesterday that Fox has officially cancelled the J.J. Abrams produced Alcatraz. The bad news was reported by Deadline, who also stated that Fox decided to give Touch a second season. Also on the chopping block for the network is their new series The Finder, which airs right before Fringe.
Fox also gave the order to pick up three new comedies, and two dramas. I have a love hate relationship with television comedies. If they are more sitcom-y, forget it. I absolutely detest laugh tracks and refuse to watch them. If the comedies are more like New Girl or Raising Hope, then I’m all over it. As for the dramas, I getting a bit tired of the medical / police procedurals and that’s exactly what these new shows sounds like.
Before we get to those, let’s talk about Alcatraz. I say I’m not surprised it got the ax because the ratings were on a steady decline since the premier. As with most J.J. Abrams shows, you have to watch it from the beginning. This type of programming doesn’t really allow for people to jump right in…::cough cough LOST cough cough:: so it’s difficult to pick up three or four episodes in because the ground work has already been laid in the pilot.
The series had a great set up to run for 63 episodes, since they were chasing 63 people and they averaged one a week. That’s about three seasons worth of material. The season finale ended in a cliffhanger, and if the producers don’t come out and tell the viewers what they were planning, we’ll never know what happened with Rebecca, which is a damned shame. But all that being said, if it was a choice between Alcatraz or Fringe, I’m glad Fox went with Fringe.
As far as the renewal for Touch, I’m happy with that. I’ve been following it even though I’m several weeks behind at this point. I’ve missed having Kiefer Sutherland on my TV since the end of 24 so when I heard he was back, I vowed to give the show a chance and I’m glad I did. Now….my one complaint is pointed toward the dialogue. You could turn this show into a drinking game. Drink every time Jack Bauer says “Jake!”. Seriously, the writers need to cut back on that because I swear, he says it about 50 times per episode. No, I haven’t actually counted, but that’s what it feels like.
The three comedies Fox picked up are: It’s Messy, The Goodwin Games and Ben & Kate. The two dramas are: The Mob Doctor and The Following. The Following may get a look from me because it stars Kevin Bacon and is about an FBI agent who gets called back in to capture an escaped series killer that he’s caught before, but this time the killer has a cult following. Sounds kind of dark….which is right up my alley.
Jumping over to ABC for a minute, they network still hasn’t said whether or not they plan to renew Once Upon a Time. I’ve mentioned this in my OUaT recaps and I’m curious to know what’s taking them so long to commit either way. I’m thinking that they will give the yay or nay once the finale airs on Sunday night. I think they want to see the numbers and go from there. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for good news because I really like that show. I can speak on behalf of my entire house that there will be some seriously pissed off people if it gets put on ice.
As far as other networks and shows, all I can say is I’m seriously disheartened by the amount of reality programming that is cluttering up the small screen. Thank goodness for USA. Their original series are fun, quirky and full of all sorts of humor.
Tags: ABC, Alcatraz, Alcatraz cancelled, Ben & Kate, Fox, Fringe, It's Messy, J.J. Abrams, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Lost, Once Upon a Time, OUaT, The Following, The Goodwin Games, The Mob Doctor, USA Network
