Discharged

Alternate Title: Guess Who’s Coming to Cancel Dinner

When I saw that Fox had finally, with Fringe going into its final season, purged all the icky sci-fi nerdity from their otherwise pristine network, I knew exactly where to go with the next HE storyline. The Evil Fox Executive (can he even still be called that?) is a soldier without a war. A man without a country. A panda strangler… ALLEGED panda strangler with nary a panda to strangle. And they really are such satisfying creatures to strangle. Their fur and fluff are easy on the hands. No strangulations calluses with a panda. No sir.

Major thanks to all of you Fancy Bastards that have started donation subscriptions since I added the new $2, $3 and $4 monthly levels. There is a now a premium RSS feed just for subscribers that has the full comic in the feed.

PHOENIX COMICON IS THIS WEEKEND!!! 

HijiNKS ENSUE At Phoenix Comicon

I will be at booth 707/806 with Blind Ferret.
More info HERE.

COMMENTERS: So where does this leave us? Are we better off with Fox leaving the sci-fi greenlighting/cancellation cycle to the other networks? Is this like giving up on relationships to prevent heartbreak? Can it not be argued that Fox has actually produced some of the finest sci-fi that television has ever seen? Are we going to lose more than we would have gained if Fox gets out of the science fiction game altogether?

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , .

66 Comments

  1. They do produce good sci-fi, but their constant cancellation, and friday night death slots, are quite annoying. I think we're gaining more, without fox creating good sci-fi other channels have a chance.

  2. Produced and canceled some of the greatest sci-fi. I don't think them having produced it in the first place makes up for axing Firefly. Only way we'll lose more than we gain if they stop doing sci-fi is if there's no other network willing to pick up those shows, and we've still got ABC, not to mention cable…

    • ABC seems gung ho, but not to produce quality scifi. Rather to recreate LOST. When that failed 3 or 4 times over, they tried their hand at more magic/supernatural stuff. I think they look at the cult following a geek audience can create around a show like LOST and try to reproduce it without realizing why it happened in the first place.

  3. I think this is like vampire slaying where once a slayer dies, a new one is reborn.. or activated.. or hired.. I'm not really sure how that works. Now that FOX's reign of cancelation is over it falls to another network to pick up where they left off. If it's not FOX slaying scifi/geek-friendly shows it will be NBC (Awake, Chuck), ABC (The River), Syfy (Sanctuary), etc..

    • I'm taking it that you haven't been watching Eureka or Sanctuary over the past several years. Both are very enjoyable sci-fi shows.

      • Call me a heretic, but I don't think Eureka is quite the geek-fest many claim. Sure, it's got (and had) some great geek-minded actors. But look at the stories and plot for each week. The best and brightest come up with a new toy, but it's up to the non-geek and non-nerdy sheriff to save the town. I love the series and the stories, but not the underlying message: nerdy types make things that are bad and need non-nerds to reign them in.

      • Aren't both of those shows quite cancelled? Also, weren't they both originated under SciFi and not "SyFy?"

        • Ugh, I didn't realize Sanctuary had been cancelled. It figures. I can't get into Warehouse 13 but that just keeps marching on…

  5. I'm looking forward to what you do with this story line.
    I haven't been able to watch anything on Fox in quite a while. My DNA seems to be encoded to know it will simply get cancelled and so I just avoid it altogether to avoid the heart break.

    • Yeah, I decided not to start watching anything new on Fox around the time they moved Fringe to the Death Slot, and a little while after that I stopped really following current shows altogether. I was just tired of getting invested in shows only to have constant cancellation scares and, almost inevitably, see them go way before their time. I figure, if I hear something was good, I'll catch up on it after it's ended so I'll know when the end is coming and (usually) whether or not they really got to wrap it up properly. The only exceptions are a handful of BBC shows (Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Top Gear) because for some reason I trust them not to cancel those in a way that I just don't trust most American networks anymore.

        • Unless someone at BBC changes their mind quickly, "The Fades" has been cancelled as well, which truly baffles me. And also pisses me off. But that one season was EXCELLENT.

        • Joel, is there anywhere you've posted your thoughts on The Fades? I'm really interested on your thoughts about the series. (and might I also recommend the BBC Being Human?)

          I thought The Fades was awesome and one of the few shows I've engaged with on a mythology level as well as a character/humour level. So much potential wasted by the cancellation.

          • I posted them on Twitter awhile back I believe. Basically its Buffy if Xander was the chosen one and you tossed out all the camp. I REALLY dug it.

    • I am looking forward to this story line, hoping the evil fox executive (he needs a name) ends up permanently living with the "crew". This is exciting!

  6. I thought he was going to work for Sony TV Productions to supervise production of "Community", duh.

    Either that or he's going to join his other Evil Corporate Brethren at FoxNews.

    Actually, there are no end of places he could turn up in today's business climate, from Facebook to Chase Bank, or, if he really wants to do a similar job, SyFy.

  7. In fairness they didn't cancel Fringe… next season is actually the season that Abrams wanted to end on. As much as I hate fox I figured that was worth mentioning.

    • mmm… sort of. Abrams wanted AT LEAST 5 seasons so they could end the story in a way that he intended. That said, it was a truncated season order just to get to 100 episodes so they could sell it into syndication. Kinder than the full on axe, but still like 100 paper cuts to the neck.

    • The real question is why didn't the EFE get Fringe earlier? What does Abrams have on the man to hold him at bay for so long?

      • @Leper

        He's got pictures of the EFE petting a kitten without immediately disemboweling it in front a roomful of orphans. That kind of thing will do a number on his rep with the other evil network executives.

  8. I'm in the "it's better to have lost in love then never to have loved at all" camp. It would be great if other networks could have decent sci-fi shows and actively support them.
    The River was too monster-of-the week for me….what's supernatural thing will happen this week kiddies?

    I liked some things about Awake but didn't find it spooky/unnerving enough, and I'm sick of cop shows in general. Chuck was fun for awhile, but I didn't watch the last 2 seasons because I felt it had run it's course. Sometimes a great initial idea for a show can only work for so long, then writers have to expand the show, and often this just isn't as good, ex. Prison Break. By having a different haunted location for every season, I'm hoping American Horror Story can make it work.

  9. You do realize that if and when THAT guy gets fired, he's going to end up hanging out with you guys?

  11. I am very excited for this storyline, I'm glad it came to you!

    I too have been burned many a time by the E.F.E. So much so that this year I didn't even watch Awake, though I'm surprised it took me this long to learn my lesson. However I did watch Alcatraz, and for all it's flaws I was enjoying it. I should have known that would go nowhere.

    Maybe the E.F.E. was the evil voice in the boss's head that told him to cancel anything good and now that he's dead and gone some new things will have a chance.
    How about "Firefly: The Animated Series" so we don't have to worry about how pudgy Captain Tightpants has gotten lately? (I swear, I'm going to geek hell for saying that)

  14. I feel I should point out that Fox is going to show the sequel to Cosmos, which, while not sci-fi, is probably nerdier than most anything they've canned.

  15. Fools! The Evil Fox Executive is not a man of flesh and blood. He cannot be fired, he cannot resign, he cannot retire. No, the Evil Fox Executive is an idea that reigns within the hearts and minds of all sentient beings where its teaching take root. It is an ethereal plague of pure malice and nightmares made manifest, spreading its dark tendrils through the mindscape of creation. Every man, woman, and child is a battlefield upon which it wages its unholy war. Any one who succumbs to its influence will be forever in servitude of its profane desires.

  18. Too bad about their sci-fi, but here's something better I'm going to pitch to Fox:

    "The Big Bang Theory has been such a big hit, you need something to compete in the nerd demographic. So, great premise here guys…. abrasive, embittered former executive from declining media industry moves in with a trio of laid-back, fun-loving geeks. Of course hijinks ensue. Executive burns their prized comic collection, cue laugh track at his boyish antics. By the end, he confides how hard it is being a sociopath, all characters are reconciled, studio audience goes 'Awww'! BAM! It's gold! Amirite? Wait, why are you looking at me like that? Did I mention there's bacon?"

  19. Here's a novel idea… Stop me if you've heard this one…

    How's about the SyFy network get rid of that stupid "name" and go back to putting on quality scifi? I mean, if there's a network that actually supposed to have nothing but scifi, why not have shows go there?

    Sorry, that was just my brain working. I swear it won't happen again. Sorry…

    • There is actually a notice in the RSS feed that reads something like this:

      NOTE TO RSS READERS: Based on your feedback I have decided to just put thumbnail image of the comic in the RSS feed. Here’s hoping this doesn’t impair the usability of the site for you, since it has the potential to positively impact my ad revenue.

      Donation subscribers of any level will get access to an RSS feed with the full comic in it.

      Read more about the new direction I am taking the comic in and how you can help HERE if you haven’t already.
      I have added $2, $3, and $4 monthly donation subscription options.
      http://hijinksensue.com/2012/05/07/4-year-experim…

  21. I think you're being unfair to Fox. Yes, they bungled Firefly. But that was TEN YEARS AGO. They gave Dollhouse and Terminator two seasons despite poor ratings and uneven writing. They gave Fringe 4.5 seasons, and they didn't do it to get it into syndication. Fringe is produced by Warner Bros., so Fox gets nothing out of syndication or DVD sales. Meanwhile, in the years since Firefly's cancellation, the other broadcast networks have done what, exactly, in the realm of science fiction?

    • Heroes… but that was bungled constantly by the writers and directors. It could have been so much more than it was, but budget constraints and inconsistent writing killed it.

  22. I wonder what will be left after Eureka ends, Warehouse 13 will probably get cancelled instead of a graceful ending, the geeks moved online ages ago so followed them there. it's happier here 🙂

  23. I'm hoping that Fox moving out of the market will encourage other networks to get their toes wet. HBO took a pretty big risk with Game of Thrones (considering the budget required to do it right), and they took this risk to attract a new audience they hadn't formerly captured. With other powerhouses like Netflix starting to produce their own programming, I'm hoping that we end up with some creative, well-budgeted science fiction shows that aren't bound under the ever-watchful eyes of the evil FOX executive.

  25. I'm picturing a dark version of how it works on AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER, like the next Avatar being born in the next nation in the cycle. Each time a genre-cancelling network suit leaves his network, a new one must arise at another network. The likely candidates would be NBC (screwing with Community and greenlighting REVOLUTION) or the CW (cancelling Nikita, giving Supernatural an 8th season, and greenlighting ARROW). Know anyone else who'd fit the description?

  26. Good riddance Fux and their reality shows! Leave the sci-fi to SyFy, where real science fiction is made, and….huh?… wha?……

    *Piranaconda? *Arachnoquake? *Mega Python vs. Gatoroid? *Jersey Shore Shark Attack???….

    Well, nevermind……..

    *Actual names for upcoming SyFy "movies"……

    • Yep, I can confirm these are actual "movies" coming to SyFy this year. Yes, that includes Jersey Shore Shark Attack, no joke.
      They have even worse things planned for late, too.

      Syfy – Sinking Deeper (into the cesspool).

      • Two headed shark attack. I don't know whether to hate SyFy or The Asylum more these days.

        I remember when The Asylum used to be good. Low budget, yeah, but good. Now…now it's just "let's change a word or two of whatever's coming out this weekend." I'm looking forward to "Pripyat Chronicles" or possibly "Three Mile Island Journals".

    • Technically yes, but in all fairness that show as going NOwhere. I dont think they even had a plan.

  29. The EFE could move to NBC, they seem to be doing a good job of bringing in good Sci-Fi shows (except The Event), and then killing them, and everything else that is good, off. NBC wants to be FOX in many ways.

  30. Joel – I know I'm a little late to the party here, but are you watching Misfits? I only started watching a few weeks ago, and I'm now on Season 3, and that show is kind of amazing. It has that unfortunate BBC habit of changing its main cast too much, but it's really well written and a lot of fun. Unlike Heroes, it doesn't take itself too seriously, which makes it feel infinitely more like something that could actually happen! I hear they're planning an American version, but that's usually a terrible idea…

    • I've watched all of Misfits so far. While the first season was magical it has severely declined in quality with each subsequent season. I get that it's campy, but at this point they are at the center of at least a dozen unexplained murders and no one seems to care.

      • Yeah, about 3 episodes into the first season it became clear that nobody seems to care about murders in this world. Ever! They don't even bother to explain what happens to the bodies after the first couple! But I'm generally laughing enough that I don't really care, either. 🙂 Does that make me a sociopath?

Leave a Reply