Fox and Futurama

C

ctk

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Why does Fox seem to dislike it so much? It gets shafted on it's network, and it's time slot gets jumbled around (usually a sign that Fox wants to get rid of the show)

Then it gets massive DVD sales and great ratings on AS and then Comedy Central.

Will it ever come bac to Fox? Why does Fox hate it so much? It clearly has a fansbase.

Also is it true there is talk of a new season after the movies?
 
Because FOX is biased against any animated sitcom that's not about a family. Hence why similarly non-domestic sitcoms such as The Critic had such a short life span on the network.
 
And if FOX decides to bring Futurama into the Animation Domination Lineup, it could actually mean an ad with Farnsworth telling the crew that they're back, and Bender says "We're back, baby!"
 
I don't really think Futurama needs to come back, and I'll just cut and paste my reason why:

After being let down by those direct to DVD features I can safely say that I'm just about done with Futurama. I really don't know what happened to the writing staff but I just got a sense of everyone buying into their own hype and churning out fan service for the sake of fan service which (IMHO) doesn't automatically translate into a quality product. Just let it end before it turns into Simpsons 2, where gross-out and butt jokes, a "look how nerdy and clever we are" attitude and a severe overuse of tertiary characters becomes more important than telling a consice, engrossing story.
 
Shame, really, but this is the sort of behavior that can be traced back to the network's roots. In the late '80s and early '90s, FOX's two runaway hits were "Married...With Children" and "The Simpsons", both family-centered sitcoms. Clearly, someone at the network thought the key to success was dysfunctional families with loud, boorish fathers, obnoxious mothers, and bratty kids. That's why they kept pushing for new live-action sitcoms like "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The Pitts" and "Oliver Beene" and "The War At Home" - more of the same stuff that we'd already seen, while more innovative shows like "Firefly" and "Arrested Development" were widely ignored by the network. (In terms of animation, "King of the Hill" is a smart family sitcom that seems to have slipped under the radar for 12 years, always being there while few people paid it any attention; "Family Guy" is rivaling "The Simpsons" in terms of becoming the network's new signature show; and "American Dad" continues to thrive while few people realize it's probably the best thing Animation Domination has to offer right now.)

"Futurama" was unlike anything FOX had tried before - an animated sci-fi comedy with well-realized characters, a complex structure, and clever, intelligent humor that appealed primarily to the geek crowd. In a frontier founded by Al Bundy and Homer Simpson, it didn't stand a chance.
 
^The very reason why Sit Down, Shut Up doesn't stand a chance. The fact that everybody seem to inexplicably hate it with a passion (seriously, it isn't that bad) has practically doomed it from even a DVD release...
 
Well, did The Critic or Futurama really catch on with audiences...ratings-wise? That's usually the reason networks dump shows: bad ratings.
 
Don't know how The Critic was handled, but if a show lacks advertisement or gets preemptied, then the general audience doesn't have the chance to catch it. An from what I heard, Futurama didn't have consistent airtime.
 
Its true Futurama was a great series, but if it came back it would just go down hill after a year or 2 like every other animated sitcom has lately, not that Simpsons, FG, AD & KOTH arn't still all worthwhile shows, but still theve all gone down a little lately.:p
 
I just watched "The Sting", which I'd saved on my DVR. That ep is the crown jewel of Futurama. For once, every joke works, every emotion comes off as sincere, all the right notes are struck, and everybody is likeable. If every episode of Futurama was as solid as "The Sting", I'd be a huge fanatic of the show, rather than a "ehhh" (waggles hand) hit-or-miss viewer. Fry was especially terrific in the ep. He was remarkably human and sympathetic, instead of just being a slacker/joke dispenser.

But I don't know if Futurama could make a comeback, that is, if it followed its usual trend of out-there humor and prop characters...
 
Futurama deserves a comeback far more than Simpsons deserves to be on the air, Simpsons has dug its own grave since after May 21, 2000, hell even Family Guy got the comeback it deserved. Fox is in denial that it has a show which they're refusing to give its deserved comeback.
 
Comparing Family Guy and Futurama is like comparing apples and oranges, Old Guy. My expectations for FG are completely different than what I expect out of Futurama.
 
Yes, it was, but FOX stupidly moved Futurama to Sunday evenings at 7pm (EST), where the new episodes were constantly getting delayed or preempted for NFL football, NASCAR racing and other events.
 
IMO, Fox has gone out of its way to please Futurama fans after the series was cancelled. Wasn't greenlighting not one but FOUR direct to video movies enough? Futurama isn't the cash cow Family Guy is which is why FG was renewed. It might grab decent enough ratings but it never has made as much merchandise revenue as Family Guy or The Simpsons. Asking to renew it as a week to week series is a little excessive.
 
No, no he has a point. After Bender's Big Score, the Futurama direct-to-video movies have been mostly disappointments.

But I'm not completely giving up on Futurama though. I'm just saying that instead of treating everything that they produce like gold I can at least admit when something falters.
 
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