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TV Wasteland: Waiting for the Aliens
Do shows like FlashForward and V benefit or suffer from long hiatuses By
Rob Vaux
March 14, 2010
V finally returns to the TV Wasteland after a long hiatus.
© ABC/Bob Trate
FlashForward returns this week, after a lengthy hiatus which makes one wonder whether any fans are left who care enough to tune in. Not that it's the only show to take an extended break lasting months before viewers get a chance to see what happened. V infamously booted new episodes until March after running just four last fall, while Syfy stalwarts like Stargate Universe, BSG and Caprica play much the same game.
Back in the day, no show would dare pull that kind of stunt. Instead, they'd scatter reruns here and there throughout the season, padding it out so that 20-odd episodes would last from September until May. The TV landscape has undergone seismic changes since then. Reruns no longer cut it when viewers can look at them anytime on Hulu, and with heated pressure from DVDs, video on-demand and that Internet thing that the kids are so into, networks can't afford to scatter the leftovers hither and yon. As a result, we get bisected half-seasons, cramming chunks of new episodes in back-to-back, then ending things on a cliffhanger in hopes of enticing viewers back after a very long break.
The tactic works better when the shows are big hits. The likes of BSG and Lost hooked their audience so completely that they never worried about keeping the ratings high. But for shows like FlashForward--whose viewers remain on the fence and may lose interest after being forced to wait so long--it could spell a death sentence. Bubble shows need time and patience to flourish, and networks make that burden doubly difficult by forcing their viewers to wait for new episodes in the middle of a single season. 24 gets it right: starting in January and running straight through to the end with no breaks. Would that other shows had a chance to emulate its example.
FlashForward gets its chance to sink or swim this Thursday at 8;00 PM EDT on ABC.
Monday
Chuck (NBC, 8:00 PM EDT)
Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) have to bust Casey (Adam Baldwin) out of prison after special guest star Robert Patrick sells him down the river.
24 (Fox, 9:00 PM EDT)
In the wee small hours of the morning, CTU has a hostage crisis to deal with while Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) and Ortiz (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) try to stop New York from becoming crappier than it already is.
Mr. And Mrs. Smith (FX, 7:00 PM EDT)
The movie that first introduced us to Brangelina--and actually becomes a fun little romp in the process--graces FX tonight.
Tuesday
Lost (ABC, 9:00 PM EDT)
It's Sawyer's (John Holloway) turn in the hot seat as whatever that thing is behind Locke's eyes (besides Terry O'Quinn) sends him off on a mission.
FlashForward: What Did You See? (ABC, 10:00 PM EDT)
ABC recaps the first half of FlashForward's inaugural season in an effort to get viewers caught up before new episodes begin.
Life After People (History, 10:00 PM EDT)
The dissolution and decay of various world leaders' domiciles--including the White House and Versailles--comes under Life After People's post-apocalyptic focus this week.
12 Monkeys (AMC, 8:00 PM EDT)
Brad Pitt earned an Oscar nomination (he lost to Kevin Spacey) for his part in Terry Gilliam's masterful time-traveling head trip.
Wednesday
Human Target (Fox, 8:00 PM EDT)
Agent Barnes (Emmanuelle Vaugier) returns to help Chance (Mark Valley) protect a foreign dignitary, while Guerrero (Jackie Earle Haley) brings a new face to the team.
Ghost Hunters (Syfy, 9:00 PM EDT)
To commemorate St. Patrick's Day, the team checks out Paddy Reilly's pub in New York, with a side trip to Connecticut to investigate the former home of Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Destination Truth (Syfy, 10:00 PM EDT)
Destination Truth stays with the spirit of the evening by looking for proof of leprechauns in Ireland, as well as a supposedly haunted fortress near the Dead Sea.
MonsterQuest (History, 9:00 PM EDT)
When in doubt, fall back on Bigfoot. It's a reliable strategy which as served MonsterQuest well in the past, and they certainly don't plan on abandoning it this week.
Ugly Americans (Comedy, 10:30 PM EDT)
Comedy Central premieres a new animated series about a worker in the fictitious Department of Integration, struggling to help all manner of aliens, vampires and supernatural creatures make their way in the Big Apple. Say what you will about it, it's got to be better than Outer Space Astronauts.
Ginger Snaps (IFC, 8:00 PM EDT)
This first-rate werewolf film from north of the border finds a pair of teenage sisters dealing with more than hormonal changes when one of them suffers an animal bite out in the woods. It's one of the genre's best, so check it out if you haven't seen it.
Red Planet (AMC, 8:00 PM EDT)
Val Kilmer and Carrie-Anne Moss fight a berserk robot on Mars in a premise that actually plays a bit better than it sounds.
The Terminator (AMC, 10:30 PM EDT)
The original, one and only, accept-no-substitutes sci-fi masterpiece lands on AMC tonight. Was Arnold Schwarzenegger ever that young?
Also, the 14th season of South Park begins on Comedy Central at 10:00 PM EDT for those interested.
Thursday
FlashForward (ABC, 8:00 PM EDT)
FlashForward returns with a two-hour episode, covering Benford's (Joseph Fiennes) efforts to get back in the Bureau's good graces and Noh's (John Cho) reluctant partnership with a CIA Agent. See the top of the article for more.
28 Days Later (Syfy, 8:30 PM EDT)
Danny Boyle and Peter Jackson both went on to win Oscars after directing zombie movies. This trend needs to be encouraged… though it takes one hell of a zombie movie to match Boyle's terrific take on the genre.
The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural are both reruns this week. Fringe is back on Fox at 9:00 PM EDT, but it's a rerun too. Also, the NCAA Basketball Tournament starts today. 'Cuse is in the house, y'all.
Friday
Caprica (Syfy, 9:00 PM EDT)
Joseph (Esai Morales) continues the search for his daughter in v-world while Daniel (Eric Stoltz) tries to force Zoe (Alessandra Torresani) out of the Killbot's body.
Spartacus: Blood and Sand (Starz, 10:00 PM EDT)
It's man-whore time when a Roman woman pays for a night of debauchery with Spartacus (Andy Whitfield), who may be less than willing to indulge her after, you know, his wife was hacked to death by bandits and all.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon, 9:00 PM EDT)
A murder in the Senate induces Padme to put on her Sherlock Holmes hat (or the Naboonian equivalent) and hunt down the killer. Here's betting 3P0 will trail behind her and fret for the entire episode.
The Dark Knight (Cinemax, 7:30 PM EDT)
Because you just can't watch it too many times.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a rerun. Smallville is off this week. Medium and The Ghost Whisperer have both been bumped in favor of basketball. Fear the Orange.
Saturday
FlashForward (ABC, 8:00 PM EDT)
ABC reruns Thursday's episode for those who missed it..
The Man Who Fell to Earth (Sundance, 10:00 PM EDT)
No one plays a space alien like David Bowie, as this fascinating 1976 science fiction film proves.
Aliens (Syfy, 6:00 PM EDT)
Okay, admit it: this is way better than Avatar. Go on. You'll feel better afterwards, I promise.
Screamers: The Hunting (Syfy, 9:00 PM EDT)
This less-than-auspicious sequel to the not-exactly-classic Screamers finds the titular robots now able to masquerade as humans, making it all the easier to hunt their victims. It probably sucks on toast, but Lance Henriksen's in it, so there's that.
Sunday
Mutant Chronicles (Syfy, 6:30 PM EDT)
Those of you hoping for a first-rate adaptation of the beloved tabletop role-playing game had better just keep looking. Ron Perlman and John Malkovich keep the worst of it at bay, but it ain't exactly Tolstoy, is it?
King Arthur (Syfy, 9:00 PM EDT)
Look, I like it, and not just because Clive Owen spends the whole film in Shouty Man mode. There's also Kiera Knightly in that strappy leather number and Ray Winstone… you know, kicking ass.
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I've lost all interest with Flash Forward, I don't even remember what the final episodes were about. I wanted to like it but I just don't care enough about it. Maybe if the reviews and word of mouth pick up for the show, see the second half of the season on DVD.
LOST bitches, LOST!!
Oh and Justified starts this week, read a couple of good reviews for it. Looking forward to checking it out.