ABC’s new revamp of the sci-fi show “V” is set to debut in November. It has all the earmarks of a good science fiction drama series: aliens from outer space, strong characters, mysteries, and the underlying question, “are they as benevolent as they seem, or is there some underlying evil purpose they’re hiding?”
So, why am I not excited about it? I love science fiction, after all. The answer lies within ABC’s history. These same traits were present in an earlier ABC show, “Invasion.” Invasion was the first series to appear on TV in years that I was actually committed to watching every week. I, like millions of other fans, were shocked by ABC’s announcement canceling the show. Apparently, Invasion hadn’t done a good enough job of retaining the massive audience garnered by Lost, which it immediately followed. Even though it outperformed many other shows in ratings, rather than shift time slots and cancel something else, they canned Invasion.
I joined the multitude of viewers who cried “foul!” We sent letters and emails, signed petitions, and even tried to influence the Sci Fi channel (now called “SyFy”) when they briefly considered picking up the show from ABC. In desperation, we begged ABC to at least film a special final episode, closing the loop on some of the unanswered questions that the series left dangling. All for naught. Our protests fell on deaf ears, our petitions ignored, our emails unanswered (except for the occasional canned response).
Been There, Done That
So why should I get all fired up over this new series? Just to have the ABC execs yank the rug out from under me again? No thanks. I’ll stick to watching the occasional episode of heroes on NBC, and watching on-demand versions of Stargate Universe and (yes, I admit it) Warehouse 13 on SyFy.
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