Lost, FlashForward, Fringe, V, Suffer Ratings Drop
By Krystal Clark
TV is a dangerous place for sci-fi shows these days because they’re not pulling in stellar numbers for any of the networks. The biggies in the genre consist of “Lost,” “Fringe,” “FlashForward,” and “V” and each show has suffered some type of decline in viewership. What’s up with that? Is it bad timing or is the competition just too stiff?
“Lost” is in its sixth season and on its way out so ABC probably isn’t sweating bullets over its recent performance. They recognize that the show has a niche audience and is a pop culture phenomenon. Think of it as “FlashForward” and “V’s” older sibling who always breaks the rules but never gets in trouble. The ratings for last night’s episode entitled “Happily Ever After” brought in a season low of 9.5 million, which we find hard to believe because it centered on the character Desmond and everyone likes Desmond. Don’t they?
As for “V,” it’s been on a downward spiral ever since it returned from winter hiatus. It also hit a series low last night with 6 million viewers and it only managed to keep 66 percent of its lead in from “Lost.” That’s not an amazing feat considering its predecessor’s record low numbers.
What can we really say about “FlashForward”? I’m pretty sure the writers and producers have absolutely no idea what their doing. When the show first started it had a good premise, a good cast, and a bright future but now it needs to end. The story is all over the place and Joseph Fiennes acting is beginning to mirror David Caruso’s from “CSI: Miami” and that is a serious problem.
The news on “Fringe” is somewhat confusing because its been picked up by Fox for a third season yet it debuted with 5.8 million viewers, down 33 percent from when it aired on Tuesdays last season. It’s a good show but the scheduling for it is crap. There are too many strong programs available on Thursday nights, especially in its time slot (9 PM). They need to do something about that if they want it to survive.
Out of these four “FlashForward” and “V” are the ones who should be worried because everyone else’s fate is sealed.
Do you watch any of these shows? Are you surprised by the decline?
Sunday, May 16, 2010 2:15AM
Fringe is good and hopefully getting better. Flashforward has started to bore me. First 3 episodes of V really got me but now it just seems like a generic action show with boring plot lines.
Thursday, May 20, 2010 7:08PM
It comes down to one thing – timing. I would much rather wait for a series to come out on DVD box set and tehn watch it all in a few days then have to wait a week, and then maybe more , or even not have teh show in the same time slot – and then you lose interest. V is boring by the way. And Lost should have ended last season. They have paded that out with so much fluff it's not funny. Still you gotta love teh Dharma Initiative. I see no mention of Stargate Atalntis.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011 5:21AM
V had promise but has pretty much degraded to the level that I'm not going to watch it anymore. I liked Joel Gretsch in the 4400 and some of the other actors are decent but it comes across as a very bad soap opera. The final nail in the coffin for me is Tyler Evans. It's rare that a single character can ruin a show for me but this character is so whiningly bad that I feel like I'm watching some axed rerun of a bad teen soap.