My brother and I have speculated on Fox's affinity for King of the Hill. The only conclusion we can draw that makes any sense is that the Fox executives had very similar upbringings, and view the show with an air of nostalgia. This would also explain why Futurama is beyond their comprehension - "Bill" is in charge of Fox!

So it's an animated show (Futurama), then a live show then an "animation block". Oh yeah - that makes sense. Of course with only 16 episodes to work with, they are counting on football running over through most of Sept. to Dec.

Face it, Fox doesn't care about ratings or audience. They see 16 shows that are paid for anyway, so "it really won't cost us anything to use it as filler and that time slot is so unpredictable".

Has anyone kept track of how the current King of the Hill/Simpson repeats at 7/6C ratings are doing compared to those of Futurama? King's ratings will only go up riding on the Simpson's lead in, so watch the Mike Judge/Fox love fest to only get stronger. I wouldn't be surprised to see a new Judge show take over the Futurama spot (and fair just as well with all the football preemption) in the 2003-2004 season.

FOX is very retarded. They think that KOTH is god, but it is not in any way, shape, or form. They need to fire whoever is in charge, and get a real fan to work for them...someone with smarts, and know what the people want. I agree with "Timo" that the current administrator of FOX is "Bill" and I think they should kick "Bill" in the nuts, and hire "Hank" to kick his ass out! Whos with me?

Are Fox androids? Do they have any sort of human Intelligence at all? Do they listen to the 1000s of letter sent into them? Do they take any notice of the 100,000+ signatures to save Futurama? Are they even on this planet?

THE ANSWER IS NO.

Trying to reason with Fox is wasted, what's the point, it's not going to get us anywhere. Fuck the bastards, fuck em' all!

Congrats to KoTH for getting the good slot. Too bad Futurama couldn't have followed it at 9. :(

I thoight for sure that Fox would air Futurama at either 9 or 9:30, but instead they are going to air it at the same crappy time slot. Even 7:30pm would be a better time slot then the one it's in now, yet a new show that doesn't have seniority over Futurama gets the 7:30 time slot. That's not fair either. I say, Fox should just air these left-over Futurama episodes and then cancel the show like they want to. Then, Matt Groening and his Futurama crew can find another channel to buy the rights to Futurama (possibly UPN, WB or even the Sci-fi Channel). Hopefully things may pick up from there.

King of the Hill is a really excellent show - I have watched it since its premiere, and I think that it is every bit as good as Futurama, even after six years. It's very dry and subtle, and much of the humor comes from the realistic nature of the characters. A family friend of mine who grew up and lived in Texas has always had a special place in his heart for KOTH, because people really are like that where he grew up. I don't want to hear any KOTH bashing, they're not enemies, and they're not in competition with each other, by accident or on purpose.

I'm just curious as to who 'owns' these shows? For example, I am under the belief that Matt owns Futurama, but he sold Simpsons to Fox. King of the Hill could be owned by Fox as well, which would go some way in explaining it for me.

After all, isn't the only reason Fox canned Futurama because they were "unhappy" that they don't own it?

I just wish somebody talked some sense into the fox executives or Matt Groening managed to take futurama to another network...

#7 by Finneas:
I personally don't like the show, but that's besides the point. But, Futurama and KotH in fact *are* in competition as they fight for the better time slot. Futurama got the crap one while KotH probably got the best slot FOX has to offer.

What?! This is a flocking outrage! FOX has done everything they could possibly do, short of giving away cash and prizes for NOT watching, to torpedo Futurama. They have stuck it in the crappiest time slot in all of network TV, not promoted it, pre-empted the bejeezus out of it, and now this. Giving the post-Simpsons slot to KOTH I can understand a little. I can't stand the show myself, but it has had some success. But keeping Futurama stuck in the 7:00 hellhole while awarding untested, unproven new shows with the 7:30 and 9:30 slots is just a slap in the face to anyone who wants to see Futurama succeed. FOX, I'll never forgive you for this, you muttonheads.

"Face it, Fox doesn't care about ratings or audience."

Yeah, corporations hate money.

This is not about money. Money is *a* factor, sure. But in this industry, it is secondary - or even tertiary - to ego. It is all ego-driven. And when the Fox executives run up against Groening, it is easy to see why. They cannot kill The Simpsons - it is the hero, the savior of the network, standing in the spotlight for all to see. ...which only makes them want to drag little sister Futurama into a dark alley and beat the shit out of her all the more.

No, there is no mystery here. It is simply a shame that a show as wonderful as Futurama has gotten caught in the crossfire.

""Face it, Fox doesn't care about ratings or audience."

Yeah, corporations hate money."

Tom - corporations love money - which is why Fox is sticking Futurama in this time slot. They realize that anything they put there is going to be ignored, and they also realize that the money has already been spent on Futurama, so they are treating it like filler. It's essentially a free show to them.

I should have said, "Face it, Fox doesn't care about ratings or audience when it comes to Futurama." They just need something to plug a hole for a while. They have no real interest or stake in Futurama, so sadly, *that* has been chosen to be the plugee. Whether or not anyone watches this season is not that important to them, since they have already written off the show.

poor "futurama". also, it seems two other great fox shows "undeclared" and "family guy" won't make it back at all. how could they keep "grounded for life" over "undeclared"?!

If FOX is worried about the dark humor involved in Futurama, why dont they play it later for the older mor emature audience, like they do with other adult intended programing?

I am glad they are bringing Futurama back. I also wish they could move it to
8:30. Hell before it was renewed my friends were saying they would watch it on
Telemundo as long as it was on. Why did Fox changed its mind?

I personally wish that Futurama were on right after The Simpsons. It seems to me that the FOX executives don't give a damn about its viewers. Futurama is a great show that, uunfortunately, has been abused by the powers-that-be once too often. I like Futurama a lot, but to me it's also the Rodney Dangerfield of prime-time animated shows. And the Futurama viewers are the Rodney Dangerfields of cartoon fans: NO RESPECT!

K no what, King of The Hill and the Futurama time slot really need to switch places, Futurama is so much better and I know so many more people that watch it. Anywho Fox can go to hell because they only keep the shows that get like 10 million viewers or more and thats pretty messed up, and hell i really dont give a f&*$ about grubbs and the pitt FOX you need to learn whats good before it turns around and bites you in the ass

#17 Mags

Mags, Futurama hasn't been renewed. FOX are just showing the shows that they had paid for and were finished before they became brain eating zombies and cancelled the greatest show on Earth! (and Omicron Persei 8)

So, these sixteen episodes are episodes that have NOT YET AIRED?

Or are they repeats, which Fox is simply showing again in prime time because they are allowed to..?

I was under the impression that the Star Trek episode was the final episode, and I'll be quite elated if there are 16 more.

Anyone? Anyone? Link?

In a nutshell:

Fox has pre-empted Futurama so many times, there are always a few eps at the end of each season that get bumped into the next season.

We have reached the point now where, even though no new episodes are currently being made, there are sixteen brand-new, never-before-seen epiodes waiting to be shown this coming fall.

(Or 2003, if you are as cynical as I.)

These sixteen episodes are completed - in the can. The problem is that Fox has not ordered any new eps beyond these, and as a result, the creative team has already been broken up.