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Entertainment Weekly Snippet
The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly (#690, January 10th) has a small snippet by Dalton Ross about Futurama's debut on the Cartoon Network which reads:
Thanks go to Eric Clark for bringing this to my attention.
If you want to enlighten them on other possibilites why Futurama didn't take of that well, they encourage emails to ew_letters@ew.com (make sure to mention your real name, address, and daytime phone number if you want it to be considered for publication. Also make it clear that you are refereing to #610, Futurama snippet by Dalton Ross)."Maybe the expectations - that Simpsons creator Matt Groening could create another gem - were too high. Or maybe it just wasn't all that funny. Either way, reruns are here."
Thanks go to Eric Clark for bringing this to my attention.
Comments (8)
Comments lockedHere is a copy of the email that I sent them...
Futurama is a show that failed because of the same reasons why shows like WKRP in Cincinnati failed. Not because the show wasn't funny, it was because people that didn't know any better kept screwing around with it. Futurama was plenty funny enough, it was just put in a lousy time slot and it was continually pre-empted for some other show which I am absolutely positive contributed to its downfall. It was almost a continuous string of other shows coming up on Fox that they always interrupted Futurama for, most of which would probably have been better put on during the week or even not at all. It amazes me how television decision makers always decide that good show are not good shows and thing like "Beverly Hills 90210" go on forever and you can never seem to escape them. Futurama was far funnier than the Simpsons, a show that started out funny and again people that didn't know better messed around with it and turned it into the puff piece that it is today. Shame on Fox for again ruining a show that was far better than a lot of their no hit wonders that for some reason manage to last years and years. Maybe Fox should try to hire decision makers with better taste as well as decision making capabilities. Thanks to Fox another great show is condemned to history before its time.
Futurama is a show that failed because of the same reasons why shows like WKRP in Cincinnati failed. Not because the show wasn't funny, it was because people that didn't know any better kept screwing around with it. Futurama was plenty funny enough, it was just put in a lousy time slot and it was continually pre-empted for some other show which I am absolutely positive contributed to its downfall. It was almost a continuous string of other shows coming up on Fox that they always interrupted Futurama for, most of which would probably have been better put on during the week or even not at all. It amazes me how television decision makers always decide that good show are not good shows and thing like "Beverly Hills 90210" go on forever and you can never seem to escape them. Futurama was far funnier than the Simpsons, a show that started out funny and again people that didn't know better messed around with it and turned it into the puff piece that it is today. Shame on Fox for again ruining a show that was far better than a lot of their no hit wonders that for some reason manage to last years and years. Maybe Fox should try to hire decision makers with better taste as well as decision making capabilities. Thanks to Fox another great show is condemned to history before its time.
this kinda comments get my blood boiling arrgh
my letter pt1.
Dalton Ross may suggest that Futurama failed because it did not meet the high expectations the Fox may have had for the show, but I think that Fox did not know what kind of gem they actually had. Matt Groening had created an animated TV show with more wit, humor, and emotion then The Simpsons ever had and will have. There is so much more to Futurama than meets the eye as there were many subtle plot lines that came out as the series went on with many visual clues in earlier episodes. They created several alien languages for the episodes which challenged fans to try to decrypt what various billboards and signs in the background said.
my letter pt1.
Dalton Ross may suggest that Futurama failed because it did not meet the high expectations the Fox may have had for the show, but I think that Fox did not know what kind of gem they actually had. Matt Groening had created an animated TV show with more wit, humor, and emotion then The Simpsons ever had and will have. There is so much more to Futurama than meets the eye as there were many subtle plot lines that came out as the series went on with many visual clues in earlier episodes. They created several alien languages for the episodes which challenged fans to try to decrypt what various billboards and signs in the background said.
my letter pt2.
For almost 3 years now Futurama has been rarely shown in the Eastern, Central, or Mountain Time zones. Most all of the potential viewers never knew the show was still on the air because of being overrun by football and virtually no promotion by fox (Cartoon Network has in one day promoted this show more than Fox has in two years). A push to the 7:30 time slot or even the 9:30 slot could do wonders for this series, instead Fox has decided to show re-runs of other shows such as The Simpsons or King of the Hill. Why would a broadcasting company that has paid close to $500,000 to produce each episode of Futurama choose to bury it under football when there is ample room in its schedule to show it? For Dalton Ross to dismiss Futurama as just another failed show is just a shot in the heart to all the devoted fans who have watched for four painful years as Fox thoroughly stole all of this shows potential through constant preemptions and very very small ad campaign.
For almost 3 years now Futurama has been rarely shown in the Eastern, Central, or Mountain Time zones. Most all of the potential viewers never knew the show was still on the air because of being overrun by football and virtually no promotion by fox (Cartoon Network has in one day promoted this show more than Fox has in two years). A push to the 7:30 time slot or even the 9:30 slot could do wonders for this series, instead Fox has decided to show re-runs of other shows such as The Simpsons or King of the Hill. Why would a broadcasting company that has paid close to $500,000 to produce each episode of Futurama choose to bury it under football when there is ample room in its schedule to show it? For Dalton Ross to dismiss Futurama as just another failed show is just a shot in the heart to all the devoted fans who have watched for four painful years as Fox thoroughly stole all of this shows potential through constant preemptions and very very small ad campaign.
Here's what I sent...
In regards to...
"Maybe the expectations - that Simpsons creator Matt Groening could create another gem - were too high. Or maybe it just wasn't all that funny. Either way, reruns are here."
Actually, the thanks for it's demise go to Fox for giving 'Futurama' the worst time slot in history (6:30pm Sunday CST). This practically ensures that it will get bumped by football, baseball, and reruns of "When lawn gnomes attack" reality crap shows. 'Futurama' is one of the most sharply written, fall down funny, clever shows to grace television.
All Fox would have to do is give it a chance in a real time slot, perhaps trashing one of the reruns of 'That 70's Show' which is now so stale and tired I can't believe it's still on the air. More laughs are to be had watching old 'Friends' reruns, which depresses me so much to say that I have to go shoot myself now.
So if someone would bitchslap Fox a little, perhaps a great TV show might live on a little longer...
But likely Fox is only concerned about milking pure garbage like 'Joe Millionaire' or 'Herpes Island' to death instead of providing their viewers with something entertaining.
In regards to...
"Maybe the expectations - that Simpsons creator Matt Groening could create another gem - were too high. Or maybe it just wasn't all that funny. Either way, reruns are here."
Actually, the thanks for it's demise go to Fox for giving 'Futurama' the worst time slot in history (6:30pm Sunday CST). This practically ensures that it will get bumped by football, baseball, and reruns of "When lawn gnomes attack" reality crap shows. 'Futurama' is one of the most sharply written, fall down funny, clever shows to grace television.
All Fox would have to do is give it a chance in a real time slot, perhaps trashing one of the reruns of 'That 70's Show' which is now so stale and tired I can't believe it's still on the air. More laughs are to be had watching old 'Friends' reruns, which depresses me so much to say that I have to go shoot myself now.
So if someone would bitchslap Fox a little, perhaps a great TV show might live on a little longer...
But likely Fox is only concerned about milking pure garbage like 'Joe Millionaire' or 'Herpes Island' to death instead of providing their viewers with something entertaining.
what the hell is he on about, not funny?
nearly every episode i have seen has had me laugh out loud, and the humour has much more of a influence from outside sources than the simpsons. to say futurama is not funny, is like saying George W Bush is intelligent.
nearly every episode i have seen has had me laugh out loud, and the humour has much more of a influence from outside sources than the simpsons. to say futurama is not funny, is like saying George W Bush is intelligent.
My reply:
Listen to the show's producers, Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, on why "Futurama" failed. From the outset, FOX disliked the show because it was (1) sci-fi comedy, and (2) a fairly critical view of the future based on the present (e.g. the first episode featured a "suicide booth," much like a pay phone).
In short, FOX never understood or liked the show, and gave it almost no chance to succeed.
Groening and Cohen crafted the 3rd episode of the series specifically to suit FOX's tastes and requests - FOX hated it.
FOX's programming judgment is in deep decline in recent years - a point so obvious that it needs no further elaboration. "Futurama" is a victim.
Among fans of "The Simpsons" since the beginning, "Futurama" is known as the superior product. It has elevated TV animation. As for social commentary, timing, humor, pathos and imagination - it's sharper than ANYTHING from "The Simpsons" in nearly a decade.
Admittedly, "Futurama" is not for everyone. Generally, its audience is overeducated and underemployed, more than a little nerdy, and referentially literate.
In any event, thanks for mentioning the move to "Cartoon Network." Along with CN's 30-second spots, this is more publicity than "Futurama" has seen in years.
Listen to the show's producers, Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, on why "Futurama" failed. From the outset, FOX disliked the show because it was (1) sci-fi comedy, and (2) a fairly critical view of the future based on the present (e.g. the first episode featured a "suicide booth," much like a pay phone).
In short, FOX never understood or liked the show, and gave it almost no chance to succeed.
Groening and Cohen crafted the 3rd episode of the series specifically to suit FOX's tastes and requests - FOX hated it.
FOX's programming judgment is in deep decline in recent years - a point so obvious that it needs no further elaboration. "Futurama" is a victim.
Among fans of "The Simpsons" since the beginning, "Futurama" is known as the superior product. It has elevated TV animation. As for social commentary, timing, humor, pathos and imagination - it's sharper than ANYTHING from "The Simpsons" in nearly a decade.
Admittedly, "Futurama" is not for everyone. Generally, its audience is overeducated and underemployed, more than a little nerdy, and referentially literate.
In any event, thanks for mentioning the move to "Cartoon Network." Along with CN's 30-second spots, this is more publicity than "Futurama" has seen in years.
My reply
In issue #610, Dalton Ross mentioned the new reruns of "Futurama" on Cartoon Nework, and made the comment "Maybe the expectations - that Simpsons creator Matt Groening could create another gem - were too high. Or maybe it just wasn't all that funny. Either way, reruns are here." However, I, and plenty of other "Futurama" faithful, I'm sure, will have to disagree. The FOX Network that plays the show in primetime (albeit will likely stop soon) has rarely if ever supported the show in the past 3 years or so, almost never putting out any promotion for it, and putting it at a terrible timeslot that often leaves it pre-empted for football, to the point that many in the east coast simply can't catch the show until the football season ends. Many people aren't even aware the show still exsists as a result (though, apparently enough people are angry enough with Fox's treatment of the show that the online petition started by the fansite www.gotfuturama.com now has over 150,000 signatures). Just consider: what would have happened to "The Simpsons", if it had recieved similar treatment? The answer is that it likely wouldn't be on the air anymore. Besides, while "The Simpsons" was a brilliant show, it has become a dumbed-down self parody of itself in recent years, leaving Futurama as the currently superior program even since its first conception.
In issue #610, Dalton Ross mentioned the new reruns of "Futurama" on Cartoon Nework, and made the comment "Maybe the expectations - that Simpsons creator Matt Groening could create another gem - were too high. Or maybe it just wasn't all that funny. Either way, reruns are here." However, I, and plenty of other "Futurama" faithful, I'm sure, will have to disagree. The FOX Network that plays the show in primetime (albeit will likely stop soon) has rarely if ever supported the show in the past 3 years or so, almost never putting out any promotion for it, and putting it at a terrible timeslot that often leaves it pre-empted for football, to the point that many in the east coast simply can't catch the show until the football season ends. Many people aren't even aware the show still exsists as a result (though, apparently enough people are angry enough with Fox's treatment of the show that the online petition started by the fansite www.gotfuturama.com now has over 150,000 signatures). Just consider: what would have happened to "The Simpsons", if it had recieved similar treatment? The answer is that it likely wouldn't be on the air anymore. Besides, while "The Simpsons" was a brilliant show, it has become a dumbed-down self parody of itself in recent years, leaving Futurama as the currently superior program even since its first conception.
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Here's what I sent them:
"I'm confused. How can Dalton Ross suggest that Futurama "just wasn't that funny" when he, and millions of other people, never got a chance to see it? Anyone who has tried to support this hilarious show can tell you that Fox pre-empts it for football and King of the Hill reruns with maddening frequency. This is the REAL reason why Futurama has never enjoyed the enormous success it deserves."
I know that "never got a chance to see it" is not entiretly true, as Fox DID show Futurama about 15% of the time, but sometimes a dose of exaggeration is a good way to draw attention to what you have to say. It would have been nice to also mention Fox's total lack of advertising and promotion for the show, but letters to EW have to be kept short. I doubt they will print this, partially because I have already used up my "EW letter allowance" with a criticism of their DVD guy's review of Brotherhood of the Wolf (my favorite movie) a while back. So, the rest of you...WRITE!!!