Consider this my breakup letter to the FOX Television Network. I know I've said it before, but this is really the last straw. Every time I give them my heart, they throw it on the ground and stomp on it. They did it with Firefly, one of the most brilliant shows of its decade, which FOX basically sabotaged by airing the episodes out of order and then relegating it to the Friday night graveyard where shows go to die. (Seriously, the Friday Night Death Slot is a real thing. If you don't believe me, it's on Wikipedia.) They did it with Dollhouse, Firefly's less-brilliant-but-equally-groundbreaking cousin. (Both were brainchildren of TV god Joss Whedon, who also created Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) Dollhouse also languished in the dreaded Friday night slot. And now that FOX has announced their midseason schedule, they've thrust yet another dagger into my still-bruised heart. Starting in January, FOX will move Fringe, my favorite drama on network television (for these purposes, we're not counting The CW as a real network, because let's face it, it's not) to Friday nights on death row. Considering Fringe's pedigree (it's a J.J. Abrams creation...you know, the guy who brought you Lost and Alias) and the fact that this season (its third) has been arguably the best yet, makes me wonder how it's possible that this show could be struggling. Twenty million viewers will tune in to watch has-beens and celebutantes make fools of themselves on Dancing with the Stars, or watch Charlie Sheen play himself on Two and a Half Men, but a genuinely well-written, well-acted drama series that occasionally involves giant worms can't stay afloat on Thursday nights? Then again, history has certainly shown that quality is not necessarily an indicator of success when it comes to television. If that was the case, shows like Veronica Mars, Pushing Daisies, and Arrested Development would still be on the air. Here's hoping that Fringe has the resilience to survive where few shows have survived before: the Friday night death slot.
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