2012 Fall Television Schedule Announcement (FOX)

I know I'm a little behind on these, so shoot me.

2012 FOX Fall Lineup

Fox decided to play it safe and boring this year apparently. There most dramatic changes, like moving Glee to Thursday night don't particularly affect me. I'm thankful that they renewed Fringe so that it can get a proper sendoff. It's also nice to see that there's no shakeups to the Animation Domination lineup. Although given how most of those series are starting to get long in the tooth, perhaps some fresh blood would have been nice. Their bigger concern though will definitely be the block they have devoted to The X Factor/American Idol for fall/spring. X Factor did not become a breakout hit like most expected it would be and Idol's ratings dominance is beginning to fade. If either or both of those shows go down the tubes, FOX will be left with a lot of timeslots to fill up in a hurry. What will be most interesting to see is how their Tuesday comedy block will fare. I never got the appeal of New Girl, but it's clearly going to be responsible for serving as the anchor to that night of sitcoms. As for FOX's new shows, watching the trailers the only ones that had moderate appeal to me were both shows (The Following and The Goodwin Games) that won't be premiering until midseason. So unless the Indians make the playoffs, it looks like I won't be watching too much on FOX in the fall.

Back from the Fringe of extinction

Fringe fans can breathe a huge sigh of relief today as the show has been picked up for a fifth and final season. This means that the show will continue on and also be allowed to get a proper sendoff. For more on the renewal, here's the story from EW.com.

Fringe lives!

Fox has renewed the fan favorite for a fifth and final season.

As we’ve been predicting for a few weeks, Fox has ordered 13 concluding episodes of Fringe despite the show’s ratings being super modest on Friday nights. Though producers were optimistic about a pickup, they reportedly shot two endings of the upcoming fourth season finale just in case a deal didn’t come through.

Fringe averaged a mere 4 million viewers and a 1.6 rating in the adult demo, including DVR. Compare that to a first-year show that Fox cancelled — Terra Nova — which averaged 10.1 million viewers and a 3.6 adult demo rating. Likewise another Fox first-year series, Alcatraz, which like Fringe is also produced by J.J. Abrams, performed better than the Friday night show, yet is considered unlikely to receive a second year.

The key was studio Warner Bros. offering a good deal to Fox on the remaining episodes, while Terra Nova was a very costly special-effects-stuffed project. It just goes to show that renewals and cancellations are all about the numbers … but not necessarily all about the number of people who watch the show.

Want some quotes? We got quotes:

“Fringe is a remarkably creative series that has set the bar as one of television’s most imaginative dramas,” said Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly. “Bringing it back for a final 13 allows us to provide the climactic conclusion that its passionate and loyal fans deserve. The amazing work the producers, writers and the incredibly talented cast and crew have delivered the last four seasons has literally been out of this world. Although the end is bittersweet, it’s going to be a very exciting final chapter.”

“We are thrilled and beyond grateful that Fox – and our fans – have made the impossible possible: Fringe will continue into a fifth season that will allow the series to conclude in a wild and thrilling way,” said co-creator and executive producer J.J. Abrams. “All of us at Bad Robot are forever indebted to our viewers and the amazingly supportive Fox network for allowing the adventures of Fringe Division to not only continue, but to resolve in a way that perfectly fits the show.”

“This pickup means the world (both of them) to us, because we love sharing these stories with our enthusiastic fans,” added Fringe showrunners and executive producers Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman. “On behalf of the cast and crew, we applaud our fans and Fox for allowing us to imagine the impossibilities together for so long. Season Five is going to be a conclusive thrill ride for all of us.”

Fall TV Report Card (Returning favorites pt. 3)

Fringe: The best drama you're not watching returned in fine form for their fourth season. While on the surface, things appeared to be normal (the central case was a typically creepy one involving a translucent man attacking people) we all know that something is very wrong with the world that currently exists. The big problem is the absence of Peter Bishop who after operating the machine last season vanished, erasing himself from the memories of all the other characters. This has produced some changes in the Fringe team. Walter has a fear of leaving the lab, Astrid now occasionally goes out into the field and Lincoln Lee has been brought on as a new member. Of course, each of the actors have done a tremendous job conveying their new role, but it still doesn't help us who are desperate to see Peter return. Thankfully we got glimpses of him throughout the episode, suggesting that he'll find a way to return to our world sooner rather than later. And I haven't even touched upon the 'Other World' members who lurked in the background in this first episode. That's how jam-packed this premiere was, nothing new for this terrific show. In just one episode, they've set into motion a number of different storylines that I can't wait to see how they play out. Grade: A- Saturday Night Live: The stalwart sketch comedy returned for another season and opened on a notable moment as host Alec Baldwin broke the hosting record with his 16th (!) effort. Of course, previous record holder Steve Martin couldn't resist showing up to rain on Baldwin's parade. The rest of the episode was a mixed bag as it related to the humor. The cold open involving a Republican primary debate set the foundation of which cast members would be parodying the key political figures for the next year and a skit involving footage of actors auditioning for the film Top Gun highlighted the talented cast's strengths at mimicking a lot of famous people (Bill Hader's Alan Alda impression is scary good). As usual, some skits fell very flat - in particular a one about a couple on a date dealing with one of the dater's obnoxious child didn't do anything for me. The one impressive thing about this opener though was that it relied almost predominantly on original skit ideas. In recent years, the show had become too reliant on its recurring sketches running them into the ground before they had a chance to peak in popularity. Let's hope that's a trend that continues throughout the year. Grade: B+ The Amazing Race: The Emmy-award winning reality show got started in just about the opposite direction as this year's edition of Survivor did. Watching the opening episode, I found myself struggling to care or root for any of the contestant. Even the one team which features a pair of former Survivor winners (Ethan and Jenna) did very little to make me want to see them win another million dollars. Most of the teams felt like they featured stereotypes we had seen too many times before on the Race. Perhaps as the teams move forward my opinions will change. But even if they don't, I can still enjoy all of the gorgeous locations (the first episode saw teams heading to Taipei, Taiwan) that the show travels to as well as the wacky challenges they come up with for the contestants to endure. This may have gotten off to a rocky road, but this show has proven time and again that they always find a way to right the ship. Grade: B-

Filling the void

We're still a few weeks away from the start of new programming on network TV, so this little teaser will have to suffice in the meantime. But my title works on a second level, because we'll see here that our favorite female FBI agent, Olivia Dunham, seems to be struggling with the mysterious loss of Peter Bishop. I know we're all anxious to get answers as to where he went. To hopefully get answers tune in to Fringe starting September 23rd on FOX.

Inaction Jackson

As Fringe fans contemplate what happened to Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), who literally disappeared at the end of last season, the show's producers decided to have a little fun with this and created this audition reel for Comic-Con attendees showcasing notable celebrities trying out for the role of Peter. Very funny stuff, especially for us nerds who know who each of these actors are.