Schedule Rewind: A look back at the Prime Time schedule from seasons past and network decisions impacting sci fi and fantasy shows.
The X-Files wrapped up its initial nine year run at the end of the 2001-02 season, and the Big Four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC) had pretty much shunned sci fi and fantasy by that time. When that show debuted in 1993, it received praise from critics and viewers and turned into a cult favorite when FOX picked it up for a second season despite low ratings. The network’s support of the show allowed it to build an audience and eventually turn into a Top 20 hit (if only they had done the same for Firefly), and that revived interest in sci fi across the broadcast networks. By the mid-to-late ’90s, all four of the major broadcasters were taking a shot with genre entries, though few found much success. And by the time that The X-Files was wrapping up, there was little in the way of sci fi and fantasy on the old school networks and it would remain that way for a few more years until a little show named Lost (not to be confused with the reality show of the same name that aired on NBC during the 2001-02 season) became an unexpected hit and revived interest in the genre.
ABC
Alias (Sundays 9 PM EST)
The alphabet network had only one genre entry on its schedule during the 2001-02 season, and it had only minor sci fi elements. But Alias, which premiered that year and came from J.J. Abrams, was an important bridge show that ultimately led to bigger things. Not only did it give a big boost to the career of Jennifer Garner (and why is her talent being waisted schilling credit cards and makeup these days?), it also offered the right mix of procedural, action/adventure, and genre elements to satisfy network execs while still getting a little bit of sci fi on the broadcast nets. It never counted as a huge hit, but managed to hold its own for five years and prove that a genre entry could find an audience in Prime Time. And the success of Alias gave ABC enough confidence in Abrams to allow him to take a chance on Lost which would eventually prove that sci fi was more than a niche genre (more on that at this link).
CBS
Wolf Lake (Wednesdays 10 PM EST)
The eye net also had only one genre offering for the 2001-02 season, but it disappeared pretty quickly. The supernatural drama Wolf Lake was out of place amongst the procedurals and sitcoms that were common on the CBS schedule, and to make matters worse it was put in the Wednesday 10 PM EST hour against Top 5 hit Law & Order. It was quickly yanked from the schedule after only five episodes aired, leaving four additional installments unaired. The full nine episodes would eventually be run on UPN later in the season (which shared ownership with CBS) and would also air on The Sci Fi Channel, but no additional episodes were ever produced. CBS also aired the semi-fantasy series Touched by an Angel that season, but that hardly counts as a genre entry.
NBC
The peacock network had no sci fi/fantasy shows on its schedule in the 2001-02 season nor did it have anything of interest for genre fans in its lineup the prior year. The quasi-genre entry The Pretender was the last show it had on the schedule with any semblance of sci fi elements and that one had wrapped up in 2000. And it would be a few more years before the network would make any real attempt to reach genre fans, first with Medium in 2004 and then Heroes in 2006.
FOX
Futurama (Sundays 7 PM EST)
The X-Files (Sundays 9 PM EST)
The Tick (Thursdays 8:30 PM EST)
Dark Angel (Fridays 8 PM EST/9 PM EST)
Among the Big Four broadcasters, FOX had the most genre offerings in the 2001-02 season, but three would be gone by the end of the season and the other would exit the following year. The X-Files was in its ninth season and original star David Duchovny was only part-time on the show at that point. The ninth year had been announced as its last in advance and FOX had tried to launch a spin-off the prior season with The Lone Gunmen. That one did not perform well on Fridays (and the network did not support it like it did with the original show), and it was gone after one season. The X-Files itself was long in the tooth by that point with most viewers ready for it wrap things up. Sadly, its series finale proved disappointing and the revival seasons that started in 2016 did little to improve upon that.
James Cameron’s Dark Angel was in its second season that year and struggling to find an audience on Friday nights (FOX had a tendency to throw its genre entries into the low-viewership Friday timeslots). A third season of the show had been planned, but the network chose not to move forward with that and cut it short after two years. Premiering that season was the superhero spoof The Tick which was based on the Ben Edlund character of the same name. Patrick Warburton was spot on in the lead role and had an excellent supporting cast, but the show was ahead of its time and pretty much dead on arrival airing against NBC’s juggernaut Thursday comedy block. The show was cancelled after only nine episodes (more about The Tick at this link). That network’s other sci fi spoof Futurama was doing well enough on early Sunday nights to get a fourth season renewal, but FOX would cancel it the next year. Comedy Central would later take a flyer on that one and it would become a huge hit for the cable net.
UPN
Buffy, The Vampire Slayer (Tuesdays 8 PM EST)
Roswell (Tuesdays 9 PM EST)
Star Trek: Enterprise (Wednesdays 8 PM EST)
Special Unit 2 (Wednesdays 9 PM EST)
As with most of the ’90s, sci fi and fantasy fans had to look beyond the Big Four broadcast networks to find much in the way of genre shows of interest, and the part-time networks were happy to oblige. UPN had beefed up its selections in the 2001-02 season by picking up two shows from its nearest competitor The WB. Fan-favorite Buffy, the Vampire Slayer made its jump to the Paramount-owned network for its sixth season and would continue there for one more year. The teen sci fi drama Roswell would also make the move from The WB that season, but that one would be gone by the end of the year. The monster-hunter show Special Unit 2 was in its second season on UPN, but it was not performing up to standards and was also cancelled by year end.
Premiering on UPN that season was Star Trek: Enterprise which picked up the Trek baton from Voyager after that one wrapped up the prior year. Enterprise got off to a rocky start, though, and never enjoyed the popularity of the other Trek spin-off shows. It would stick around for four seasons, but UPN pulled the plug at that point making it only the second show from the franchise to be officially cancelled.
The WB
Charmed (Sundays 8 PM EST)
Angel (Mondays 9 PM EST)
Smallville (Tuesdays 9 PM EST)
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Fridays 8 PM EST)
The WB had four genre entries in the 2001-02 season, and like UPN most of its shows appealed to a younger audience. Angel continued the Buffy-verse on The WB, but that one would end up getting axed by the network two seasons later. Charmed was in its fourth season and would continue for four more years, wrapping up right before The WB and UPN merged to become The CW. The sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch had been one of the network’s first shows and would continue for another year to complete its seven-season run. Smallville debuted on the network that season and it would continue for nine years, moving over to The CW in the 2006-07 season. That Superman prequel series would wrap up the year before Arrow picked up the DC Comics baton and launched a major expanded-universe for The CW.
Sci fi fans could also look to the cable channels and syndication for genre entries since the major broadcast networks had only sparse offerings. Farscape was still going strong on The Sci Fi Channel at that time, and that cabler had a few other original genre offerings such as The Chronicle and Tracker. Stargate: SG-1 was in its fifth year on Showtime and it would make the leap to Sci Fi the next season where it would stick around five more years and launch the spin-offs Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate: Universe. Andromeda was airing in syndication as were shows like Mutant X and Starhunter. So if sci fi fans did not like what they found on the broadcast networks, that at least had some other options. And within a few years, sci fi and fantasy shows experienced a resurgence with the broadcastors and would continue to expand across all providers into the Peak TV years.
CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates of all the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows with our Sci Fi TV Update posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
SciFiTVSite.com: Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and keep up with what is airing/streaming each week with our Weekly Listings.
