Two Seasons then canned

The recent cancellation of Dollhouse by Fox proves that shows lucky enough to get a second chance don’t always get to prove themselves before the axe actually falls. In many ways a second season of a show is trickier than the first as it has to retain audience interest, attract new audiences as well sd prove it can still tell original stories. However, as our look at shows that were axed after two seasons show some downfalls are caused by being too different from what went before – revamps which alienate the core audience.

War of the Worlds

Television sequel series to the popular 1952 film by George Pal which shifted the action away from Victorian London to Cold War America. The idea of a television sequel to the film was first proposed by Pal himself in the 1970s but it wasn’t until the late 1980s that the series became a reality. The series is set some twenty years after the failed invasion but for the majority of people the invasion attempt is a forgotten event – this is somewhat unbelievable considering the film showed wide spread destruction across the world. However, it’s possible that over the course of time an explanation would have been revealed.

The television series reveals that the aliens were not from Mars – as by now it was proven that there was no life on Mars. Instead the aliens were from a planet called Mor-Tox and they were not killed at the end of the movie but instead in suspended animation until radiation wakes them up. They are now able to possess the bodies of humans giving them limited immunity to the germs in our atmosphere. The series revolves around a small team of scientists and military personnel who try to combat the awakened aliens. Actress Ann Robinson who played Sylvia Van Buren in the 1952 film reprised her role for several episodes linking film and the television series.

The second series underwent a radical revamp with much of the established plot and mythology abandoned as a new producer took charge. The setting of the series moved from contemporary to near-future with a cyber-punk, dystopia feel. Several characters from the first series were killed off and a new race of aliens introduced as a new threat. The continuity established between season one and the 1952 film was mostly forgotten and the viewers were not impressed. They turned off and the show was dropped.

The Tripods

Television adaptation of the novels by John Christopher, real name Samuel Youd, set in a post-apocalyptic story where the Earth has been conquered, and humans made slaves, by a race of aliens that use huge Tripods to control the human population. Society has reverted to Middle Ages form of industry with a very much reduced human population, kept in check by the Tripods.

The television series was jointly produced by the BBC and Australia’s Seven Network and was a costly affair. Several huge Tripods were constructed for the series which lasted two seasons, a third was planned. The trouble with the series, according to critics, was the Tripods were rarely seen – just a handful of times in the first season – and the rest of the time the story were more “Survivors” like, tales of farming. Things improved in the second season when the aliens of the piece featured a lot more and the action was ramped up a bit.

The series was cancelled after two seasons by Michael Grade who had also swung his axe on Doctor Who in 1985, though forced to relent on that after a huge media campaign. A third season was planned and pre-production underway when Grade dropped the axe. In the end the sheer cost of the series was its downfall and Grade felt it wasn’t a good return on the money it cost – he also isn’t really a Sci Fi fan. The BBC has now released both seasons of The Tripods on DVD.

Twin Peaks

Creepy and utterly bonkers drama that revolved around the murder of teenage Laura Piper at the investigation into it brutal killing. Through the investigation we are introduced to the residents of the small town of Twin Peaks and their dark secrets. Amongst those we meet are such bizarreness as the ‘log lady’. Although the series was a ratings and critical success to begin with ABC were concerned that interest would decline if the central mystery – who killed Laura – was not resolved quickly.

So during the show’s second series producers were forced to reveal the murderers identity – it was a move that killed the show off. Once this mystery was solved ratings dropped as viewers had little reason to tune in and the show became increasingly bizarre. ABC cancelled the series but David Lynch, creator of Twin Peaks saw to it that a prequel film, Fire Walk With Me, was produced. Lynch hoped the movie would be the first in a trilogy but the commercial failure of Fire Walk With Me dashed any hopes of that.

Space 1999

Drama from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson revolving around the inhabitants of Moon Base Alpha who are flung across the galaxy after a powerful nuclear explosion knocks the moon out of Earth’s orbit. The drama follows the Alphans as the travel through the galaxy hoping one day to return home. The origins of Space 1999 can be found in the proposed second season of the Anderson’s other Sci Fi series, UFO. Due to the popularity of the Moonbase episodes during the first series of UFO it was planned to feature the Moon more heavily in UFO’s second series but then it was cancelled so the Anderson’s decided to create a new show with some of the ideas they had already developed.

Leading stars included American Marin Landau and Barbara Bain who were cast at Lew Grade’s instance in the hope of appealing to US audiences. The series was filmed at the Pinewood studios and took a lot of visual inspiration from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: Space Odyssey. Broadcast began in 1975 even though production began in 1973 but the series was not networked in the UK or America meaning it aired at different time on local broadcasters. A second series was commissioned but underwent a revamp with more action and fun introduced and several cast members axed. Joining the cast of the second series were Catherine Von Schell and Tony Anholt. A third series was planned and possibly a spin-off series focusing on the character of Maya, played by Catherine Von Schell. However due to the sporadic nature of the episodes broadcasting ratings fell and Space 1999 and the proposed spin-off were cancelled. In the late 1990s there was hope of a big-screen revival led by the series Script Editor Johnny Byrne but little came off it expect a specially produced mini-feature ‘Message from Moonbase Alpha’ which you can view by click here >>