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In recent years, this has especially been true with regard to the Fox Network . '' Johnny Zero '', '' Boston Public '', '' Wanda At Large '', '' Firefly '', '' Playing It Straight '', '' Wonderfalls '', '' John Doe '', '' VR.5 '', and '' Dark Angel '' are all examples of Fox series that started on Friday nights and lasted only a few episodes; or which were moved to Friday nights, experienced a steep drop in ratings, and were then canceled. The phrase is now used in regard to '' was originally aired on Friday nights before being moved to Thursday nights a month after its fall 2000 series premiere; it has remained on Thursday nights ever since. A famous example of a television series brought to a premature death by moving it to Friday nights was the original '' Star Trek '' series, which aired on NBC . Producer Gene Roddenberry lost a fight with '' Laugh-In '' producer George Schlatter over the 8:30 PM Monday-night time slot. Roddenberry said he had been promised the slot when the show was renewed, after fans deluged NBC with mail in protest. That would have meant ''Laugh-In'' would have had to start a half-hour later, and Schlatter did not see why his show, a ratings smash, had to yield that time to the poorly-rated ''Star Trek'', and made no secret of his displeasure. Roddenberry, who never forgave the network for this, made good on a threat to withdraw from personally producing the show, which when combined with the departure of others involved behind the scenes hastened its decline and ensured that there would be no fourth season. This was only a year before NBC began using Demographic breakdowns to decide which shows to air. NBC discovered that even in the 10 PM Friday slot, the show nevertheless attracted an audience segment advertisers would have found highly desirable, as it consisted mainly of married couples with lots of Disposable Income . In an echo of what happened with the original ''Star Trek'', the prequel series '''' was rescheduled from Wednesday to Friday nights on UPN for its fourth season (2004–2005), a move which preceded its cancellation in February 2005. Whether networks realize this, and to this day purposely move programs to justify cancelling programs they do not wish to continue airing, is the subject of much continuing debate and cynicism amongst fans of such programs. It is likely, though not certain, that the underlying reason for this syndrome has to do with the fact that Friday night is the traditional "first night of the weekend," in the United States, and that many people who might otherwise watch television are out partaking in other forms of entertainment because they work a standard work week and need not be up early Saturday morning. However many shows, such as '' Sanford And Son '', '' The Partridge Family '', '' Monk '', '' Dallas '', '' Miami Vice '', '' The Love Boat '', '' Fantasy Island '', '' Falcon Crest '', '' Providence '', '' Ghost Whisperer '', and '' The X-Files '', have been launched on Friday nights and become successful (although Fox later moved ''The X-Files'' to Sunday nights). Similarly, '' Battlestar Galactica '' has flourished at 10 PM Fridays on the Sci-Fi Channel since January 2005, becoming one of its highest-rated programs. Sci-Fi Channel in fact places its three highest rated shows on Friday night, airing ''Galactica'' alongside '' Stargate SG-1 '' and '' Stargate Atlantis '' in a three-hour "Sci-Fi Friday" block. A total opposite reaction to the Friday-night death slot can also occur, in which a show with lower ratings earlier in the broadcast week experiences better ratings than their original slot. This consequence is shown in the example of World Wrestling Entertainment 's '' Friday Night SmackDown! ''. Originally named ''SmackDown!'', it was broadcast on Thursdays in competition to WCW '' Thunder ''. This show was moved to Friday nights in the United States by UPN beginning on September 9, 2005, because of low ratings on its original Thursday-night slot. As a result, the show was renamed to reflect its current US broadcast day. However, upon its move to the "death slot," UPN Friday nights have seen a substantial increase in ratings over its former allocation to movies. ''SmackDown!'' has also garnered even better ratings in the death slot than the ratings on its former Thursday-night airings (after the merging of WCW with WWE). |
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