FOX Celebrates 25 Years - Invites X-Files Leads et al

[Agent Skulder]

On SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2012 (8-10 PM), FOX will celebrate its quarter century anniversary by having an on air celebration. They're inviting the stars from shows that helped them grow- like The X-Files, BH 90210, Married with Children & more...

No word yet (of course) whether Carter, GA or DD will actually attend (GA will be filming The Fall), or appear via satellite.

For more details see:
http://www.vulture.com/2012/03/fox-marr ... union.html and
http://www.scifivision.com/index.php?op ... cle&id=662

For all you strategists, note that the FOX TV Upfronts begin May 16, so this celebration may usher in the May TV Sweeps, plus the Upfronts. Current forecasts re FOX (& network) series' renewals & cancellations may be found here:
http://tvdonewright.com/2012-2013-previ ... ion-chart/

[Agent Skulder]

Shameless self promotion ... FOX opened a Facebook page for this show. Maybe they're afraid no one will tune in... Feel free to COMMENT there if you want to express any thoughts re, well, anything FOX related.

https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_ ... 8847550557

Of note: FOX's first signal transmission - April 5, 1987

And, note the ORDER of the FOX ANNOUNCEMENT (translation: now is not the time for fresh XF3 rumors... and, FOX knows how to alphabetize! Seriously, had they wanted to emphasize TXF in front of an imminent announcement, they might have led with that series' invited guests.

"Talent scheduled to appear on FOX’s 25th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL include Calista Flockhart from “Ally McBeal”; Gabrielle Carteris, Shannen Doherty, Jason Priestley and Ian Ziering from “Beverly Hills, 90210”; Christina Applegate, David Faustino, Ed O'Neill and Katey Sagal from “Married With Children”; Patrick Warburton from “The Tick”; and Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny and creator Chris Carter from “The X-Files.”"

[TruthIsOutThere]

I'm looking forward to this, and it should be fun to see some of those stars from yesteryear. I saw Gabrielle Carteris (me and my wife used to watch 90210 back when it started) recently on Criminal Minds, and I'm sure many of the other actors from the late 80's and early 90's have changed and grown up as well. Let's hope CC, DD, and GA can at least do short interviews!

[Agent Skulder]

I don't keep track of actors' itineraries - but someone who does reminded me that GA was in Los Angeles earlier this year for the PBS panel discussions about "Great Expectations" which airs April 1st & 8th. This is a big deal for PBS - they're publcally funded, and use big events like literary mini-series to campaign for membership.

So most likely, GA taped her participation in this FOX event in January, when she was in LA...

[LondonLady]

I hope that I'll remember to watch this 20th Century Fox event for the "The X Files" feature.

[Agent Skulder]

Pen, meet Calendar!

Plus, I'm sure some industrious Phile will upload it in segments to YouTube, for those of us who stopped adding to the Comcast coffers...

[LondonLady]

Pen, meet calendar, then meet your friend, Forget Anyway!

, but any idea which dates in April PBS will show, "Great Expectations" with GA?

[Agent Skulder]

Yep ...
IN THE GREAT EXPECTATIONS THREAD - GA FORUM - APRIL 1 and 8 ... AN EASTER EGG

Back on track... Bets are currently being placed as to whether GA & DD will appear "live" or pretaped...

[TruthIsOutThere]

I'm not a betting man, but if I were placing valuable coin on the outcome, I'd go with pre-taped/prerecorded.

[Agent Skulder]

Hear, hear! Moi aussi!

[LondonLady]

Oh, my gosh! I'm glad that I asked. GA will be on this Sunday. I would have missed it.

Agent Skulder, I hardly ever visit the GA thread; that's why I didn't know.

[LondonLady]

I think that GA's and DD's appearance will be pre-recorded as well. I wonder whether they will be on together, or whether they'll speak separately.

[Agent Skulder]

FOX will be bringing back entire casts (the "reunion" part of the show) where possible... So my guess is they'll feature the 3 XF reps together...

Re the PBS broadcast of GE, generally PBS re-broadcasts shows throughout the month (to drive pledges if nothing else). So check your PBS listings... Someone didn't look at the calendar when they scheduled this, so I'm certain GE will be re-run...

[Agent Skulder]

HOST ANNOUNCED...

"Fox is turning to a familiar face to host its upcoming 25th anniversary special.

Ryan Seacrest will oversee the two-hour broadcast, the network said Friday.

"Who better than Ryan Seacrest -- America's best television host and 11-year member of our Fox family -- to lead our 25th anniversary celebration?" Fox president of alternative entertainment Mike Darnell said. "This is going to be an amazing trip down memory lane filled with plenty of surprises that will showcase our hits, our misses and everything in between."

Set to feature cast reunions from Married … With Children, That '70s Show and In Living Color, Fox is making a night of the event, re-airing the pilot of Married, the Ed O'Neill-Katey Sagal comedy that helped define the network during its early years.

Also added to the guest list for the special are House's Hugh Laurie, The Simpsons voice actor Kelsey Grammer and In Living Color's Tommy Davidson.

Fox's 25th anniversary special airs at 8 p.m. Sunday, April 22."

http://m.hollywoodreporter.com/live-fee ... ial-312069

Reading between the lines - if TXF gets a total of 8 minutes devoted to GA, DD & CC - it'll be a lot...

[LondonLady]

Let's hope that "The X Files" gets at least 10 minutes.

[Agent Skulder]

Deal!

[Agent Skulder]

REMINDER / DVR ALERT

SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2012 (8-10 PM)

FOX will celebrate its quarter century anniversary by having an on air celebration. They're inviting the stars from shows that helped them grow like The X-Files including CARTER, DUCHOVNY & ANDERSON (& others mentioned at the top of this thread.) ...

As part of its 25th anniversary celebration... FOX will rebroadcast the pilot for the comedy series that put the then-fledging network on the map, Married…With Children, along with the 500th episode of its longest-running series, The Simpsons. The two will air from 7-8 PM.

http://m.deadline.com/2012/04/fox-to...hildren-pilot/

[TruthIsOutThere]

Thank you very much, Agent Skulder, for the reminder. It kind of snuck up on me, though I think I have it written down on the master calendar at home.

I wonder how many of us are going to be timing things, once they start spotlighting our show! (to see how many minutes they actually devote to it)

[Agent Skulder]

If you succeed... I'll send chocolate! Just tell me if you prefer milk or dark...

[Agent Skulder]

A nod from the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/21/arts/ ... rsary.html

Of note: "It also took a chance, in 1993, on a show whose premise — a pair of F.B.I. agents investigating paranormal phenomena, including a vast alien conspiracy — was widely mocked. That series, “The X-Files,” would go on to become terrifically influential, spawning countless imitators — many of them currently on network schedules — and ranking with “Friday Night Lights” as one of the best broadcast network dramas of the last 20 years."

[LondonLady]

What they meant to say is that "The X Files" is the best sci-fi/drama TV series not just of the last 20 years, but of all time, since the beginning of time.

[LondonLady]

Oh, and thanks for the reminder, Agent Skulder. I hope that I still remember by Sunday! I'd better write a note to myself, and leave it somewhere conspicuous.

[Agent Skulder]

FINAL REMINDER!
FOX'S FAMILY FRIENDLY ANNIVERSARY SHOW
TONIGHT, SUNDAY
APRIL 22, 8-10 pm eastern/pacific

Please do NOT post over this until AFTER the show.

All reviews / thoughts welcome!

[Agent Skulder]

All done - a whopping 3.37 minutes, with mere soundbites from CC, DD & GA. Mainly clips.

Thanks to Adam's XF32012 FB for the Link:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuSrEoud ... ata_player

[GillyDreamer78]

And apparently "The X-files" was trending worldwide on Twitter.



@XFilesNews #TheXFiles is trending!
2:45 AM CET

[LondonLady]

I can't believe it! I missed most of it! I only caught the very end. I was talking on the phone to my mum in London. However, I can't blame her, because I'd completely forgotten about the programme, anyway, and I just happened to turn on the telly. Thanks for posting the clip, Agent Skulder. I'll just save it to my portable hard drive. Only 3:37 minutes for such an iconic show. Shame on FOX.

[Agent Skulder]

Thanks, GillyDreamer!

I went looking for it 25 minutes later on the Trend list, and it wasn't even in the top 500. I wish they had a way to capture the window of time during which something trended.

[LondonLady]

I just watched the clip. Not as thorough as I'd hoped, considering that, "The X Files" was a flagship programme for FOX Television. Ah, well. I suppose that it was better than nothing. Longer interviews with DD, GA, and CC would have been nice.

[Agent Skulder]

London Lady - You & I should have made a bet... Remember, I thought TXF might get 8 mnutes, & you hoped for 10? HA! So instead of our lofty estimates, we got 3 1/3 minutes.

I wish we had a smiley banging her head against a wall, as that's how I feel.

[Agent Skulder]

For HD fans... And those needing a Ryan Seacrest fix...
"Who?" "The guy who plans to be the next Dick Clark." Also FOX's host...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7-IaYPI ... ata_player

[TruthIsOutThere]

You guys all beat me to it. I kept rough track, and knew it was (at most) around 4 minutes. It should also be noted that they did a few brief clips earlier on, too (among montages where they flashed scenes from all of their shows), but that didn't amount to much.

And during an animated clip (made for the Special) with the Simpsons, who were stuck at a back table in a large banquet, you could see a familiar well-dressed couple at a table not far away (he a dark-haired man with a distinctive look and she a red-haired beauty); they were sitting next to some sort of large robot, it looked like.

It was fun to see what they did show, but it would have been nicer for it to have been a bit longer.

[Agent Skulder]

Fox 25th Anniversary Special Ratings Fall Behind Its Competition

Fox's 25th Anniversary was certainly cause for celebration. Unfortunately, the event, which included the encore airings of the pilot episodes of Married with Children and The Simpsons, didn't win itself ratings worthy of the occasion. But given the usual Sunday night competition, that's not all that surprising. 

Network TV alone has enough to offer TV viewers on Sunday nights....  TV Line posted the ratings, and it looks like The Good Wife came out on top, bringing in 10.3 million viewers with a 1.9 rating. Also for CBS, The Amazing Race didn't do so bad either, scoring 9.1 million viewers for its episode. Meanwhile, at NBC, Harry's Law earned 8.6 million viewers, while The Celebrity Apprentice took in 6.3 million. ABC's Once Upon a Time returned to an audience of 8.8 million viewers with a 2.9 rating. 

By comparison to the above mentioned shows, Fox's numbers for its big birthday bash don't seem all that impressive. From what TV Line reports, 4.3 million viewers tuned in to watch the event, which was hosted by Ryan Seacrest, and featured appearances from various current and past Fox stars. About three million took a trip back in time to watch the re-airings of the pilot episodes of Married with Children and The Simpsons. 

Factoring in the cable TV offerings last night, and the fact that we're in the thick of the Winter/Spring TV season, with most shows winding up as they approach their season finales, it seems probable that many viewers weren't willing to tear themselves away from their regularly scheduled programming to watch Fox celebrate its quarter-century mark...

[JeSouhaite]

Oh, I definitely used the DVR to capture Amazing Race. That is on the docket for later this evening.

I did watch the Anniversary show, but I only watched the Sci-Fi segment, then turned back to the cooking channel. However, I am happy that the biggest part of the Sci-Fi segment was XF. XF was the centerpiece.

[Agent Skulder]

... However, I am happy that the biggest part of the Sci-Fi segment was XF. XF was the centerpiece.

Now that's depressing, don't you think... a "centerpiece" that lasted under 4 minutes?

[JeSouhaite]

Well, since I didn't watch, nor time, the other segments, I'm just happy that XF was the focus.
At least the FOX people realize that. I mean, that is something, right?

[LondonLady]

I agree with you, JeSou. We have to focus on the positive. Yes, "The X Files" didn't receive the recognition and acclaim that it deserves, but since it was the main focus of the science fiction segment, you say, well, that is great.

[TruthIsOutThere]

I watched a bit from a few more segments last night (mostly fast-forwarding, though), and I think I know why they gave such short-shrift to TXF (and the other shows). There was just too much content to try to cover.

Two hours sounds like a long time, but they gave attention (and devoted entire segments) to:

- Comedy (like Married with Children, Malcolm in the Middle, etc.)

- their "Animation Domination" (The Simpsons, Family Guy, etc.)

- Sci-Fi

- Primetime Soaps (The O.C., Melrose Place, Beverly Hills 90210, etc.)

- Sports

- Reality TV (all of those "When Animals Attack", Alien Autopsy, and the like)

- Music (American Idol, Glee, etc.)

and others.

It seemed that each of these segments got just a tiny bit of time, though I think some of them got more than others (they probably focused more on American Idol, for example).

[Agent Skulder]

FOX's advertising was misleading. It sounded like there would be heavy emphasis on MWC, Simpsons, 90210 & TXF.

That's the ONlY reason this is even a discussion.

Even with the false advertising, they still lost in their ratings timeslot.

[maurisap]

I really wish they would have played an encore of XFiles "Pilot" episode. That would have shown who was interested. I'd LOVE to see XFiles featured on television again through a 6 week mini-series. I like that idea even more than a movie. Six hours of xfiles compared to 90 minutes of xfiles is a win in my book!

Had FOX featured XFiles Pilot they would have had proof of how large of a following the show still has. Married with Children? Good grief.

[LondonLady]

LOL, maurisap! I actually love, "Married...with Children," but it only became really funny after Jefferson arrived. The Pilot episode is rather rubbish. Yes, showing the Pilot of, "The X Files" would have been a much better idea.

As for a miniseries, Frank Spotnitz said that FOX simply doesn't make miniseries any more. I suppose that that is true. I can't think of any recent FOX miniseries. However, I don't watch any new TV programmes, except, "The Walking Dead," so maybe I wouldn't even know.