Hope for Futurama Revival?

I just saw an article that said Family Guy will be going back into production - on FOX no less! - after being cancelled two years ago; apparently the ratings on the cable channels were so good that Fox decided to revive it.

I can't help but think that this is a very promising sign for Futurama, which is apparently also getting good ratings on the cable channels where it runs. The fact that Family Guy is another Fox series and that Fox is reviving it really makes me think that Futurama may have a shot. Of course, I don't want to get my hopes up because a Futurama revival still seems like a long shot somehow.

Any thoughts from my fellow Futurama fans? I wonder if there is any realistic prospect of convincing our fellow Futurama fans to watch it on cable, even if it is the umpteenth time that the episode is airing, just to help the viewership numbers?

Here is the article I saw:
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      LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - The formerly unloved-by-networks "Family
Guy" is going back into production at its original home, FOX. It's one of
Cartoon Network's highest-rated shows. And now it's being added to a third
lineup.
      The animated series will join the TBS prime-time slate on July 7,
airing Wednesdays at 8 and 8:30 p.m. ET. The pickup is part of TBS' effort
to remake itself as "the ultimate destination for comedy lovers," chief
operating officer Steve Koonin says.

"Family Guy" will be paired with "Seinfeld" reruns on Wednesdays. It will also remain part of Cartoon Network's lineup, where it remains the No. 1 show in the late-night "Adult Swim" block that's a haven for young-adult viewers, in particular the elusive college-age male.

      The show follows the lives of the middle-class Griffin family of
Quahog, R.I., with portly patriarch Peter (voiced by creator Seth
MacFarlane) doing his best to provide for his family -- wife Lois (Alex
Borstein), insecure daughter Meg (Mila Kunis, "That '70s Show"), dim-bulb
son Chris (Seth Green, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), evil genius baby Stewie
(MacFarlane again) and talking dog/voice of reason Brian (also MacFarlane).
      After bouncing it around the schedule numerous times over three
seasons, FOX cancelled "Family Guy" in 2002. Strong ratings for the Cartoon
Network repeats and brisk DVD sales persuaded the network to order new
episodes, scheduled for summer 2005. MacFarlane is also at work on a new FOX
series, "American Dad," set for midseason.

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There's another problem - the cast and crew for Futurama have split ways farther than the cast and crew for Family Guy have, from what I've heard, so it'd be a lot harder to bring it back.

Ari Johnson wrote:

Not really, the most important members of Futurama's crew have expressed interest in continuing the series, and the cast can be recorded remotely if necessary. The biggest obstacle is replicating Family Guy's lowest common denominator popularity with a series that's actually watchable.

"Rhino" wrote in message news:...

Where's the Usenet Oracle when you need him/her/it? Oh well, I'll have to do this one by myself:

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You owe the Futurama Oracle a microwave, a metal Jiffy-Pop, and a supernova. -- Christopher Heckman

Howard wrote:

Then they have failed. Futurama cost about the same amount of money per episode as Family Guy, and while Futurama's DVD sales haven't been as good as Family Guy's, they are still quite impressive.

Accurate numbers are hard to find, but a quick Google search indicates that both series had a budget somewhere between $500,000 and $1,100,000 per episode, with Futurama having a budget slightly higher than Family Guy's. Additionally, both Futurama and Family Guy had DVD sales that were significant enough for Newscorp to mention them in its third quarter earnings for fiscal '04 while neither The Simpsons nor King of the Hill were mentioned. Sadly, no sales numbers were given, but a company doesn't generally point out products that generated poor or mediocre sales.

Exatron wrote:

I find your first assertion hard to believe, although I won't dispute it outright as you appear to have done more research than I have. I just don't see that Family Guy has a lot of high-ticket voice talent or a lot of 3D animation like Futurama does.

I love both shows, but for different reasons entirely. I'd gladly have them both back in production.

Howard wrote:

I have also heard from a person who claims to be a professional that both shows cost nearly the same amount to produce. Toonzone has the info somewhere on its message board, IIRC. Futurama's animation budget was much higher, but both series had nearly the same budget overall.

Actually, a quick search brought up the rumor once and the price ranges I quoted. Unless you can provide some actual proof that I'm wrong, I have no reason to beleive you.

Howard schrieb:

uhuh, so simply both dont *know*.

Futurama has some computer-animations, that may cost a little bit more than simple drawings of FG.

But the Rest of Interaction should be the same. So the rest, what could be involved into the costs is the Writing Staff.

And for me: I've been told family guy is *the new runner up* and compared to simpsons, i did hate it from beginning.

Must be my expectations.

On the other hand: I hated simpsons to. I started to like simpsons, when i've seen the Futurama S1...

But i dont see a reason, why i should change my mind over FG. (And the german dub want help)

On 17 Jun 2004 19:02:58 GMT, Howard spewed forth these words of wisdom:

I think Family Guy Volume One sold one million copies! I think 50,000 is usually a good sales figure for TV sets.

Well, I recently bought the first 3 DVD sets of Futurama, and plan to buy the fourth one sometime in the future, so, well, I hope I'm not the only one and hopefully sales will climb enough to make FOX take notice. It'd be great to see Futurama come back, if even for a season or two more.

"It makes me proud. So proud of you. I see innocence shining through."

Adam and the Ants - Dog Eat Dog

On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 13:36:45 -0400, "Rhino" wrote:

I, like everyone else here, would love to see Futurama revived.

The rumor that Futurama cost more to produce than The Family Guy is ovious true if you've ever watched the two shows. Futurama uses full animation and some damn clever 3D CGI work. The Family Guy is stiff, flat and sparce - signs of animation on the cheap.

As for the voice talent - animation voices are recorded in isolation so it doesn't matter where the actors are or what their work schedule is so long as they can find a few days to work on their parts. Also most of the voices were done by about five actors that makes it easier to get the characters recorded.

Sales of Family Guy and Futurama have both been strong with TFG being the stronger of the two however the key to why TFG but not Futurama has been picked for revival is that TFG only had about 39 episodes produced while Futurama had 72. Futurama has the minimum number of episodes for syndication. The Family Guy doesn't. Increasing the number of Family Guy episodes will make it easier for Fox to further syndicate it.

Rather than revive Futurama I think Fox should consider a series of direct to video (or as the Japanese say OVA) movies. Besides the DVD sales they would be snapped up in a jiffy by Cartoon Network for their Cartoon Theater.

Brian Brown

[email] wrote:

If that was true (BTW, I don't believe the "100 episode minimum for syndication" nonsense), then Futurama would have gone into syndication already, and we would still be waiting for season 1 on DVD in the USA (except for those of us with DVD players that can play R2 discs, who would have ordered all four seasons already from Europe). (The possibility of syndication is almost certainly the main reason season 1 wasn't released in the USA for over a year after it was released in Europe.)

-- Don

[email] wrote:

Absolutely. I hope the smart people behind Family Guy were smart enough not to overpay for their animation.

Some voice talent costs more than others. Certainly Alex Borstein got paid less for Family Guy than Dan Castallaneta does for The Simpsons. I suspect that Billy West, John Dimaggio, and Katey Sagal are paid rather well for their work, regardless of convenience.

[email] wrote:

There were 50 Family Guy (not "THE Family Guy") episodes produced.

[email] schrieb:

metoo, metoo!

Yes!

Youre right your first argument is the key to Production costs...

uuhnooo, FG sucks (My Oppinion, no Offense)

!! Aaaaahhh gould Suggestion !!

Please make sure to inform Fox about your Idea!

Yeah, and me an some of my friends would make party with slurm McKenzie! (RIP)