Well, this is depressing and troubling. In the Dec. 25-31 issue of T.V. Guide (at leas the Ultimate Cable version), there is a little article called Ratings Roulette. Here's the interesting part: <quite> "WINNER: The Simpons are finally making nice d'oh! again. Last year, the Fox 'toon fell from 30th to 46th place, with an 8.1 household rating. It also lost 10 percent of its 18-34 male audience. This year Homer and Co. are up to 40th place, with an 8.2. And with guys 18 to 34, 10.8 makes The Simpsons the top-rated show in boyland. Yippee! LOSER The Simpson's little sister, however, isn't so lucky. Stuck on Tuesdays last year, Futurama earned only a 5.9 ratinf and ranked 97th. This year, slotted behind The Simpsons, Futurama climbed to 51st in the rankings, with a 7.5 average. That makes it a winner, right? Not for long. To make room for Malcolm in the Middle, Fox is moving Futurama to 7 P.M. Suddenly the future doesn't look so bright." <endquote>
Old news by now to us, but the fact that T.V. Guide actually admits that this is a bad move for Futurama makes its eventual demise seem the more likely. I think what will happen is that ratings will drop, but Fox will (uncharacteristically) keep it going to the end of the season, then cancel it. Sigh. I haven't been this depressed since I learned about the end of MST 3K, and Futurama's not even over yet (Its too young to die!).
Phreke