7. Earth 2 (NBC, 1994 - 1995)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VGW8P06dKc What Was The Show? A serial drama about a group of space explorers colonising a planet to use it as a new home for humanity, only to discover that it is not as uninhabited as they first thought. What Was The Stupid Decision? Universal wanted to alter the show considerably. NBC cancelled it instead. How Did It Kill The Show? Although its fallen into relative obscurity, Earth 2 was pretty revolutionary for its time. It was the first sci-fi series to have a prominent female lead, and it featured various broad elements that are reminiscent of Lost, making this something of a forerunner of mind-bending sci-fi dramas. But because its ratings werent high enough, the producer was replaced and a large number of changes were planned. These changes included removing long story arcs and abstract concepts, killing off three characters and replacing one of them (a cyborg) with a teenage cyborg character, and giving another character super strength. Its also clear that whoever suggested these changes was a raging sexist as there were also plans to relegate the female lead Devon Adair to a more background role, replace her with a male lead, and make the other female characters more emotional and less dominant. Not to mention wanting to have an already established female character become a bed-hopping romantic foil for some of the male characters. The reason this was a stupid decision was that it would have robbed the series of its character and individuality, instead turning it into just another dreary sci-fi drama. Rather than let Universal turn Earth 2 into a shadow of its original self in a quest for ratings, NBC basically flicked them the Vs and cancelled it instead. A shame but definitely the lesser of two evils.
JG Moore
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JG Moore is a writer and filmmaker from the south of England. He also works as an editor and VFX artist, and has a BA in Media Production from the University Of Winchester.
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