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The question now is what this vacancy on next year’s schedule means for FOX’s other bubble dramas, the new TERRA NOVA, ALCATRAZ and THE FINDER. None of them has been a breakout hit (Alcatraz was looking fairly strong until it got smacked by The Voice on Monday), and all have pluses and minuses on a business level. Terra Nova is hugely expensive, and since special effects and action are its main selling points, it can’t be made much cheaper–on the other hand, FOX owns the show, and it has promise internationally and in ancillary sales. Alcatraz, as noted, has until this week been somewhat more impressive in the ratings–but it’s owned by Warner Bros, which has a deal with J.J. Abrams, and thus the upside is limited for FOX as an overall corporation. And The Finder provides a franchise companion for Bones that could come in handy as the older show starts to get expensive itself–but it’s showing little strength, even with American Idol as a lead-in.
The guess here is that if Alcatraz can recover a few tenths from its walloping this week, it comes back, Finder doesn’t return, and FOX talks itself into another 13 episodes of Terra Nova. But what do you think? Prescribe FOX’s cure below…
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