So you've seen it already? And it can't be both?

Well, she's said it's something like L.A. Confidential meets Silence of the Lambs, and central to the series is an existential battle for the main character's soul, so really not striking me as quirky so far.

(My WF DVDs have shipped!)

Read the pilot and saw some dailies. It's creepy and scary, has twisted gallows humor. There's really no quirk.

twisted gallows humor

Well, it is Tim Minear. Of course it has twisted gallows humor. I'd be upset if it didn't.

It's creepy and scary, has twisted gallows humor.

Oy, but is it too twisted for Fox?

Okay, now that does sound like a best-selling DVD: Too Twisted for Fox!

Bryan Fuller on sci wire. Some spoilers. But I no longer remember which episodes aired and which didn't. Did Safety Canary air? There is a spoiler for that one.

Imagine my surprise when the article I was coming over to link has already been linked to.

Blind. Rage.

Ouch. *winces* Chris (the columnist) is an acquaintance of mine. His columns are witty and intelligent, and sometimes VERY funny. I can understand people not realising that it's supposed to be humorous if you're not familiar with his work.

Feel superior because he doesn't know how to spell "Minear" (or have I been spelling it wrong all these years)

Damn. I glossed right over this. And here I went and thanked him for not saying that Tim worked on Buffy. Guess I'll have to go chew him out for misspelling Tim's name.

He's encouraging readers to not watch the show, to not bother lending their hearts to it. It's self defeating.

Point. But isn't "bad" publicity better than none? I can bet you that most of our circle of friends hadn't heard of "The Inside" before now; maybe they'll actually check it out, and get some more viewers. The board we post on has a HUGE contigent of Firefly fans, so knowing that Tim is involved will likely get at least a few more viewers.

It also ignores Arrested Development, and FOX is hanging onto that, since everyone up the chain at FOX likes it, believes in it, and hopes it finds an audience.

I believe FOX feels the same way about The Inside.

Yes, I said as much after I read the column. Unforunately that will only reach our online friends, and not the normal audience of the article.

A week or so ago he asked all of us to list favorite shows that were canceled before their time, because he was going to write about it in an upcoming column. I wish I had known he would be writing about "The Inside", because I would have pointed him to various things I've heard about the show from my lurkings here. But I don't think he's really trying to say "don't watch the show". I think his goal was (a) to make people chuckle, because that's what he does, and (b) to say that Fox is bad. 'Course, I could be wrong about this, as I am me, not him, and alas, do not yet possess the powers of telepathy.

No, it didn't. "Wax Lion," "Pink Flamingos," "Karma Chameleon," and "Wound-Up Penguin" were the only ones that aired.

Since everyone so far agrees that I've misinterpreted, I'll acquiece.

I do see at Whedonesque and the Firefly OB the whole, "yeah, Fox will just cancel it anyway" 'tude, so maybe there's something there.

I understand that FOX will reap what it has sown in terms of viewer loyalty, but the skittishness also punishes the shows. It seems like punching FOX in the kidney but it's the programs that double over.

I can see Allyson's point. While we may get (and possibly even enjoy) the sarcasm, we aren't enough to keep a show on the air. It would be much more helpful to have a bold, neon, flashing sign that says "MUST SEE" over the title of the show.

Since everyone so far agrees that I've misinterpreted, I'll acquiece.

Actually I don't think you've misinterpreted. Yeah, I didn't get that impression when I first read the column, but that's because I know the kind of columns that Chris usually writes, and was just looking for the funny. But on second read, I can see how you came to that interpretation, and I do think others might read the same thing into it. So I don't blame you at all for getting your hackles up about it, and I'm not mad at you for expressing your opinion. Guess I was just feeling a bit mama bearish, too, since I know the author of the article.

And I must've unconciously felt the same about the article, because my immediate response was to say "Great column! But IIRC, I think Tim mentioned feeling more confident about the network's feel of "The Inside", as compared to Wonderfalls and Firefly". And my second impulse was to start a new thread on my forum saying HEY! WATCH THIS SHOW!!! Which I think I shall do.