Season 1 - first half (Page 9 of 9)

Yes, Farscape hit the ground running and never looked back ... and it also struggled with weak ratings for the whole duration of its run until it was unceremoniously canned at the end of season 4. While I agree with your general idea and I hate the meddling of TV studios (see Dollhouse), the fact is that the alternative to demographics are a lot of canceled shows and the inevitable conclusion that most of the US audience (this isn't anti-American, but the US audience is the only thing that matters in this case) is dumb as breadsticks. An because nobody wants to admit to the second fact, because it would mean the end of intelligent programming in the US, we all agree on diluting the "guaranteed goodness" with things like demographic research and trends to keep shows alive. And that of course leads to weak starts of shows to "find and audience" and once you have it you can bring on the goodness. Goodness by itself just isn't enough to attract an audience nowadays.

(This isn't supposed to defend FlashForward, because it isn't a very good show IMHO. It's just a counter-rant )

"We're on the side of the demons, Chief. We're evil men in the gardens of paradise, sent by the forces of death to spread devastation and destruction wherever we go."
-- Colonel Tigh

No, I don't hate and yes, I do watch it. But the only reason I do is because the big ideas are intriguing. The show itself is IMHO mediocre.

"We're on the side of the demons, Chief. We're evil men in the gardens of paradise, sent by the forces of death to spread devastation and destruction wherever we go."
-- Colonel Tigh