It may seem like a suicidal notion for a network facing a major decline in ratings, but Fox may end up canceling the Futurama TV series in spite of the fact that with minimal promotion and continual time slot disruption, the series still managed to win its time period in all the key demographic segments, including teenagers, 18-34, and 18-49. How could a struggling network that keeps trying to foist low-rated crap like The Chamber on the American public make such a decision? The answers are complex and troubling. For one thing, although 72 episodes of Futurama have been made only 48 have been shown on the network, largely because the show was constantly pre-empted by NFL football games and the World Series. The unaired shows provide Fox with what could amount to another season of the series without additional cost. Meanwhile the show's writers and animators will be out of work if Fox or some other network doesn't pick up the series. Fox, which is reeling from sinking ratings and the general decline in advertising revenue, may think that it can't afford to order another season of Futurama, in spite of the fact that the series pulls strong ratings with minimal support from the network.
More troubling is the notion that Fox won't renew the series because the studio doesn't own it. Up until a few years ago networks had FCC restrictions that kept their ownership of programming at a minimum. Since those restrictions have been relaxed, many critics feel that network programming has deteriorated significantly. Take for example the half-hour following the hugely popular Friends sitcom (which is not owned by NBC). For the past few years NBC has staked out this prime bit of TV real estate for its 'own' series. Has anyone noticed how those series invariably suck! Networks may understand how to market and schedule, but so far their record in actually producing shows is a sorry one indeed. Could this be the reason that no network has been able to come up with a mega-hit sitcom since Everybody Loves Raymond debuted in the mid-90s?
Meanwhile, if Futurama is canceled it will have a negative impact on pop culture retailers since the series has spun off a wide variety of quality merchandise including an excellent comic series from Bongo Comics, figures from Moore Creations, bendables and pop-up people from Dark Horse, and tin toys from Rocket USA (see 'Rocket USA Futurama's Tin Toys'). The effect of the cancellation, if it happens, will probably be mitigated by the fact that Fox has enough episodes in the can to broadcast the series for another year, but the cancellation will hurt in the long run since Futurama will be sixteen or more episodes short of the quantity necessary for syndication. Lack of syndication could mean that full season DVD releases might never happen for Futurama, but the real tragedy is that Futurama, with its ultracool futuristic design, has a strong appeal for the visually oriented fans that shop at pop culture stores. 
