The Long Line of Losers that Lifted from Lost

With last week's announcement that Jericho was canceled (for the second time), I've gotten to thinking about all the Lost rip-offs we've had over the past three years.

Maybe "rip-off" is too harsh, but you know what I mean: all of those heavily serialized shows with sci-fi-thriller-esque plotlines...that also usually had one-word titles. Let's take a look down memory lane...

Surface
When: Debuted Fall '05.
Where: NBC.
What: Originally called "Fathom," it was about a mysterious creature (or creatures) living underwater and the marine biologist who attempts to find out what it is in the face of a possible government conspiracy.
Result: Got middling ratings, no buzz at all, and lasted fifteen episodes.

Threshold
When: Debuted Fall '05.
Where: CBS.
What: Boasting a guest appearance in the pilot by William Mapother (Lost's Ethan), it was about an expert team (led by the smoking hot Carla Gugino and Brent Spiner, a.k.a. Data from Star Trek) assembled to investigate an extra-terrestrial crash in the Atlantic Ocean. The aliens turn out to be the mean, body-snatching kind. Presumably a government conspiracy was involved as well.
Result: Reviews were decent, but ratings were in the 7-8 million viewers range, which a network like CBS doesn't tolerate. Canceled after 10 episodes, although according to IMDb, 13 were completed.

Invasion
When: Debuted Fall '05.
Where: ABC, Lost's home; it aired at 10pm Wednesdays, immediately following Lost.
What: Yet another alien-themed show, this one is about lots of strange occurrences that happen after a hurricane in a small town in Florida. William Fichtner starred as the possibly-infected-with- alien-goo sheriff.
Result: It regularly lost 40% of Lost's audience, which proved too high, although it did manage to stick around for 22 episodes - a full season.

Heroes
When: Debuted Fall '06.
Where: NBC.
What: An ensemble show about people realizing they have superpowers. During Lost's backlash at the beginning of Season 3, everybody was talking about Heroes: Oh, it moves so much faster than Lost! Oh, it answers so many more questions than Lost! Thankfully, you all finally realized that Heroes, not Lost, was the show making it up as it went along; the season finale turned out to be a major letdown and the second season turned out to suck. Not that I'm gloating.
Result: Still on the air after two years, the only one on this list that can boast that...although that Heroes: Origins side project got canceled before it began thanks to the writers strike.

Jericho
When: Debuted Fall '06.
Where: CBS.
What: Actually kind of a cool concept - a town that attempts to survive after a massive nuke attack on all of the major U.S. cities destroys the government as we know it.
Result: Ratings started out solid (11-12 million viewers), then dropped down to 8-9 million after a hiatus in the middle of the first season. Canceled, but thanks to an unprecedented fan protest, was brought back...only to get even worse ratings than before.

The Nine and Six Degrees
When: Debuted Fall '06.
Where: Both on ABC.
What: Neither had sci-fi elements, but both were ensemble shows that had "everyone is connected" themes.

Sound familiar? The Nine (which like Invasion briefly aired after Lost) even utilized flashbacks.
Result: The Nine made thirteen episodes, but not all of them aired; Six Degrees, despite boasting J.J. Abrams as an exec-producer, only aired eight episodes.

Kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth remembering all these failures, huh? (The Nine in particular took me a while to remember ever existing; I found it only after I Googled "Lost rip-off.") Makes me want to put on a Lost DVD for comfort...

TAGS: Heroes, Invasion, Jericho, Lost Ripoffs, Six Degrees, Surface, The Nine, Threshold
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