'Sci-Fi Masters' Tanks, ABC Vindicated - TVWeek

James Hibberd - 'Masters' Tanks, ABC Vindicated - TVWeek - Blogs: "Is a network disappointed or relieved when a show they don’t like performs poorly?

The new anthology series “Masters of Science Fiction” was cut from six episodes to four, then scheduled to premiere in the airless timeslot of Saturdays at 10 p.m. in the dead of summer. When ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson was asked about the moves, he reportedly described the series as “uneven” and “a little bit problematic.”

This set the stage for critics to do something they heartily enjoy: Rebel against a network by praising one of its orphaned shows. That the “Masters” source material is written by sci-fi legends like Harlan Ellison and Robert Heinlein, while ABC has stockpiled its summer with reality repeats, only made the critic contingent extra feisty."