In a move that could forever be referred to as “pulling a FIREFLY,”  Canada’s Space Channel has announced it will not be bringing TODD AND THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL back for a third season (thus it probably won't be returning to FearNET, either). Fango caught up with co-creator/executive producer Craig Wallace to try and find out why...

TODD AND THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL has won international critical acclaim, been nominated for numerous awards including a Gemini award win for Best Ensemble Performance and has been picked up by several other networks internationally. So why not renew the show for a third go around, particularly when the second season left off with such a cliffhanger?

 “We just weren't bringing in the audience numbers that SPACE needed to continue financing the show,” says Wallace. Everyone at Space were amazingly supportive of what we were doing creatively with the show, and when we got the call from them to say they couldn't greenlight a third season, they expressed wholeheartedly how bummed out they were.”

 “As to why we weren't getting the audience, well that's open to many theories,” Wallace continued. “Space isn't carried on basic cable, and our audience isn't generally the kind that pays for extended cable (or pays for cable at all, really...). Maybe we just didn't fit in with Space's predominant demographic. Maybe the way ratings are calculated in Canada isn't exactly representative of our audience.”

You see, in Canada television ratings don’t count people watching the show online. The show was available on the SPACE website for viewers so it’s a perfectly legitimate way to enjoy the show from a viewer perspective. Unfortunately this means a lot of viewers don’t get counted when the numbers come rolling in. I’m sure more than a few of us caught an episode or two we might have gotten from other sources too, and sadly, this is the level where we can really see an impact from piracy.

Regardless if it was not enough watching period, not enough watching on traditional television, piracy or sick slurry of all three, what’s clear from this experience is that if you enjoy a show, you should support the show. The conflict here seems to me to be old media versus new media. A young audience who is technical and enjoys entertainment on their terms, be it through sites like Space provides to view their shows online or services like Netflix, versus an older system that hasn’t really found solid footing in the online world yet and an indeterminate grasp of the demands of a younger generation.

 “We'll never know for sure, but what we do know is that we have extremely dedicated and loyal fans for whom it’s been a pleasure to provide 26 episodes of crazy teen supernatural mayhem . We're working on closure for the series, because we certainly did leave 'em hanging with the season two finale. We have some ideas brewing on how to do that, so we'll see.”

If we killed it folks, it’s up to us to bring it back from the dead. It may all be part of the twisted scheme of the forces of darkness but what choice do we have? Sign the petition, and demand that Space resurrect the show. You can also email SPACE at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and express your feelings about the show not being renewed, and your commitment to watching the show if it gets brought back for a third season.

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