I ... have never heard of a show being canceled because a PROPOSED show is projected to be vastly more popular.
Well, at least in this case DS isn't just the average, run-of-the-mill proposed show. It has a built-in audience and a name value that a proposed series with an entirely new concept doesn't have (though audience recognition in and of itself isn't necessarily a guarantee of success - just look at what happened with the WB's Tarzan :- ).
The interesting thing here is that the WB has slipped behind UPN as the leading Weblet (for Patti, that means mini-network
) and they're scrambling to regain their top position because lower ratings equal smaller ad revenues from commercials, which mean less profits. By all accounts, they're looking to shows with a name value to help them regain their former status - that's why they've greenlit both the DS and Lost in Space pilots. The audience already has some idea of what to expect from those titles, so the WB's thinking is that they're (supposedly) an easier sell and the audience (again, supposedly) is more likely to sample them than they are a show with an entirely new name/idea.
Now, is the mere name recognition factor of a new, untried version of a series enough of a reason to cancel an established show. One wouldn't think so. But much to many Angel fans' surprise, the WB seriously considered cancelling Angel last season (something the what I refer to as the "overly caffeinated Angel fans"
seem to want to overlook). Factor in the fact that Angel's 5 year WB contract ends with this season and would be up for renewal should the series get a pickup for a 6th season - and most probably at a heftier price than the WB had been paying - and you've got a situation where a new, even untried, series with name recognition value might look like a better and perhaps even more financially sound deal than renewing an established series in which (much to its fans' dismay) the network appears to be losing interest...
