The setup for this show reminds me of the complexitiy and the potential for twisted and enthralling storylines that have been behind the success of "Fringe" and "Lost". What on earth is Fox thinking not picking it up?

It certainly has one of the worst titles ever.

Unfortunately, there will be a lot of people like me that will not watch the pilot because we don't want to get in any way invested in a program that has been canceled before it ever started. They kind of cut their own throats by announcing not picking it up before they even show the pilot.

I agree with jdmimic, iv had it with FOX, I dont want to get emotionally invested in a show that will inevitably get cancelled because its on FOX.

So, Ronald, go do something else. Suggestions: Cherryh's "Downbelow Station" or one of Iain M Banks' "Culture" novels.

no one is watching Fox anyway. they havent got a clue about good TV

ill watch it. and if it goes to series, ill give the series a chance. but if it's non-stop drama, i wont be able to stomach it. and i dont mean that in an insulting or cynical way, but the drama in scifi lately is just too rich for me.

plus, everyone else is right. FOX has practically 0 confidence in most people, which it has earned over the years. i can understand people wanting to steer away from any involving Fox show for that reason alone. which doesnt help the shows themselves.

Oh no, Fox. They dont know a good show even if it would smack them in the head. Moore should have kept this show on another network.

More info from Virtuality co-writer here:

http://www.televisionaryblog.com/2009/06/gono-go-televisionary-talks-to.html

Why bother even trying to watch this, FOX may pick it up as a series, get to a cliffhanger of some sort and drop it like a hot rock.

Oh I get it - a mashup of Reality and Virtual Reality. Oh yes, love me so more realtiy tv...please! I agree with some of the post suggesting to skip it. If they end up picking up the series then they'll no doubt replay the pilot. Watch it then.

FOX is no worse (unfortunately no better either) than any of the other networks. For someone to say that no one watches FOX anyway is to ignore shows like 24, House, Bones and Fringe. Even though I only watch two of those on a regular basis, that's as good a percentage as any other network. I see no reason not to check out this show, whether it ever gets picked up for series or not. There's precious little to watch over the summer anyway, it might just turn out to be worth the time. And this is coming from someone who thinks BSG fell apart at the end of Season Three and never recovered. Doesn't mean I won't ever watch anything RDM does again.

I won't watch it on FOX. Life is too short to waste a minute on that network. The best case scenario would be that SciFi pick it up if it's any good. I'd give it a try then. Otherwise, FOX ought stop developing genre material. Unless they announce a two or three year pick up, no serious genre fan will bother watching.

"Oh I get it - a mashup of Reality and Virtual Reality. Oh yes, love me so more realtiy tv...please! "

Do you get it? I don't think you do.

What about the synopsis leads you to believe this has anything to do with "reality TV"??

I will be watching and hope anyone that desires more SCIENCE FICTION programs to be aired will also be watching. Folks support the genre every chance we have and the suits will see and give us more. Even Fringe is not now listed in my program guide as Science Fiction so I guess the larger audience must not be believed to want to watch our genre so a bigger number is always needed.

I read about series being cancelled all the time because so many of us nickpick them apart and turn folks away from viewing and supporting them. Sometimes we can not get exactly what we think we want and then end up with much less than we might otherwise have available because we refuse to support what we have.

I agree networks are all ways doing things I do not like, but that is the nature of the business, I believe that those of us that supported Dollhouse made the difference in it getting a second season.

Reality show webisodes? Yuck! Why are people bumbed about a show begin dropped before it airs? You haven’t even seen it yet! Maybe it sucked and the suits were doing u a favor, however unlikely. Besides the whole VR things was so played out with TNG. Calling something scifi doesn’t make it watchable, look at dollhouse (woops! Did I just say that out loud? Pardon me!)

Why even bother speculating about whether Fox will pick this show up? It's AIRING in the summer. That means it's a throwaway.

P.S.

BSG's ending sucked.

omg. stop taking things to fox. just sell it to scifi so they don't "tinker" with it to the point that it's no longer what it was intended to be like dollhouse. >_

Seriously, would you really be willing to watch a series called 'Virtuality'?!

That's almost as bad as the Denzel bomb, 'Virtuosity.'

It's a movie - see it and enjoy it. What's to get invested in?

re: P.S. - Although I enjoyed it at first, after reflection I also believe that Battlestar Galactica's ending sucked.

I don't understand this. People say they won't watch it so they don't get invested in case it gets picked up and canceled early. But it won't get picked up at all or have a chance to survive if you don't watch! Maybe FOX will pass, but SciFi will pick it up - NBC Universal was also involved in the production, and one article w/Michael Taylor said to write to SciFi about it, because one of their people really liked it. They are probably waiting to see how many viewers it gets, so for this to have any kind of chance, people must watch! Giving up before you've even seen it makes no sense. And who bloody cares about the title? Maybe they'll change it for a series, but talk about judging the book by the cover! And the ending of BSG has nothing to do with how this might play as a series. If you don't support this or other shows of this type, then you have nothing to complain about when they are no longer even made. Sheesh.

Fox are idiots! Idiots! This show has amazing potential to pull audiences. It has the right elements to appeal to a wide audience in the way Lost or Fringe have succeeded.

The pilot script is a great read in and of itself, as strong as the prologues and opening chapters of some of the best science fiction novels.

Like BT says above, there is the possibility of it doing well and then being picked up for a series elsewhere. NBC won't pick it up though since they had first refusals and turned it down for being "too sci-fi". SyFy would be the best suitor, but would they want it when Caprica is on the cards for the future?

I have no problem complaining about the title because said title is one of the show's major drawbacks.

This show needs a better title just as much as it needs fan support ... maybe more so.

We LOVED the "movie" though we weren't sure what to expect. We were disappointed to hear that Fox, AGAIN, may be passing up a good thing. Moore should take it to the Sci-Fi Channel and continue a great story line. It would be horrible for it to run on Fox just to get axed in the middle and we get left hanging....again. Sorry Fox.

i love it. I can't wait till Fox wakes up and starts this show as a series. I think the title is really not that great, but the idea for a tv series is really great. There are so many possibliities. This show could be come the next Star Trek next generation if properly supported and the writers don't go to far off the deep end with the virtuality thing. If the show just becomes some phsco bable virtuality where all the characters are in virtuality 24/7 and all they do is craxy stuff it will such. If the writers actually give the crew intense space problems and are capable of imagining a real alternitive to a crazy ending like battlestar galactica then this show will be great.

I'll admit it didn't seem too interesting at first, and the very first scene is actually one of the least interesting in the show (and confusing besides...I didn't read the show description and just jumped right in). however, once you start watching it, it becomes a sort of philosophical/morality play with people committing various acts or having them committed against them in a virtual zone and then dealing with the aftermath of what should be treated as "real" and thus have real-world consequences. case in point: 2 of the characters are having an affair in the virtual world, but does that really constitute cheating?

I personally like the fact that all of the characters begin pretty much as steryotypes and become deeper and more complex as the story progresses. the captain (usually the main protagonist role in a scifi show) becomes more self serving while the reality show producer (the one making the big bucks from the corporation, steryotypically the antagonist) is the one who steps forward in defense of one of the crew who is traumatized in the program. I would love to see how the characters progress, and what their real motives are and what choices they ultimately make.

the fact that the earth's apparent doom was discovered well after they were already launched makes me wonder if the whole thing isn't a sham designed as a reality show character study to make money. is there really a global catastrophe happening back on earth? how can they know what is real?

I would really be disappointed if Fox didn't pick this up, although like many others I doubt if this is really a show for the mainstream and think it would be better suited for Scifi. I hope it picks up enough of a fan base to change fox's mind, because a show this good really deserves a chance to lift off before it comes crashing back down to earth.

I thought this was going to be a Sci-Fi movie!!! I just caught it on Hulu and about 20min in I was freaking out because it was absolutely INTENSE! Then suddenly that last scene came on and it was totally bogus and then it ENDED!!! Suddenly I went from total captivation and utter satisfaction to WANTING TO KILL FOX AND THEIR CONSTITUENTS!!!!! Frantically I searched around google and quickly discovered the true nature of this "movie" and the tears won't stop. That ending just ruined my month and I hope everyone at FOX is happy to have alieNated the entire sci fi community!!!

Why are there homosexuals on a colony ship?

Ok I liked it. A great new show that is interesting to me, and my family! (We put it in our Nielsen diaries) However, I give up on whether or not FOX,( or NBC, SCI-Fi etc) will decide what I am allowed to watch, but I WISH the "authors" would at least give us a wrap up of their stories. This show and Sarah Conners,and others that I try hard to forget… I need to know what happened to John Conners in the series, is the captain of the Phaedre dead or are they all asleep? Even if FOX will not help us I believe the writers SHOULD! Please take the time to wrap up your stories! A one page wrap up will be better than never knowing what happened.I know you know what happens! Put it in a book, a pamphlet, SOMETHING!!! I read stories all the time and they all have endings. PLEASE! Finish your work.

I just finished watching it and I want more! Please!

Yeah, I don't care about the green-eyed virt gremlin. The supporting cast is annoying at best and boring at worst, straight out of daytime soaps. The only character that I related too, the only decent actor on the show ended up in a body bag. The show wasn't "challenging." Arguing about salt? Virtual surfing? The only real challenge for me was not dozing off during the punishing two hour pilot. If you love daytime soap operas and reality TV then this is the show for you. Heck they even throw in a little Spanish like any good Telemundo novela.

Too many shows try to 'milk' all they can from a single idea.. I could see how after a few episodes it turns into the same story every week with no resolutions and ultimately the same question will be posed 'is it reality or is it virtual reality?'.. This should have just been a movie made for TV.. I like the story.. It was a good idea, but I can't help but think any more network involvement would kill it... At this point a second movie to wrap things up would be a better way to go..

If after a few months, this doesn't get picked up, then Ron Moore really needs to go ahead and tell the viewers what the real story is with this show/movie. He can do it in an interview or by posting his original pitch and outlines so long as he does it. It's really not cool to leave viewers hanging like that. It's asking too much from them.

So Ron Moore's Magnum Opus went down in flames, eh? 1.8 Million Viewers? Yikes. Just making a cheesy Gyno-Centric Soap Opera, with Emo Angst, Despair, Rape Scenes, Shakey Cameras, swish pans, and space ships isn't cutting it anymore. Except in the minds of the RDM Fanbois. Add to that, the possible Lawsuit from Joe Haldeman, about how RDM may have lifted the storyline for Virtuality, it's really no wonder Fox kicked RDM and his Forever Emo Eunichs to the curb.

I actually liked the homages Moore and Taylor wove into the pilot (ST Original PIKE, 2001, etc...) and think that the many plot lines could spin out impressively over a couple of years. It would be great to have a set year span for the series (written beginning to end) like BSG--so there is no room for extending beyond good quality material and a natural ending. Nothing of substance has taken BSGs place since it went off the air. Plenty of people want to see quality sci fi on their tellies. Turn this intriguing idea into a series please. Thank you.

As far as the title...yeah it's lame. But you know what's worse? Star Wars. Think about it. Awful, awful title. Brilliant film.

As to JakeCallahan - I've seen your posts on multiple boards. You seem to make a hobby out of hating on Moore. What's funny is, I don't see anyone on this board posting about how great he is, just that they liked the movie. Move along Jake, your hating is stale.

As to gripes about the pilot, I thought it was great for a start. As a 'movie' it was terrible, but I went into it looking at it as a pilot. Very few pilots get the whole thing down pat in 2 hours, but I thought they did a decent job of setting the concept up. I'm going to encourage everyone I know to watch it, and I'm going to write to sci-fi and fox, if for no other reason than there isn't enough compelling sci-fi on television.

No thanks Connor. Thanks for the kind invitation, but with all due respect, as long as the RDM Fanbois are out squeeling like gushing schoolgirls for their Hero, I'll be around.

In short Connor, Glad to be a counterpoint to you....

RE: plagiarism allegation from from Joe Haldeman

Poul Anderson wrote a short story in 1981 called The Saturn Game. On the long trip to Saturn, the crew played VR RPGs, eventually losing the ability to distinguish virtual and actual reality.

Both Haldeman and Moore MUST have stolen that plot.

Oh, wait! Philip K. Dick wrote the 1970 novel A Maze of Death about a spaceship crew put in collective hallucination by a mysterious entity after their vessel had become stranded. Neither the reader nor the crewmembers are aware of the non-real nature of the situation until the end.

Therefore, no one can write any story about VR gone awry on a long space journey ever again.

...On another note, military discipline on the Phaeton is sorely needed. I couldn't get past that someone was risking a $2B ship in the hands of emotionally labile, immature crewers (especially for the sake of ratings) !

This probably wouldn't be a long term Fox show, but it would be great for Sci-Fi. I watched the movie and I want to see what happens next.

This show was awesome.. boo hoo.. needs to be a series..

Great show.. would make an incredible series. The Orion drive and Neptune slingshot sequences were excellent also.

Moore, move it to another network if you actually want this show to have a chance. Fox is the home of reality tv shows. Not scifi if we go by there track record of executions.