The set of the last sci-fi show to occupy the dreaded FOX "death slot." (Credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

I had a pretty strange reaction when I first heard that FOX planned to move “Fringe” to Friday nights in January. I could’ve cursed a blue streak at my television, but instead I basically bypassed four of the five Kübler-Ross stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining and depression — and headed right to acceptance. That didn’t really make sense: Why was I so ready to let go of one of my favorite shows so quickly? Then I saw the name of the first Friday episode and thought wearily, “Oh yeah. That’s why. They’ve done this before.  And now they’re twisting the knife.“

As much as we’d like to, we can’t really blame the network for this one — but yes, the show’s creators actually went and named the episode “Firefly.” (Do I really need to explain this?) I made my feelings about that known in a tweet a few days ago, but that clever little inside joke seemed more cruel than amusing. (All right, I may have let out a giggle or two, but as I said on Twitter, “That’s just wrong.”)

Sci-fi fans are well aware of the network’s history of green-lighting some of the most inventive programming on television — and then meddling with it until it gets canceled due to poor ratings. And, more often than not, the network would set the shows up to fail by placing it in the so-called “death slot” — Fridays at 9pm. “Dollhouse”, the last sci-fi occupant of that time slot, lasted for two seasons, but even the show’s fans knew that second season would probably be its last. Generally speaking, though — “X-Files” aside — FOX hasn’t done too well keeping any of its sci-fi programming on the air. In the past few years, “The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” “Harsh Realm” and “Millennium” all got the ax after only a handful of episodes. The network couldn’t even do much with a spinoff of “The X-Files,” so …  is it time to say goodbye to “Fringe?” And do the creators know it?

Well … not yet, anyway: The network says that it has no plans to cancel the series — and all that critical acclaim sure helps — but TV Squad’s Catherine Lawson made a scary point in a recent article. There’s no denying that the ratings for “Fringe” are in free fall, slipping to a low of about 5 million viewers. Nearly a decade ago, FOX waited until “Firefly’s” audience had dipped to about 4.5 million before pulling the plug. Uh oh.

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