Tuesday, May 31, 2005 | 8:18 a.m.
A computer-generated-animation comedy from the producers of "Shrek" and "Shrek 2," set in and around Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden menagerie, with the illusionists serving as comedic relief and the duo's own longtime manager, Bernie Yuman, on board as one of six co-executive producers.
On paper, at least, "Father of the Pride" had breakthrough TV series potential.
The reality, of course, is that after the onstage injuries suffered by Roy Horn in October 2003, which left him partially paralyzed and ended Siegfried and Roy's show at the Mirage, many questioned if - and later, why - NBC would continue with plans for "Father of the Pride."
A reported $2 million investment per episode stubbornly answered both questions. And so "Father of the Pride" debuted Aug. 31 to mixed reviews and so-so ratings. Entertainment Weekly went so far as to predict it would be the first new show to get the ax.
It wasn't. That honor went to Fox's rappers-turned-suburbanites sitcom "Method and Red."
Still, NBC removed "Pride" from its schedule before the November sweeps. In all, 11 of 13 "Father of the Pride" shows aired (the series is being released on DVD on June 7). The network burned off most of the remaining episodes with mini-marathons in late December.
That, as it turned out, was the last gasp for the highly hyped DreamWorks animation series, which was quietly snuffed by NBC earlier this year. Although the network never released a statement on the show's cancellation, "Father of the Pride" wasn't included in the network's list of programs for the upcoming season, which was released two weeks ago. A returned call from an NBC exec last week confirmed the demise of "Father of the Pride."
"It was a pretty quick decision, but also a resounding one," said Matt Roush, chief critic for TV guide, from his office in New York. "This was either going to be an instant smash or an instant failure. And we all know what happened."
When asked if he agreed with the show's cancellation, Dave Kirvin, spokesman for Siegfried and Roy, said it wasn't "a matter of agreeing or disagreeing" with NBC's decision.
"It was simple that your show find an audience or doesn't find an audience," he said.
Why the show didn't attract an audience proves complicated. Certainly, the Horn accident created problems for the series long before it ever aired.
"Continuing to run with the format after the accident happened to Roy ... and since there was no Siegfried & Roy' anymore, it was hard to separate one from the other, and I think people couldn't get beyond that," Roush said.
Kirvin acknowledged the Roy tragedy didn't help the show's chances at success.
"(The accident) was written about in the media. Every story I saw seem to be correlated to the incident onstage," he said. "Did it affect (Father of the Pride') in finding an audience? I don't know.
"It certainly limited Siegfried and Roy's involvement, obviously, in what they could do" to promote the series.
But laughter, as they say, cures most ills. And being an entertaining show seemed to be "Father of the Pride's" only hope of survival.
A network screening of clips from the series months before it aired, however, indicated that "Father of the Pride" suffered from a lack of laughs.
"The animated series was in far worse shape" than Horn, industry analyst and Peabody Award-winning media critic Jack Myers said in a newsletter in June 2004.
NBC's only course of action at that point was to cut its losses and cancel the high-profile show, or to ramp up the promotion machine and hope that viewers were intrigued enough by the ads to tune in.
The network opted for the latter, and created a blitz of promotions during its Olympic broadcast, mainly that "Father of the Pride" was an "adult comedy" from the producers of "Shrek."
NBC wasn't kidding about the "adult" tone of the show.
In the first six minutes of the pilot, there were several references to sex, including this mating plea from Larry the Lion (voiced by John Goodman) to his wife, Kate (voiced by Cheryl Hines):
"Hey, Big Daddy's home and he's ready for lovin'. It may be 9 o'clock in New York, but right here, it's mountin' time."
A few minutes later, as Larry looks down at a cat licking his leg, the cat remarks: "What? Your wife ain't doin' it. I'm all you got, Sunshine."
In an August interview with the Las Vegas Sun to promote "Father of the Pride," series executive producer Johnathan Groff defended the show's mature themes.
"The promos have said, 'From the producers of "Shrek," an adult comedy.' NBC has been very aggressive in positioning that," Groff said. "They are an adult network with a core audience of 18-49. They are the network of 'Will and Grace,' which is very adult, and 'Scrubs' and 'Friends' and 'Joey.' "
Although the network worked hard to brand the show as far from kid-friendly, the look and pedigree of "Father of the Pride" seemed to indicate otherwise.
The result was a mixed audience of children and adults, often confused by the Jekyll-and-Hyde tone and appearance of the show.
Kirvin defended the adult tone of the show.
"The content of the show didn't surprise us. We knew all along what this series was about," he said. "It was pretty clear from the context of the first show when it aired, this wasn't a Saturday morning cartoon."
While these factors certainly hastened "Father of the Pride's" demise, its ultimate undoing was due to that most egregious of sitcom sins: It lacked humor.
"It looked great, but the characters weren't particularly funny," Roush said. "It needed to be edgier than it was. The papa lion loves sex? That's basically 'Everybody Loves Raymond' with a mane."
Had the show aired on cable or even a different network, Fox, for example, "Father of the Pride" might have had time to right the ship and correct its mistakes or, at the very least, develop a cult following.
Instead, NBC, seeing little critical support for "Father of the Pride," along with dwindling viewership, cut its losses from the animated series and canceled it.
"Sometimes shows will stay on the air even if the numbers aren't there. 'The Office' got enough critical praise to keep it going" even with low ratings," Roush said. "But ('Father of the Pride') was a critical fiasco and a financial burden. It was a lose-lose."
The animated "Family Guy" endured a similar death with its initial run on Fox, only to find new life on DVD and cable reruns, followed by a triumphant return to Fox earlier this month. But don't look for a similar Cinderella story with "Father of the Pride" when it's released on DVD.
"If it was as good as 'Family Guy,' I would say there was a possibility," Roush said. "But I truly don't think 'Father of the Pride' has that potential to count on. No one's really clamoring for an opportunity to see more of the show.
"If it has any life on DVD, they'll just be happy with that."
While certainly disappointed in the cancellation of "Father of the Pride," Kirvin said Siegfried and Roy remain proud of their series.
"Everybody wanted 'Father of the Pride' to have a long and healthy life," he said. "We're disappointed, but that the show got from concept to air is a great achievement in itself, not only for Siegfried and Roy but for DreamWorks and NBC."
"It really was a pioneering effort on television and did something that has never been done on television before with animation. At the same time, the pioneers get all the arrows."
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