As the series progressed during its broadcast season, the writers received frequent notes and directives from Fox network executives calling for increases and decreases in the science-fiction, comedy and traditional Western elements. Cuse said, "I think we did a particularly good job of maintaining continuity with all the schizophrenic notes we were getting from the network." However, midway through the first season, the writers made a thematic shift from science-fiction to more comedy and adventure. Cuse said, "We were biting off more than we could chew... we were trying to do a comedic action adventure Western, with tongue-in-cheek humor, genuine drama, plus science fiction. All these things added too many elements to serve simultaneously." By the final third of the series, the writers had wrapped up the science-fiction plot with the Orb and focused more on traditional Western motifs.