Yes- FireFly is pretty much my favorite TV show ever, so I'm well acquainted. It's true they didn't air two of the episodes, but Fox also never ordered the back 9, so it's a little different situation. With Fringe they ordered the full 22 episodes at the beginning of this season, where for most shows they were on the fence about they'd have only ordered the first 13. Fox has said they are committed to Fringe (and there's different leadership from the FireFly fiasco)- which I DON'T think means we get a season 4 if it isn't pulling the necessary ratings, but I DO think they'll at least give the writer's notice and let them close out the story, which is pretty important at this point. Note that Joss Whedon got the chance to wrap up Dollhouse when they decided to cancel it mid season.

I actually wasn't even aware that Fringe was Fox until I started hearing about poor performance and talk of cancellation. We purchased a season pass on iTunes. At the end of the day, if a show is good I'm going to watch it no matter what network airs it.

As for the idiot box, I'd love it if we could stop watching TV, but that just isn't in the cards for us given my wife spending 90% of her time during the day either sleeping or in bed, and a large part of that time in too much pain to be able to focus on reading. TV is a way of life for us these days, unfortunately.