This show didn't beat any odds. Anna Torv was related to the Fox programming director. I think she was his niece. The show was taken to EXACTLY 100 episodes to qualify it for residuals and syndication so she could be financially set. I read a whole analysis article on it from a guy who uses statistics to figure out which shows will be canceled or not and by the end of the run, he essentially wrote off the cancellation until it hit 100. The continuation never had anything to do with ratings, reception, or anything. It was nepotism, plain and simple. The show was at the bottom of Fox's ratings for all 5 seasons. It should have been canceled after season 1.

Don't get me wrong, I am happy it didn't. I loved the show and the nepotism led to steady jobs for hundreds of people for 5 years and finally allowed a really weird story to be told all the way through, but it did not get to do all of that on its own merit.