Nine And Prosperity Gone Again

The Nine and Knights Of Prosperity were two of the best new shows to premier last season and they were also two of the quickest cancelled due to poor ratings (come on people, we need to support quality tv).

anyway, abc decided to bring them both back recently and burn off the remaining episodes they had left, but after a couple airings they have decided to even cut that short and both are now done for good (until dvd i assume).

this is disappointing of course, as it was great to see 'Knights' back if only for a short time, although it was frustrating to be laughing so much and knowing that it was already over and not coming back next season.

add to those two shows, Daybreak and The Black Donnelleys and you had a season of some really good shows that the networks got rid of way to fast. it makes me sad.

let's hope this upcoming season brings us some good shows that get a chance to grab an audience before the short-sighted and scared networks give it the axe.

Wedding Crashers Cancelled

i have done a lot of complaining this season about networks cancelling quality shows before they have a chance to find the audience they deserve (Day Break, The Knights Of Prosperity, The Nine, The Black Donnelley's, Smith...), however, that is not the case with The Real Wedding Crashers.

yes, that's right folks, The Real Wedding Crashers is done. that's ok though, because it wasn't that good a show anyway (check out my full review of the show if you are so inclined).

i would love to tell you that nbc had decided to bring back The Black Donnelley's in the time slot (monday night at 10pm) but instead they are going to show episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent which will then repeat in the shows regular tuesday night slot.

Drive Gets Canceled

well i didn't know it at the time, but i was dead on when i called the show Drive a guilty pleasure, but commented that "if the poor ratings for last nights premier are any indication, it might be a short lived guilty pleasure", because Drive has been canned. after airing only three times fox has said 'enough' and ended it.

look, i'm not going to claim that Drive was a great show, i mean i gave it a B-, but this constant canceling of shows after only a couple airings is really starting to piss me off. i will be ok without knowing how drive ends, but there have been some really good shows that have suffered the same fate this season and those i am not ok with: Daybreak, The Knights Of Prosperity, The Nine and The Black Donnelly's to name a few.

why can't a show, especially a quality one (and the networks know which ones are quality and which ones aren't) get a chance to build an audience. Seinfeld, Cheers and Friends weren't huge hits when they premiered, but look what they turned into (huge hits and huge moneymakers for the networks).

yes, i understand that in a 1000 channel world the audience has so many options that the networks feel they need to grab an audience fast if they want the advertisers to stick around and they also want certain demographics and such and all television shows are really (at least on free tv), are things to kill time between commercials. i get all that, but that doesn't make it right, and a lot of the time that is a network just being really nearsighted.

look at Criminal Minds as a very modern example. that show took a little while to get going, but it did, and this year is actually beat Lost in the ratings a few times when they were on at the same time. also, the ratings for The Office have improved over its first season, so it can happen and it isn't a crazy notion either.

that's why i appreciate what nbc is doing with 30 Rock and Friday Night Lights, assuming they renew the latter like it looks as if they are leaning towards doing. these are two high-quality shows that deserve a chance at building an audience.

sure sometimes it just doesn't happen, look at Arrested Development. they got a couple extra seasons more then their ratings would have suggested, but it just never caught on (too bad cause it was a great show), but at least it had a shot. canceling a show after 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 episodes just isn't fair to the show or the audience that is getting into it or that might have gotten into it had they given them a chance.

back to Drive: fox hasn't said what they will do with the remaining episodes they have in the can, but putting them online seems to be the thing to do these days so i wouldn;t be surprised if that is what they do.

30 Rock Gets The Greenlight

while i am still pissed at nbc for canceling The Black Donnelly's i am very happy that they have given the greenlight to 30 Rock on a second season. while the ratings haven't been great, they are hoping that the show can build like The Office did going into its second season. nbc thursday night is not only the funniest night on tv currently, but is one of the funniest blocks on tv ever, with: My Name Is Earl, The Office, Scrubs and 30 Rock (come on people, that is some great comedy action right there).

also, Friday Night Lights hasn't got the greenlight yet, but here's hoping.

Last Week Of Donnelly's On Television

so as i told you a couple days ago, The Black Donnelly's is getting canned. while that was initially supposed to happen in a couple weeks, nbc has announced that it will happen a week early. which means that two nights ago was the last airing on tv. i say it like that because the remaining six or so episodes will be streamed on nbc.com - that's at least something, but it doesn't make me less angry at nbc for canceling a quality show.

i was thinking that it would be great if fx or hbo or showtime picked it up, as it is the kind of show that feels like it should be on one of those networks. alas, i don't see it happening though.

Reality Comedy Replacing The Black Donnelly's

Frack! this sucks. i was reading this little article about a new nbc reality comedy show called The Real Wedding Crashers, in which 5 improv performers crash weddings and disrupt the proceedings with hilarity ensuing (don't worry, the bride and groom are in on it). the show is being produced by mr. Punk'd ashton kutcher and it sounds like it could be good for a laugh.

the problem is nbc is going to air it at 10pm on monday nights which is the spot currently held by The Black Donnelly's. the reason this is a problem is because The Black Donnelly's is a good show. it is a well written, intelligent drama from academy award winner paul haggis. people should be watching this show. it is up against CSI: Miami (but i mean how many times can you watch david caruso put on his glasses and deliver a corny line, or comfort some poor crime victim or threaten some perp both with the same over the top monotone delivery) come on people!!! first there was The Nine, then Day Break, then The Knights Of Prosperity and now it looks like The Black Donnelly's is next (they haven't said they are canceling it, but they also haven't said when it would come back either).

the same thing happened to paul haggis' last attempt at network television with his brilliant show EZ Streets that lasted about 5 episodes on cbs many years ago. yes, his shows do require that you follow them from week to week and pay at least some attention, but the payoff is a quality, interesting, original, entertaining, well written show.

they better keep Friday Night Lights around for another season!!