The Curse
I do think that Patrick & I are directly to blame for several shows being cancelled. "The Others" (okay, that was more my fault than Patrick’s, but he did watch it with me); "Cupid" (I'm sure it would go gang-busters now, what with Jeremy Piven-mania and the whole "LHIOB" popularity); "Buffy" and "Angel" (although Whedon did say it was time to end Buffy...but still. I blame us.); "Undeclared," "Freaks & Geeks," "Wonderfalls" and the list can keep going on & on & on...
See, it's my theory that we're sort of the Bizarro Nielson family. You know the Nielson Family—they’re the ones that have the magic box attached to their TVs that report back to the networks what shows people are watching, and therefore, what shows are “hits.”
When Patrick & I watch a show, it’s doomed. Just about every good show that we’ve really gotten attached to—cancelled. Not renewed. Left us hanging cliff-side.
It may be me, but I never watched “Nash Bridges.” I was happy that Cheech had gainful employment, but I can’t remember watching the show one single time. And yet, I think that “Nash” was the reason that “Homicide” was cancelled. We did watch “Homicide.” We liked it very much. We had several VCR tapes that we used so that we could catch all the episodes. I still watch it in re-runs. And yet, cancelled. We watched it faithfully, and look what happened.
Same with “Wonderfalls.” I tried to ward off the demons with involving friends and family to watch it. I thought with enough people watching it, surely whatever power Patrick & I hold over the fate of TV programming would be overcome. Who knows—maybe someone in our friends & family group was a member of the famed Nielson family and the show would be saved.
Nope.
After 4 episodes, “Wonderfalls” was no more. Thank God for Netflix, because the series—they filmed like 14 episodes!!!—can be seen in its entirety.
The same with “Firefly.” I’ve yet to watch as many episodes at Patrick, but again—thanks be to Netflix—we can watch all the glorious episodes. As an aside, “Firefly” was not really totally our fault. The network did sort of screw with Whedon and neglected to show the 1st episode as the pilot. Yup. They started the series with Episode Two. So all the stuff in the beginning, where you learn who the Captain is, and who the rag-tag bunch of scoundrels on his ship are? Yeah, you’re left to kinda figure it out on your own. But still—we tried to watch it (and Patrick’s right—the network did move the show around. I think it was on a different day & time every episode), but because we liked it, it was never meant to be. I only hope that the movie doesn’t suck, and maybe it’ll revive the show.
The curse operates in reverse, too—the shows that we never watch (“JAG” or “Touched by an Angel” or the latest Jane Seymour vehicle), those shows never end. They go down in the history books as “the most watched TV show ever!” And those shows crush the programs that we do care about.
So, let that be a lesson to everyone—if you like a show, don’t let us know about it. If we do start watching it, and it fails, we’re truly sorry.
posted by Chauntelle @ 1:32 PM
4 Comments:
I think the problem is that the dramas Chauntelle and I like the best are from the "previously on" school of televised entertainment. You know, dramas that require commitment. Shows that you have to pay attention to. We love these kinds of shows, but I'm afraid that for Joe and Jane Average, not so much with the multi-episode (or even multiseason) arcs and character-based storylines. Why else do you think America loves "Law & Order" and "CSI" so much? And, please understand, I have nothing against those shows. They are very good shows. But they are shows that, for the most part, you can watch out of sequence. You can watch a "CSI" rerun on Spike and not be at all sure which season it came from. But if I see 5 minutes of an episode of "Angel" or "Sopranos" or "The Wire", I can tell you which year it was. "Oh, that's from the year with Faith, where the mayor turned into a giant snake demon."
Every single one of my favorite shows is a "previously on" or "to be continued" type program. ("Battlestar Galactica" last week actually flashed "to be continued" on the screen as the show ended. I wanted to say, "no shit", since, you know, scary Cylons were still shooting people on Kobol and the fleet was still dispersed and vulnerable.)
Some of these "previously on" shows do well in the ratings. "Lost", for example. "Battlestar" is apparently doing well on SciFi, but doing well by basic cable standards. HBO, obviously, has the something of a reputation for developing and nurturing wonderful, challenging series, but it's a pay channel, so it's not dependent on ad revenues like the networks or basic cable. And even HBO occasionally drops a good show (-ahem-"Carnivale"-ahem-).
I guess what I'm saying is that we'd be happier if we just like "JAG" and "Gently Caressed By Cherubim", or whatever that show was called.
Hey, don't even get me started! I am the mother of the "leave 'em hanging with no ending" crowd! I can't even begin to tell you how upset I was about "John Doe" being cancelled, and don't even talk to me about Carnival! What the heck!!!! Why not just leave well enough alone and let the devil preacher be dead for goodness sakes?!?!??!!! If they thought it wasn't coming back, then don't have the poor daughter get caught up in the sins of the father in the first place! Crap! I'm not saying that those shows that decide to leave after years of coming into my den every week, have to tie it all up in a nice, sweet package (Charmed comes to mind...way to neat!), but don't just create this impossibly complicated story line and get me hooked, only to cut me loose without so much as a good-by!
Wait a minute. I did not know Carnivale was not coming back. I am very upset by that news. I have depended on HBO for my dose of quality TV for the past few years. You had Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Carnivale, Deadwood, The Wire. Now Six Feet under is done. Sopranos has like 1 more season left, I guess Carnivale is done. That leaves Deadwood(which, admittedly is my fav) and The Wire (which I never caught for some reason). I know they are adding new shows like this Rome thing. At this point, I'm not convinced that it will be any good. The previews show overacting Brits and perfectly coiffed hair. One of the reasons I like Deadwood and Carnivale so much is the fact that everyone is DIRTY! Even with a plotline as unrealistic as Carnivale's, it still seemed realistic. I'm just afraid this is going to be like a TNT or ABC production but with cursing and boobies.
Please HBO don't do away with awesome shows and replace them with something more "mainstream". Your audience is more intelligent than that!
Yeah, I'm sorry to tell that "Carnivale" will not return, at least not as a series. Of course, there are rumors floating about that the loose ends might be tied up with a movie or a miniseries, but I don't thinks anything like that will happen.
My favorite dramatic series still airing on TV are "Deadwood", "The Wire", and "Battlestar Galactica". "The Sopranos" is up there, too. Many others have passed away. Some we knew well, like "Buffy". Others, like "Firefly" and "Wonderfalls" and "The Inside", well, I guess that's what DVD box sets are for.
Post a Comment
<< Home