I’m Done With Network Television…

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That’s it, I’m done with network television. I know that the threshold for cancellation has decreased in recent years, but in the past 2-3 years it just seems every single show that I find even mildly sophisticated gets canceled – just a matter of time. Whereas other shows – whose name I won’t mention so no one will get offended – that are insult to our intelligence, survive for many seasons.

 
Today I finally watched the finale of Dollhouse. An excellent show that was rushed in its second and last season, and truly was not given a fair chance. Joss Whedon (the creator of Dollhouse, Firefly and Buffy tried to cram so many superb ideas in the last season, each one of those could’ve been the basis of an entire season. He probably intended for that to be the case. No matter what Joss creates, I know it’s going to be worthy of watching. But alas, it doesn’t draw enough of an audience. [Sarcastic tone]

 
Even though Terminator: the series started as a pretty average (or worse) show, when it diverged from the Terminator mythology it became significantly better. At least they finished it properly, unlike many other shows.

 
I’m not even going to mention Heroes which was a superb show in its first season but just got worse and worse – I blame the networks for that.

 
Journeyman was a pretty decent show… canceled, of course.

 
When Flashforward was made into a series and was actually better than the book I was happy. Finally a show – even one that deals with a variation of time travel – is on the air! Naively I thought that this is it. But of course, it too was canceled. I guess it was just too hard for the studio executives to understand.

 
So I ask myself: why bother? Why get attached to a show and its characters? It’s starting to feel like I’m setting myself up for disappointment.

 
And the answer comes: I don’t think I’m going to. Flashforward was the final straw. That was a really good show. Enough is enough! Particularly when the threshold for cancellation is so much higher on cable. True Blood is a fantastic show. Dexter – despite not having any aspect of fantasy or science fiction – is probably the best show I’ve ever seen. Although many of Syfy’s shows are not the greatest (i.e. Warehouse 13, Eureka), they are fun and at least you know they’re going to last a while. The Stargate franchise: SG1, Atlantis and now Universe, are all excellent shows. The franchise lasted so far, what, 15 seasons? I highly doubt it would’ve survived if it were on the networks.

 
I’m not going to mention other shows. If you’re here, you probably know what I’m talking about.