If we were talking boys, I'd be gunshy. But we're talking television. As much as I wish I'd gotten more Firefly/Wonderfalls/My So Called Life, I'd rather have gotten what I did than nothing at all. In fact, sometimes I think of the brill ideas that never made it to the air, and that makes me sad. I don't have to gorge, or even eat regularly. But I do so like to taste.
Buffy ,'Lessons'
The Minearverse 3: The Network Is a Harsh Mistress
[NAFDA] "There will be an occasional happy, so that it might be crushed under the boot of the writer." From Zorro to Angel (including Wonderfalls and The Inside), this is where Buffistas come to anoint themselves in the bloodbath.
I hear people who don't want to watch Wonderfalls because "it's only 13 episodes and they were cancelled" and they're insane. Really bugfuck crazy in my opinion. I watch it becasue it's good, and that should be all that matters.
Speaking for my people, let me 'splain. No, 'tis too much. Lemme sum.
I adored Wonderfalls. I can't begin to describe my love of that show. I wanted to pull an Elvis on my TV, when it got canceled, but my keepers, wisely, do not keep firearms handy. t Heresy I would have gladly sacrificed the Firefly series, and the Serenity film, for a few years run of Wonderfalls (like maybe even as small as 3 years).
I got the DVDs in March. I can only watch about 1 episode every 6-8 weeks, because each time I watch one, I get angry all over again.
I don't need that sort of stress over something that is supposed to be entertainment. The most "promising for me" comment in this whole thread was made by whoever it was that said s/he had fallen "in like" with the show.
My last love was Joan of Arcadia. It's gone now, too. I hope I never love another TV show, ever again. Since I haven't yet had time to watch my TiVo copy of The Inside, right now, I can easily say there's only one series I watch regularly. That's 24, and it is on hiatus until January. And I am in deep like with it, but don't love it. If it didn't come back, I'd think, "Oh, that's too bad. I liked that show."
It's like liberation, man.
t crazy
The 'problem' presented by people who boycott Fox or refuse to watch shows which might get cancelled is this: why should Fox bother paying for new scripted dramas if people won't watch? It just makes the situation worse.
Conversely: Why should people pay attention to scripted dramas when they get canceled so easily, and without a full run of episodes already in the can?
I do not need the TV networks. I have books. They need me, so they can show me to their advertisers.
Why should people pay attention to scripted dramas when they get canceled so easily
Because they're enjoyable?
I'm not sure where my head space was two or three years ago, but right now, when I get mad, I get mad that what I like doesn't seem to be commercially viable. Of course I'd rather Wonderfalls run its course, and that the creators I enjoy get to raise their project progeny.
But ... it's just TV. I miss it because I enjoyed it, and I'm glad it enjoyed it.
I think the madness part of it for me, is when...
a) A show is canceled before it's gotten what reaches my (granted, completely subjective) definition of a fair shot
and
b) I loved it.
When I just like a show that didn't get a "fair shot", I think it's a shame, but I'm glad for what I did see.
When I love a show that got a "fair shot" but it wasn't commercially viable to continue producing/airing it, I think it's a shame, but I am glad for what I did see (cf Angel).
My late 2cents on the pilot(I was out of town all day yesterday):
Web: utter bastard
Rebecca: eh. We know the basics of her deal, but the "pretty girl in jeopardy" wears thin after a while. Let's see what develops.
In short, I found The Inside interesting, but I don't love it. The gore-factor is one part of that.(Yeah, I know that it wasn't much compared to other shows, but I don't watch those shows due to the goriness)
I'm more interested in what the deal is with the rest of the characters. Not just, what do they bring to the team, but also what's their damage. (Because they all have damage, that much has been made clear by Tim)
t Skip-skip-skip
Allyson, insent
t running out, stopping to wave at everybody (hey, it's hard to do both things at once)
sadly, i do not have Cindy's resolve and continue to fall in love with shows that don't seem to appeal to the mainstream public and therefore end up having very short runs. i was surprised(to say the very least) that UPN decided to stick with Veronica Mars even after the less than stellar ratings. VM is a show that captured my heart much in the same way Buffy did and i would love to have seven seasons of it, but i'm not holding my breath. networks don't seem to want to stick with shows that are critically acclaimed, yet get mediocre ratings these days. it's all about their immediate gratification of profit, which i can understand from a business point of view. i don't understand it from a member of the public's view because i would think the networks would want to develop loyal fans.
this turned into a semi-rant that i don't really have time to finish. suffice it to say that i can see both sides of the coin. those who don't want to fall in love with another show just to have it taken away from them and those who don't understand people not just enjoying the few great hours of entertainment that we were given.
I do think that there might have been a turn-around in networks' attitude for scripted shows this year, what with the success of Lost and Desperate Housewives. (Personally, I don't think DH is all that, but it seems to have a broader appeal than the sort of shows I usually like, and hey! If it makes the suits think an arc-y serial drama is a better bet than another Apprentice knock-off, I'm all for it.) Much as I mourn FF, WF, and Angel (and JoA to some extent), I have to admit that there has been a wealth of good-to-great (non-cancelled so far! *crosses fingers*) new shows this year that helped fill the void left in their wake. (Veronica Mars, Battlestar Galactica and Lost et al.) It makes me rather hopeful for the future of The Inside since these are all character-based/arc-heavy shows.