…a handy-dandy list, complete with pictures!
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/12/showbiz/gallery/canceled-tv-shows/index.html
It’s a sad annual event for many, the death of TV shows. Sad, of course, for the performers/creators/writers/directors, as their source of employment -and therefore livelihood- is lost, and sad for those who may have found something to like in one or more of the listed shows, and hoped for their continuation.
Of the later, alas, there were unfortunately too few.
Looking over this year’s list, there were very few shows I actively watched and plenty I saw one or two episodes (or less). Trophy Wife intrigued me as I’ve always enjoyed actress Malin Ackerman, but what little I saw of the show didn’t do all that much for me. Hostages and Crisis both looked intriguing, but it appears I’m still a little burnt out by 24 type shows (I’ve skipped the new mini-series) and wound up giving those shows a pass. Surviving Jack, the one episode I saw of it, was hilarious and featured some truly memorable lines. At one point in the episode I saw Chris Meloni, the star of the show, said something along the lines of “children are parasites that nature has conditioned us to love” and just I about fell on the floor laughing. Having said that, it was somewhat difficult seeing Mr. Meloni in a comedic role. Perhaps I’ve gotten too accustomed to seeing him in Law and Order.
There were two prominent sci-fi shows, Intelligence and Almost Human, that I watched and was not terribly surprised to see on the list of cancellations. Intelligence began reasonably well, an updating, to my mind, of The Six Million Dollar Man, minus the superhuman strength. The problem with the show was that it was so damn bland and never was all that gripping. After seeing three or four episodes, I gave up on it.
Almost Human, on the other hand, was intriguing enough for me to watch every episode of its abbreviated run. Having said that, the show had its share of problems. Michael Ealy’s robotic Dorian was at times more annoying than interesting and as much as I’m a fan of Karl Urban (and I’m a REALLY big fan of his work), I felt his character on the show slipped into the cliched “grumpy old partner” mode a little too much for my taste. Still, there was enough there to make this the one show I will if not miss, at least regret not seeing more of.
Finally, perhaps the one cancelled show that will have its fans the most upset is Community. Unlike many of the other shows in the list, this one lasted five seasons. I’ve watched several episodes of the show during its run and will be the first to admit it had some very, very clever writing…but despite that, Community never drew me in enough to follow on a regular basis. Different strokes and all.
And so we wind up another TV season. What gems (and misses) can we expect in the next?!
Stay tuned!