So with the fall 2008 to summer 2009 television season coming to an end here in the united states, I figured we could have us a look at what shows have bid their final cast call this year, some will be missed, some make alot of sense, some i wonder how they made it to tv in the first place.. So lets just right into it...
Canceled US Television Shows for the 2008 - 2009 Season
ABC
* According to Jim (Final episode airs June 2)
* Boston Legal
* Cupid (1 unaired episode)
* Dirty Sexy Money (Final 4 episodes air July 18-Aug. 8)
* Eli Stone (Final 4 episodes air June 20-July 11)
* Homeland Security USA (5 unaired episodes)
* In the Motherhood (3 episodes to air in June)
* Life on Mars
* Opportunity Knocks (6 unaired episodes)
* Pushing Daisies (Final 3 episodes air May 30-June 13, will continue as comic book)
* Samantha Who? (7 unaired episodes)
* The Unusuals (Final episode airs June 17)
My Thoughts:
Not alot of surprise here, but that doesn't mean afew don't make me mad, Eli Stone, Dirty Sexy Money and Pushing Daisies were amazingly well done and enjoyable shows that deserved alot more ratings and alot bigger of a push from the network then they got, for nothing else then to thank them from keeping their timeslots out of the toilet during the writer's strike last year. My biggest complaint is the canceling of Life On Mars, sure it was a remake of a great british program, and yes, the finished product is ALOT better then the pilot I saw over the summer last year, but still, everyone knows a crime drama takes atleast two seasons to get going, I guess everyone forgets that eh? The rest are aging sitcoms that should have been ended long before now, or rip off of Life On Mars cop shows.
CBS
* Eleventh Hour
* The Ex List (7 unaired episodes)
* Game Show in My Head (7 unaired episodes)
* Guiding Light (Last episode airs September 18)
* Harper's Island (Last episode airs July 11)
* Million Dollar Password (Final episode airs June 14)
* Swingtown
* The Unit
* Without a Trace
* Worst Week
My Thoughts:
There really are only two surprises on this list honestly, the canceling of the longest running television show in history, Guiding Light, now I'm not a fan of soaps really, granted now and then I'll watch one for the camp hilarity of stories about secret pregnancies, murder and rape thats forgotten like 5 months later, and people coming back from the dead with an eye patch, graying hair and a vendetta, but after 57 years on the air or something like that a tv show has earned the respect enough to just keep doing what it does. Plus I'm pretty sure its ratings are better then The Price Is Right, which really should get the axe, because really, there is nowhere in the country that stuff costs what they say it does, also Drew Carey's a douche. The other surprise for me is Swingtown. Now I've always loved well done period pieces, I find that it interesting how much details goes into those sort of shows, and sure, some might roll their eyes and lightly chuckle at the idea of a drama set in a small community in the late 1970s that has embraced the "swinger" lifestyle, but it was just so well done, and well acted, its just another case of CBS mishandling a great show, like they did with Jericho and how they passed on Babylon Fields. It almost makes me wonder if any show that doesn't have the following of the elderly or the letters C S or I in its title, they have no idea what to do with it. No other surprises really, they said from the start the Harper's Island was going to be a 13 part miniseries, plus i don't really know how they could keep it going given its premise anyway, shame though because its really good. The rest, I'm not really said to see go, afew aging dramas that were past their time and afew failed comedies. I guess I don't get my wish of no more Big Bang Theory or Gary Unmarried this year, stupid TV Cancellation Faeries never do come through for me, I need to stop doing assassinations for them, they never do come through.
The CW
* 13: Fear Is Real
* 4REAL (1 unaired episode)
* Easy Money (4 unaired episodes)
* Everybody Hates Chris
* The Game
* In Harm's Way (5 unaired episodes)
* Privileged
* Reaper (Final episode airs May 26)
* Stylista
* Valentine (4 unaired episodes)
My Thoughts:
My only real complaint here is Reaper, that show is just so brilliant and well acted, and just made of win. Reaper was canceled for lack of ratings, atleast thats the claim, though i could argue that a show thats only promoted around Halloween, given its premise and storyline, really never had a chance to begin with, but i can still be bitter. Thing is, in truth, Reaper wasn't canceled because of ratings, looking at this list and doing alittle research will tell you, all of The CW's comedy is on this list, which means they will be the first network to be with out any comedy programing at all, and instead plan on replacing them, the two dramas on that list and the one reality show, with more teenager aimed dramatic shlock, even a rip off of that horrible Twilight series is coming from them. A network with not comedy makes no sense, it sounds almost like they're aiming for ratings failure. Good luck staying at the bottom with your teenager aimed angst and turmoil ridden shows about pretty young people doing dumb things.
FOX
* Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? (Final episode airs in August)
* Do Not Disturb (3 unaired episodes)
* Don't Forget the Lyrics (Final episode airs June 19)
* Hole in the Wall (8 unaired episodes)
* MADtv
* Prison Break (Will be a Direct-to-DVD movie)
* Secret Millionaire
* Sit Down, Shut Up (8 unaired episodes, may air in Summer)
* TALKSHOW with Spike Feresten
* Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
My Thoughts:
So this is abit of a confusion, Fifth Grader and Lyrics were always a nice easy to make summer ratings win for FOX, I'm not sure why they'd feel the need to cancel that but I guess thats the way they wanna roll. Kind of a shock Secret Millionaire got killed honestly, you'd think any show that knocks rich people down a peg would be worth a second try. Even though I knew back in december that MadTV was off the air come June, it still kind of sad to me, the only show brave enough to take on Saturday Night Live, and actually be funnier and more current, for half the budget, getting the axe after 14 years is kind of a kick in the face. As for Terminator, they stated all along this would be the last part of the show more then likely, given with the movie Terminator Salvation being the end result of the series' future and all, and their thinking that sending back another terminator to change the past again would be abit not television friendly of an idea. The rest, meh, I don't really care enough about to bother caring.
MyNetworkTV
* Celebrity Exposé (several unaired episodes)
* Jail (Final episode airs July 14)
* Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed
* Masters of Illusion
* Street Patrol (Final episode airs August 4)
* The Tony Rock Project
* Under One Roof
* Vice Squad
* The World's Funniest Moments
My Thoughts:
Seriously, does anyone really care about this network? its closing its doors in June and gonna become a subscription service for indie channels, and really all those channels want is WWE Smackdown, which is infact the only show they're keeping.
NBC
* America's Toughest Jobs
* The Chopping Block (Final episodes air June 19-July 17)
* Deal or No Deal
* ER
* Howie Do It
* Kath & Kim
* Kings (Final episodes air June 13-July 25)
* Knight Rider
* Life
* Lipstick Jungle
* Medium (Moving to CBS)
* Momma's Boys
* My Name Is Earl
* My Own Worst Enemy
* Superstars of Dance
My Thoughts:
The canceling of My Name Is Earl is abit of a shocker, I mean most NBC sitcoms that make it 5 years always seem to make it far enough to go the distance, but i guess not this time. ER we all knew was ending, and we all knew Scrubs was moving networks, so those aren't much of a shock really, nore are the rest, they were all sub par programs that didn't do much as far as ratings go and were horrible as far as writing goes. The gameshows are abit of a surprise, but all networks cut their gameshows, so that makes sense they'd follow through. Plus Medium got picked up by CBS so, who knows. NBC's gonna have a huge problem anyway, they'll need programing once Jay Leno's new show tanks, and they need to fill those slots again. Good luck with that. Idiots.
Only other things getting canceled that I care about really are The Middleman and The Starter Wife. I do love the middleman ever so given its geektastic nature, as for The Starter Wife, I do love anything with Debra Messing in it, oh the horrors I would brave for that woman, among them actually watching Will and Grace.
Well thats that for now... check y'all soon
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BC
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