Cancellations

"Hey Kevin, what happened to that show I used to watch?" Whether it be because of the writers' strike, poor ratings, or a phenomenon I like to call "slot doom," the 2007-2008 television season led to a record 34 show cancellations from the major networks, and that doesn't even include basic cable or the premium channels. Here is a list of the 34 shows canned by the five major networks.

ABC
Miss Guided
Women's Murder Club
Cavemen
Big Shots
Carpoolers
Just For Laughs
Notes From the Underbelly
Oprah's Big Give
Men in Trees
Cashmere Mafia
October Road

Fox
Back to You
Canterbury's Law
New Amsterdam
K-Ville
Nashville
The Next Great American Band
Unhitched
The Return of Jezebel James

NBC
Las Vegas
1 Vs 100
Amne$ia
Clash of the Choirs
My Dad is Better than Your Dad
Phenomenon
Quarterlife
The Singing Bee
Journeyman
Bionic Woman

CBS
Cane
Welcome to the Captain
Moonlight
Kid Nation
Secret Talents of the Stars
Viva Laughlin
Power of 10
Shark

The CW
Aliens in America
Beauty and the Geek
Crowned
CW Now
Girlfriends
Life Is Wild
Online Nation
Pussycat Dolls Present


There is a lot of bad television on this list above, and to tell the truth I never even saw an episode of most of these shows. The reality is (in fact by my count 16 of these shows were reality shows or game shows) that most of these shows deserved to be canceled. Viva Laughlin was one the most bizarre experiments in television history. The show was about a man who had decided to invest his fortune in opening up a casino in Laughlin, Nevada... and oh yeah, did I mention that it was a musical? Nielsen reports that Viva Laughlin lost over half of its opening viewing audience by the time it was halfway through the premiere episode. Eight shows were shot, but CBS pulled the plug before the second episode even aired. Some critics debated whether it was the worst television show ever made, but that might be a bit harsh. That said, there are a few of these shows that will be dearly missed. Here are my top 5.

The NBC drama Las Vegas has been canceled after a 5-year run. Las Vegas surrounded the crew of the Montecito Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The show, I believe, could be best characterized as a mystery drama. Most episodes surrounded Casino VP of Operations Danny McCoy and Head of Security Mike Cannon trying to solve a crime or foil a cheating plot within the casino. The show would often have unexpected plot twists and intense drama. There was a lot of cast turnover (only 4 members of the original cast appeared in the finale) and pehaps viewers were getting tired of having to learn and meet new people and having to deal with the often strange circumstances of the leaving of cast members. Las Vegas had a good run, very few shows make it to their 5th season. It can still be seen in reruns every weekday on TNT at Noon/11c.

The ABC sitcom Carpoolers was a very funny show about four Los Angeles men who carpool to their jobs in the same office building. Each of the carpoolers had their own silly, quirkiness that I loved. The truth is, Carpoolers, may have suffered from a death by association with the ill-conceived sitcom Cavemen, the show based off the GEICO commercials. Carpoolers aired directly after Cavemen, and if no one was watching Cavemen, then they're probably not hanging around for Carpoolers.

A show that truly suffered from the phenomenon I like to call "slot doom" was Journeyman, a drama on NBC. Journeyman was put into the Mon 10/9c spot up against CSI:Miami, which was last season's 8th most watched show with an average viewership of 14 million. As a result, Journeyman was never able to build a strong viewer base, and was canceled just when the storyline was beginning to get very interesting. In the final episode, we found out that Dan had become a time traveler after another traveler had died. Unfortunately, we are now left to guess and wonder the origins of the time traveling.

The CBS drama Moonlight quickly developed a cult following after its premiere last fall. The show surrounded Mick St. John, a vampire private investigator who struggled with his love for a mortal woman, Beth. While I must admit I never got that into Moonlight, I used to be a big Buffy fan, and can understand its cult appeal. The show's loyal viewers tried to mount an effort to save the show, but it has been officially canceled by CBS, and no other networks seem interested in picking it up.

The CBS courtroom drama Shark suffered greatly from a timeslot change. Shark surrounded Sebastian Stark, played by James Woods, who was a former hot-shot defense attorney who decided to change sides and head up the L.A. major crimes unit. Woods' character was very flawed and compelling, and would do just about whatever necessary to win. I used to watch every episode of Shark when it was on directly after CSI: on Thursdays, but when it was moved to Sunday nights, I kind of lost track of the show.

There are so many different reasons to cancel a show. I understand that television is a business, and if your business investment isn't working, it's time to bail and try something new. Things like Kid Nation were interesting experiments, but probably would not be as compelling a second time around. While some shows will be missed, the best stuff is coming back this fall.

Last night's pick, Nova: Science Now, gave us a look into the challenging tasks ahead for astronauts with the repair of the Hubble Telescope, gave an intriguing look into the earliest primate ancestors, told the compelling story of a Mexican immigrant who is now a top neurosurgeon, and reported on the terrifying new super bacteria soldiers are calling "Iraqibacter."

What's On?
My pick for tonight is My Boys at 9:30/8:30c on TBS. My Boys is a sitcom about Penelope "P.J." Franklin, a sportswriter for the Chicago Sun-Times, and her circle of mostly guy friends. While I may be a little biased towards this show because I live in Chicagoland and my uncle works for the show, I find the give and take between the actors to be very good. Comedian Jim Gaffigan is hilarious as P.J.'s brother Andy. To set up tonight's episode, last week P.J. found out that the guy she has a crush on, Bobby, has gotten engaged. At the end of the episode, Bobby asked if P.J. was OK with everything, and she chickened out and said yes.