One of the best shows on TV got unceremoniously cancelled.  Really, guys?  This is why I am really not interesting in broadcast TV anymore.  There are only two shows on broadcast TV that I follow closely.  All the other shows, I watch – cable.  Once the Olympics are over, I am going to wash my hands of NBC and bid them adieu.  Personally, I blame MTV and The Real World which started the modern reality TV craze under which we currently labor under.  If I want to see decent dramas, I end up going to AMC (God Bless You, American Movie Channel) or to BBCAmerica (still waiting for Sherlock to come over).  I used to like Sci-Fi (it and NBC are owned by the same parent company: Universal), then they started to go down the dark road of wrestling, reality shows and series that started in BBC (which no one seems to notice…).

What is it with TV nowadays?  This is always my one standing gripe about this medium: money wins out over story.  There have been a lot of shows (Awake one of them) that could be really good if they’re given a half chance – especially science fiction and fantasy.  Don’t look at Sci-Fi – I don’t think they have any really original shows other than Lost Girl and Warehouse 13 – and I like one of those shows.  FOX will murder your favorites with all the glee of someone you know by their full name.  There is one channel that seems to have several good shows: CBS.  Have you seen Person Of Interest?  If you haven’t, you should be mildly ashamed.  This show is 1/2 Burn Notice and 1/2 NCIS – completely worth your time.  Yeah – CBS has a number of crime procedurals, but they have found the secret: it’s not about the crime – it’s about the people solving the crime.  Person Of Interest is a good example of this.  The spycraft is fun to watch, but what’s more interesting is Reed trying to get more information about his employer.  The cat-and-mouse game is spellbinding, and wow – can they parcel out the information in tiny, tiny, tiny drips.  Do yourself a favor and get this on iTunes before its too late…

What do I look for in a show?  Good characters, strong plot and something to keep me guessing, or at least let me think I’m learning something.  Burn Notice is really good at this.  Once upon a time, FOX had a similar show called Profitt, but they killed it for… something that I think failed a year or two later.

Yeah – I’m still sore about that.  If you have a good show to recommend, or at least a show to avoid – feel free to give it a shout-out.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy