Medium Cool is a weekly series related to popular culture, mostly film, TV, and books, with some music and games thrown in. We hope it’s a welcome break from the anger, hate, and idiocy we see almost daily from the other side in the political sphere.
Arguments welcomed, opinions respected, fools un-suffered. We’re here every Sunday at 7 pm.
Tonight let’s complain about all the terrible decisions made by networks – and now streaming services – to drop a great show and/or keep a crappy one. I don’t recall what show they kept the year they dropped Numb3rs, but I do recall that their reasons were bullshit. They admitted that Numb3rs was the better show but they dropped it anyway.
And now CBS, cancelling the show with the one of the best female characters on TV, and the same franchise keeping the show with the absolute worst female character on TV. Arghh!
And the same network is cancelling another show because there’s not enough diversity!
Reading a bit today to see if some of my favorite shows are cancelled or renewed, I see a pattern. Sports and reality shows are super cheap to film as opposed to scripted series. Maybe the networks are deciding not to compete with the big streaming shops that are producing excellent shows?
In any case, they are pissing me off.
Anyway, tonight is TV Festivus, have at it!
Baud
Which two cancelled shows are you referring to?
WaterGirl
As I was cursing the internet this afternoon re: what’s cancelled and renewed, I saw that the CW is likely cancelling THEIR MOST WATCHED SHOW because they can make more money on sports or reality TV.
I’m sure I should have realized this long ago, but this feels like the moment decades ago when I learned that HR is not there for us!
AndyG
Deadwood. Cancelling that show before its time was a travesty, and apparently a clusterf**K of bad communications between the relevant parties…..
mrmoshpotato
I remember being bummed out about Showtime ending Dead Like Me.
weasel
Deadwood is second only to Firefly on my gripe list. Criminal that both those shows weren’t given the chance to properly wrap things up
WaterGirl
@Baud: NCIS is ditching NCIS: Hawaii and keeping NCIS:Sydney.
The female lead on NCIS: Hawaii is smart, tough, interesting, has a life outside of work, she’s a warm person, easy on the eyes, and dresses professionally – no sexy clothing at work.
NCIS: Sydney isn’t as bad as that awful CSI show we like to mock as the worst show ever. But it’s bad.
The female lead on NCIS: Sydney is basically an alpha male character in a female body. She uses so much botox that her face has basically no expression. Literally, I can’t stand to watch her because it’s creepy. She’s totally uninteresting, has no emotional IQ, and is totally unwatchable. She’s cold as ice.
And their “nerdy character” – is ridiculous. It’s all part of the formula now. Yes, I am cranky about TV right now.
MazeDancer
Really enjoyed NCIS: Hawai’i. Simple, unchallenging, entertaining, with likable characters.
Was a nice workplace family escape once a week. Though happy to see a lesbian pairing on TV, found Whistler & Lucy as a couple a stretch. No chemistry.
Will Trent is n the same category. But a bit darker.
WaterGirl
@weasel: Don’t get me started on Firefly. That was a travesty!
mrmoshpotato
@AndyG: My best friend loved Deadwood. I’ll have to give it a second chance.
Chet Murthy
@WaterGirl: Curse you, SciFi Channel, for your sudden but inevitable betrayal!
errg
It’s no Deadwood, but I was really enjoying Alaska Daily on ABC, and it got cancelled after just one season…
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Gotcha. Sydney has had a much shorter run. Half season essentially.
What’s the third show you mentioned?
mrmoshpotato
@weasel: What was the plot of Firefly? I remember Smallville was tied into the Superman story.
Scout211
From the way back machine, I still feel cheated that the network cancelled The Greatest American Hero after three seasons. What a fun show that my whole family loved. So many fans were shocked and disappointed.
I see that the three seasons are now available on some streaming services. But It was never sold into syndication because it only had the three seasons. So only the olds will remember it. Maybe streaming will give it new viewers.
WaterGirl
@MazeDancer: I like Will Trent a lot, too. Excellent show.
WaterGirl
@Baud: But they are bringing it back! The renewed Sydney and cancelled Hawaii!
Baud
@WaterGirl:
What’s the diversity show you mentioned?
ETA: I haven’t looked at the ratings to compare Sydney vs Hawaii. I was surprised to hear of the cancellation.
WaterGirl
@errg: Yes! Alaska Daily was smart, interesting, relevant, great characters, important.
So of course they cancelled it.
Ihop
Please forgive me for something mst likely topic adjacent, but has anybody of the netdy comicky booky glitterati noticed that the mask heath ledgers joker wore at the beginning of dark night is the same that Cesar romero’s joker wore as pagliachi (spelling) in his first appearance as the joker in the adam west batman?
Also, even though I know it was given a 2 season reprieve I said fuck this to all TV except cooking shows and sporting events after arrested development was jettisoned by fox.
So please, for all that is good and unholy, watch ‘what we do in the shadows’
Anonymous At Work
Paramount canceling Lower Decks without notice. It’s animated, so not the tallest lift to give it another year or partial arc.
We’ll segue into Better Off Ted, a show so funny, including to the network execs, that they thought word-of-mouth would work instead of advertising.
Moving to NBC, we have how horribly they treated Scrubs and Chuck (sorry, easy bait for this group). Forcing both shows to all-but including in-show advertisements to keep them on the air.
And yes, as always, forever, finishing with Firefly: showing that Fox executives were Dunning-Kruger before the two had graduated from college.
Steeplejack
What CBS shows are you referring to?!
ETA: Okay, I see you got around to it. I really like the female lead on NCIS: Hawaiʻi. The show’s just average, but she is good. Hope the actor lands somewhere else.
NCIS: Sydney looks like complete crap.
eclare
I was disappointed when American Gothic was cancelled. It was a truly creepy show. Gary Cole was excellent, and the show was cancelled after one season.
Ken
Ditto, and on a major cliffhanger.
WaterGirl
@Baud: I alluded to a few shows, I think.
Blue Bloods is being cancelled for “lack of diversity” by the network that just cancelled NCIS: Hawaii that had it all diversity-wise. It makes no fucking sense.
And Walker is apparently the most watched show on the CW, and it looks likely to be cancelled.
Not saying I am a big fan of Blue Bloods or Walker, just sharing some of the crazy I found.
I think you could pick a random adult 17 years or older, and they could make better decisions.
It’s like USA was so great back when they had White Collar and all those other great shows in the summer. And then poof. Did they no longer care about great shows? Did some good top guy leave and someone awful came in as decision-maker? I have no idea.
WaterGirl
@Baud: What was the name of that awful CSI show? Oh wait, it just came to me.
CSI: Cyber.
God, that was such a bad show.
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
I saw a brief promo for something like NCIS: Origins. Apparently it’s like Gibbs: The Early Days. Do not want.
evodevo
Ditto on Will Trent – like that show. STUPID CBS cancelled So Help Me Todd – I am so pissed…
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Never watched Blue Bloods, but that always seemed like a creepy show. I didn’t realize that CBS claimed lack of diversity. That show was on for a long time.
@WaterGirl:
Yes. Cyber. Although I thought the stories in Cyber were bad. The stories in Sydney are normal NCIS fare with hard to understand accents on top.
scribbler
@mrmoshpotato: Loved this show too. Quirky, a bit dark, inventive, so of course it was cancelled too soon.
Starfish
There were various things written about Family Guy, and it always seemed like such a terrible show. Here is an animated show where none of the jokes are funny. Why does this show still exist?
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Agree about USA. I used to watch their shows all the time. Not sure what happened there.
Salt Water
This is going back a long ways but I’m still salty about “Soap” – talk about a cliffhanger!
“Wonderfalls” was another one I would have liked to see several more seasons of.
Nukular Biskits
Someone may have asked this already (I usually read the post, then comment, then read the other comments):
Does the list of shows to get rid of include the Sunday talking head shows?
Craig
MAX cancelled The Nevers 2nd season even though it was in the can. Grrrrrr
Steeplejack
@Ihop:
“[. . .] watch What We Do in the Shadows.” [Hulu.]
Also Wellington Paranormal. [Max.]
Starfish
@Nukular Biskits: No one asked this, but it is a fair point. No one wants to listen to all these people yammering about things they know nothing about.
Scout211
What!? Oh no! I am pissed now, too.
Steeplejack
@evodevo:
Is So Help Me Todd good? Because the “mom and son detectives” thing put me off.
Baud
@Steeplejack:
Mom was a lawyer.
sab
@Craig: That was to punish joss whedon.
NotMax
Firefly was the replacement show when Wonderfalls was cancelled. Why couldn’t we have both, dammit?
(Actually I have a lot of problems with Firefly, but that’s fodder for another time. Not enough to make it unwatchable however.)
Nukular Biskits
@Starfish:
I just happened to see this on Twitter and, although I’m not a frequent viewer of said shows any more, I have to agree:
Reason for that outburst? SC Senator Tim Scott absolutely refusing to answer a clear and direct question.
https://twitter.com/NC5PhilWilliams/status/1789695955853300044
Steeplejack
@Baud:
I usually like Tom Selleck—especially the Jesse Stone movies—but I skipped Blue Bloods because it’s straight-up network copaganda.
Scout211
I really enjoy it. Lots of clever banter and quirky characters. Mom is an attorney and the son works for her as an investigator.
Brachiator
@Ihop:
Recently saw a YouTube short about this. A fun homage, if true. Also, I have heard that the Cesar Romero mask was modeled on the make-up of circus performer Emmett Kelly.
Another Scott
Back in the olden days when I still watched TV, I really enjoyed The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. Sort of an update/spoof of The Wild Wild West and The Avengers and Get Smart and Gunsmoke and similar things.
Barely 2 seasons. :-/
Cheers,
Scott.
sab
I am pissed about the new Perry Mason show having been cancelled after only one season
ETA Sorry, two seasons.
Baud
@Steeplejack:
I’m usually ok with cop shows, but the ads for this one rubbed me the wrong way. But I’ve never actually watched an episode, so I don’t know if my reaction was justified.
HinTN
We loved Numb3rs but it sorta went around the bend the last season (or two). Character development can never overcome a lack of good show plot.
Scout211
@Another Scott: seconded on The Aventures of Briscoe County, jr.
WaterGirl
@Baud: Yes, after 14 years, they decided there wasn’t enough diversity.
And cancelled Hawaii with, let’s see.
Female lead: Mixed race.
Two female major characters: lesbian couple
One of the male leads: maybe Hawaii, maybe Asian.
Baud
@HinTN:
I also liked that show.
Steeplejack
@Baud:
Like that makes it better?! 😹
I meant “detectives” in the TV sense of crime-solvers, not official police titles.
sab
My haidresser, his wife and I were probably the only people in America that watched Rubicon back in the day, but I loved that show. And the replaced it with that stupid zombie show.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
The diversity thing sounds like an excuse for something else. Who knows?
WaterGirl
@NotMax:
Heresy! Please go to your room. :-)
Starfish
The Regime is so weird. Kate Winslet is the chancellor of some eastern European country who is completely off her rocker. She talks to her dead father a lot. Hugh Grant is the former leader of The Regime that Kate Winslet keeps locked up in the basement.
Jay
@mrmoshpotato:
A Reconstruction Western set in Space, with out the racism, but with insane zombies, that were created when the evil “Union” tried to make a “passive” drug to make people passive. The side effects were that 90% of those exposed became so passive they just sat down and died. The other 10% became hyper violent.
So the plucky “rebels” went into “interspace” shipping in a class of ship called a “Firefly”, with some train robberies, smuggling, etc on the side, who am I kidding, I don’t remember a single legal shipment.
Connected Dr. frees his sister from a facility, where they have repressed her memories, and turned her into a physic lethal weapon. The Union comes after them, because she knows how “The Reavers” were created.
Luckily, “Serenity” got funded and provided a closure to the plots.
Chet Murthy
@WaterGirl: NotMax is not alone in that. But even still, it was a fun, fun show.
ETA: It had so, so, so many great lines, too.
WaterGirl
@sab: Rubicon was a GREAT SHOW.
Chet Murthy
@WaterGirl:
“I’ll be in my bunk”
Starfish
@Nukular Biskits: Oh, Scott has done this repeatedly. People have asked him this repeatedly. Refusing to answer this question should be disqualifying.
WaterGirl
@Chet Murthy: ha!
Baud
@Jay:
We should have listened to RFK Jr.
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
Maybe LL Cool J is a jinx. His character came over from NCIS: Los Angeles on a temporary thing and just kept hanging around. Don’t they need you back in L.A., bruh? Oh, right, that show ended a year ago.
Brachiator
@Anonymous At Work:
I agree that it is a shame that this show has been cancelled. But I think that the larger background here is that Paramount is struggling to survive. So there is a risk that all Star Trek shows might be in danger.
It would be interesting to see Disney acquire Star Trek and control another pop culture franchise. Unlikely, however.
Starfish
@Baud: Yes, there is a lot of “let’s conveniently blame diversity for our unpopular decisions.”
WaterGirl
@Baud: It’s the inconsistency that is so maddening.
WaterGirl
@Starfish: But this was lack of diversity!
frosty
Awesome! Firefly was in comment #5 and #8. That’s my big gripe. Favorite moment, on Big Bang Theory. Sheldon says “I know what I’ll be doing on Friday nights for the next few years; watching Firefly.” After it was cancelled, of course, but for him it was still running when he said the line.
ETA: @WaterGirl: I started at the top again. #8 was you!
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: Yeah, I didn’t think he added much to NCIS: Hawaii.
eclare
@Starfish:
I read reviews of The Regime, and it sounded like HBO couldn’t decide what the tone or the point of the show was supposed to be. I haven’t watched.
Baud
@Brachiator:
Disney isn’t doing so hot in its streaming business, I hear.
Starfish
@WaterGirl: I thought that you were pointing out that the show that they said lacked diversity actually had diversity and had been on for years. So why blame lack of diversity now? What has changed?
Things have gotten more strict around some of the awards and diversity requirements to get considered for awards, but the people who get to choose what wins the awards still lack diversity.
Steeplejack
Nice to see all the geriatric love coming out for network shows. And here I was embarrassed last week to profess that I was liking Elsbeth.
On the edgy cable side I’m binge-watching Cardinal on Hulu. Canadian cops in Ontario, four seasons (24 episodes). Good writing and acting, nice scenery, has avoided most cop-show clichés so far. (Just started S3.) Some of the murders and crime scenes are not for the faint of heart.
Jay
@Baud:
It wasn’t a vaccine, it was “atmospheric modifications”
A comment on AGW?
Baud
@Steeplejack:
I don’t stream or do pay TV except for Amazon Prime. So the only shows I watch are network.
Nukular Biskits
@Brachiator:
I hope that doesn’t come to pass.
I’m not impressed with the way Disney is absolutely wringing the enjoyment out of the Muppet, Star Wars and Marvel franchises.
Jay
@frosty:
I liked Firefly, T hated it. She loves Star Trek Next Generation, me, I was MEH.
AndyG
Maybe a bit niche, but I loved “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” and was pissed when CNN canceled it after just seasons during its disastrous network shake-up. I hope Tucci can find some other channel to pick it up.
Nukular Biskits
@Starfish:
No disagreement there, but the hosts (and bookers) for these shows already KNOW these pols only use the Sunday shows to get out their talking points. Period.
So … why book them if there is nothing to be learned?
Tehanu
I used to keep a list of Great Failed Sitcoms, but it’s so old now … well, perhaps some of the older folks here may remember some of them. Here’s the top ten, anyway:
Bakersfield, P.D.
Doctor, Doctor
The Jackie Thomas Show (backstage at a sitcom)
Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Better Off Ted
Duckman
My World and Welcome to It
It’s Like, You Know … (general Hollywood in-jokes)
The Famous Teddy Z. (backstage at an agency)
Buffalo Bill (backstage at radio talk show)
Starfish
@Nukular Biskits: Nothing killed Star Wars day like Disney owning Star Wars.
citizen dave
I was going to joke about Kolchak: The Night Stalker, 1974-75. But google tells me it lasting one season was understandable: “The series was cancelled because Darren McGavin asked to be released from his contract. Not only did he become disappointed with the series’ scripts, but he ended up exhausted from the rigorous daily shooting schedule (beginning at 3:00 pm until just before sunrise) and his uncredited producing duties.”
For me the travesty was the cancellation of Freaks n Geeks after one season. I was sad when Homicide: Life on the Street was cancelled, but it had run its course.
A recent one is HBO cancelling the great and funny and poignant series South Side
Was really mad when CBS cancelled the Ernest T. Bass spinoff after half a season in 1970. OK, I made that up.
Nukular Biskits
@Tehanu:
The only one of those I think I recognize (and I’m an old) is “Buffalo Bill”.
Wasn’t Dabney Coleman in that?
Larch
CBS also canceled CSI: Vegas, which also has a diverse cast & decent writing. Bringing back one or two of the original cast members per season has been pretty effective.
Totally agree about Hawaii, Sydney, & Origins. Hawaii’s well worth saving. Sydney is terrible – dreadful writing! And the last thing I want to watch is Gibbs learning to be a b**tard.
Sigh
Brachiator
I think that the abrupt cancellation of “Star Trek: Lower Decks” is regrettable. It is one of the best of the new Star Trek shows. But as I previously noted, this decision may be related to Paramount struggling to survive. The streaming services were more connected to traditional movies theaters than the executives understood, and the collapse of movie going is having an impact on the entire industry.
Anyway, I also wish that they had found a way to save “The Orville,” the best Star Trek homage show.
I initially had trouble with this topic because I don’t watch much regular TV these days. And it’s been a long time since I watched any network show. Seems like an endless stream of interchangeable police/fire department/hospital shows, interspersed with instantly forgettable sitcoms and the umpteenth iteration of “Law and CSI NCIS SVU.”
Is the crappy reboot of Magnum PI still on?
Larch
@Steeplejack: I really enjoyed Cardinal, too!
errg
@sab: Perry Mason was cancelled??? No one told me, that sucks. It felt like it was really just getting started. I really liked the old Los Angeles sets.
SpaceUnit
@AndyG:
Someone showed him where Italy was on a map.
Baud
@Brachiator:
The new Magnum was cancelled a year or two ago.
Brachiator
@Baud:
The streaming business may be having problems. Sports and live entertainment might become more important than scripted shows.
@Nukular Biskits:
I agree that Disney might crush the remaining creativity out of Star Trek, should they acquire it, as they have done with so many franchises.
But Disney has had low moments in the past. I hope that they can find their way back to quality entertainment in the future.
Ken
Was the badness from character, plot, or realism? Because I’ve seen blogs that devote themselves to the flaws in the portrayal of forensic procedures — “Zoom! and enhance!” being a common one. I imagine a show with “Cyber” in the title could be particularly vulnerable to that.
There’s one that comes up fairly often, where two people are doing some computer work and sharing the keyboard. You’d think some of the actors would call shenanigans, and you’d definitely think that the writers would know how to use a laptop.
S Cerevisiae
@citizen dave: I was going to mention that 10 year old me was so pissed when they canceled Kolchack.
Anotherlurker
American networks are not alone in the tendency to cancel good shows. Take for example the BBC’s cancelation of “Dead Still”. It was a quirky show set in 1890s Dublin. It’s main character is a mortuary photographer. He makes his living photographing the dearly departed for the grieving families. The supporting characters were equally quirky and the writing and direction were solid and imaginative.
Sadly, it only ran for 1 season.
Brachiator
@sab:
I forgot about this show!
Yes. I am with you. Overall I loved this show. I think that Robert Downey Jr and his wife were series producers.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Steeplejack: I like Elsbeth too. Loved her character on The Good Wife, and now here’s a show with a direct homage to Columbo. What’s not to like? Although it was too light for my husband.
Cheryl from Maryland
I’m still upset that Frank’s Place, starring Tim Reid from the team that made WKRP in Cincinnatti, was cancelled in 1988 after only one glorious season.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
This will date me, but the first show I can remember being pissed about its cancellation was a WWII caper show called Garrison’s Gorillas (I think it was inspired by The Dirty Dozen movie). It was replaced by The Mod Squad (sigh).
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?
@Baud: I have another old one that I only vaguely remember but like way back when. Buffalo Bill starring Dabny Coleman and a young and up and coming Geens Davis. I think one of the network execs said his greatest regret was not fighting for that show.
I still like all the USA Network blue skies era shows and ditto what was said above about Chuck and Scrubs. But at least Scrubs has a long run and was pretty much as funny in the last season the original cast was involved as in earlier seasons. In addition to the comedy it got medical drama more right than a lot of medical drama.
Also, not a TV network show but Amazon Prime’s The Tick based on the comic of the same name (also not to be confused with the Fox Network show which I’ve also heard good things about) was great and deserved more than two seasons. It had the same mix of action and humor as Chuck, Psych, Monk, etc.
Melancholy Jaques
I mostly watch sports and tend to pick up on series TV when someone recommends it, sometimes years after it started, sometimes after it is cancelled. I was made for binging or binging was made for me.
Two shows I watched when they were on that I was sad to see go: HBO’s Carnivale and Rome.
SpaceUnit
I usually prefer to watch a limited series rather than a show that just keeps going season after season. I want to know that the writers are going to wrap things up at some point.
I liked Downton Abbey because of the production values. I liked Cobra Kai because it was a hoot. I liked Stranger Things but felt they should have called it quits after season three.
I’d like to see a mashup of Cobra Kai and Downton Abbey where it’s the Downton characters but they all know Kung Fu and smash up the palace.
WaterGirl
@Starfish: Sorry! To be more clear, they cancelled the show with TONS OF DIVERSITY and at the same time cancelled one of their shows for NOT HAVING DIVERSITY.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
On the other hand, there have been a lot of shows which I watched for a few seasons and then got bored with, since all dramas have to have problems and after a while, it’s enough already, but the shows seem to run forever. For example, I watched Grey’s Anatomy for a couple of seasons, and also The Blacklist, and True Blood. Whereas we watched Battlestar Galactica, Deadwood, Better Call Saul, The Wire etc. to to very end
ETA: Comedies have this problem too. I stopped with Friends after a while, since the will they/won’t they with Ross and Rachel got to be ridiculous.
p.a.
I just want to see an NCIS- set anywhere- where, when they flash a badge and say “NCIS”, the character says, “huh? What the fuck is that? You’re making that up.”
Jay
@Ken:
Realism.
Most of the plots were based around manufactured “Internet fears” with little connection to “Internet Reality”.
zhena gogolia
This is kind of OT, because I don’t watch any streaming series except Hacks (still great!). But we got on a kick of watching Bridget Jones for the 100th time (still great!), then went on to Bridget Jones Edge of Reason (which we’d only seen once — Hugh Grant great again). Now we’re doing something I never thought I’d do — we’re watching Bridget Jones’s Baby. Although it is a travesty when compared to the first film, it still has Colin Firth (although he must have put it in his contract that he would only do a scene or two), and it’s actually HILARIOUS.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Melancholy Jaques: Oh yeah, Rome could have run for a lot longer! I read that it was very expensive, and HBO cancelled it before they realized it was a hit.
Brachiator
@WaterGirl:
@NotMax:
I understand why many people loved this show, but it didn’t work for me. Liked the actors, but not the characters they played.
The Reconstruction Western thing is tiresome.
zhena gogolia
I’m still sad about Roger Corman. He lived to a ripe old age (98), but I owe him so many enjoyable moments of my childhood and adolescence.
NotMax
From the shows which should never have been greenlighted file:
The Secret Diary Of Desmond Pfeiffer.
Women in Prison.
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?
I see Buffalo Bill got mentioned already. Another one… I’d have to see it again to see if it holds up but I recall thinking Get A Life starring Chris Elliott was really funny. Also someone mentioned Stark Raving Mad starring Tony Shaloub and Niel Patrick Harris. I recall that being pretty funny and I think it only made it one season.
Shalimar
I was really disappointed when early Fox cancelled Key West after half a season. All the episodes are on YouTube now and it isn’t as funny as I thought it was 30 years ago. Still an interesting concept though, factory worker wins the lottery and moves to where Hemingway wrote because he wants to be a writer. Quirkiness ensues. Would have been nice to see 2 or 3 seasons.