Source: Useless Knowledge Magazine
Submitted by: Mr. Sevens (Firefly/Quantum Leap News Consultant)
Written by: Lee Caldwell-Owens

I don’t know for sure but I’m beginning to think television has gone from bad to worse. We are constantly bombarded these days with reality TV. Gee, I thought the whole idea of television was escape reality–heavens just the commercials for NBC’s Fear Factor nearly make me throw-up. And all the good shows are ending–leaving us with nothing–or as I like to say–why get interested in a show when they are just going to cancel it the minute you get hooked.

I have a bunch of past television shows that still play out in my head from time to time. It’s hard carrying all this stuff around in one’s head, and I blame the networks for it. But it’s how I seem to deal with shows canceled just when they are getting good, or at least were tolerable when the other choices were endless reruns of Law and Order or X-Files. I ask you is there a time when there isn’t a rerun of Law and Order or X-Files on somewhere (sorry, loyal X-Filers but the show ended for me when they killed off the Lone-gunmen–okay I know it was intended as a Jump the Shark moment but it was a low blow–leave them alive in Celluloidville, at least).

This season alone Networks have ended JAG (probably long overdue), Everybody Loves Raymond (we knew this was coming), Yes, Dear (we can hope), Third Watch and Enterprise. Third Watch, well I don’t know what happened? It was going along good I thought last year and wham this season it totally changed–the Firefighters and for the most part the EMT workers are gone or shunted to postscripts in a show suddenly only about the police. It was hard to watch the show and not miss all the personnel that disappeared. And then there was the series finale. What a let down–why didn’t they just have 15 minute end with narration instead of a 45 minute story line (and a 15 minute Postscript of what happened later in life to who) that rushed through to certain doom for everybody. The Network was in such a hurry to end it, the last episode was truly painful to watch.

But the worst series cancellation has to be Star Trek: Enterprise. First let me say I was surprised it lasted passed last season when UPN moved it to the show killer time slot Friday Night (it’s a proven fact that very few shows can pull off the 7/8 PM Friday time and many have bitten the dust–their remains litter the streets of Celluloidville). Okay, Enterprise kind of pushed the envelope a little too hard last season and many had trouble figuring out just what was going on (for me it was just remembering it was on Friday instead of Wednesday and on UPN instead of a Network people older than 20 watched). The Series had some other problems–well, one that really bugged me–there weren’t enough people in the regular cast–only 7 and for such a large ship that seemed rather small. I would talk about the last episode, but since I only watched it 90 minutes ago I’m still trying to work it out in my head–just what kind of ending that was supposed to be?

What does next fall’s television line up hold for me? Not much really, I’m scared to become too attached to any series. Frankly, I’m just waiting till July when John Crichton (Farscape– but that’s a whole other can of worms), oops I mean Ben Browder and Beau Bridges join the cast of Stargate SG-1.