Tag Archives: TV

Jul 17 2012

Voted Off the Island: 10 Shows That Got Cancelled

Don’t you just hate it when you get into a show just to have it cancelled by the all-powerful networks that are in charge of the fates of your favourite characters? Unfortunately, the studios are in it to make money, so when a show is underperforming, it gets the axe to make way for more promising fodder. Of course, shows can get cancelled for other reasons, such as scheduling conflicts or contract issues, but where does that leave us as the viewers? If you were in love with one of the following 10 shows, you might want to find another show to obsess over.

“GCB“

“GCB” was clearly in place to help fill the overly dramatic shoes left behind by the ladies of Wisteria Lane. Despite a heavy-hitter cast and tons of marketing, the show could never really take off. Looks like Kristen Chenoweth better find another guest spot on “Glee.”

“The Ringer“

I hope that Sarah Michelle Gellar was getting paid double to play two separate characters in the CW’s mystery/drama, “The Ringer.” She’ll need it more than ever now that the network has ditched the show after two seasons on the air.

“Napoleon Dynamite“

FOX has had hits with cartoon series “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy”, so why not with “Napoleon Dynamite” too? It turns out that Napoleon isn’t as funny as a cartoon character, so he’ll need to return to his life of farming and llama-feeding.

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition“

Hey, I’ll be the first to admit that I couldn’t watch “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” without shedding a few tears. But as heart-warming as the show was, it also got a little repetitive: Sad family + house demolition + “move that bus!” = me crying every time. The show got cut and my Kleenex budget is thankful.

“Best Friends Forever“

A show about a sad BFF moving in with her friend and her friend’s boyfriend sounds funny… for about five minutes. The concept couldn’t stay afloat with better buddy comedy offerings, so I guess it was more like “Best Friends for a Season.”

“House“

Tons of fans are crying foul, but I don’t mind that “House” will be cancelled. It had a good run, and it started getting really ridiculous. It went from smart medical drama to overly cheesy and completely unbelievable soap opera in about two seconds. “Grey’s Anatomy” might wanna take a few notes.

“Are You There Chelsea?“

The Chelsea Handler brain child starring Laura Prepon as a younger version of Chelsea herself fell flat, a lot like other female-driven shows like “Whitney” and “2 Broke Girls.” Unfortunately for Handler, the other two shows were renewed, while hers will be shelved indefinitely. Back to the talk show!

“Alcatraz“

I watched a few episodes of this drama/mystery while on a long flight, and it seemed really entertaining. Then I realized I was on an airplane, and a Styrofoam cup of Coke also seemed pretty exciting. I couldn’t follow it when I tried watching at home, and it looks like I’m not the only one. FOX says “Sayonara” to the inmates.

“Terra Nova“

It was the most expensive pilot to ever be made, but the show about dinosaurs could never live up to the massive hype. So what you’re telling me is that the general public isn’t interested in dino-dramas? Who knew!?

“CSI: Miami“

I was under the impression that any “CSI” show could do no wrong, but it appears that low ratings cursed Horatio and the crew. I’ll miss all of the cheesy one-liners and blatant use of sunglasses as a prop.

If your favourite show made the cut list this year, never fear! With the invention of Internet TV, none of these cancelled shows will be gone forever. Plus, it just frees up space on your DVR for new shows!

When Todd Lam isn’t browsing the internet and watching TV, he is usually found writing for www.cabletv.com.

Written by Todd Lam

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Castle
May 8 2012

Castle (2009)

I first started following Nathan Fillion’s career when he starred as handsome Malcolm Reynolds, the shoot first ask questions later Captain of the Serenity in the television series, Firefly.  Now he’s starring in the hit ABC series, Castle based on a series of books by Richard Castle.

Nathan plays accomplished New York City mystery writer, Rick Castle who gets permission to shadow one of New York’s finest detectives for research purposes.  He is introduced to the beautiful detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) and is inspired to focus on her as a lead character in his upcoming book, Nikki Heat.  At first Beckett disapproves of his tagging along on cases, but soon begins to appreciate his unique methods of solving crimes.  Rounding out Beckett’s team are Detectives Javier Esposito (Jon Huertas) and Kevin Ryan (Seamus Dever) who perform a lot of the legwork and enjoy kidding Beckett about Castle.

Susan Sullivan, best known for her roles in Falcon Crest and Dharma and Greg, plays Rick’s Broadway actress mother, Martha Rodgers, who has moved in with her son after losing her assets to her ex-husband.  Martha helps Rick in raising his teenage daughter played by the lovely, Molly Quinn.

Unlike most television detective series, “Castle” mixes a lot creative humour along with the drama.  The cases are unusual to say the least.  On one episode, the team investigates a body found burned in a restaurant’s pizza oven.  Fortunately, they discover early on that the person was dead before being placed in the oven, which eased some of the gruesomeness for me.  (Although, it was a while before I wanted to eat pizza).  Additional quirkiness came when the team found out that the restaurant owner had an enemy in the form of an ex-employee who had left to start his own pizza restaurant across the street.  In addition, this owner also had an ex-employee enemy who also opened a pizza restaurant in the next block.  I usually pride myself on my ability to figure out the murderer, but this particular episode kept me guessing until the very end.

Of course, the sexual tension between Beckett and Castle is one of the main draws of the show.  The characters are seriously attracted to one another, but each is a little afraid of letting the other know.  Much to the writers’ credit, the tension has been sustained for 4 seasons without becoming boring or uncomfortable.  I’m not sure what most fans want, but judging from television history, if Castle and Beckett finally get together, it could mean the end of the series.  I think it’s interesting though that in the books, they are very much together and enjoy intimacy but in television, it seems to work best with the sexual tension.

At any rate, “Castle” is a great television show with interesting characters and exciting plots.  As of this writing, it has not yet been picked up for season 5, but things look hopeful.  Unlike Fox, which cancelled Firefly prematurely, lets hope the execs at ABC recognize a good show when they have it.

Written by Joyce Parnell