Why is it always the good ones? An essay on TV Cancellation

So I like TV.  Most people do.  Americans watch more TV than anywhere else in the world.  We have reality TV, and Sitcoms and Game shows and Sci-Fi (when spelled korrettly), and everything you can of which you can think.  So why do the good shows always get cancelled?

Well first you have to establish what makes a good show.  Everyone has their own opinion.   Not everyone agrees, either.  Is a good show simply one that does well in the ratings?  If that were true, then the mission would be simple.  But it’s not.   It’s not about good writing; heaven knows that, if that was true half the shows on TV now would never have made it on the air.  The mind next jumps to cast, and crew such as directing, production and editing.  If wishes were horses than all men would ride as the proverb goes.  So a good show must be a combination of all these ingredients. 

One thing that people can agree on, a reality show is NOT a good show.  People always watch them but call them “guilty pleasures” or “shows we love to hate”.  I believe the reason why, is that they lack one of the key elements talked about in the about paragraph, good writing.  Some shows have had directing, even “stunt casting” but without a story to follow, we don’t engage with a “character”

So why do they cancel the good shows?  Occasionally, you a good run out of a show, but generally you get a great show with a limited run playing forever in syndication.  Star Trek the original series is one of the classic examples, cancelled after 3 seasons.  Firefly is a modern example, only running one season to return as a motion picture, Serenity and continuing to hold conventions to this day.  SyFy formally SciFi channel has a bad record when it comes to cancelling good series Warehouse 13, Eureka, Merlin, Alphas, Caprica, Farscape, Sanctuary,and both Stargate(s).  Other channels notorious for cancellation include Fox (Firefly, Futurama{Later Saved by Comedy Central to get canned again}John Doe, Dollhouse, Terminator:Sarah Conner Chronicles, Tru Calling, Grounded for Life, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, Tracey Ullman, and Till Death) and CW which included the former WB and UPN networks.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Roswell were both cancelled by WB then picked up by UPN.  WB killed Birds of Prey which I personally love although some people didn’t.  It was a different take on superheroes, with women in charge.

Then, there is the mess the networks make of programming.  If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.  When they decide to bounce a show from timeslot to timeslot; that is usually a death knell.  People like knowing when their show is on.  Yes, most people have DVRs, but we don’t have multiple ones.  If you put too many shows on at one time something has to go.  Why take the chance it’s going to be your show?  Chances are if you’re moving your show that’s the one that’s going to get the boot.  Sorry.  Best example I have.  I liked The Vampire Diaries.  I read the books when I was a kid, before the current vampire craze.  I was watching the series.  It got moved to Thursday nights.  I’m now so far behind I’m waiting till it comes out on DVD.  Now the show that was opposite it is off but I just can’t catch up.  It sucks.  Pun intended.  I would love to try the new spin off series, but there is no way to catch up properly.

To wind things up, Networks be wary.  The internet is now able to take much better action regarding cancellation of shows.  Next time you decide to can our favorite show we may decide to can your network.

Spoilers on the 50th Doctor Who

The prophesy said the fall of the eleventh. Maldovar, the blue dude said the eleventh. If John Hurt is playing a Doctor between Paul McGann and Chris Eccleston the fall of the Eleventh already happened on Christmas day a few years ago. (I MISS TENNANT!) JUST SAYING!

Spoiler Escape 2013

So I will do a review of Nightmare in Silver later.  Let’s deal with Spoiler Escape 2013.  First, let me say I wish I had bought Season 7B from wherever they let the birdies fly early.  How lucky can you get!  Second, BBC is doing a good job of keeping the spoilers of the net.  I’m not just talking about this mess with the early birdies.  The filming on the fiftieth has been done for about a week, a large part was done outside in full public view and only minimal pictures have surfaced.  They are the same pictures on every site.  They might as well have BBC stamped on the bottom because if they didn’t approve they wouldn’t be there.  They could be enough pictures to get a good idea of the plot.  Also, how come the PA, grips, and best boys haven’t leaked any plot details?  Now that they are in editing all someone has to do is go home mention something to a friend…  It’s the Brits, I swear it is.  This would never happen in America!  How many movies have had the endings out before the Premier?  I don’t know if I can wait a week till the next episode and 6 months till the anniversary.  At least they are running the specials in between and there’s always reruns and classic doctor on DVD.  I have a significant collection, and it’s growing…  Donations can be made to AMAZON.COM, JK, well maybe not, I have a wish list!

http://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/368CFTASOATYZ/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_o_C-5

Poem

It's a plain, dreary rain
I watch from my window pane.
It's time for moving on,
But I'm stuck here with the pain.

Time is fleetly flying,
And paitience has me sighing.
I've waited here so long,
Just knowing and crying.

You left me here forever.
My heart is about to sever.
My life is barren and in withdrawl.
I've lost my only tether.

Blue

Blue

The ultimate feeling

It cannot be seen

So deep is the quiet

You can’t think to scream

It envelopes your soul

Your mind is a void

Your calmness entails

The highest joys

As cool as the night

Nothing is hiding

No more is your fright

No evil exists

In this perilous world

Live, Love and Die

Life is unfurled

The Crimson Horror

The Crimson Horror

First, let me address the elephant in the room.  Can we say misogyny? The crimson horror was one of the terms men used for women during that time of the month.  Now, I will give some benefit of the doubt, maybe that’s just an American phrase.   But let’s get back to the episode.

Okay, what was with the feinting dude?  Was he a reference to Pat Troughton and his love of Panto(mime)?  Was it just comic relief?  It seemed stupid to me. 

Next there was a vague one line reference to Tegan.  I understand it’s the fiftieth and they want to cramp in all the references they can but the way the line was written it seemed like the doctor didn’t like her at all! 

Now I know the spiraling staircase was a throwback to “Snowmen”, but it gave me a headache.  Up and down, down and up.

There were several throwaway references to the Great Intelligence that either weren’t used or will come up later.  First the “terror rained (reigned) down”.  That was how the GI was defeated in “The Snowmen”.  The Sweetville symbol was similar to the GI symbol.

Also what was with the Thomas Thomas kid?  I got the symbology.  It was so lame I missed it the first time.

I know this is not my usual review but this was not the best episode.  Sorry, try again next week.  Eight ball fuzzy.

Music in My Mind

First thank you to hmgross? from whom I liberated the video, Counting Crows never did an official video for this one.  Einstein on a beach

I'm trying to sleep.  I figure, I'll listen to some music that will help.  First, I heard "Someone Like You" by Adele, So I had to share that because I forgot it was her birthday, today May, 5. Then I heard "Ball and Chain" By Social Distortion which I hadn't heard in a while.  The lyrics are great if you listen to them. N.P.  I have been asked what type of music I like in the past and here is a semi-simple explanation.

I like music that has both intelligible words, words that mean something personally and emotionally and vocals,music and percussion  and the percussion's that backs it up should not be  OVERPOWERING.(i.e. THE FLOOR SHOULD NOT ROCK! THE NEIGHBORS ROOF SHOULD NOT ROCK! TWO BLOCKS OVER SHOULD NOT ROCK! CAR ALARMS SHOULD NOT BE CLAMORING FOR 

Music is a story.  It should have a beginning a middle and an end.  It doesn't have to tell a story but it should follow the story rules regarding having a rising, climbing and falling action.  A song bends the rules slightly for refrains but the emphasises the journey the song is making.
All this comes up because of the song from the above link; these words move me:

One more sun comes sliding down the skyOne more shadow leans against the wallAnd the world begins to disappearThe worst things come from inside hereAnd all the king's men reappearFor an eggman, fallen off the wallHe'll never be together again

But there's a story there behind the basic line of Humpty Dumpty. It may read differently to different people but everyone understands it.  The best songs talk of Life, Love and Loss.  We all experience them all not to the same degree, not at the same time.  Although, when we experience them at the same time we can find comfort in song and it can bring us back to joy,peace and understand when life, and love have dealt us losses to big to bare.  "Love is all you need"  Appropriate that the quote I feel describes songs comes from a song.  Every one has one or two quotes they love, but the best songs are the ones that you know all the words to!

N.P.

    "I'm sick and I'm tired                        

     And I can't take any more pain

     So take away take away

     Take away this ball and chain"                                                                                                                                "Ball and Chain" Social Distortion

*I imagine my ball and chain is my pain and sometimes it helps*

Journey to the Center of the T.A.R.D.I.S.

So I took me a while to write my review of Journey to the Center of the TA.R.D.I.S..  Why? I generally take a couple of views to get all the references to Classic Who and pick up subtleties I might otherwise have missed.  However, the BBC did my work for me.  I really don’t write reviews of the actual episode so I’m kind of at a loss for what to write about.  One thing that sticks out is the interior of the TA.R.D.I.S..  I wasn’t actually impressed with the swimming pool.  Sorry, it was nice but I would have like spas or fountains or flying fish and more than just a passing glimpse.  The Library, now that was cool.  I could spend my life in the library.  The Encyclopedia Galifrey being bottled was cool, although J.K. Rowling might want some copyright money.  The Time war book seems to have caused a lot of tongue wagging on the internet.  I don’t know why, it speaks to the entropy in the universe.  No knowledge is ever lost.  My personal theory is that the Doctor swiped it from The Library (The planet, not his).  If Clara learned the Doctor’s name, the knowledge is out there now to be learned, she won’t “forget it” now.  The brothers that ran the salvage yard remembered some things and Clara is plucky, bright, and determined, otherwise she wouldn’t be a companion.  What was infinitely more interesting was Clara’s reaction to “apparently” learning the Doctor’s name.  (We don’t know that’s what she read, it could have be a line explain the T.A.R.D.I.S. in a simple way or something) Clara implied that the information that she read was something she ALREADY knew!  At least that’s the way I interpreted it.  I felt that there was too much crammed into the story.  I’ve been watching “Classic” Who and this story would have done well as a 4 or 6 part serial with the secondary story of the brothers expanded and more exploration of the T.A.R.D.I.S..  So all in all a meh episode.  It served to move the plot forward, sort of, except where it didn’t because of the wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey stuff.  Clara learned who the Doctor was, maybe, except she didn’t because she doesn’t remember.  Only two things really happened.  One the Doctor asked Clara what she was and she said “Clara” and didn’t know about the other three versions of herself.  Two, the salvage brothers were nicer to each other.  Let’s see what happens next week when Dame Diane Rigg joins us for The Crimson Horror!

N.B. Clara said." So that's Who.." And Also the Key to the T.A.R.D.I.S. say Smiths has to be important or they wouldn't have shown it.

Eyes

Oh! Blue eyed blessed balm
That fills my daily life,
I beseech thee lover, Answer me?
Shall I be thine wife?

Oh! Golden eyes that glow
You tease, you taunt, you rave.
How can I love thee so?
You are but a knave.

Oh! Beautious Brown eyed fate,
That broken blessings blame,
Could you be my soul's true mate?
Or wil hearts tremble in infinite pain.

Oh! Green and glowing eyes
That glower from tree to tree
Do I know the choice is wise?
Or should in choosing, I remain free?

Impatience

I’ve waited so long the time has passed

Does it even matter any more?

The mission has failed and time has wasted

Nothing will ere be as it was before

Now is the time to be wishing on mountains

Now is the time for calling on gods

The world will end soon if we two only know it

The universe will implode in a ball of light