As we move through the spring time, we draw to the end of the television season. This is a sad time for a lot of people, because we find out which of our favorite shows have been given the boot because of low ratings. I am really disappointed this year because a really good show is biting the dust, or will be soon--Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on FOX. TSCC had an OK run --ratings started out strong, but then the strike happened, and the viewers never came back. Then it got moved to friday nights--a death sentence for a drama series.
Which brings me to this rant-- Why can't people wise up? Why can't people enjoy quality programming? I cannot beleive the garbage that draws the ratings these days-- Dancing with the next top model, Who wants to marry my dog?, Are you smarter than the celebrity apprentice?--Why do they air this crap and cancel the good stuff?
Because not only is there an endless supply of foolish idiots willing to degrade themselves in front of a national audience, apparently they are willing to do it for very little money. Reality programming is cheap to make--around 100k to 200k an episode. In contrast, The West Wing, my all time favorite show, cost around $6 Million an episode--as much as a small feature film.
I am uspet because network execs wont even let a show find it's feet. Sienfeld, Friends--None of these shows would have made it today because they would have yanked them after 2 episodes.
TSCC is a brilliant show. You should check it out on DVD when it is released. The character development is nothing short of outstanding. The writers took a tired story about killer robots and turned it into a complicated and profound discussion about the meaning of humanity, religion and technology. It explored deep questions that kept me thinking long after it was over. Can a machine love? What is the nature of the soul? What is the meaning of good and evil? Why do we believe the things we do? I think the biggest problem with the series was it's name--people saw it and said--oh, I've heard that story. Trust me-- you haven't.
