Life on Mars No More
Last night, I was enjoying one of my favorite shows on TV, with an exceptional episode. That says something, since, in my opinion, it is the only good new show of the season. (I'll give you Kings, but we've only seen one episode of that.) It is one of the finest dramas I've ever seen, with amazing writing, directing, and acting. I love all of the 70s references, for it brings back so many memories- some of them good. (I don't remember the 60s.)
And then, right after the episode, when they gave the preview for next week, they also stated that you should be sure to watch this episode, for there was only one more episode before the series finale.
I did a double-take on that one. Actually, I rewound the DVR a couple times. I thought for sure they meant "season finale", and it was ending early. But no- series finale. This is it. One of the finest shows on TV, but suffering declining ratings, especially since ABC made a rather foolish move of putting it up against Law & Order, with it's strong fan base, and another cop show, splitting some of the demographic.
Yes, it is going one more episode more than it's British forerunner. But British shows never go for that long. And we had just begun to really set up the characters. They had just begun to start to evolve, now that they've been laid down. There's some major plot twists and developments that could be resolved in two episodes, but not with justice to good writing. It's a series that was wonderfully set up for continual exploration of mystery.
The 20-somethings-who-buy-more-products-demographic-bomb hits again. Of course, you have to be at least in your 30s to appreciate this show; otherwise it's merely an exploration of ancient history. And evidently, no matter how well a show is written, ABC's policy is to cancel if it provides only some revenue, rather than the high revenues of 20s-focused shows. Yes, they could do a mix, recognizing that anyone older than 29 also buys products, and having some well-written shows are good for publicity too. But it would appear that that's asking too much.
And then, right after the episode, when they gave the preview for next week, they also stated that you should be sure to watch this episode, for there was only one more episode before the series finale.
I did a double-take on that one. Actually, I rewound the DVR a couple times. I thought for sure they meant "season finale", and it was ending early. But no- series finale. This is it. One of the finest shows on TV, but suffering declining ratings, especially since ABC made a rather foolish move of putting it up against Law & Order, with it's strong fan base, and another cop show, splitting some of the demographic.
Yes, it is going one more episode more than it's British forerunner. But British shows never go for that long. And we had just begun to really set up the characters. They had just begun to start to evolve, now that they've been laid down. There's some major plot twists and developments that could be resolved in two episodes, but not with justice to good writing. It's a series that was wonderfully set up for continual exploration of mystery.
The 20-somethings-who-buy-more-products-demographic-bomb hits again. Of course, you have to be at least in your 30s to appreciate this show; otherwise it's merely an exploration of ancient history. And evidently, no matter how well a show is written, ABC's policy is to cancel if it provides only some revenue, rather than the high revenues of 20s-focused shows. Yes, they could do a mix, recognizing that anyone older than 29 also buys products, and having some well-written shows are good for publicity too. But it would appear that that's asking too much.
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