Viewer neglect. It’s the leading cause of death among TV series.
While publicity hogs like “24” and “Lost” got 21-gun-salute send-offs, a number of shows met the Grim Reaper of cancellation largely unremarked.
As Willie Loman’s wife insisted in “Death of a Salesman,” attention must be paid. So we offer a few final words for these prime-time foot soldiers.
Henceforth “Heroes” will be hard to find. It’s always tragic when a promising show peaks early. In the case of NBC’s sci-fi Hindenburg, that was about a dozen episodes into its first season in 2006.
“Law & Order” is the cruelest cut. Couldn’t NBC have given it three more episodes? Then it would have been the longest running nighttime drama in TV history. This was like firing a guy the week before he retires.
“The New Adventures of Old Christine” has gone down for the count. You’ll never stay on the air with the word “old” in your title.
“Melrose Place” fell victim to TV Rule No. 14: Remakes of classic TV shows never succeed. “Flash Forward” was doomed by TV’s newest rule, No. 267: The “Lost” curse. It featured Dominic Monaghan and Sonya Walger (Charlie and Penny on “Lost”). The castaways are show killers.
By the way, the two aforementioned rules (Nos. 14 & 267) don’t bode well for CBS’s upcoming “Hawaii Five-O,” a remake featuring Daniel Dae Kim (Jin on “Lost”).
You may be wondering, how does “Flash Forward” get the hook while “V” gets renewed? After all, “V” is both a remake and it stars Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet on “Lost”).
Well, the show has a hefty insurance policy. ABC spent so much building that replica of an alien spaceship that the network is determined to get its money’s worth out of it.
I’m willing to bet that after “V” is canceled next season, the next medical drama that ABC airs will take place in a hospital that looks a whole lot like the Visitors’ mother ship.
Two step.
Gossip generator TMZ alleged that VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab” offered $500,000 to Liza Minnelli to appear on the detox saga.
You have to wonder how much Lindsay Lohan would fetch. Oops, I forgot the rumors that “Celebrity Rehab” dangled $1 million under her button nose.
Talk about rewarding bad behavior. The curious thing is that an offer from “Celebrity Rehab” is always followed by a recruitment call from “Dancing with the Stars.” I think the two shows share the same booker.
The people have spoken.
Following the Facebook campaign to get Betty White to host “Saturday Night Live,” fans on the service are now lobbying for George Takei to appear on SNL. I don’t like the idea of “SNL” hosts being chosen that way. I prefer the traditional method: choosing an actor with a film that opened the previous day.
