TVSquad

TV executives seem to look at a year of television and learn one thing. It's not always smart, or right, and it often contradicts things they'd learned in the past, but they go with it. This year's lesson: serialized shows don't work. That's a crappy lesson, but it's what they're going with. And the best way to not be serialized is to go with those tried and true procedurals... lawyers, cops, and doctors. CBS and NBC are still running eight thousand different CSI's and L&O's (coming soon: CSI: Topeka, and L&O: Domestic Disturbances... though actually I'd watch that second one, who wouldn't want to watch Sam Watterson throw the book at a couple who fought drunk in the street in the middle of the night without pants?).

Anyway, they should be learning that people (normal people, anyway, not the tv obsessed like me and many of your readers) won't follow more than a few serialized shows. So when you put one out it not only has to be good, it has to draw people in early so they don't start watching 15 episodes in, get confused, and quit on it. The most successful serialized shows (Lost, Heroes, 24) have a hook to get people in, and exciting stuff happens (even on Lost, when it doesn't move the story forward... it's still exciting!). But they're not that smart... as William Goldman said, "nobody knows anything."

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The only Doctor show I watch is sometimes House because he's a bitch. The only lawyer show I watch is Boston Legal because it's the best comedy on Network TV. :)

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I agree with the basic sentiment, but I think the one about the Supreme Court has some potential (though you are so right about that AWFUL title). Politics is the new obsession of the Oughts. With the West Wing gone, something has gotta fill the void. And I really like the idea of it being a dramedy. Between this and the Thank You For Smoking project, us amature policy wonks are gonna be in hog heaven :)

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Tomorrow, Fox will announce they have cancelled these shows :)

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