TVSquad

Beats me.

As I mentioned in my Five Canceled Shows post, this show was the most critically-acclaimed new show of the fall season and it had the nice time slot after Lost on Wednesday nights? It had a really strong cast and an intriguing pilot. So what the hell happened? The LA Times investigates, talking to the show's creator Hank Steinberg.

The whole thing was odd from the get-go, as The Nine's very first episode didn't even the numbers that ABC thought it would, and then the ratings fell from there. People who didn't like the show can say that the show didn't live up to the pre-season hype or the quality of the pilot, but that doesn't explain why the pilot wasn't watched by more people.

One thing the article says that I don't quite believe is that the show hasn't been officially canceled by the network. Yeah, if you want to get into semantics. The network says the show might be back in March or April, but at the same time it pulled the show because of low ratings and hasn't ordered anymore.

(S01E07) So we finally find out what Jeremy did in the bank to make Lizzie so upset and make him feel so guilty. One of the gunmen took the both of them to a hallway in the back of the bank, and while he was distracted, Jeremy ran for a back door! He actually wanted to get out, leaving Lizzie there, but felt really guilty about it. And now she's pregnant and they can't stay together and they have to tell his parents about it.

(S01E06) The people who don't like this show anymore (after the pilot) don't know what they're talking about. Are they expecting some sort of big conspiracy plotline? Something supernatural? A big mystery to be unveiled at the end? Do they expect something darker because of the bank robbery/flashback device the show is using? Do they expect the entire show to be set in the bank? They're watching the wrong show. This is a character-driven drama, period, and a damn good one.

They're into hour two of the hostage drama (in the flashbacks), and we get to see how they came to decide who should be the hostage released from the bank...

(S01E05) As you can tell from the episode title, tonight's episode focused exclusively on Jeremy. Ha! Just kidding. But it didn't really focus completely on Eva either. There was also plenty about the Lucas/Randall relationship, Franny, Kathryn and the baby, and the new Odd Couple, Nick and Egan.

"Can one divorced man and one soon to be divorced man share an apartment, without driving each other crazy?"

(S01E04) It's interesting how this show is becoming something different than how it started. Oh, the set up is the same, a group of strangers coming together after a horrifying bank hostage situation. But the stage it's in now is intriguing. The group started out as complete strangers who just happened to find each other together at a bank. Then, they find themselves becoming great friends and even meeting on a regular basis for dinner to help each other through this. And now comes the inevitable third stage: still great friends, but little differences in opinion are starting to create little irritations and disagreements.

And we find out that one of the bank robbers had a chance to escape, but decided to go back into the bank...

(S01E03) Tonight was a great night for openings. First Jericho, and now The Nine. The opening scene wasn't just tension-filled, it was a great piece of filmmaking, showing the first hour of the bank robbery, where everyone was, and what happened. One of those well-done scenes that have a lot of characters and a lot of things happening, but you know exactly what's going on and what everyone is doing. And it clued us into how this show is going to operate in each episode. They're not just showing us what happened with a flashback, it's almost as if each episode is a new look at what happened, not just a flashback rehash of stuff we already know.

(S01E02) I love how this show isn't toying with us. Sure, they're holding back on many of the details about what exactly happened during the 52 hour bank robbery, but you don't get the feeling they're taunting us or teasing us (*cough* Lost *cough*). Everything that is happening and the way they're showing it seems natural to the story, and it's amazing how intriguing a two or three second flashback snippet can be.

In this ep, the survivors are trying to get on with their lives, but it's not going to be easy...

(S01E01) There are certain words I'm hesitant to use to describe this first episode of The Nine. After my praise and hype of Studio 60, I caught the wrath of many readers who thought I was either overpraising the show a little bit or just completely wrong for even liking the show. So, I'm hesitant to say that The Nine is excellent. It's exciting and well put together and deserves the hype that has been building for the past several weeks.

Having said that, I'd just like to say that The Nine is excellent. It's exciting and well put together and deserves the hype that has been building for the past several weeks.

I'll have the full review of the first episode of The Nine when it premieres later this week (Wednesday night at 10, after Lost), but I wanted to tell you the 10 things I jotted down as I watched it.

1. This show isn't just "involving," it's mesmerizing, and that's unbelievably rare on television.

2. The cast is like a greatest hits of television from the past 10-15 years: Tim Daly (Wings, The Fugitive, Eyes), John Billingsley (Star Trek: Enterprise), Scott Wolf (Party of Five), Tom Verica (American Dreams, Will and Grace, Central Park West), Chi McBride (Boston Public, House), Kim Raver (24, Third Watch), and others. The cast is so good it's scary.

(S01E04) I hate it when TV shows or movies are really "predictable" in how "unpredictable" they are. Case in point, tonight's Standoff. Have I just been watching too much television the past 40 years or were the two "twists" at the start of this episode pretty easy to guess? Yeah, it was kinda obvious that the first team assault on the house was just a training exercise, and it was equally obvious that the girl was in on the bank thefts with the serial bank robber, just wearing different wigs.

That's not to say that there are worse ways to kill an hour than watching Standoff. This was actually the best episode so far.

Well, that happened a lot quicker than I expected.

Heist, the stylish NBC robbery drama, has already been axed by the network, Michael Ausiello is reporting at his site (hey, Ausiello has a site? Cool.).

Come on, this was a limited-run show anyway, why not let it play out? I caught a couple of eps, and while I was bugged by Dougray Scott's accent, I thought it was a rather fun, clever show, and I certainly wanted to see what happened next. But I guess NBC needs the hour for another episode of Deal Or No Deal.

[UPDATE: Writer/creator Mark Cullen confirms the cancellation in a comment below.]

Sigh. I really wish Eyes was still on. Tim Daly was so terrific in that show and, quite frankly, it makes me sad to see him move on to something else. Stupid, I know. He's a great actor (and quite a hunk) and it's awesome that he's getting work. So, I'll get over it and tell you about his new role and cross my fingers that this show does well (and is good!).

He was just added to an ensemble cast of an ABC drama called Nine Lives, about nine people whose lives collide when they are all part of a botched bank robbery. Daly is a terrific comedic actor, but his IMDB bio shows he has quite an extensive acting resume in dramatic roles. Co-stars include Dana Davis (aka Cora Briggs on Veronica Mars) and Scott Wolf (Party of Five).