For those people who work in the industry, along with people who work in advertising, as well as people who’s lives obsessively revolve around watching television, this past week is arguably the most important week of the year.
This is the week in which the major television networks announce their fall line-ups after debuting previews of their new programming for Madison Ave. advertisers (called Upfronts) in hopes of getting sponsors to commit millions of dollars towards shows that have not yet aired.
For someone like myself (who qualifies under two of the aforementioned categories - though primarily as an obsessive watcher) this week is particularly important as it begins to give me some idea as to how i will be spending every night of my week come the fall.
Unfortunately, this week is also bringing with it much sadness (some extremely unexpected) as the new line-ups inevitably mean the cancellation of shows that I have grown to love.
Obviously, a show like the West Wing (a favorite of mine) won’t be back, however, this has been something that I was told well in advance of this past week, and therefore I was able to prepare for the loss (along with being able to see the series conclude with a sense of closure, I also have the new Aaron Sorkin show Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip to look forward to).
The same could be said for Arrested Development, which was also expected to be cancelled and therefore the creators made sure to tie up there major arcs when writing the last few episodes of this past season.
However, for every West Wing/Arrested Development that ends with some sense of closure, some shows are cancelled without ever really giving viewers the satisfaction of answering many of the issues they raise when on the air.
The one show whose departure I am most upset by is Invasion. The brilliant sci-fi/drama that ABC had on after Lost was, in my opinion, the best new show on television this past season, and arguably the most consistent hour of television as well (i never was disappointed by any episode all season long - high praise for a show like this).
Anyways, I found out two days ago that Invasion was not being picked up and this made me very angry. Obviously, because i like the show, but also because this decision was made after the series had finished shooting its season finale (which is now the series finale). At the time of the filming it was expected that the show would be picked up and therefore the finale was (along with being an amazing episode) a cliffhanger designed to spin the show in a direction that would lead to the main arc of season 2.
So, not only did I not get to find out the answers to the greater questions raised as the show progressed through the season, I was left with more questions that will never be answered.
Needless to say, I’m pissed. And quite frankly I blame those of you who didn’t watch the show. Or at the very least those 22 million + among you who watch crap like American Idol and Grey’s Anatomy but couldn’t find the time to watch Invasion. It’s all your fault.
If that wasn’t bad enough, HBO just announced that they were releasing the cast of Deadwood from their contracts, thereby effectively signaling that this season will be the last for that show as well. Which (seeing as how this decision was also made after this forthcoming season 3 has wrapped) will mean that most likely there will be no sense of closure for this show either, and I will have to watch every episode this summer with the simmering resentment that comes from knowing that all these (presumably) brilliant storylines will never get to go anywhere.
Now sure, I suppose the argument could be made that if I didn’t invest my life so heavily on television shows then perhaps i would not have to deal with such disappointment.
But you know what, if I didn’t ever fall in love then I wouldn’t have to worry about heartbreak either.
No, I say it’s better to have loved and lost.
But, seriously, next time I tell you to watch a show…do me a favor and watch…my sense of well-being is at stake.
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