FOX Sucks

I read somewhere the other day that FOX has cancelled Reunion. Now, this isn't surprising, the show isn't that great and the ratings apparently suck. However, I've been watching it anyway, simply because it was a unique idea and I was interested to see something different. In case you haven't heard about it, it follows 6 friends through 20 years from high school to the present, with each show detailing a year in their lives. The interesting part is, in the present, one of them has been murdered, and possibly one of the others was the murderer. Anyway, like I said, it's not that great, and I'm not one to get too upset over shows being cancelled, but this one bothers me because from what I've read so far, it looks like they aren;t even going to finish the season, which means we won't find out who the murderer is, or what led up to the murder. The reason I think this sucks is that they're basically saying "fuck you" to all the people who have invested time in this show so far.

Now, you could say that about any show that gets cancelled, and they can't keep every show on the air just because they might piss off a few people by cancelling it. But the reason I think this kind of show is different is that the main draw of the series is the ongoing developing story, not the story in the individual episodes, like in CSI or Law and Order or a more conventional show. I think when you put a show like this on the air (and hype it the way FOX did), then you should make a commitment to your viewers to at least complete the story in some fashion, and in this case that means a full season. If FOX wasn't comfortable with making that commitment, they shouldn't have put it on the air. And not just because of the (apparently few) viewers they may piss off with this particular show. But because next year, if they do a show that has a ongoing plot, no matter how good it is, anyone who was screwed over this time will be less likely to watch it. I know I was excited to watch Prison Break this season (and it's pretty good), but if it hadn't started yet, I certainly wouldn't start watching now. Because I'm not going to commit my time to a show that isn't going to commit to giving me the full story promised.

And this doesn't even take into account that FOX seems to have a quick hook for some shows in the first place. They wouldn't have had to bring Family Guy back, if they had never gotten rid of it in the first place. If FOX keeps this shit up, when the Simpsons run finally ends, the entire network may come crashing down like a house of cards.

And while I'm on the subject, I've heard rumors that Rome may not be coming back to HBO. And to the people at HBO, I would say, The Sopranos (if it ever actually returns) has to be near the end, Six Feet Under is over, you cancelled Carnivale. Deadwood is a great, great show, but it can't carry your network alone, and if you have to go back to showing movies all the time, you're in trouble. The only reason I (and I would guess a lot of others) still subscribe is because of the great original shows. Last year, I would have watched anything you put on the air, and I probably still would, but if you keep cancelling the good shows prematurely, that won't be true for much longer. Your next show may be the greatest show in the history of television, but if no one watches it because they're afraid you'll cancel after one season, then it doesn't do you any good.