You Say It Like It's A Bad Thing?

I had a great conversation with my friend DJ (his initials, not his profession) who's actually had a life this summer so he missed out on the news that “Heroes” had been canceled. I relayed to him my conversation with DH Lawrence XVII, the actor who played Eric Doyle the Puppetmaster (and chronicled here in my blog) and how he gave me some insight from a professional stand-point. I totally understood David H's diplomacy (don't go blasting potential bosses on the Internet), but as a fan, I can voice my disapproval of NBC and the depths of their contempt for us as fans. They are beholden to those who own stock, but profitability and good television are not synonymous (the music industry is a prime example), so they will give you what they think you want and expect that we are not intelligent enough to know the difference.

So I've been subjected to their promotion of two new shows: “The Event”, the recipient of “Heroes” 9pm timeslot (which I will boycott on default), and another show called “The Cape”. “The Event” looks like “Lost” meets “Heroes”, with a little “24” thrown in (anytime you have a Black President, you're going to draw “24” comparisons). I'm not sure about the “Heroes” portion of the show, but there are foreshadowed references to a group of “people” that aren't like regular folks, which means either aliens or mutants, and I just have to give NBC a “C'mon, Son!” Are we really so gullible that you can so obviously rip off other shows, repackage it and expect us to come flocking? USA Network, which is owned by NBC/Universal, has come with original shows with original characters, but NBC can't commit to quality shows and give them a chance. Like “Life”, a thoroughly fantastic show that would fit perfectly alongside “Royal Pains”, “White Collar”, “Burn Notice” and “Monk”. NBC moved it from Monday, to Wednesday, to Friday, then unceremoniously decided to not bring it back. Stupid, stupid, stupid. That's a sign that your network has no faith in you, nor do they care about whether your fanbase can find you. Gone are the days of “Must-See-TV”. We are in the age of the Tweet and the DVR. NBC has no bona-fides like “The Vampire Diaries”, the network answer to the “Twilight” series (which is really unfair to both franchises, the only similarities are the vampires...) and to HBO's hit, “True Blood”. Honestly, the people that like one, usually like the others. Vampires are okay, but well-written vampires are just delicious.

Jumping back to “The Cape”, NBC has gone out of their way to say that their new show is “...nothing like 'Heroes', because there are no superpowers.” Okay, have you folks ever heard of this multi-billionaire playboy who's parents got murdered and inspired him to fight crime in the streets of Gotham? Again... say it with me... “C'mon, Son!” I'm not going for this, folks. You don't cancel (without allowing at least a semblance of resolution, that season finale is NO ending!) one of the best shows ever and give us this garbage in return. You people are idiots, one and all. Suits have no souls, they can't create anything.

On the flipside, I might have to give ABC props on “No Ordinary Family”. I've heard that two former “Smallville” writers (you screw'd the pooch with the Doomsday storyline, folks) and a producer from “Chuck” are on-board with this one, and that means they should/could be good. It's original material, so there's no canon to absolutely destroy in a quest to grab some quick ratings. I'll give them a couple of episodes and see how I like it (it's like a modern-day Fantastic Four), so the jury's still out on that one.

Well, I got chapters to finish... thanks for swinging through the blog, True Believers and True Deceivers... I got you.

-ere'bodee's favorite mega