I’ve been pretty vocal in recent months about my problems with the latest series of ‘Doctor Who’, especially the story-telling issues inherent in the character of Clara. Ironically, that difficulty is probably the LEAST of the problems facing my favorite programs this season, what with ‘Community’ recording the lowest ratings of its history, ‘Family Guy’ fluctuating back and forth from offensive to unwatchable, and the WWE mired in serious doldrums. (Shouldn’t have taken the belt of CM Punk, fellers.) With several old favorites having left already and replacements few and far between (experiments with both ‘Revolution’ and ‘Defiant’ have left me cold) the fact that Doctor Who will be back for the foreseeable future (even if Clara continues to Mary Sue and swan about batting her big dark eyes in lieu of character) is comforting. Now, if I can only keep them from cancelling any more of my favorite comics…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) is keeping fingers crossed that ‘El Gordo Y La Flaca’ is safe, asking: Which of your favorite media are you most worried about losing to low ratings, apathy or just plain editorial caveat?
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Venture Bros.
Coming back from a long hiatus always worries me. I will watch it, but I worry about it anyway… I hope it is successful! I love that show. Whenever I want to get my wife snort-laughing I do my Dr. Mrs. The Monarch voice.
“Yes, I belong here… I just have a deep voice.”
Oddly enough, I got some friends to give it a chance because I kept randomly shouting “IGNORE ME!”.
Community is toast. It’s ok, but it needs to be better than that. A shadow of its former self with the load if its captain.
Who has definitely hit a rough spotty is 1/2 season with Clara. I hope her companionhood is short and puts an end to the pretty young thing as companion for a while. Big Bang Theory gets less watchable with every episode as has been the case since season 2. It’s mostly watched out of habit now.
At this point Raising Hope is probably the only show I’d be really bummed to lose. Fox has a habit of killing good shows for marginal ratings.
Hama’s G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero worries me. It’s the best comic being published right now, every issue is amazing and gripping, and Hama is constantly pulling new and unexpected ideas out of his hat. It’s just impossible for a book of this quality to last as long as it should. I think it’s doing okay, but I worry.
Any sci-fi or fantasy TV series in general. While a few manage to make it, there is a lot of great stuff brought out that barely make it through a season because of one reason or another (usually a combination of little promotion, programmers placing it at the worst times and/or airing it at random days/times rather than a set time, and generally not giving it much of a chance in the first place).
I’m a bit worried “Defiance” might not make it very long since it is the sort of show that you probably have to be a geek to really like (and even then it is still hit or miss). I’m already enjoying it and I can see so much potential for great stories, but much like “Farscape” and “Firefly”, I can see problems arising in attracting an audience outside the sci-fi fanatics.
Sadly, there isn’t much else at the moment that I’m worried about losing. Those I like are either already canned or will be finishing up soon, or have become something I can no longer watch with the same enthusiasm as before. A very select few have been confirmed for more episodes, but for the most part I’m going to need to find new TV shows to watch or be content with DVD marathons.
Community for sure. The new season is alright and has had a few excellent episodes, but it’s definitely losing some direction and the pacing of the season has been somewhat off. For a show that’s had a lot of trouble getting renewed even when entire seasons have been excellent, it does not bode well. The only saving grace seems to be that most of NBC’s other half-hour comedies are doing worse and might get axed first.
I’ll also mirror Alisha’s worries about Defiance. The pilot was pretty good (it wasn’t up to the standards of say the Battlestar Galactica pilot, but then again what sci-fi show is?) but the general reception has been rather poor from what I can tell. Hopefully the story will pick up and go some place a little bit more unexpected, because if not I don’t foresee an all too bright future for Syfy’s new headliner.
I have brcome very fond of this sitcom called The Middle; it’s been on for a couple of years but has been completely ignored. With Community adrift & Raising Hope getting there as well, The Middle is currently my favorite major network show. But because literally no one outside of the AV Club talks about it or acknowledges it, I’m afraid ABC will decide to drop it & replace it with another autopilot ep of Modern Family.
And until the writers start using the brains in their heads again & stop with the romance/companion-as-sole-connection garbage, Doctor Who is dead to me.
I think it is about time The Doctor has another “buddy” companion like Jamie was to the Second Doctor.
I couldn’t agree more
Absolutely. Part of the problem with the “youthening” of the Doctor in casting consistently younger actors is the need for progressively younger and squishier girls to serve as de facto love interest. I’d even go so far as to say that they need a male companion who seems subjectively older than the Doctor, someone like the original Brigadier…
I agree the Middle is awesome. Although it is not a critical darling, I’m pretty sure it gets solid ratings. I don’t think it’s in danger of cancellation anytime soon.
Fearless Defenders. My comic shop tells me they only get two copies of these other than the one they order for me and often put one in the back issue bin, but it’s really good!
Walking Dead. Typically the more financially successful a show is the more corporate fingers go into the pie and the less willing they are to take risks with the show (see Heroes). I just hope the show continues to be as interesting as season 3.
Couldn’t agree more about Punk. Best in the world! WWE talent wont progress until they stop relying on part timers from the Attitude era.
Burn Notice. I used to love the thinking person’s spy. But it seems like the show has simply run its course. It got picked up for a 7th season, but the random emotional tantrums from Fiona and the constant woe is me for Michael is just getting tired. The end of Season 4 would have been a high point to end the series, instead of dragging it on.
All of the Major Spoilers Podcasts… just sayin’…
Subtle, Stephen.
Earth 2. It’s a universe unto itself, meaning connections to the main DC universe – and the resulting editorial whims about who must be promoted in who’s unrelated series – are kept to a minimum. James Robinson basically has an entire universe to stretch out and really leave his mark. Plus, the Justice Society of America is my personal favorite superhero team. And after the version that more or less held on for seventy years got canceled and written out of existence, I need to take what I can get.
And then there’s Dial H, one of the best series I’ve read in a long time. It’s a deconstruction of the old style superhero work while taking a moment every so often to reconstruct it. And it’s so fun. And it’s exactly the kind of thing that would be canceled in a heartbeat because it’s unlike anything else you’ve ever seen. I lost OMAC, don’t make me lose Dial H too. Or at least give it a satisfying conclusion, yo.
WAREHOUSE 13