Cancellation 101

The 2009-2010 TV season has had a wake of shows that have come to their natural end and some that have been cancellled. I'll discuss a few of them within the next couple of days as well as some of the hopefuls for 2010-2011 TV season.

Nine seasons is a long time for any show to run and Scrubs has finally hung up it's stethoscope forever as ABC have pulled the plug on the long running comedy. I loved this show when it started and while later seasons haven't been as brilliant, it was still a decent show to have on the air but cancellation wise, I'm not upset. Zach Braff mentioned months ago that the show wasn't coming back for a tenth season and given that most of the main cast were either leaving or reducing their episode count, the news isn't a bad thing really.

Heroes - another rightfully canned series. When this show aired, it had so much potential but it didn't take long for the cracks to appear. Season 1 was utterly brilliant, some of the best TV ever but the second season was a hot mess that suffered badly from the writer's strike in 2007 and while Seasons 3 and 4 both tried to recaptured the allure of the debut, it just wasn't enough. There'll be a TV movie to tie up loose ends but effectively, this show is done.

I never got into FlashForward but I was surprised that it got pulled after one season. I actually thought it was a huge hit for ABC but it seems the ratings quickly tanked after initial episodes and have been on a slide ever since. Another cancellation I can't get upset about to be honest. Give it's general concept, maybe being a one season wonder isn't a bad thing after all.

Smallville may be coming back for a tenth season but it will be it's last season, according to new reports and sadly, will not feature Allison Mack. So we have another 22 episodes for Clark to tell Lois who the hell he really is and for him to become Superman. As well as more opportunities to see Oliver Queen shirtless as well (not my fault the show has an affinity with his chest more than Justin Hartley's acting). The ninth season is set to debut on E4 pretty soon as well and the Zod stuff while not bad (good casting with Callum Blue) is nowhere near as gripping as the Doomsday stuff from the previous season.

Will Schuester, I Hate You

Yes, I know I desperately need to catch up on some stuff but I will get there. After all, here are some recent bits I've seen watching. As River Song would say: spoilers ...

I enjoyed the first series of Charlie Brooker's You Have Been Watching, so I was delighted to see that Channel 4 had wisely decided to renew it for a second run. The guests on the first episode included the likes of Liza Tarubuck and David Baddiel as they delved into the week's television. The highlight was probably their dissection of porny looking new series, Spartacus: Blood And Sand and the unusual critique section of Brooker's weird culinary dishes. Okay, so a Mars bars rearranged but it looked rather odd, didn't it?

Irish viewers still have the advantage of being ahead of their UK rivals with the sixth season of Desperate Housewives but the stories have been mostly okay to unremarkable in recent weeks anyways. The Bolen mystery still has yet to be really advanced and episodes where Susan and Gabby witter on about their kids academic progress is hardly riveting stuff. Still, the current plot between Katherine and ex-stripper Robin is a lot better than you'd expect to be as well. Maybe I'm biased because it's Julie Benz but it's certainly the strongest plot right about now.

I keep going on and off with Grey's Anatomy but it's always been that sort of show for me anyways. Watching Teddy and Christina compete for Owen isn't riveting, I've never cared enough about Richard to care about his alcoholism and do I have to talk about Meredith/Derek or even Mark/Lexi either? Even Callie/Arizona seem to be going through a rough patch on this show and Izzie basically returned to get the all clear and dumped by Alex. That I won't criticise because Alex was in the right and we know Izzie is leaving anyways but other than that, the stories need to step up a gear already and fast.

Lost is hurtling towards it's conclusion and the episodes are certainly getting a little stronger. Okay, apart from maybe Hurley and Libby getting their first proper date in the latter's flash-sideways, I still don't the point of them. Neither do I see how SmokeyLocke shoving Desmond down a well is going to deter Widmore for longer. And the deaths continue with the recent of episodes blowing Illana to bits. There's only six episodes left and while this season has been good, I don't know how satisfied I'm going to be with the last episode of this.

I wish I could say that I've been watching Heroes religiously this season but I seriously have not. In fact the last episode I did watch was the one where Nathan was finally dead and buried and Claire tried to expose Samuel for the dodgy little cretin he is with no success. BBC2 are nearing towards the end of the season in the next few weeks and with a renewal yet to be confirmed from NBC, this could be the series last season. If so, it really is going to go out on a whimper.

And I've caught up with all of Glee. No, I did not buy the first season on DVD but I have watched the episodes that I've missed and UK viewers, tonight you get the first episode of the second half of the season, so spoilers beware. Right, I wasn't all that bothered with neither Will/Emma or Rachel/Finn breaking up, I loved Sue's version of Vogue and her callous way of getting reinstated as well as encouraging Rachel to pursue rival club fellow, Jesse. And yes, I totally saw from a mile that this new coupling was doomed to be ill fated. The episode airs tonight at 9pm on E4. Sue Doing Vogue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CWtiKjat6c

For Shows I Don't Review On An Episode Basis

It's been nearly three weeks since I've actually blogged on TV Tome and I think I'm beginning to lose the will to want to as well, so maybe every once a fortnight (or a week), I'll use this blog to talk about shows I either don't or no longer review episode wise.

Glee has become the must see TV show so far this year. You can't move for the amount of hype it's generated and it seems to be on five days a week (Wednesdays/Fridays on TV3/3E or Monday/Thursdays/Sundays on E4/C4). Following episodes have had some fun moments, especially the absolutely hysterical version of Push It (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNdght8qDQg). Sue's turning out to be one of the most quotable characters on television and Terri is nuts.

Heroes has had the misfortune to be shunted into a Saturday BBc2 timeslot and while the show's best days are definitely behind them, this season's been a little bit of an improvement on previous years. Danko's gone for one thing, Hiro's storyline isn't boring me to tears, Claire's kind of fun and the carny folk are interesting. The back and forth with Sylar and Matt is grating a little. Given that we know Nathan is pernamently dead, it might be nice to get that out of the way already.

I stopped reviewing Desperate Housewives this year, mainly because I didn't have the time and like another show, I had fallen out of love reviewing it weekly. Season 6 has been a lot better than previous seasons, I don't deny that but while crazy Katherine is amusing in it's own right, I hate that Susan still acts like a teenager, that Bree doesn't woman up and toss Orson out, that we're lumbered with Lynette being pregnant yet. On the plus side, Gabby vs. Ana is less predictable than expected and the Bolens are a step up from Dave.

Secret Diary Of A Call Girl - Up until the point of Brooke Magnati revealing herself as the real Belle du Jour, Billie Piper did mention that some people saw her as the face of prostitution. Bit of an overexaggeration there but Thursday's double bill was a decent romp (pun intended) but if Belle is so determined to keep her profession a secret, why would she take her sister to a sex club? I'm also not really sure what to make of Duncan either. He could be a nice guy but he comes across as a little sleazy.

I love Skins and I was looking forward to the opening episode but I have to admit that I found this deeply underwhelming. Yes, it was hight time we needed a look into Thomas's background and a look into the way he viewed UK attitudes and the like but this didn't grab me as much as it could've. The acting was fine and the dead girl in the beginning did set up a tense mood and I'll be happy if someone punched Cook in every episode but they should've opened with a lighter episode. And I didn't see Naomi being the one responsible for selling Sophia the drugs, though I probably should've.

I had given up on Nip/Tuck and to be fair, Season 6 hasn't exactly been the starting of a satisfying wrap to the series. Christian and Liz divorced with as much bad feeling as the writers could muster, Matt used mime to rob stores (and got shot, pity the store clerk didn't aim for his stupid head. Teddy's sociopathic tendencies have been slightly better but even her arc is now coming to an end, following her failed attempt of bumping Sean off. I hope the remainder of this season is better.

- Ugly Betty's been cancelled after four seasons. Too bad because it was improving in my opinion.
- Julie Benz and John Barrowman are appearing in Desperate Housewives this season. The former is playing a stripper and the latter a villain, connected to the Bolens.
- Bill Nighy will be guest starring in Doctor Who. He'll appear in the Van Gogh episode as an enthusiast of the famous painter.
- A love interest is being cast for Mercedes for the second season of Glee.
- Matthew Graham has promised a "beautiful" ending for the final seaon of Ashes To Ashes.
- Lost Season 6 will air Fridays at 9pm on Sky1, starting February 5th.
- True Blood Season 2 airs on FXUK from February 26th at 10pm with Season 3 set to start on HBO in June.

Sexy, Crazy, Weird Photoshoots

Random blog alert. You've got True Blood lovely Deborah Ann Woll in a fetching outfit and Heroes bad boy Zachary Quinto handcuffed as well as other stuff. Interesting. Check the link below ....

http://www.tylershields.com/