The Glade 4.0

I don't watch much television. And by "not much" I mean I probably watch about an hour's worth of broadcast tv every other month.

A lot of people I know think this is crazy, but my form of media entertainment always came in the form of movies and video games (probably about a 80/20 split, in favor of video games). But, now that I am doing the whole Netflix thing over my xbox and wii, I've been checking out a lot of shows that people have (at one time or another) told me were "good." Some I kind of disagree with, but others I certainly agree with on that fact.

But doing this has made me realize one of the big reasons why I didn't watch much tv: Every show I get into gets cancelled. I hate becoming a fan of a show only to watch it get cancelled. It's a crappy feeling. And it's a feeling I have not had to endure for almost a decade until recently.

Pushing Daisies? Cancelled, 2 seasons.
Dead Like Me? Cancelled, 2 seasons.
Sarah Connor Chronicles? Cancelled, 2 seasons.
Firefly? Cancelled, 1 season
Kindred: The Embraced: Cancelled, 6 episodes (though the main actor's death may have contributed)
Spider-man (CGI based with Neil Patrick Harris as Peter Parker)? Cancelled, 1 season.
The list goes on...

The debate I've been posing to myself now is, "Is it better to have enjoyed a show briefly and suffer the pain of loss, or is it better continuing to be ignorant of such doings?" I really don't know. I don't get how great shows can be snuffed out (even when there is a lot of support behind them) and crap like Heroes gets dragged out for like, what, 5 seasons before it finally suffocates and dies?

Like I said, and people wonder why I don't watch much tv. Sheesh!

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

I think you pretty much have to think this way. If everyone waited until the third (or fourth, or fifth) season of a show to start watching, no show would ever make it that far.

You're always going to want more of a good show, whether its end comes from cancellation or simply from the show having run its course. Enjoy it while you can.

I dunno, I kinda take the opposite approach. I don't have cable. I wait until I find a show I like if I hear about it, I'll check it out, and go get the rest of the show if I like it.

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Ron Paul 2012

Numbuk, if you were watching these shows on TV (Great list btw) then they might not be cancelled.

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Better Off Ted? 2 seasons
Dollhouse? 2 seasons

The list can go on and on, but the ultimate point comes down to:

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien - less than 1 year
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno - 17 years before zombiefication

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Once, I was a ranger
Then, I was a warlock
And a mage
And a paladin
Now, I seek to be myself

Well, some of those shows have basically no chance of coming back. But shows have come back after cancellation. And some of those shows at enough advance warning to wrap things up. Not to some fans satisfaction, but at least some closure. Even Firefly got a movie(that did about as well as you would expect considering how small the niche is there). Then again, most of those shows you listed are very niche to begin with. If the show doesn't make the kind of money the network expects, you can't really expect them to keep it going to satisfy a small niche market. Then again, the networks can be blamed for poor ratings just as much as the show if they put it in some wacky timeslot or keep moving it around.

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

Eh, I don't subscribe to the newspaper of "If Numbuk Were To Watch, Then It Might Not Get Cancelled." I've been more the exception to the rule when it comes to tv viewing habits.

Although, that may explain Heroes and it would be my fault for keeping that show on life support.

And yeah, I guess the shows I tend to like are more niche. I'm not a fan of the CSI's, 24's, and the Lost's of the world. I tried watching the first season of 24 just to see what the big hooplah was about and I stopped watching about halfway through (it really, really felt like they only had 12 shows planned-out but they went "Oh crap, we need 12 more... let's change the plot around completely!")

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Yeah... I am now holding you personally responsible for not getting the Nanny cancelled much sooner than it did.

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

I hate television. Like Numbuk, I generally watch an hour a month or so, not including sporting events, and the local news. Most everything on TV is garbage. Furthermore, I don't permit my step-daughter to watch anything on TV that I wouldn't watch myself, and I refuse to pay to have any extra garbage (ei cable or satalite) pumped into my house.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

See, I group "sporting events" and "local news" in as garbage, not the scripted stuff.

I blame Nielsen.

Their ratings system is bullshit.

Did you know that time shifted programming doesn't count? If you Tivo something to watch it later, its as if you didn't watch it.

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Holy shitsnacks!

It sucks, but it's the metric in place. Also, DVRs have begun to partially count.

But really, the bottom line is: no one really cares if you watch a program. What matters is if you watch the commercials within the program. If you're watching on a DVR, you're not going to be watching the commercials.