TV

The few TV shows I really like, inevitably get cancelled during their first season. This was true of Firefly and the quirky Push, Nevada. Both of these shows premiered in 2002. Push, Nevada was cancelled after only 6 episodes. ABC was kind enough to give them a seventh episode to try and wrap everything up in a rather unsatisfying and rushed way. They put the bloody show up against CSI and it got crushed in the ratings, what did they expect to happen? ABC didn't try working with it at all.

That same year Firefly premiered and it lasted almost the entire year. But it got cancelled with three completed episodes unaired. Fortunately these episodes were released when the box set for series was released. So, firefly was successful enough and had enough of a cult following to warrant the release of all of it's episodes on DVD and the release of a the firefly movie: Serenity.

Well, there are a couple of shows that I like that seemed to have done OK: Boondocks on Comedy Central and My Name is Earl on NBC. Carnivale made it through two seasons on HBO. I've only seen a couple of episodes of Deadwood, but I think I would really like it if I had the opportunity to see them all.

Anyway, what this leads me to is that I saw a really cool TV show on NBC last night (Monday nights at 8 central time.) Heroes. It's about average people developing superpowers. My favorite example is a wageslave in Japan- named Hiro appropriately enough- who stares at his clock until he makes the second hand go backward for one second. He then jumps up and goes running down the rows of cubicles celebrating and yelling about how he has altered the time space continuum. Later in the bar, his buddy thinks he's nuts and tells him if he can really alter the space time continuum why doesn't he teleport into the ladies room. As he goes to the bar for another beer he turns around to see Hiro getting drug out of the ladies room and thrown out by bouncers. As the bouncers are throwing him out he is yelling "Yahoooo!". Another good story line in the show deals with two brothers. The older successful brother is running for congress and always casts a huge shadow over the younger health care provider brother. But he thinks he can fly. He'll finally be the special one. He tells his brother this and his brother thinks he's nuts. So he jumps off of a building to prove to himself and his brother that he can fly. As he falls to the ground the older brother- the successful one, the one running for congress, the already "special" brother- ends up flying to save little brother. The writing was good, the acting was good. Its more of a good drama with funny parts than a superhero show. I really hope there are enough geeks out there like me who watch it to make it successful.