Tuesday, May 10, 2005

"emma, isn't this show about you?"

The best TV shows get cancelled after one season. The ratings-hungry networks don't want to invest the time to let the awesomeness of the show sink in. Freaks and Geeks is one such show. Full of character and insight and humor, the show was cancelled after the one glorious season. Now its silly comebacks will be forever immortalized in a DVD box-set owned by the few loyal fans gained before its untimely fall. While watching it today in Ms. Shelton's class, I longed for the days when good shows were on television. By good shows, I mean ones that weren't so full of themselves and didn't have to have boatloads of drama like on the ever popular OC, or tick-tock suspense like 24, or scandals and horrible singers like American Idol. Good shows make some insight into normal, everyday life. I think it has something to do with the lighting as well. The shows that haven't been as popular all have the same lighting. Hmm.

Some shows fall victim to the vanity of their stars, caught up in the possibility of greater stardom. Most celebrities don't want to be tied down to a sitcom and/or television show their whole lives, they want to branch out into the big screen. Case in point: Claire Danes on My So Called Life. That show was full of charm, but Claire felt like she could make a better career by leaving it in the dust. Ms. Danes, if only you knew how great the show could've been, if only you'd stayed a little bit longer.

Some shows fall victim to the unfortunate time slot in which they are placed. Joan of Arcadia is a show that I enjoy very much, but I'm honestly never home on Friday's at 8:00 anymore. If I am, it doesn't happen often enough for me to be involved with the show. CBS still hasn't moved the slot, though I wish they would change it to a weekday. I would certainly watch it religiously as I did when I didn't have a social life back when it first came on. Countless shows have been cursed by the evil time-slot, many of which I am not even aware.

But then the question arises: Are you so sure the show would've been as great had it stayed on the air? I honestly think that some shows fulfilled their purpose in the short spots they were aired. It's like a really long movie- a short glimpse into the lives of the characters, but not too much of a glimpse. The show was given just enough time to shine before we saw it burn out. Which is why I am sad that they are no longer airing these shows, but why I am so glad that I have the ability to purchase them on DVD and forever be able to partake in the wonderfulness.

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