The Networks Don’t Always Get it Right
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
United States
February 13, 2016 9:20am CST
This morning I read an article listing twenty-two television shows that are being cancelled this fall. I won’t miss most, since I either never watched, or tried them and didn’t enjoy the shows. But I did like three of the programs that are not returning.
The Whispers was a very cool and somewhat creepy science fiction drama. An alien being in the form of energy comes to earth and convinces children to do its bidding. It is the vanguard of a group of these creatures. The adults have to fear their own children at times. It was well scripted and clever. The acting, even by the children, was first rate. The vibe of the show was someone Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I am sorry that it will not return.
Angel from Hell is a hoot. I like all of the characters and the situation is silly without being absurd. Jane Lynch is an irreverent guardian angel for a young female doctor. The doctor, Maggie Lawson, does not believe that Lynch is an angel. The comedy is clever and the supporting cast is great. It was only recently begun and has not had enough time to develop a following. It was pretty much doomed by placing it opposite ABC’s Thursday evening lineup. Good comedies are rare, sorry to see this one go.
The third show leaving is The Good Wife. It is one of my favorite television dramas, and I am ticked off that it is ending. It has been on for seven years and has a loyal following. None of us are happy about this. One of my favorite characters, played by Archie Panjabi, left last season. That made me sad, but doing without The Good Wife Sunday night will leave a void. There are a few television shows with women in the lead. This one has several. The entire cast has been terrific and the scripts clever. I have enjoyed every episode and will miss it. What was the network thinking?
Have any of your favorite television shows ever been cancelled leaving you perplexed or upset?
18 people like this
18 responses
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
13 Feb 16
The only one of those three that I know is the Good Wife, which is not televised over here anyway.
These days there are very few television programs that appeal to me, so it is a major catastrophe if a popular one is cancelled. I enjoyed Person of Interest, which sadly came to an end after 4 series. The same thing happened to Torchwood, which was an excellent program.
3 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
13 Feb 16
I really enjoyed Person of Interest too. It was clever and well written. I especially liked the shows at the beginning, before it became a showdown between machines.
4 people like this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
13 Feb 16
@ElizabethWallace Yes, I preferred the earlier episodes. I particularly enjoyed the way in which they managed to portray a weekly story along with a progressive background development.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
14 Feb 16
@Asylum I also liked the location of their "hideout". Really enjoyed that old building.
2 people like this
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
16 Feb 16
@JudyEv. I like doc martin too.... but I can't get it in spain....but we can off the internet....
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382693)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Feb 16
@JohnRoberts I didn't know if you'd have it in America. Did they screen the earlier series?
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
15 Feb 16
I love Doc Martin! The newest season is playing here on Thursday nights and it is a little oasis of humor.
2 people like this
@irishidid (8687)
• United States
13 Feb 16
Have to admit I haven't watched network television in years. I do find shows on Netflix and binge watch if I like it well enough.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
13 Feb 16
I still don't understand how people "watch" Netflix. When it first came out, it was only movies. How do they show episodic television? Do they stream it? Do you have to watch it on your computer?
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
15 Feb 16
@JohnRoberts So this means that your computer has to be hooked up somehow to your TV.
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
15 Feb 16
@ElizabethWallace You stream it. You can watch on computer or TV. The days of the red envelope Netflix disc in the mail is over.
1 person likes this
@TiarasOceanView (70020)
• United States
13 Feb 16
Yes I had seen the Whispers and liked it, I had a feeling it would not be coming back. There are many shows I liked that wont be back friend. One show they only showed for two episodes and cancelled it! Unreal, cant recall the name of it though.
I used to like a show called Sunset Beach that was cancelled. It was a soap by Aaron Spelling. This was years ago though.
2 people like this
@TiarasOceanView (70020)
• United States
13 Feb 16
@JohnRoberts Really John? You know of the show? Not many seem to remember it. Yep going back a bit. I remember Eddie. Wow he is married to Lee Ann..great..I remember Meg the most.
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
13 Feb 16
Sunset Beach on NBC? That's going back to the 90s! I watched that one for awhile. Eddie Cibrian was on that show. He's now married to Lee Ann Rimes.
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
13 Feb 16
@TiarasOceanView Lots of people were on that show. Randy Spelling son of Aaron. Lesley Anne Down. Leigh Taylor Young. Laura Harring.
2 people like this
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
13 Feb 16
that's a shame... I like the good wife... do they end it properly... or is it just left up in the air.... ??
2 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (91201)
• United States
15 Feb 16
@ElizabethWallace I like that they added Jeffrey Dean Morgan to the cast
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
15 Feb 16
@Marilynda1225 He is one gorgeous man. He has that James Garner / Tom Selleck smile.
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
13 Feb 16
They have this season to wind things down. I will miss seeing some of the cast. I hope they show up elsewhere. I love Alan Cumming, Christine Baranski, and Zach Grenier.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
13 Feb 16
Because the networks have such itchy trigger fingers, it's hard to get into a new show for fear of it's quick cancellation. The Whispers didn't interest me but based on its premise, it would been better suited on a cable channel like SyFy where expectations and demands are lower. Angel from Hell would also be a good pick up for a less demanding cable channel. 7 years is a good run for any series and you have to understand The Good Wife was never a ratings winner. CBS exiles all low rated shows and those soon to be cancelled shows (CSI, The Mentalist etc) to the Sunday graveyard. The real reason why The Good Wife remained on the air is because it was a rare CBS show earning Emmy Awards and good critical response for the network.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
13 Feb 16
Maybe SyFy will pick up The Whispers. That happens sometimes. I agree that the networks do have itchy trigger fingers. They do not often give shows time to get going. Which is why so much garbage is on TV now.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
14 Feb 16
@JohnRoberts I have 145 stations in my TV package, but only watch about 8 of them due to the garbage on the others. I wish I could pick and choose.
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
13 Feb 16
@ElizabethWallace Unfortunately much of that garbage does get good ratings and a chilling reminder of what people want these days. Kardashians.......
2 people like this
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
15 Feb 16
Forever was cancelled after one seasons, I still miss Army Wives. Cedar Cove and Rizzoli and Isles are ending, pretty soon I will give up TV.
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
15 Feb 16
@Marilynda1225 They will end after the fall 2016 season. I know I love that show.
@Marilynda1225 (91201)
• United States
15 Feb 16
@bellestarrr I didn't know Rizzoli & Isles was ending....waaaaa 
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
15 Feb 16
I had to check for myself that Cedar Cove was canceled. I can't believe it. I though it was a hit on Hallmark. I am so disappointed. No more seeing my heart throb Andie McDowell.
I watched every episode of Forever and rather liked it. It never did well in the ratings and give ABC credit for not yanking it and allowing it to play out a conclusion.
1 person likes this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
15 Feb 16
I watch very little television and have heard of The Good Wife and Angel From Hell but not The Whispers. It does seem the shows we like best are the ones that wind up being cut, doesn't it. I think it is because the shows folks like us enjoy are too difficult for the average viewer to "get." When I see the tripe that succeeds on network television these days, I'm usually appalled.
1 person likes this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
15 Feb 16
@JohnRoberts It may be that I lack the patience to search them out. Netflix has made me lazy in that regard.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
15 Feb 16
There are good quality shows out there. You just have to root them out. Depends on your interests.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
14 Feb 16
@JohnRoberts Oh really - I never watched that. Is she English?
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
14 Feb 16
Jane Lynch was on Glee playing the phys ed teacher and she won an Emmy for it.
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
14 Feb 16
@jaboUK No Jane Lynch is an American comedian and actress.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (54741)
• United States
18 Feb 16
My husband loves the Good Wife. I didn't know that it was being canceled.
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
16 Feb 16
We watch very few shows on TV really, but a lot of movies and PBS programs. Amazon Prime has a lot of TV shows (commercial free) that it runs too. One we have watched several episodes from season one is Mozart in the Jungle. I was curious about it after it won so many awards.
@DeborahDiane (40852)
• Laguna Woods, California
14 Feb 16
I am often disappointed when one of my favorite shows is cancelled. However, I don't watch any of the ones you mentioned. I'll have to see if some of my other favorites are cancelled.
1 person likes this
@Auntylou (4262)
• Oxford, England
16 Feb 16
I watched a lot of the Good Wife series though we must be well behind the US. This is a shame because it is a great show
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
13 Feb 16
I like the Good wife and that is the only one I know in your list.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
13 Feb 16
But are there any in the past that disappeared making you unhappy?
2 people like this
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
13 Feb 16
@ElizabethWallace no not really :)
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
14 Feb 16
@andriaperry Lucky you. I seem to like quirky shows that do not last (like Angel from Hell, and The Whispers). I was pretty lucky that the Good Wife was on as long as it was.
@Marilynda1225 (91201)
• United States
15 Feb 16
I will be very sad to see the Good Wife end as it's one of my favorite shows.
