Shows That Should Be Canceled
Adam Scheinberg, February 13, 2009 (16 years ago)
I watch a few TV shows that are in desperate need of a kick in the ass. Let's review:
Heroes has, for some time now, sucked. Long ago, the writers decided to give up on character consistency, and they decided that they would have the characters stop on a dime and act completely contrary to their previous actions. Case in point: Nathan, who quickly turned on his fellow mutants and now wants Peter dead, apparently. I can't even get into Heroes other than to say it's such a mess it really should be canceled altogether.
Kyle XY is a show I started watching when I was a sick a few years ago, and I kept on for the mystery. The problem is: the writers revealed too much too soon, and when the basic mysteries were solved, the second season introduced a worthless character, Jesse XX, as a plot device. Then the plot become bigger as they introduced "Adam Baylin", and explained a backstory to Zzyzx. When that concluded, we learned that Madacorp was behind it all. When that was done, we learned that it was actually "Latnok" was behind it all. In other words, the lazy writers just keep making up more complex backstory as they go. I hate to be a broken record, but compare this to LOST, where a clear vision in the first place prevented sloppy cut-and-go storytelling that leaves everyone confused. The good news is, this show was canceled, so hopefully they can conclude it nicely and wrap everything up cleanly.
Grey's Anatomy, an interesting show in season 1, has gotten worse with age. Each season has been less intriguing and more annoying. Every single character sounds like Shonda Rhymes now, they all have the same affectational pitter-patter sing-song intonation. I hate Izzie, who was once interesting. I hate George, who has become an extra. I hate Bailey, who vascillates between a professional and over-attached. I hate Meredith, who is whiny. I hate Cristina, who is a cold bitch. I hate Callie, who whines and made the fastest jump to Lesbianism ever. I hate the Chief, who is a total pushover. Actually, I like little Grey, Shephard, and Sloan, and I'm learning to like Dr Arizona, but mostly because she's kinda hot. Either way, this show jumped the shark long ago, and I wish they'd put it to sleep.
Prison Break has introduced more plot twists than any show ever in history, but once you get used to it, it's kinda fun. However, it's carried on for 4 seasons now, far longer than the concept of a "prison break" should have permitted. I am glad they pulled the plug on this, not because it's not fun, but because some premises simply can't sustain forever.
On a lighter note, I originally had called "Fringe" a disappointment, but I must say, I'm feeling good about it lately. It's interesting, the characters are getting to be consistent and interesting, and the overall storyline is shaping up like the X Files: small mystery solved each week, large mystery gets more complex. I hope this show gets even more time to bloom.
Heroes has, for some time now, sucked. Long ago, the writers decided to give up on character consistency, and they decided that they would have the characters stop on a dime and act completely contrary to their previous actions. Case in point: Nathan, who quickly turned on his fellow mutants and now wants Peter dead, apparently. I can't even get into Heroes other than to say it's such a mess it really should be canceled altogether.
Kyle XY is a show I started watching when I was a sick a few years ago, and I kept on for the mystery. The problem is: the writers revealed too much too soon, and when the basic mysteries were solved, the second season introduced a worthless character, Jesse XX, as a plot device. Then the plot become bigger as they introduced "Adam Baylin", and explained a backstory to Zzyzx. When that concluded, we learned that Madacorp was behind it all. When that was done, we learned that it was actually "Latnok" was behind it all. In other words, the lazy writers just keep making up more complex backstory as they go. I hate to be a broken record, but compare this to LOST, where a clear vision in the first place prevented sloppy cut-and-go storytelling that leaves everyone confused. The good news is, this show was canceled, so hopefully they can conclude it nicely and wrap everything up cleanly.
Grey's Anatomy, an interesting show in season 1, has gotten worse with age. Each season has been less intriguing and more annoying. Every single character sounds like Shonda Rhymes now, they all have the same affectational pitter-patter sing-song intonation. I hate Izzie, who was once interesting. I hate George, who has become an extra. I hate Bailey, who vascillates between a professional and over-attached. I hate Meredith, who is whiny. I hate Cristina, who is a cold bitch. I hate Callie, who whines and made the fastest jump to Lesbianism ever. I hate the Chief, who is a total pushover. Actually, I like little Grey, Shephard, and Sloan, and I'm learning to like Dr Arizona, but mostly because she's kinda hot. Either way, this show jumped the shark long ago, and I wish they'd put it to sleep.
Prison Break has introduced more plot twists than any show ever in history, but once you get used to it, it's kinda fun. However, it's carried on for 4 seasons now, far longer than the concept of a "prison break" should have permitted. I am glad they pulled the plug on this, not because it's not fun, but because some premises simply can't sustain forever.
On a lighter note, I originally had called "Fringe" a disappointment, but I must say, I'm feeling good about it lately. It's interesting, the characters are getting to be consistent and interesting, and the overall storyline is shaping up like the X Files: small mystery solved each week, large mystery gets more complex. I hope this show gets even more time to bloom.
2009-02-13 15:34:22
Indeed Fringe has become a bit better lately, but not enough to make it challenging. It's obvious that they want to combine the "monster of the week" episodes with the larger story, but I think it's the implementation lacking, rather than the idea. In other words, they need better writers, directors and crew rather than an overhauling on their idea. 2009-02-21 07:38:03
Heroes MUST be canceled. It surely is the most poorly written train wreck of a TV show I have ever witnessed and it actually managed to jump the shark in season 1, with what had to be the worst season finales of all time. Why they keep flogging this dead horse is beyond anyones knowledge. It seems to be written on the fly and has no direction at all, simply using "time travel" to keep re-writing the same plot line over and over. It should, like Prison Break (which in all fairness is a far superior show), have been a one season wonder. Someone put Tim Kring and his nonsense show out of its misery, please! 2009-08-26 06:02:35
i have got to agree with you, although i enjoyed the first two seasons. i don't believe that it jumped ship and became bait untill after 'i am become death', an episode i really regard as one of the best. the show's become a horrible piece of meat that lodges it self in between your teeth and sticks around far beyond its welcome. personally it really sucks now. i think that they should can it now. and spin it off with a reboot. yes, i said reboot. they should make a 3 vol, third season and ignor season three completely.