We Hardly Knew Ya....

The first casualty of the 2010 television season has been announced.  After two episodes Fox has cancelled the intriguing Lone Star.  I'm saying "intriguing" because that's what I heard from critics who gave it promising marks.  What I do know is that it was a prickly show about a con man playing a long game, living a double life with two families.

I didn't watch it.

In fact, I've only watched two new shows this year:  Detroit 1-8-7  and Hellcats.  (Oh, hush.)

I'm not the kind of person the networks love.  First, I'm a firm believer in the "watch when I want to watch" principle.  Why rush home to catch a show when I can DVR it or catch it later online?  I'm also very protective of my free time and view any new show with suspicion until the network execs deem it worthy of actually keeping on the air.  Why get invested if the show is only going to last two episodes?  If the buzz is there you can always catch-up online, right? 

Like I said, I'm not the kind of person the networks love, but I am the kind of person who represents a vast majority of television viewers.  For years there's been chatter about the "new viewing model" and how television will need to adapt to a new digital, on demand age.  Fledgling steps are being made but until networks manage to figure it out, the road will be littered with the bones of shows like Lone Star.

If you want to read about a show with longevity, check out the latest issue of Enlightenment in which I review "Amy's Choice", perhaps one of the most controversial episodes of the fifth season of Doctor Who.

As for Hellcats...it's a guilty pleasure that actually has some meat to its bones.  Comic Book writer Sigrid Ellis has a review that might just convince you.

Next up:  Podcasts - The good, the bad and the ugly.