Fall tv Cancelations

[cuervo72]

8SR doesn't bother me that much...pretty much just a way to kill time. I couldn't tell you what else is on against it, but probably not a lot that interests me. It's certainly not a ground-breaking comedy I don't know how much there is to be done in a family comedy these days though, as evidenced by the poor offerings out there. I'd much rather watch it than Jim Belushi...

[GrantDawg]

Futurama rant: Why are people upset that this is being cancelled? It just isn't funny. It doesn't even approach the level of a bad Simpson episode. I've never had a single lol moment watching it (and the Family Guy was even worse). The show tried too hard and never succeeded.

[cuervo72]

Originally posted by GrantDawg
Futurama rant: Why are people upset that this is being cancelled? It just isn't funny. It doesn't even approach the level of a bad Simpson episode. I've never had a single lol moment watching it (and the Family Guy was even worse). The show tried too hard and never succeeded.

The Family Guy episodes I watched were some of the first ones, and I thought they were genuinely (very) funny. Then they took it off the air for a while, and my wife and I (she found it funny too) just didn't come back to it. I saw a couple of later episodes (when I could find when Fox had it on), and they did seem like they were trying to hard, making things completely off-the-wall. Futurama was ok, but not spectacular.

Of course, I'm sad to say I don't watch the Simpsons anymore either....it's either 60 Minutes/HGTV, or BBTN/Sunday Night Baseball.

[Craptacular]

It's sad that the shows I watch the most now are While You Were Out and Trading Spaces on TLC.

[cuervo72]

Originally posted by Craptacular
It's sad that the shows I watch the most now are While You Were Out and Trading Spaces on TLC.

Hey, at least Paige Davis is cute

[GrantDawg]

Originally posted by Craptacular
It's sad that the shows I watch the most now are While You Were Out and Trading Spaces on TLC.

Trading Spaces is not half as good as Changing Rooms on BBC America. But now that Carol Smalley is gone, it isn't all that great either.

[Ksyrup]

I love Family Guy. It doesn't try too hard to be funny - it is funny. The off-the-wall stuff is how the show was from the beginning. Most of it worked, some of it didn't. Overall, I loved pretty much every episode I saw. I'm looking forward to the 2nd DVD release in September, since there are some episodes that I only saw once and want to see again.

But of course, YMMV.

Futurama, I never got into, and I tried. I think part of it was that the characters looked so much like the Simpsons' characters, that I felt like I was watching 'B' episodes of the Simpsons, so rather than waste my time with a knock-off, I stuck with the original.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally posted by GrantDawg
Futurama rant: Why are people upset that this is being cancelled? It just isn't funny. It doesn't even approach the level of a bad Simpson episode. I've never had a single lol moment watching it (and the Family Guy was even worse). The show tried too hard and never succeeded.

I couldn't agree more. Futurama was flat and the Family Guy just did nothing for me. Nothing. at. all.

[ISiddiqui]

Hmm... didn't know that Dragnet had such bad ratings...

Anyway, shame with Futurama... I love it on the Cartoon Network, and they killed it by throwing it around everywhere. Fox is HORRIBLE to new shows. King of the Hill was almost killed by lineup juggling as well! If Andy Richter, Futurama, Family Guy, AND King of Hill were axed, I'd be very mad... Hell, I'm still mad... damn Fox.

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by Ksyrup
I love Family Guy. It doesn't try too hard to be funny - it is funny. The off-the-wall stuff is how the show was from the beginning. Most of it worked, some of it didn't. Overall, I loved pretty much every episode I saw. I'm looking forward to the 2nd DVD release in September, since there are some episodes that I only saw once and want to see again.

But of course, YMMV.

Futurama, I never got into, and I tried. I think part of it was that the characters looked so much like the Simpsons' characters, that I felt like I was watching 'B' episodes of the Simpsons, so rather than waste my time with a knock-off, I stuck with the original.

See, I always felt the exact opposite. I always felt Family Guy tried much too hard to get a laugh- lots of throwaway gags that didn't really fit. Too many disposable pop culture references as well. It felt a lot like a plot shoehorned around the jokes they had for the week instead of jokes that fit in with the plot. It was just a matter of what they felt was more important and Seth MacFarlane chose jokes and not plot (which is what the Simpsons has become more and more of).

Futurama felt a lot like a B-Grade Simpsons early on but I really felt it took off in the 3rd and 4th seasons where they realized they could do whatever the hell they wanted because it's a cartoon and has basically unlimited creative freedom (as the Simpsons realized early on). This led to a realization that they could have wacky backdrop plots but also good characterization.

Both shows, however, suffered from a hit-and-miss syndrome which the Simpsons golden years didn't have. Family Guy could be riotously funny one week and just plain stupid for the next two. Futurama would have a great, funny, well rounded episode which had everything one week followed by a week of stale jokes and contrived plot. I guess that's where I differentiate: Family Guy could be a funny show at its best but Futurama could be a great show in all facets when it was on.

(and what is YMMV?)

Originally posted by ISiddiqui
Hmm... didn't know that Dragnet had such bad ratings...

Anyway, shame with Futurama... I love it on the Cartoon Network, and they killed it by throwing it around everywhere. Fox is HORRIBLE to new shows. King of the Hill was almost killed by lineup juggling as well! If Andy Richter, Futurama, Family Guy, AND King of Hill were axed, I'd be very mad... Hell, I'm still mad... damn Fox.

KotH, like the Simpsons, was renewed through 2005. You can breathe easier now.

Originally posted by QuikSand
H.
B.
O.

The Wire is just starting up its second season, and I personally think it was the best thing on TV in a long time last summer. But the regular HBO Sunday night lineup is awfully good pretty much any time of year.

Aww, nuts. But that costs money. My apartment complex pays for cable so I don't have to (except for cable modem) but that also means I probably won't be getting any premium stations or digital cable any time soon. It's just not in the budget. I have to support my video game habit somewhere and so I'll skimp on cable (rough life, I tell ya: actually, where it really comes from is that I don't drink or smoke so the only vices I have to support are my love of food, tv, and computer/video games).

Chief Rum: Thanks for all the suggestions. I've been curious about Boomtown, but never knew when it was on so I may have to go find reruns and catch up. The reason I went after Dragnet is because I loved the old ones and grew up watching the reruns on NickAtNight (along with Get Smart, et al) and I really like Ed O'Neill. Most people see him as Al Bundy (I loved MWC) but he is quite a good actor. My girlfriend's sister talks about watching Hack while playing it (she's a tv control room operator) so I may check that out with the seconded endorsement here. I couldn't really get into "Without A Trace"- I've tried it a couple of times after CSI but it just never clicked. As an aside, I never really watched ER- good show when I saw it, but it just didn't appeal to me enough to watch on a regular basis. Lastly, I've seen a little of Alias but it's the same thing: looked ok but not good enough to watch regularly so I never cared to catch it.

SI

[Ksyrup]

Originally posted by sterlingice
See, I always felt the exact opposite. I always felt Family Guy tried much too hard to get a laugh- lots of throwaway gags that didn't really fit. Too many disposable pop culture references as well. It felt a lot like a plot shoehorned around the jokes they had for the week instead of jokes that fit in with the plot. It was just a matter of what they felt was more important and Seth MacFarlane chose jokes and not plot (which is what the Simpsons has become more and more of).

Futurama felt a lot like a B-Grade Simpsons early on but I really felt it took off in the 3rd and 4th seasons where they realized they could do whatever the hell they wanted because it's a cartoon and has basically unlimited creative freedom (as the Simpsons realized early on).

(and what is YMMV?)

Your Mileage May Vary.

I can see your point about Family Guy, but it works for me. As for Futurama, I didn't stick around long enough to see if it got better or not.

[sterlingice]

Argh- sorry, I went back and edited some of that after I didn't like how it sounded so it appears a bit different that what you have there. Oh well

SI

[Taur]

Originally posted by mrskippy
The same can't be said about many classic shows. "Married With Children" probably was one of the saddest cancellation casualties, because it ended without a true series finale.

Actually Married ended with a series finale of Kelly's wedding. It was never actually cancelled. It was annouced before the season started that it would be their last.

I am hoping The Agency can pull a JAG and wind up on another network next year. I still believe that show could be a huge success if given enough time.

How about a "Big Balls" award for the Star of Lucky! After turning down $39,000 an episode for "Greek Wedding" so he could star in his own show on FX at $19,000 per episode, who is looking stupid now. Lucky is currently a can't miss for me. I am still a little dissapointed that it is only 30minutes long, but it has been a while since I have seen a really good, original comedy/drama on television