ok, what’s next

I’m pissed that CBS has concelled Joan of Arcadia. Now, you might not think I watched a program like that, what with Joan talking to God and he/she talking back. But I understand the difference between fanatasy and reality, and that was one of the most creatively written shows on network tv.
But CBS says that the demographics they’re after don’t watch creatively written and well-acted quirky dramas that explore the human struggle to develop personal and moral values.
And the same network also cancelled Judging Amy, and so there goes the great imperfect older woman role model played by Tyne Daly.
CBS thinks that the demographics they’re after are not interested in watching well-written and acted shows that feature strong imperfect women struggling to make their way in the world while still remaining the center of strong imperfect families.
And on top of all of that, according to the Observer:
Nestling deep in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas, in the heart of America’s Bible Belt, this is the first dinosaur museum to take a creationist perspective. Already thousands of people have flocked to its top-quality exhibits which mix high science with fundamentalist theology that few serious scientists accept.
Well, there you go. CBS’s demographics:
Even as America’s scientists make advances in palaeontology, astronomy and physics that appear to disprove creationism, Gallup surveys have shown that about 45 per cent of Americans believe the Earth was created by God within the past 10,000 years. It is not just creationism either. Last week NBC’s Dateline current affairs programme, equivalent to the BBC’s Newsnight, investigated miracles. It concluded some could be real.
Oh yeah. Feed the frenzy of fundamentalism!
And don’t forget the Silver Ring Thing.
Don’t bother those Right/eous with facts. They know what they believe.

2 thoughts on “ok, what’s next

  1. I’m with you ELF. They are replacing two wonderful, intelligent, humorous shows that still had many interesting stories left to tell with a clone (talking to dead people) and aliens landing in the ocean!?! I don’t understand why the demographics end at age 49 when I read a story last week that people over the age of 50 spend the most money. Don’t mind me, I’m still bitter they canceled “Angel.”

  2. Are you kidding me?! I also very much enjoyed settling down after a long week to watch one of my favorite kid shows (besides the Mars teen P.I.) to guess what kind of quirky character god was going to don to talk to Joan. A very well-written show with an outstanding sound track, week after week, where we got to peek inside of a teen’s mind as she matured and wrestled with the very same dilemas shared by all humans.
    And I can’t even find words to express my disappointment in CBS for cancelling Amy Brenneman’s show. Tyne was fabulous, so was Cheech, … the whole family was so “normal,” that it felt like I was sitting at the dinner table with them all. A smart show, so well-written, so pertinent and educational for people who want to peek inside the “system” of both juvenile court and fostering.
    What a ludicrous move. CBS has disappointed me so … They just lost a lot of my respect. They just don’t get it, do they?

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