'Red Widow' Gets The Axe
Comedienne's Second TV Show Canceled This Year
What do you watch more of...network shows or cable shows?
Time for an impromptu poll, boys and girls. Something that will shake you out of those holiday blahs that the egg nog, Christmas cookies, and constant replays of Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer have caused. Something that will get your brain working again and make you think about your television viewing habits.
I want to know where you are watching most of your shows. Are you still one of those people who focus their attention on the major 'over the air networks' of ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and, on occasions when the month ends in a capital 'A', CW? Or, are you one of those new-fangled hippies who do nothing but watch everything and anything on cable? Or, perhaps, it's a bit of both.
I'm curious because the recent cancellations of a number of fan favorite programs, plus a fairly blah season and some major budgetary issues, have put the networks in a precarious position. I'm sure that people have said that the networks have been in that position before. Yet, this time, I think there is definitely a threat to the future of the networks with the introduction of more original programming not just to cable but to the world of the Interweb as well. Hence, the reason where I'd like to know where your allegiances lie.
My tastes still remain in favor of the networks. During a regular week most of the programming I watch (and subsequently review) come from them. There more than a dozen shows that I watch on a regular basis: Chuck, Samantha Who?, House, Eli Stone, Bones, Life, ER, Life on Mars, Big Bang Theory, Two and Half Men, The Office, 30 Rock, Simpsons, Family Guy and King of the Hill. Come winter, that will slightly change as Eli Stone and ER leave, Scrubs comes in, and the juggernaut known as American Idol/Lost/24 rears its ugly head.
Currently, none of the new winter offerings from the networks are tempting me. Not even the new Joss Whedon experience known as Dollhouse (please don't hate me for this). And, unless there are some unique shows coming down the pike for the 2009-2010 season, which doesn't seem likely because it looks to be a season of sequels, my network viewing time will be reduced due to attrition of the shows I currently watch.
Over on cable my selections are more limited. Regular viewings include Psych, Monk, Stargate Atlantis, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Battlestar Galactica, Eureka, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. The dramas of FX, while critical and fan favorites, just don't appeal to me due to their darker elements. The new dramas on TNT, on the other hand, are intriguing and worth a watch. Particularly the new Leverage and the Eric McCormick/Tom Cavanagh dramedy Trust Me. As the 2008-09 season winds down and the summer cable season picks up I'll most likely be tuning in to cable on a daily basis.
That's the issue here, isn't it? While the networks are now touting a year-round schedule the shows that we tune into week after week are forgotten for several months in the summer and replaced with piles of reality crap that just aren't interesting. As a result, we turn to the cable networks, who truly have a year-round schedule and feature programs we wouldn't normally see on the Big Four. As original fare increases on cable and on the Internet there is potential that more and more viewers will turn away from conventional television viewing.
So, now that I've aired my dirty television laundry, let me hear about yours. Tell me via the poll and in the comments if you watch more shows on the legacy networks or on the newer cable outlets. I'd be interested in seeing if the turnover I mentioned above is really coming true.
| Network Shows | |
|---|---|
| Cable Shows | |
| A bit of both | |
| Neither |
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