Roush on Men in Trees
Question: I have sent the following to ABC on its web site: "With the cancellation of
Men in Trees, I have lost all faith in ABC as a network that cares about the wishes of its viewers, the delivery of quality shows or any claim to 'excellence' you may purport to have. I've been increasingly saddened and disappointed by choices you have made, but this is really the final straw. Too bad. Keep showing crass, vulgar, useless junk like
The Bachelor, for example. Aside from a cheap audience that goes for such banality, what have you got to show for it?" Does anyone read these things or care? Might someone else pick up this gentle, wonderful show? What is a viewer to do? TV has become more than a vast wasteland, but I don't even know a proper term for it.
— Ronnie E.
Matt Roush: I empathize — well, maybe not with the "vast wasteland" sentiment, which is overstating the case a bit — but I'm pretty sure ABC knows by now how many of us feel about the rotten way they handled
Men in Trees since it was put on its initial long hiatus midway through its first season, permanently and fatally stalling its momentum. Venting never hurts, so I'm glad you wrote them. But it doesn't really change anything, at least not where this show is concerned. There's no realistic chance that anyone would resurrect it, but as
Michael Ausiello reported, at least the show will get to play out its final episodes starting May 28, and the producers were realistic enough about their chances for survival that they filmed a series-finale ending. Many shows never got that chance, so that's the silver lining (such as it is) to this dark cloud.
