Why is ABC shelving Invasion ...
Question: Why is ABC shelving
Invasion for six weeks? It's the best new drama of the year. Period. (Sorry, I'm just not onboard with
Commander in Chief, despite what the Emmys and Globes say.)
Invasion isn't a
Lost clone. It's unique and mesmerizing, in a freaky kind of way. Please say it's coming back. If not, I think I'll borrow a phrase from
Dave and blame this on a "government conspiracy." It seems that year after year, the quality shows I love get the boot (
Jack & Bobby,
Freaks and Geeks,
Angel and
Felicity.) Just once, I'd like a quality show to get the chance to stick around as long as some of those silly, never-ending sitcoms.
Answer: This is a messy mid-season, no doubt. (And, for the record, ABC is shelving
Commander in Chief in March for six weeks as well.) But it's common practice for networks to pull some shows (especially shows like
Invasion, which tend to repeat poorly) to make room to try out others during the spring. I agree, though, that this will do more harm than good to an already fragile franchise like
Invasion — I wish they would just play all 22 of its episodes, even if that means its season would end before May. As I noted
last Friday in discussing the no-show of
Alias, mid-season plans are not set in stone and are likely to adjust as soon as the early returns and reviews are in on certain series, so who can say when and where the last episodes of
Invasion will air? All I know for sure is that the show is continuing to produce a full season's worth of episodes, and since we've come this far with these characters, I expect we'll actually see the entire season — eventually. But again, what a drag.
