Is it my imagination, or is ...
Question: Is it my imagination, or is ABC the worst network for supporting its series? The recent cancellation of
Men in Trees brings this issue up once again.
Men in Trees is a charming show that was strong enough to survive its initial Friday night slot and move to the coveted post-
Grey's slot in its first season, only to be put on hold and moved to multiple slots since then. But this is far from the first time that ABC has done this. I had resolved to boycott ABC way back in 2000 after their similar treatment of
Sports Night, but relented and have unfortunately been disappointed with their treatment of multiple other shows, including
Once and Again and
Alias. It seems that other networks simply cancel shows when they are not performing. Am I being unfair to ABC?
Answer: In a word: Yes. Not that you don't have every right to be annoyed. But what network hasn't been the villain in this sort of scenario? Think NBC and
Freaks and Geeks, American Dreams, etc. CBS and
Jericho, Now and Again and
Frank's Place, to name a few. Fox and
Firefly, John Doe — the list goes on. Every network regularly cancels shows that have some sort of devoted following. It's the price of business. But ABC is an especially ripe target because this network often takes the risk of developing shows with heart and soul that aren't necessarily mass-appeal phenoms. (Most recently,
Eli Stone.) Heck, I'm still mad at ABC for how it treated
Homefront, and that was 15 years (!) and who knows how many regimes ago.
Sports Night was a heartbreaker, for sure, and I argued at the time it was the right show on the wrong network (if it had aired on the NBC of that period, it might have had a better shot).
Once and Again and especially
Alias enjoyed multiple seasons before they were terminated, and
Alias even got to run out of creative gas and provide some semblance of closure. I tend to think that ABC of all the networks is in a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't paradox. Almost every season, ABC comes up with my favorite new show — I would be dismayed it if didn't — and they tend to be shows that I end up fighting for (
Invasion, The Nine — well, at least the pilot of that one) and often losing. The fact that something as fabulously offbeat as
Pushing Daisies is returning to the schedule in the fall is reason enough for me not to give up on ABC, regardless of the shameful mishandling of
Men in Trees, which will go down as one of their more indefensible lapses in judgement.
