Friday, May 18, 2007

Cancellation of Jericho

It's official. Jericho has been canceled. The serialized drama now joins the ranks of Twin Peaks, Deadwood, and Firefly - great television shows that were canceled by studios more interested in placating and patronizing audiences than in producing compelling art and stories. As long as the production of art or entertainment is controlled by studios and publishers - by people whose bottom line is money and profits - than art's only value is its mass market appeal. Producers and publishers are only interested in backing something that they think will make them rich; they have no interest in actually creating something worthwhile. This depressing state of affairs is partly the fault of audiences, who have proven that they prefer CSI: Miami to Deadwood, which is horrible and unfair. If audiences would embrace compelling, intellectual and challenging television, like they sometimes (but not often) have, than shows like Jericho may stand a chance. In other words, the only way to be treated like an adult is by acting like one.

1 comment:

Life of Turner said...

Maybe the show got better as the season progressed, but I just could not get into it. I tried the first four or so episodes, and I found the acting wooden, the constant intense music unconscionably edgy, and the gleam of Gerald McRaney's constantly growing forehead distracting. I felt like CBS was making a TV show, whereas networks like NBC ("Heroes") and Showtime ("Dexter") were making serialized films. But poor Skeet Ulrich...he finally lands a job and it falls out from underneath him. Well, there's always making that biopic of Johnny Depp twenty years down the road...