BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) THE BONNIE HUNT SHOW
(2008-2010/452 Episodes) - Being the slacker that I am, 2 PM on a weekday is a time where in most cases you’d find me in “lounge wear” working on some kind of project. So naturally television is no stranger to this situation. There are a billion channels now and never anything on, but at least I knew at 2 PM on NBC (or syndicated wherever else) I could have almost a sure shot with The Bonnie Hunt Show. It wasn’t adult swim edgy and I’m sure I was not their demographic, but I enjoyed the show as background to a “lounge wear” day. Bonnie was real and you didn’t feel beaten over the head with an agenda other than conversational entertainment. The guests were decent for the most part and made for a few great segments. I didn’t even know it was cancelled until a few weeks after the case. I just kept watching and thinking to myself “well, maybe she’s on vacation”. Sadly, I was wrong. She’d be great on “The View”…. not that I watch that show or anything.
(THREE) HEROES
(2006-2010/77 Episodes) - A few years ago I took a change with a sci-fi/nerdy show and fell in love with it. The every changing storylines, the superpowers, and the interaction of characters were a pleasure to watch. The first season got mad love from fans and critics. Sadly, once the “Save the Cheerleader/Save the World” thing came to a finish, so did the outpour. Season two did kind of suck, but the seasons each got better from there. By the time season four was in full swing, I was very into the show. The carnival storyline was hokey fun and it was just so well done that you had to forgive the sometimes cheesy aspects of it. The 50+ hours invested into watching this from first episode of season one to final episode of season four had more good times than bad. I’m going to miss Claire and Noah Bennet, The Petrellis, Ali Larter’s eighty eight characters, Hiro and Ando, Mohinder, and Parkman. Most of all, I’m sad we didn’t get to see Sylar finish evil as he should of. The character’s crazy arch and insane personality made him one of my favorite villains and overall characters of all time. Sylar was an HBO character on a NBC Family show and made it less icky for a non sci-fi TV fan to enjoy. I knew the show was probably on borrowed time, but they could have at least given the show a half season replacement run, a miniseries, or even for the love of all that is good, a straight to DVD movie. The point is that with no real closure, I feel cheated.
(TWO) LAW & ORDER
(1990-2010/456 Episodes) - The additions of Jeremy Sisto and Anthony Anderson in recent years have made for a pretty decent past few seasons. I like both actors and both characters and have to see them go. Basically, I can live with the show being cancelled, but for the love of Jebus… why the hell not ONE MORE season? It was one season away from tying “Gun Smoke” as the longest running hour long drama of all time. Jack McCoy deserves his closure. That’s all that matters here. He owned this show with his larger than life voice. The man was great in the role and brought hundreds of hours of entertainment to the homes of millions. Sam Waterston deserves better. The man is on the Walk of Fame for crying out loud! C’mon!
(ONE) THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH CONAN O'BRIEN
(2009-2010/146 Episodes) - Obviously. Conan O’Brien was never given a chance. He’s given The Tonight Show as Jay Leno gets his virtually the SAME show before the news. The only difference between The Tonight Show and The Jay Leno Show was that on Leno they had an electric car race and on Conan they actually made people laugh. We know this already. Conan’s ratings were weak and didn’t get a chance to grow, but NBC freaked out and put Leno back in the spot because his ratings were even worse. Makes no sense by common logic, but NBC cut their losses and cutting Conan was cheaper than cutting Leno. It sucks, but it’s true. Now, Conan will be on TBS in a few months with a new show and will bring in HUGE numbers (at least that first episode or two) and may set a cable record of some sort. Either way, it’ll be fun to see NBC fail at life(look at the shows above as well) and see Conan make them hate themselves for letting him go.
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