Never mind

So the day that I get around to recommending Wonderfalls is the day it’s cancelled. Check out Tim Minear’s site for the official word (and the 180+ people who have written comments bemoaning the show’s fate). Fox sucks. Only four episodes of the thirteen filmed made it on air. And Fox gave it no chance, putting it in the worst time slots of its schedule. And here’s the best part of all: Wonderfalls’ time slot on Thursday is going to a _repeat_ showing of one of the most disgusting reality shows of the season, The Swan, where they take average-looking women, perform extreme amounts of plastic surgery on them to make them “beautiful”, and then force them to take part in a beauty pageant, just so they can get those feelings of rejection and image insecurity right back again. It’s awful on so many levels that I get angry just thinking about it. And a _repeat_ (excuse me, Fox, an “encore” showing) of that is deemed to be better by the network than an original showing of one of the most interesting and entertaining shows I’ve seen this year? I mean, I know it’s all about money, but the episodes have already been filmed. And as far as advertising, I have to believe that the demographics of Wonderfalls skew towards more intelligent and wealthy viewers than The Swan. You’d think somebody would take that into account. And even if they didn’t, giving good shows a chance is how you build a reputation as a decent network (as opposed to the trash reality TV image that Fox has). Seinfeld was a ratings disaster for years before it became a powerhouse. Most critically acclaimed shows take time to find an audience, but when they do, that audience is loyal beyond belief (Buffy and Angel come to mind). Argh. I hate the way TV is run in this country. I’d happily pay a subscription fee to keep shows that I like on the air. But I’m not given the option. In the meantime, I’ll have to be satisfied with buying the DVD of Wonderfalls if/when it comes out.

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