As a follow-up to my previous post I found out that Valentine and My Own Worst Enemy are being cancelled as well. I've already dropped My Own Worst Enemy, although there is some chance I might go back and catch the last few episodes during the holidays since I don't expect to be too busy with TV then. Futon Critic lists a few more episodes so I don't know if they'll air what they've got or just drop it once the holiday shows hit.

I also don't mind the cancellation of Valentine, although it was just starting to get interesting. Maybe if they had developed that plotline from the start they could have saved the series. But I'll have enough to watch so I really won't miss it.

In some ways I would have wished they cancelled a little more since I would like to halve the amount of TV shows I'm watching, although winter does have a lot of repeats. I'm probably going to be a lot pickier next year about the shows I watch.

It appears that Pushing Daisies has been or will be cancelled. This is partially surprising since it was the biggest new show of last year. But it seems to have fallen victim of the writer's strike and this year's episodes just haven't been quite as good as last year's were.

I see from The Futon Critic that there's six episodes left. Hopefully ABC will air the rest of the series, but knowing the way networks do things we'll be lucky if we get even one more. At least things are better now than a couple decades ago and it's fairly certain that the remaining episodes will appear on a DVD release of this season--if the DVD does get released. (Which I fully expect it will.)

But I'm not much into TV shows on DVD. I do have Firefly, which I was given as a gift, but for the most part I tend to stick with movies for my DVD purchases. Although most of the movies I acquire are taped off TV.

But getting back to TV shows. Pushing Daisies is a bit of a surprise although I knew the ratings were bad and I understand it's an expensive show to make. The shame of it is that it was, at least last year, one of the shows I looked forward to watching. Many other shows seem to be time fillers, but I do have a couple I like to watch just after taping.

My top show would be NCIS, followed by Bones. Although I have no interest in CSI, Law and Order (which I did watch for a bit) or practically any other police procedural, both NCIS and Bones manage to fit humour in with the drama. Both shows have clearly defined characters with personalities one can relate with and even wouldn't mind being around. Other shows are just too deadpan and it's easy to mistake one character for another.

The rest are shows which I tend to enjoy enough when I bother to sit down and watch them, but don't necessarily find myself anticipating. I'll talk about each in no particular order (with maybe some exception as to how they appear on the schedule).

Chuck: This show is one I would have expected to get cancelled, especially since it's first episode has been the worst of the entire series. But it managed to find it's footing quickly enough and managed to make enough of a turnaround to come back this year. And it's turned into a fairly interesting show. Although I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't come back next year.

Heroes: Last year really killed the show. The writers managed to correct their mistake but the strike left them no time. While this year is watchable, I'm finding the show more of a chore to watch and wouldn't mind it's cancellation. Depending upon how my schedule is, I might even drop it before the end of the year, although I think it might going to be going into a hiatus for a few months.

The Mentalist: I like this guy, and not just because his name is Patrick. I use to watch Kreskin on TV as a child so I'm reasonably familiar with his tactics. Although it's another police show, it's not like other police shows. And with about half the TV schedule being some sort of crimefighting show, it's hard to avoid them completely. What I like about the show is the way he practically defies the police and the way they do things. And he doesn't have any mental abnormalities, although he does have a reason for one.

Knight Rider: I'm a long term Knight Rider fan so for me this is a must watch no matter how bad it gets. But I wouldn't cry if it was cancelled, especially since there's certain to be another attempt made. I'm glad they finally got a series back on network TV, although Knight Rider fans know the show has never really gone away. Before this the only Knight Rider to make it past pilot since the original was Team Knight Rider, and this series is the closes of any to the original. I just wish they would cut the nudity since they can't show anything anyway and the prime audience for the show are pre-teen boys.

Caruso: This is probably the best show that nobody's watching. Contrary to what many might think, it's not a period drama but more of an adventure story. As in the original story, Caruso tries to make the best of his situation and makes it appear that being stranded wouldn't be so bad. The series focuses heavily on pirates as the primary menace, which as I recall actually are in the original story although it's been a long time since I read it. So anyone who liked Pirates of the Caribbean might enjoy Caruso.

The only real criticism I have is that Friday is a little too well spoken (in the novel he was taught English by Caruso) and shows a marital arts level of weapon handling. Unfortunately, I don't see this one lasting. NBC is suppose to be moving the show from Friday to Saturday (an even deader spot than Friday's), although this is a show made for Sunday nights.

Smallville: For the past number of years I was sure it was the last year. And even though this year is for certain the last year, I think they have stretched the series too long at the risk of ruining a possible Legion of Super Heroes series. I can't say I feel as if I'm wasting my time watching the show but I'm glad that this season is the last. Hopefully.

Supernatural: This one looks as if it really did start out as another Route 66 but someone was smart enough to add the horror element. Like Smallville I enjoy watching it but I wouldn't miss it if they cancelled it.

Fringe and The Eleventh Hour: Both shows look like the same show, although Fringe is more of a science fiction show while Eleventh Hour tries to stick more with facts. I feel my interest is split between the two. One a week is good but two a week seems like too much. For now I'm sticking with both.

Life on Mars: This was a show made for people of my generation, or at least it feels that way. It's a reflection back on all the police shows that were so popular during the 70s. I may or may not have seen the original British series, depending upon the legality of downloading, so it has or might be interesting to compare the two. While the original series has been widely acclaimed, it's running time of about a full hour and total of only sixteen episodes is likely the main reason it was remade for the US market.

Valentine: Just as the show was starting to get interesting they decided to repeat it. That could wind up killing the show, although it's hard to say if it had the ratings to survive. With it's touch of magic it's slightly reminiscent of the original Fantasy Island, at least as far as the romance stories go, which is probably what interests me in it. Originally it was suppose to be a remake of Cupid but it turned out to be a much different show since there is no doubt about Cupid in this show being a Greek god. Although I do feel I could just as easily drop it since I haven't seen a new episode for a while.

Stargate Atlantis: I often don't think of this show as a regular since it doesn't premiere on a network but it is one I look forward to each week. I watched all of Stargate SG-1 from the start and plan to watch all of Stargate Universe. Unfortunately, unlike SG-1, this Stargate never quite found it's footing in the same way as the original. Hopefully Universe will go back to what made SG-1 good.

Sanctuary: For a fan of Stargate, Amanda Tapping makes the show watchable but it's not on the same level. I could see this lasting one season then disappearing. Although I do want to support the show because I like the idea of a series first being developed on the Internet. Unfortunately, this one comes across just too dark which might work for a hard-core sci-fi fan but not so much for the sci-fantasy crowd of Stargate.

Legend of the Seeker: I like Sam Raimi's stuff so I find some appear with this show. It's a little too early to say which way I'm going with it. Unfortunately, it's one of those shows where once they complete the quest it's over, so if it gets cancelled mid-way then the rest of the episodes become irrelevant. I just wish it wasn't buried on Saturday nights.

I'm sure there's other shows I'm forgetting but this post has gone on too long as it is. I've listed sixteen shows here which makes for about sixteen hours of viewing each week, although I tend to tape shows and watch later. Still that takes up a lot of time and I can't say how many I'll stick with next year. That depends upon which ones get aired, which ones get cancelled, and how many episodes get repeated.

At least I'm caught up--mostly.

I know, variations of that Shakespearian line are an overused cliche and I don't care for it myself. But in this case it was appropriate.

Usually when I start watching TV shows in the fall, about half of what I'm watching gets cancelled. Many shows don't last more than a few episodes. As a result I tend to overload myself a little in the fall with new shows on the expectation that many of them won't last.

This year seems a little different. Not only did many of the shows not get cancelled right away, but there has been a trend lately of starting shows later in the season. This has set up a scenario where I'm finding it hard to keep up with all the shows I'm watching and I haven't seen enough of many shows to tire of them.

This year networks seem more reluctant to cancel shows since it means having to come up with replacements shortly before Christmas. Instead they seem to have planned to run about twelve to thirteen episodes before Christmas then switch to a new winter schedule after New Years.

This makes it easier for networks to drop shows without the hassle of consumer feedback. It also allows them to keep their options open; networks can air a new show in place of the old while deciding whether to bring back the old show next year. In fact this also allows them to run half a season of both then keep whichever works for the following year. And even if the show is dropped, it can be months after the show has stopped airing and the fan base has moved on to something else.

Traditionally, December and January are times of repeats and preemptions. From what I can tell, this doesn't seem quite as true this year since so many shows started late. As a result, many shows that would be wrapping up in November for the year are going into December with new episodes.

So I now find myself in a situation where I don't feel I can keep up with everything I'm watching, yet I don't want to drop a show that might continue and keep a show that will get dropped. Instead of being one show down it would put me two shows down. Granted, I could catch up but that would mean downloading the shows and Canadians currently don't have access to Hulu. And I still prefer to catch my TV from TV than downloading it.

Fortunately, it looks as if I won't be having the problem much longer. With Christmas fast approaching many shows are starting to get into preemptions or wrap up for the season. One of my shows, Life On Mars, appears that it might be finished until the end of January. Another show I've been watching, Caruso, will be preempted this week. I expect much the same to happen over the next few weeks with the other shows.

But that only delays the problem until next year. Hopefully I won't have the same problem next year. But I find I'm getting tired of TV in general, even though I do enjoy watching my shows when I finally force myself to sit down and watch them.

I was going to talk more about specific shows, but this post is already getting long enough. I might do that next time.

When My Own Worst Enemy uses the plot device of a nanovirus to fix a plot complication, it's time to drop the show. I've been watching since it started but the latest episode seemed to take a turn for the worse. They're making the twist of the show the primary plot, which means the show is quickly becoming predictable.

While we the viewers know the situation isn't going to be fixed, to use such a lame idea assures us that the writers don't have any idea of where they're going with the show. While a nanovirus might work within the content of the show, they way in which it was used was too much like a magic wand. It's like Dallas when the whole season was just a dream. The writers wrote themselves into a corner and then threw in some lame idea to get them out.

This is the thing that bugs me about Terminator, primarily the TV series. The main crisis can never be resolved. And whenever the writers want to make things more exciting--or agonizing, whichever the case may be--they can wave their magic wand and make a terminator appear. Of course I have problems with their time travel theory as well; they're trying to change a future which appears to be set. Their present couldn't take place as it has without it.

I could tell the third season of Prison Break was going to be bad before it started just from the way the second season ended. As such I didn't bother with it after the second season. The writers had an interesting idea initially, but once they escaped from prison the story was basically over. There's no way Michael could ever have a normal life because even if he could be forgiven for breaking his brother out of jail, he's still responsible for aiding the escape of multiple felons as well as his own escape.

There's an old saying that's fallen out of favour: "you can't catch the one armed man twice." It refers back to the old (original) Fugitive TV show. It basically means that once the primary crisis of the show is resolved, the show is over. So much of the tension in the "Fugitive" was centred around whether or not the one armed man was caught. Of course once you've seen the finale it's hard to watch the episodes again since nothing that happens matters.

And that's the problem with using a major plot device like finding the original criminal or the Jeckle and Hyde story of My Own Worst Enemy. Dr. Jeckle solved his problem by dying. And it appears that "Henry" will solve his problem the same way. This last episode would have been better had the main character undergone the treatment and still continued to have the dual personality. Until then we know that nothing they do really matters.

According to The Futon Critic there's only five episodes left of the show. Whether or not there will be more is uncertain. From the ratings it doesn't appear that the show is going to last past Christmas yet it also appears that NBC would rather run down the show than to try to cancel and replace the show so close to Christmas.

Since this is Sunday and I'm still watching shows from this past Monday, I can afford to drop it. I might go back and watch the show when everything goes into repeats over the Holidays, but I can't say. If the show is dropped there's little point and if the show isn't there's little point since I won't be interested in watching new episodes anyway.

Since this post is so long I'll follow up with more ideas in a later post. I've still got more to say about shows I'm watching and considering dropping.

Here's pictures of this year's pumpkin.

I call this one "The Pumpkin King." I didn't spend as much time on this one as previous ones, but it was a smaller pumpkin. I also didn't quite feel up to the work and this was the image I thought of before carving. Next year I might just do a haunted house. I've been thinking of that for a while. I've also had the idea to do a profile, one that looks like the ones resulting from a template. I'll have to wait until then to decide.

I've found it difficult to keep up with all the TV shows I'm watching. I'm nearly a week behind on many. It's mostly because I'm finding more to watch this year than in previous years, and partially that I'm hesitant to drop any shows. Usually, many of the shows I watch get cancelled so if I choose to drop the wrong show I'm finding myself with almost nothing to watch.

This year the networks seem more hesitant to drop shows, probably because they don't have much to fill them with. I can't wait for December since so many shows are either pre-empted or dropped from the schedule then. That should give me time to catch up. And I've still go a few things on tape from months ago I've yet to watch. Although, given the low ratings of some of the shows, I don't expect them to be back next year. That should leave me with a comfortable level of viewing. And even if I still find myself with too much to watch, it should be easier to decided what to watch and what to skip.

I've decided that episode 50 of Podcast Ping will be it's Season Finale. Although it's relatively irrelevant for podcasts, it will give me a good place to leave off on it while I concentrate on THE UNSTOPPABLE RIDE. I've already had an idea for a short story based on the main character and I think I'll write a few of them, even though I'm still working on the main story. I also feel I'm getting the voice for the character settled and working out exactly who the character is.

Come the new year I think I'll just stick with THE UNSTOPPABLE RIDE, so the feed will be busy but I won't be doing regular shows for a while. Besides, with all the rebuilds I've done lately, 50 episodes to listen to, and new episodes of THE UNSTOPPABLE RIDE, there's plenty to listen to and re-listen to before it's really missed. I've also had an idea for some changes to the show, but those would come later.

I haven't played too much with digital off-air lately, probably because I'm still trying to manage my viewing as is and there aren't many shows that I'm not already getting. Besides, right now I need to concentrate on the writing.

I've also got to get another Blue Hot Gossip News segment out. I'm extending the name so that it can't be confused and the podcast site name makes more sense. There is a gossipnews.blogspot.com site but it's empty of everything but one old post. It appears the person lost interest or was just trying to grab the name.

And I really should update this more often instead of writing these long posts.