TV Verdict

It’s been a brutal week for TV producers, as studios began slashing orders and canceling shows left and right.

The biggest buzz but the least unexpected was the cancelation of Dollhouse. Based on the ratings, this series never should have been given a second season, but Fox bowed to the fans, put it on and it tanked worse than ever. Not even the addition of a half a dozen Whedonites and Galactica stars could save the show. Joss Whedon has been told to wrap the show inside the 13 episode order. Fox says they’ll air all 13, but we’ll see.

ABC pulled the plug on Eastwick. I wanted to like this Gilmoresque show about women who realize they are witches but I was bored after only a few episodes. I believe it was the casting that hurt this one. The leads just weren’t strong enough to pull in the viewers. It’s a shame, because it was a fun idea.

Today, ABC also canceled Kelsey Grammer’s sitcom Hank. They shut down production immediatly after filming 10 episodes. 5 have aired and we may never see the other 5. This series had a great cast but it suffered from an ill-timed premise. Grammer played a wealthy businessman who is forced to live the simple life due to the turn in economic times. But to those unemployed workers in middle America who are living on welfare checks, there was nothing funny about seeing Grammer whine about the loss of his maid.

My CBS favorite Numb3rs was also given the signal to wrap it up and far short of a full season. I will miss Don and Charlie and the gang, but I think it’s good timing with Charlie getting married and Don in his mid-life crisis. It was great while it lasted.

On the upside, The Forgotten, another of my favorites, has been given an order for more episodes. ABC also picked up the other comedies, The Middle, Cougar Town and Modern Family – at least for now.

Photo by Fox