Oh, Wait - It's Friday! My Show is... Over?

Well, it looks like all the summer shows are already coming to a close. I'm so sick of these short-run "seasons" -- 6-9 episodes of a show is not a fricking season! A season is 22 episodes -- well, 13 on order and option for the back 9, at least - this six and nine episode shit is driving me nuts! I love that they can basically keep good shows in year-round rotation with reruns, but... that's what the summer season used to be for! Even though I applaud the effort, TV folk just really don't know wtf they're doing, do they? I take that back: they're just too damned stubborn to do it any different.

Don't take that the wrong way. I don't mean to demean anyone's job or profession or anything like that, I simply mean that, while it's cool that the ol' showpeople are finally coming around to trying one new method to keep us entertained, this short-run series action ain't cutting it. I like the idea of seasonal programming, but the "seasons" are so short that you tend to forget when anything's coming on, and by the time you get it on your personal viewing schedule, it's frigging over!

Saving Grace just premiered in August, didn't it? Next week is its "season" finale! Same for Burn Notice and Psych - and I just figured out the days they come on so I knew when to tune in - and those are just the ones that come to mind! I mean, these channels can literally show an entire "season" in a single day's marathon - they do, just about every week! (In fact, USA is showing an all-day Burn Notice marathon before the season finale this coming Thursday.)

Now I realize that most of these seasonal summer shows are filler until the fall season, but when you've got a good thing going, why screw it up? How ironic is it that I'm saying that of Hollywood in the summer of three-quels?

But let's be honest: Burn Notice, Flash Gordon, The Closer - any one of these great shows could go head-to-head with just about anything on the network TV fall schedule and fare pretty darned well, so why consign them to these piddly, little 6-episode seasons, then constant reruns (and the occasional all-day marathon)?

The way they order and cancel shows these days, it reminds you of The Producers; I wonder how many of these shows were ordered, expecting them to be flops? But I guess when you have money and resources to burn, you don't bother to consider what it is you're investing in as closely as those of us that don't.

Saving Grace - A Review

Tonight was the premiere of Holly Hunter’s new ongoing series, Saving Grace, and I admit, I had been looking forward to it for some time. Holly Hunter is one of my favorite actresses and she really can’t miss. Okay, there was Home for the Holidays or whatever, but everyone makes mistakes.

Anyway, Saving Grace is a bit racy for the station and bears a Mature Audiences warning at the start, but I’m really glad to see more shows like this on basic cable lately. Lili Taylor’s new State of Mind on Lifetime is much the same: they are both frank, both use strong language, and both have some pretty hot sex scenes - stuff that wouldn’t fly on network TV, but that’s what made cable... cable. I mean, you shouldn’t have to be on HBO to say the word, shit. Heck, even NYPD Blue did that.

But Saving Grace has far more going for it than just pushing the envelope of network cable TV. This really is a good show with a lot of promise, though it’s sure to be controversial due to its religious theme. But again, putting the controversial nature aside, Saving Grace has wit, charm, and a really good premise. And, of course, incredible acting; Holly Hunter and Laura San Giacomo alone are worth the price of admission, but everyone in the cast turns in stellar performances and you never get the feeling that anyone is underplaying their part in order to highlight the “stars” (something I really loathe in network TV and also something that happens far too much).

Saving Grace comes on Mondays after The Closer on TNT (the Charmed channel).