Please, Cancel My Favorite Show
Jan 16 2010, 13:39 EST
When TV shows get canceled before they are done filming it sometimes gives the authors an opportunity to air what they want to air instead of what they think the higher-ups or audience wants. The result can be magic or it can highlight why the show was canceled in the first place. We wouldn't have The Daily Show with Jon Stewart if Stewart hadn't aired his opinionated self in the closing days of The Jon Stewart Show -- I still have a VHS tape of him slashing open his hand with a coffee mug by accident.
Jericho (set in a post-apocalyptic mid-west) finished with a *yawn* when it knew it was canceled. Conan O'Brien is going down with his fists swinging (a-la Jon Stewart). Dollhouse went from yawn-inducing to jaw-dropping in one short shift, you can view the results on Hulu. Jericho's finish was bland because the show was bland from the start. As an outlier Bablyon-5's rushed finish was so good that the show was picked up for another season - and the result sucked because they were out of materiel.