I carefully set my TiVo to record all the fall shows that had garnered positive reviews (plus a few that hadn't) so that I could compare them for myself. Hands down, our family liked Lone Star the best. An unusual premise, clever writing, intelligent plots, and plenty of opportunities to ask, "I wonder what might happen next?" And awesome music! We were hooked and happily waited for episode number two.
And then we read about the abysmal ratings. Surely, we thought, the network will move it to another time slot. Surely they'll want to preserve something this good. Nope, they didn't. They showed ep no. 2 and canned it.
Wow. The series had just begun to explore the different relationships the two fathers had forged with their sons. We had yet to see the main character get into any serious hot water with the two wives. (I just knew there would be a sweeps week episode where they met....) And what about holidays? How would he spend Christmas? Valentine's Day? Soooo many unanswered questions.
So it's back to crime procedurals, where I can predict the ending within the first 10 minutes and never wonder who is thinking what. Is this really the best the networks can do?
