What a TV season it’s been so far. The networks each debuted a number of new shows, many of them serial dramas, for the 2006-2007 season. They looked very promising and lots of viewers were hooked – more were not. From the beginning of the season, the networks have pulled shows off the air quicker than ever before, leaving viewers with the equivalent of television whiplash. Here are the casualties.
Smith – The Ray Liotta series was the first to go. Smith debuted on September 19th and was cancelled due to declining ratings. Only three episodes aired. The four remaining completed episodes, as well as future episode synopses, were released on the CBS website (subsequently removed), and on iTunes.
Kidnapped – NBC’s big serial drama under-performed network expectations and was cancelled after three episodes and pulled from the schedule after five. Luckily for viewers, NBC released the remaining seven episodes online.
Runaway – One of the new CW’s two new series. The drama about a family on the run starred Donnie Wahlberg and was pulled after just three episodes. Three other episodes were reportedly completed but have gone unaired.
Happy Hour – Fox debuted one of the few new sitcoms in primetime on September 7th. The network aired three episodes in September (before the World Series took over their schedule) and one episode in November. Fox has said that 13 episodes have been completed and may be released on DVD at some point.
The Rich List – This was a game show on Fox that has the dubious distinction of being cancelled after just one episode. The single episode aired on November 2nd and was cancelled along with Happy Hour.
Twenty Good Years – This sitcom starred series veterans John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor, was pulled from the NBC schedule after just four episodes. It’s doubtful that we’ll ever see it again.
Justice – Fox’s courtroom drama starring Alias’ Victor Garber was pulled from the schedule after five episodes because of the World Series. Justice returned in October and was pulled in November after three more episodes. The series returned in December for four episodes and has been pulled from the schedule once more. Twelve episodes of Justice have aired and its unlikely that we’ll ever see any more in primetime.
Vanished – FOX pulled their mystery serial drama after nine episodes. It was supposed to return in December but FOX opted instead to bring back Justice. Luckily (for U.S. fans with high-speed Internet access anyway) the network released the remaining four episodes online. Few viewers felt satisfied with the storyline’s rushed resolution.
Six Degrees – This was the first of ABC’s serial dramas to be pulled in the 2006-2007 season. Six episodes of the J.J. Abrams series have aired. At the time, it was said that Six Degrees would return in January but that doesn’t look very likely at this point.
The Nine – ABC then pulled another serial drama after just seven episodes. The Nine was a character drama that focused on a 52-hour bank robbery/hostage situation and its repercussions. ABC has said that it will air the remaining six episodes in 2007 but there are no firm plans to return the series as yet. Seven episodes are available on iTunes
3 lbs – The Stanley Tucci medical drama was moved up from a midseason replacement show to replace CBS’ cancelled Smith series. It lasted just three episodes before being cancelled itself. Those three episodes are available on iTunes while CBS has said it will release unaired episodes on their website.
Show Me the Money – The William Shatner game show seemed to be a success initially but its popularity declined at warp speed. Six additional episodes were ordered and then quickly cancelled. Five episodes have aired to date.
Help Me Help You – Ted Danson’s new sitcom about an egotistical therapist and his patients was recently cancelled after nine episodes. Four episodes are unaired. Help Me Help You was replaced by episodes of fellow sitcom Big Day but that show looks like it’s headed for cancellation as well.
Day Break – The Taye Diggs dramatic series was heavily hyped by ABC and brought in to take the place of Lost until it returned in February. Unfortunately, Day Break was pulled after six episodes. ABC planned to air the seven unaired episodes online but that was reportedly delayed due to music licensing issues. Now, it seems Day Break has been purged from the ABC website completely. We’ve started a petition. Will fans ever be able to see the resolution to the deja vu series? Time will tell so stay tuned! 
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I loved 3Lbs. I don’t have any idea what these networks are thinking by keeping a show for only 3 episodes. If money is the issue, maybe they should stop paying the very successful sitcom stars millions per episode and put back some of the good shows that never had a chance to gain fame but most likely would, given the chance. There’s no such thing as instant success. People have lives and loyalty is earned.
I’m going way back here but the one show that NEVER got a chance that was way ahead of most shows similar to it was Firefly. It was such a good show they made a movie out of it. How many shows that were cancelled their first season ever became a movie? I can’t think of any.
Fox is ridiculous for cancelling shows without giving them a chance.
If you like sci-fi, go find a few episodes of Firefly to watch. You won’t be disappointed
I don’t understand why they cannot port underperforming serial drams to USA or FX or whatever. I always find it strange that they cut shows that are being watched by 9 million people and replace them with re-runs of CSI or law and order. I cannot imagine that the re-runs will garner much advertising revenue.
Ditching “Justice” was a poor move. Fox never gave it a solid chance and even when it did air, it was fantastic for those who did catch it. Fox must have some real morons working there. Seriously. If they had a 1/2 a brain collectively they wouldn’t have done this.
Six Degrees was a great show, with an extensive cast. I can’t believe that “Men in Trees” won out. Six degrees actually had real story lines and substance, not all about “who’s sleeping with who?
Give it a chance!
Keep the NINE on the air.
My family loved Justice. Victor Garber is a fantastic actor. The plot was a good way for a family to reason together how it might end. Please bring it back!
Why was Everwood taken off??? That was a favorite of mine @ 6:00 pm on channel 20.Amy and Ephrim and Dr. Andy Brown and neighbor lady back together and Dr Abbout’s Mom moving in with him and thats it?????
How many people were hoping that they would convict somebody innocent, or let the guilty guy go free (that did happened), just to see if FOX would go that far?
I love Justice and its the best show to ever hit TV. It was also a show that my whole family watched so PLEASE bring it back!
Justice became family hour in the short time it was on the air, we were hoooooooooked. Please, bring it back. The Lewis household (8 people) would be delighted.
I find it utterly amusing that the network execs think they are one of only ten channels on TV like in the old days. They seem to have no grasp of the fact that it takes about 20 minutes to succesfully navigate through the 200 + channels I have on my digital cable (so that is like missing a sitcom right there.) If they came off as a network that believed in their productions they would afford us the opportunity to enjoy a show more than just twice, and on top of that, on a steady basis with one night and one time rather than the special event switch up. Honestly, I’ve been catching up with some great movies on Sundance and IFC rather than watching TV’s Hottest Network, Most Watched Network and The Awful awful terrible reality TV. The only TV “dates” I make no compromise for was/are 24, Sopranos, Deadwood and well, that’s it. I tried to watch the Nine, but it lost my interest, and I DVR’d it too. Oh and another awful mistake by FOX–you removed Arrested Development. I could have easily watched more episodes of this show for another 5 more years. You decision makers wouldn’t know a good thing if it ran over you.
Just goes to show exactly where Fox execs have their heads. Justice was a very, very good show. With so much garbage on the air, a show that attracted younger viewers and older viewers is a special thing. No, it didn’t always show up in the Nielson rating (what is that, their Holy Grail?) but a lot of people were hooked on it. Sometimes you have to Tivo something because you’re out.
When you think back to so many good shows being cancelled you have only one conclusion you can come to: TV execs are polling the wrong people and expecting the wrong results.
Simply pathetic.
“Justice” had to be the best series of the season. The original problem was that it was up against “Lost” & “Criminal Minds” both of which are top notch shows. Fox then moved it to Monday’s where it went up against Monday Night Football (and a couple of other shows) which did nothing for their ratings. As a last resort, Fox moved “Justice” to friday nights where it slowly died, thus ending a series which had the potential to be as great as the “CSI’s”. By the way, “Justice” was a Jerry Bruckheimer series and I found it odd that one of his series got canned. Thanks FOX! Freakin Morons!
I don’t understand where they get the ratings info anyway. They say the shows had poor rating, but then thousands of people say they loved them. With so many channels available to most people now, the big networks can’t expect every show to be a blockbuster, and yet that is what they do.
I like Lost but I’m getting tired of nothing making sense and it REALLY bugged me that they did a mid-season “finale” and a long break. I was following The Nine and now it’s probably gone. Last year I really loved Invasion. I also really liked Joan of Arcadia, which was cancelled because “not enough young people were watching” on Friday night. What do they expect on Friday night. I use the DVR and record all the show I want to see because, honestly, none of the ones I like are on at the best time for me.
The network decision makers need to change the way the do everything. People pretty much gave up on comedies and they may just give up on tv entirely.
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