ABC can get bent.

[kellinator]

Last night I was half-asleep and idly watching SVU in hopes that Munch would actually get to do something (why do I keep doing this to myself when I have four seasons of Homicide on DVD? Oh yeah, it's because I generally don't watch Homicide at times when I'm sleepy and lazy and won't be able to fully appreciate it, which doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense and I should probably stop doing that) when USA ran a promo: "Up next, a never-before-seen episode of Karen Sisco!"

I'm embarrassed to admit that for a moment I actually debated what to do, because I was looking forward to my Law and Order fix. Law and Order, for what it is, is good. Yes, it's formulaic and predictable (not to mention they keep reusing the "shocking Law and Order twist!!"), but it's well-done forumlaic and predictable. Like comfort food. Really good comfort food. Like, if Blind Date (one of my favorite guilty pleasures) is McDonald's, then Law and Order is TGI Friday's or something. But I digress. But anyway, I came to my senses and decided to watch Karen Sisco instead.

And... damn. It made me hate those dumbfucks at ABC who cancelled this all over again. Karen Sisco is just so cool. The episode took a plot we've seen dozens of times before -- protagonist has to babysit kid who witnessed a murder -- and made it fresh and original. At one point I counted three plots in the air, and all of them were engaging. And my gosh, Carla Gugino and Robert Forster have wonderful father-daughter chemistry. Robert fuckin' Forster!! Anything that gets him paid is a good thing.

ABC totally screwed the pooch on this one. Among the transgressions:

1). They didn't publicize well enough the fact that Karen Sisco was based on a very good movie that a lot of people liked, Out of Sight, only with better actors. (Though in all fairness Jennifer Lopez was actually okay in it. Can any of y'all remember that, when she was actually an up-and-coming actress instead of a punchline?)

2). They put it on opposite Law and Order, which meant that many many people who would have loved it didn't catch it because they were watching Law and Order on Wednesdays at 10/9 Central like they have been for the past dozen years. I think that thing has reached the point of postmodern institution now. Make your own fall-of-Western-civilization jokes at will.

3). They yanked it, promised that they believed in it and would bring it back with a real time slot, then cancelled it with no explanation.

All of these are reasons I think a network should hire me. I'd make mistakes, sure, but at least they'd be new and interesting mistakes, instead of the same old boring mistakes like cancelling really good shows in favor of crap.

Comments

[chicating.livejournal.com]

My sister in television pissedness...I haven't seen much TV "Sisco" but I saw that movie...like 12 times. They, uh could've convinced me, but yes, I spent that time slot with Uncle Lenny a lot of the time. I'm pissed off at Fox about Wonderfalls. You can't build an audience in four episodes...though Homicide hooked me in two, but I'm a cop groupie. On TV anyway. Want to throw Rupert Murdoch down stairs and yell "Die you bastard die!"