TV News and Reviews

*SPOILER ALERT* I have to say, the Crusoe finale really threw me tonight. The way things were running (at a somewhat breakneck pace these last couple episodes), I’d imagined everything was going to end neatly with a big bow on it. Not so, however. While Crusoe and Friday do manage to outwit their captors, and the evil brother-in-law and Blackthorn get their just desserts (in rather cruel fashion, I might add), Crusoe doesn’t actually make it back to England. He disavows the fortune that belongs to him, saves Friday, and they end up back on the island. With a burned-out treehouse.

Back home, his wife fares better with Olivia’s help. Out of the asylum, and her children out of the orphanage, she is free to take over what is now her children’s entitlement to Blackthorn’s estate. Rather delicious irony, actually, so well done there.

Of course Crusoe doesn’t know any of this. He can only act on faith. And we as viewers can only imagine what becomes of him and Friday–if somehow the Spaniard manages to send another ship out to rescue them, with the help of Olivia…who knows? And while I generally hate sad or unsatisfying endings, I think the fact that this avoided the easy wrap-up worked better for me. The finale leaves it open for a return to these characters–who knows, maybe a Crusoe TV movie or mini-series in future? And if not, it’s satisfying enough that we don’t feel cheated.

One thing that bothered me about the episode: Once Crusoe finds the all important paper in his father’s Bible, he takes that and discards the Bible, as far as I can tell. It was the one precious thing he had left of his family, and knowing that his father died–wouldn’t it have had even more sentimental value? Did it lose its value because his father wasn’t his biological father?

I did like that Crusoe said they’d take the dog the next time. That’s right! It broke my heart when they left him behind last episode.

So, farewell for now to Crusoe and Friday. You can catch up on full episodes at NBC, but not for long, probably. Get your shirtless Philip Winchester while you can, because NBC will probably yank the episodes to make it necessary to buy the DVD set. Which I probably will. Shirtless Philip and Tongayi Chirisa and delicious Sean Bean? Not a bad investment, I say. (If you’re interested in shirtless Crusoe, don’t forget the pics over at the Shrine to Actors .)

And one apology, for it seems I relied too heavily on IMDB and misspelled Tongayi Chirisa’s name in my posts. I will let him give me the angry eye as he corrects me.

**Shirtless Philip Winchester, angry Tongayi Chirisa of Crusoe screencaps, c2008, 2007 Moonlighting Films, NBC.

The big TV news buzzing around is that ABC picked up a comedy pilot entitled Let It Go, starring Lauren Graham as a self-help guru on TV who can’t follow her own advice when her boyfriend breaks up with her. Critics seems excited, but quite frankly another plot involving a woman acting crazy and stupid doesn’t exactly appeal to me. So many woman-centric comedies that I adored always ended up scaring me off when they slowly turned the woman into an idiot. I like Lauren Graham and she’s saying that it’s going to be something of a dark comedy, so perhaps there will be some sort of wicked charm that makes it worth watching. But I’m not holding my breath.

A drama pilot for CBS that looks interesting is entitled Back (which is a nightmare for trying to do a Google search on it, let me tell you). The story centers on a man who disappears during the 9/11 attacks only to resurface eight years later to try and reintegrate into a world that’s completely changed. This sounds like it has some great dramatic potential, but I think Mandy Bierly of Entertainment Weekly sums up the issues nicely:

“Interesting. Do I want to know why and to where he disappeared? Yes. Do I want it to be a season-long mystery, which is never solved because the show gets canceled? No. Also, I’m 50-50 on the title.”

I agree wholeheartedly. These serial dramas are a tough sell these days, considering how many of them get canceled and you’re left on a cliffhanger every time. Funny how I was just talking about the vicious cycle of not watching shows that we fear will be canceled.

You can get the hard data on all the new pilots that got picked up at Variety.com, and see them rated by EWs Popwatch.

**Lauren Graham photo from The Bonnie Hunt Show, October 6, 2008, c2008 Bob & Alice Productions, Warner Bros., NBC

I’d given up hope of ever hearing about the fate of Eli Stone’s final episodes, but apparently I gave up just before the news broke mid-month. E! Online and other news outlets report that ABC is planning on airing the remaining episodes and finales of Eli Stone, Dirty Sexy Money, and Pushing Daisies in June–at the earliest. The reason for the delay? Apparently the largely crap fill-ins are getting the same or better ratings as the canceled shows they replaced. That’s right, the stupid candid camera show that ran in Eli Stone’s time slot got twice as many viewers.

According to the slew of blog posts and comments on every article talking about Eli Stone, Dirty Sexy Money, and Pushing Daisies, someone was liking these shows. With such a large outcry, and continuous outcry, it’s hard to believe the numbers. I get hits every day to my blog from people looking for Eli Stone cancellation and final episodes news.

There are lots of theories why these shows fail and the crap that replaces them does better. One of them is that the sensationalistic reality shows seem to get promoted a heck of a lot more than the scripted programs like Eli Stone. Another is that the Nielsen ratings are completely outmoded and useless, using too small a sample to truly judge the viewership and not allowing for DVR and online viewing numbers that get larger each day.

With the way networks schedule popular TV shows against one another to try and cancel them out, DVR and online viewing can become a big part of a TV show’s viewership. The audience doesn’t want to miss out on a quality program, so they watch one in real time and then watch the competing show later. That’s the beauty of current technology. You no longer have to choose–you can watch both.

But how many people will DVR or view a reality show online? Except for competition shows like American Idol or Dancing with the Stars, I would guess not many. So I theorize that while Eli Stone may have had 4 million real time viewers and 4 million online viewers, the candid camera show only had 7 million viewers in real time and nothing else. The problem is that the networks don’t care about DVR and online viewing because it’s not helping their ad money. Less commercial viewing equals less money. So they’d rather have 3 million real time viewers watching commercials than 20 million loyal online Eli Stone, Dirty Sexy Money, or Pushing Daisies viewers. It’s all about the dollar.

Another problem is the self-fulfilling prophesy problem. Shows get canceled at the drop of a hat these days, so viewers have become skeptical when new shows hit the air. Will it last? Should I bother? A commenter on E! Online dubbed ABC: “Already Been Canceled.” We’re battle-weary. I wanted to check out Pushing Daisies last year, but I kept hearing about low numbers and possible cancellations. Not wanting to get my heart broken for the umpty-ninth time, I skipped it. Other viewers no doubt did the same with Dirty Sexy Money and Eli Stone. Wary of cancellations, people don’t watch the shows. People don’t watch the shows, so they get canceled. It’s a vicious cycle, and won’t end until the networks stop pulling the rug out from under us.

Check out the E! Online article on Eli Stone, Dirty Sexy Money, and Pushing Daisies here .