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are now faced with a new dilemma. What do I watch? For those out there without the benefit of Tivo, or a DVR, the networks have really done a job of making us pick and choose what we want to watch. Scheduling episodes of Chuck against House, and Heroes against 24 it is causing problems with how people want to enjoy their downtime. It doesn't stop on Monday nights either, Tuesday features ABC's Scrubs up against FOX's Fringe.
Which brings me to my gripe... why? The networks see that these shows are popular, if not the most popular (stupid American Idol...) but they feel the need to set them in gladiatorial fights to the death in prime-time battles with the big loser being the viewing audience. Playing musical chairs with shows has been a favorite past time in recent years for the networks, it makes one nostalgic for the TGIF days. You'd always know that the Tanners and Urkel weren't going anywhere.
But somewhere along the way the survival of the fittest mentality got warped at the networks, and now here we all sit, remote in hand knowing that we're going to have watch the show that we decide not to watch at work tomorrow on your computer. So the fall of the American work ethic can be squarely blamed on the television networks. And worst yet the problem is simple, just get rid of the crappy reality shows and we wouldn't have this problem, and Detroit would probably be in better shape...
Let's be honest: Grey's Anatomy is dying. Slowly, but is happening.
First there was the TR Knight/Isaiah Washington incident, which shook the world to its very core and proved just what a badass Patrick Dempsy really is followed by the rumors that Katherine Heigl was going to be taken off the show for being annoying both on and off screen. Then, Brooke Smith was unceremoniously fired from the show last November, just when her story line was getting interesting. And now comes the rumor that T.R. Knight has asked to be released from his contract. This isn't much of a surprise to anyone who watches the show and, like me, noticed to severe lack of George O'Malley.
The point is, we're reaching that moment when viewers of a once-popular show forget why they ever watched it in the first place and simply stop. Sure, the diehard fans will stick around, but doing this takes a kind of dedication apparently not found in the average Nielsen family.
Yes, it seems Grey's on its way out. And sure, while it's upsetting that we'll no longer be privy to the trials and tribulations of Seattle Grace's oddly sexual doctors, viewers can take solace in the fact that this might lead to the best last season ever.
And all of this has to do with a little theory I like to call "Good, Bad, Awesome."
Good, Bad, Awesome is a phenomena I've noticed in shows that start out red-hot, but slowly fade out of public conscious. This is currently happening with the downward spiral of Heroes. No one is watching, but they're bringing Bryan Fuller in to straighten things out.
The OC, for example started insane, but soon fizzled and was forgotten and hated by those who once considered themselves fans. What those who stopped watching missed out on was an amazing forth and final season.
LOST is another example of a show that started with amazing buzz, but got too slow and "kooky" for some viewers. What these poor saps missed out on is was the amazing last two seasons. And Sayid braking someone's neck with his feet.
SCRUBS, was quirky and original show that faught for ratings and viewers, only to slowly fade quietly into NBC's Thursday nights lineup. This show was even canceled, only to be saved by ABC, giving it a promising-looking last(?) season.
Now, the "Good, Bad, Awesome" theory doesn't always but if the Grey's team manages to get back to what is was that made the show good in the first place we could be in for an amazing, if final season in a couple of years.