Ax Falls On 3 Shows In ABC Primetime

64 Comments »

1. A thousand tears for a thousands years for Pushing Daisies. All my meals shall now be in pie form.

   Comment by Danny Cohen — November 20, 2008 @ 5:25 pm

2. What a shame. DSM and PD were good shows. I hear technically the shows have not been cancelled, but no back order given, that way the network gets to hold the actors until June and try to prevent them from getting work on other shows.

   Comment by Anonymous — November 20, 2008 @ 5:26 pm

3. So sad to See Daisies and Eli Stone get canceled! Loved those two shows so much!

   Comment by jojo — November 20, 2008 @ 5:29 pm

4. Figures. The shit rises to the top again.

   Comment by One Time Sitcom Writer — November 20, 2008 @ 5:51 pm

5. Unbelievable. The best 2 shows on right now (Eli & Pushing Daisies) and they cancel them! Like I want to watch that dreadful “Dancing with the has-beens” show - gimme a break. I guess fresh ideas & good story are too expensive so they had to cut back. Talk about lame. Just for this, I am no longer going to watch Lost when it comes back in Jan. Not like anyone else was either I guess…

   Comment by bummed — November 20, 2008 @ 5:59 pm

6. RIP Pushing Daisies! You will be missed!

   Comment by Anonymous — November 20, 2008 @ 6:01 pm

7. This is one of the most creative shows on television. Another network should definitely pick it up.

   Comment by Eli Stone — November 20, 2008 @ 6:04 pm

8. Can somebody please tell me what the hell is going on over at ABC? First, they have a gay panic by getting rid of Brooke Smith of “Grey’s Anatomy” and then getting rid of Melissa George’s bi-sexual character’s story. They downgrade Rebecca Romjin’s post-op transgender character into a recurring role and they wrote out a transgender character on “Sexy Dirty Money”. Now they cancel SDM (a guilty pleasure that reminds me of the good old sadistic days of “Dynasty”) plus these other two shows. Who is running this ridiculous network? Are they going to program Dancing with the Stars every day of the week? This is why network TV is dying - idiots who don’t know what they’re doing. I’m just going to stop watching ABC. Why bother watch a show if they’re going to just cancel it? I was into “Life on Mars” but I’m going to stop watching as I’m sure that’s the next to go.

   Comment by JD — November 20, 2008 @ 6:06 pm

9. About time! It’s funny how NBC won’t cancel their crap shows that in clearly in the gutter. Why is NBC still trying to save face (same guy’s face that’s usually in a pile of snow, wink wink).

   Comment by AllBadCrap TV — November 20, 2008 @ 6:09 pm

10. Nooo! What am I going to do with all these pies I was gonna send to ABC?

    Comment by Jasmine — November 20, 2008 @ 6:14 pm

11. I keep hoping that having Pushing Daisies on the list is a mistake. Sure fanciful design and actual witty banter can be too much for some people, but what did they expect from another Bryan Fuller creation.

    Comment by carse — November 20, 2008 @ 6:20 pm

12. Eli Stone “unwatchable.” Wow Nikki you really have no taste when it comes to TV do ya. That or you really just have beef with Greg Berlanti. Granted Dirty Sexy Money is pretty blah but Eli Stone was decent and had a good critical following.

    Comment by Taste Police — November 20, 2008 @ 6:32 pm

13. ABC also axed one of the mid-season shows w/ Alyssa Milano, Single With Parents, too… before it even got on the air.

    Does ABC have anything left to show anymore?

    Comment by Indil — November 20, 2008 @ 6:34 pm

14. Happy Holidays, Below the Liners!

    Comment by Michael F. Workman — November 20, 2008 @ 6:34 pm

15. Why so quick to bash everything, Nikki? I thought Eli Stone was interesting from the few episodes I caught. None of these ABC shows were appointment television, but my guess is they’ll be as good as whatever they get replaced with…

    Comment by WGA Writer — November 20, 2008 @ 6:36 pm

16. The second season premier of Eli Stone was as good as it gets on TV. I’m sorry to hear about the cancellation. As for Nicki, well, she’s still analog in her TV tastes. I bet she watches Gunsmoke reruns.

    Comment by Mediocre Juju — November 20, 2008 @ 6:47 pm

17. No big losses there

    Comment by michael dobrofsky — November 20, 2008 @ 6:54 pm

18. Sad about Pushing Daisies. Bryan Fuller just has no luck when it come to TV shows. PD, Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me were all great shows that were cancelled too soon.

    Also, what the hell is going on with TV lately? Rating are pretty down across the board for most shows. What is everyone watching, or doing instead?

    Comment by Michele — November 20, 2008 @ 7:19 pm

19. This is why I don’t bother with staying loyal to American network tv. Give me Dr. Who, Spooks or Merlin and I’ll manage just fine. HBO has True Blood and thats keeping me American as well as Fringe. These three shows-never heard of them. Torchwood I’ll wait for you-can’t wait for new episodes.

    Do any of the dorks at the networks even want to know what people are downloading? Get a clue.

    Comment by damnyanker — November 20, 2008 @ 7:44 pm

20. ELI STONE WAS UNWATCHABLE!! I agree w Nikki for the first time ever. Come on, people it was terrible. You people must’ve worked on it or something. you didn’t watch the same show i was watching. the Katie Holmes episode?!?! ugh…

    Comment by taste — November 20, 2008 @ 7:48 pm

21. PD was at least innovative. If NBC has any brains they will snap up Bryan Fuller and offer him whatever it takes to come back and put Heroes back on par with its first season.

    Comment by nyguy — November 20, 2008 @ 8:04 pm

22. Nikki,
    I have followed you and your unbelievably great access to information for quite some time but saying that “Eli Stone” was unwatchable makes me think that you were already asleep at 10pm like most of the audience that would have watched and enjoyed the show had it been aired at an earlier time. Perhaps you have a limited imagination.

    Comment by Tom F. — November 20, 2008 @ 8:36 pm

23. DSM was terrible I agree. Worst script on television !

    Comment by Caroline — November 20, 2008 @ 9:01 pm

24. What I find unbelievable are all these PD and DSM fans whining about how they “can’t believe” their shows were canceled.

    Because it was pretty clear they would be canceled just by looking at the ratings — no one was watching those shows! Of COURSE they were going to get canceled. How does this surprise anyone at all? Both shows were lucky to get a second season.

    Comment by Neena — November 20, 2008 @ 9:14 pm

25. Nikki….have you ever watched Eli Stone? It was one of the best shows on TV. Unwatchable? Seriously? Thats your commentary? I expected more from you than that.

    Comment by Nuke The Fridge — November 20, 2008 @ 9:20 pm

26. Bryan Fuller is a genius. I love Berlanti too. Sad day for scripted programming.

    Comment by Mary — November 20, 2008 @ 9:20 pm

27. Great. Now we can all watch “Knight Rider” or some such shit.

    Comment by IDM — November 20, 2008 @ 10:54 pm

28. I was also surprised to hear you call Eli Stone unwatchable. Despite the derivative law office milieu, I thought it had some thought-provoking concepts at play that aren’t being explored elsewhere ad nauseum.

    Comment by Dilly — November 20, 2008 @ 10:56 pm

29. I’m very sad to hear this. I enjoyed all three shows. Pushing Daises has to be in my list of all time favorites. For what it’s worth it got a vote from me for the latest WGA awards.

    Comment by Stel — November 20, 2008 @ 11:02 pm

30. “Eli Stone” unwatchable? Are you kidding? The first season’s shows were excellent. Johnny Lee Miller was very good. Did you only tune in for the Katie Holmes episode? “Pushing Daisies” was a favorite too. I totally agree about “Dirty Sexy Money” though. I watched several episodes, trying to give it a chance, but that show just never clicked.

    Comment by Chris Finley — November 20, 2008 @ 11:42 pm

31. As far as I’m concerned, anything Bryan Fuller creates is appointment television. I loved each and every minute of Pushing Daisies. I hope he tries to find another network. If not, I’m looking forward to whatever you come up with next, Bryan!

    Comment by Bryan Bryan Bryan — November 21, 2008 @ 12:03 am

32. The facts are these…

    I loved PD and will miss it. Hopefully Fuller gets to make the feature film version!

    Comment by Sad fan — November 21, 2008 @ 12:57 am

33. How can TV-writers work under those ridiculous conditions, the axe over their heads at all times? How can they come up with great multiple-episodes storylines when they don’t know if/when they’re told to “wrap things up neatly”?

    More importantly: in the age of Tivo, DVRs and the internet, networks still believe in the hypothetical that is ratings and make ridiculous decisions based on them.

    I would like to know: how do overseas sales and DVD sales figure into those network decisions? It boggles the mind to see that series like Stone and PD find audiences overseas and then they learn - just about into season one - that there isn’t much more to come. Do these overseas TV stations pay in apple and oranges for the rights/licenses? What gives?

    BTW, Eli Stone unwatchable? I politely disagree. And yes, DSM is a guilty pleasure that grew on me as well.

    Comment by bummed — November 21, 2008 @ 1:03 am

34. Nikki!

    Whoa!

    “Eli Stone” is (was) one of the best shows on TV! How could you call it unwatchable?! That’s just crazy-talk, woman! I’d be curious to hear what you consider “watchable”. Warn me first though, I get the feeling I may spit-take.

    Comment by Joe M. — November 21, 2008 @ 5:43 am

35. I also will politely disagree about Eli Stone being unwatchable. I knew it was on borrowed time, but enjoyed just about every minute of the show (Katie Holmes big song and dance not so much).

    Part of the reason I knew it was not long for this world is that I got that Grey’s Anatomy was all about pretty people who were so annoying and neurotic that you wouldn’t spend a minute with them in real life during the first season. I saw that talented actors were doing their best with shoddy hastily written scripts on Private Practice. And to scoot over to a popular CBS show that Criminal Minds was more interested in showing tortured and murdered women’s bodies then telling a story for their first season (I must admit I haven’t watched it since Mantegna joined.)

    IOW, my taste and the taste of the nielsen audience that actually sits and watches live rarely cross paths.

    RIP Eli, Pushing Daisies. I see Brilliant but Cancelled in your futures…

    Comment by Another Stone Fan — November 21, 2008 @ 6:46 am

36. Maybe the hero of Pushing Daisies could do something for Life on Mars?

    Comment by Thierry Attard — November 21, 2008 @ 7:23 am

37. Thank you Nikki for publishing the information. I am very happy to hear Life on Mars is surviving and given additional episodes. A really fun, entertaining show to watch.

    Comment by RTA — November 21, 2008 @ 8:37 am

38. In fairness, I think ABC gave Daisies and Stone plenty of time to catch on and promoted Daisies with fervor.

    Just the same, I hate to see another Bryan Fuller series go away. Steve McP, can you at least send us off with a great finale?

    Comment by StoryMe — November 21, 2008 @ 8:50 am

39. I am surprised at all the support for “Eli Stone.” I only watched the first couple shows last season and I agree with Nikki - unwatchable. And painfully so. Cringe-worthy in fact. I never watched another. Maybe it got much better. I’d say I’ll check it out, but, of course ABC has done away with that.

    “Dirty Sexy Money” on the other hand at least was silly fun and I will miss it.

    Comment by One Time Sitcom Writer — November 21, 2008 @ 8:59 am

40. “DAISIES” HAS COME TO AN END.
    A TERRIBLE AND ARTISTIC SIN.
    WHILE WE TEARFULLY MOURN YOU,
    I WISH I COULD TOUCH YOU
    AND BRING YOU TO LIFE ONCE AGAIN.

    Comment by poetknowit — November 21, 2008 @ 9:03 am

41. You will notice the circle jerk of dumbassery going on as hacks hire other hacks to save hackneyed shows.

    The nepotism, bias and racism in the business is sinking it everyday. Good writers like Bryan Fuller are being pulled down by the arrogant untalented “friends of the affluent.” There a time when you could nurture a show like Daisies because there were so many good shows on to help it.

    The facts are these:

    Pushing Daisies is one of the most brilliant shows ever to grace TV. Witty, romantic and thrilling it would do anything to please.

    Dirty Sexy Money was a fantastic pilot which was ruined by McPherson who tried to turn it into the fluff that he sells every other night.

    “Eli Stone” was innovative and hugely entertaining. ABC just didn’t know how to sell it and so they didn’t.

    “Life On Mars” is a piece of shit but ABC is sure it will be a hit because it has already played somewhere else.

    Comment by writer warrior — November 21, 2008 @ 9:15 am

42. It’s amazing how people who have different taste can’t see what other people like or dislike. I like strawberry and my wife likes blueberry, but I don’t tell her she is an idiot for not liking my flavor. It’s TV and subject to everyone’s personal preference.
    If you liked the show you are sad it’s gone and I’m sure you wished other people watched it because that is the reason they are going away. It’s a business and if shows don’t perform they go away. If you didn’t like the show it’s no loss to you, but you don’t have to slam the people who liked it.
    Sometimes posters get a little crazy. Bring it back down to earth people.

    Comment by shocked at stupidity — November 21, 2008 @ 9:17 am

43. I have NEVER met anyone (or ever heard of someone who knows someone) with a Nielsen box. Who in the world are these mysterious people who watch and have their ratings recorded??? Is it one family in Kansas or something? And why are they the only people who count? I have never thought the ratings system made sense (and it seems like it can be so easily manipulated). And do the networks take in to account DVRs? Because I think way more people are watching an enjoying these shows than are reflected in the “ratings”.

    Comment by actingup — November 21, 2008 @ 9:35 am

44. ABC!! Don’t cancel Pushing Daisies!! Cancel that atrocious, unwatchable and utterly irrelevant piece of low rated shit called Jimmy Kimmel Live and use that money to “30 Rock” Daisies. It’s a great, clever, unique show. People will find it, eventually. HOW/WHY IS KIMMEL STILL ON THE AIR!!!!?????

    Comment by GilARTS — November 21, 2008 @ 10:18 am

45. Nikki: “As for Eli Stone, it was also from ABC Studios/Berlanti, and it was unwatchable.”

    Once, it was only figuratively unwatchable - with the ratings to prove it.

    Now, it is literally unwatchable - with cancellation to ensure it.

    Comment by Harold — November 21, 2008 @ 10:21 am

46. I am intrigued by “Life on Mars” and look forward to each episode. Thanks ABC, for giving this one a chance.

    Comment by tablogloid — November 21, 2008 @ 10:46 am

47. Nikki, I love your reporting, but could do without your editorializing based on your own personal taste. From your constant bashing of horror films, to your bizarre characterization of “Pushing Daisies” as “marginal at best” (PD marginal? Really? Were you one of those that celebrated when “Twin Peaks” got canceled too?), you seem to be unable to interject your personal hate and snark — and in a way that doesn’t help the stories you are writing.

    Expensive experiment? Sure. Didn’t connect with audiences? Yep. Mediocre? Please. It’s the cancellation of shows like “Pushing Daisies” that let the moguls you so constantly rail against maintain their status quo of corporate crap.

    You want those moguls to wake up and take the talent of the industry seriously? Then support the few times that filmmakers with real voices are given a shot.

    Comment by RidleyGriff — November 21, 2008 @ 10:48 am

48. ABC = Absolutely Broken Creatively

    Comment by helenofpeel — November 21, 2008 @ 11:43 am

49. This is really sad news for creative television. I can’t think of a single show I’ll watch on ABC now, except for Lost.

    What’s happening to network television?

    Comment by Katrina — November 21, 2008 @ 12:44 pm

50. Network television is done. Any writer who wants to have their ideas put on screen without fear of some idiot dumbing it down is going, or has already left. Cable is the future of Dramatic television.

    RIP ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX

    Comment by Cable Guy — November 21, 2008 @ 1:28 pm

51. Eli Stone was unwatchable. From what I hear Pushing Daisies was different but I never watched it. I tried watching 30 Rock last night but went back to reading my laptop. Even with appearances from mega-stars like Steve Martin, Oprah and Jennifer Aniston 30 Rock can’t keep it ratings up, so Eli Stone’s producers shouldn’t feel too bad.

    It is a red-state programming world we live in - just ask Ty Pennington. Is that guy neutered?

    It’s part of the big shift. Network is the new youtube and HBO is the new network TV, even their new shows like True Blood are typical network. HBO’s glory days are over too. Big Love will be HBO’s last high-budget show. Large casts might contribute to these shows downfalls before their legacy was able to bloom.

    But what do I know, I’m just below-the-line talent and should be silenced.

    Comment by edvard munch's the scream — November 21, 2008 @ 2:16 pm

52. Perhaps Greg Berlanti will now focus all his attention on Brothers & Sisters rather than spreading himself too thin with three shows. It was the same fate as David E Kelly almost a decade ago when he had, like, five shows on the air at the same time (and allegedly writing the scripts for every one which I still call bullshit on).

    Surprised though that Life On Mars go picked up for more episodes considering I was told that one was on the bubble.

    Comment by Francine Fishpaw — November 21, 2008 @ 3:26 pm

53. If PD was on HBO, it would be revered and an every year Emmy winner. Such is life.

    Comment by MTM — November 21, 2008 @ 4:08 pm

54. I loved Eli Stone! I will miss it.

    Comment by Audra — November 21, 2008 @ 7:18 pm

55. I loved both PD and DSM; never saw ES, but think I might have liked it. What is unwatchable is the show that apparently survived on ABC Wednesday, the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Private practice.

    But to be fair, all three of the shows would likely have been canceled last year if not for the writer’s strike, based on ratings.

    The only thing i have to look forward to on ABC now are Life on Mars, which IS interesting, even if it’s a Brit retread, and, eventually, the last season of Scrubs.

    Comment by Roger Green — November 22, 2008 @ 10:12 am

56. ABC looked at PD’s ratings and clearly decided it was too ‘involved’ or ‘urbane’ for the audience. With its demise, the median landscape of American TV got a little more dumb. And according to the ABC suits, so did you.

    Comment by Michael J. Austin — November 22, 2008 @ 10:38 am

57. I’m a huge fan of Eli Stone and will also have to disagree with the label of it being “unwatchable”. Finally there is a show on TV that actually makes you feel good without cramming a message down your throat. And the best thing of all about it - It’s not another crappy reality show.

    Normally I would say what needs to happen is that everyone needs to stop watching TV completely (reality TV too) until someone gets off their butt and develops a better ratings system. However, since none of us are Nielsen families it doesn’t matter what we watch or record. Our viewership means nothing. Basing success or failure of a show off of only 5,000 households is crazy. Check out this link to learn how the ratings system works. It’ll probably anger you even more.

    http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/question433.htm

    There are millions of us with cable boxes in our homes. Why can’t they be used to derive our viewing habits? Surely that would be better than the 5,000 Nielsen homes. The networks pay Nielsen a lot of money for those ratings. You would think that the cable companies would welcome a new source of income by selling the networks their information on us.

    Comment by Dwen — November 22, 2008 @ 11:08 am

58. Growing up, my household was a “Nielsen family.” I always found it bizarre that we somehow represented a segment of the population by what we watched and bought (we were also Nielsen shopping family with portable scanner). We were a middle-class African American family of four (one son and one daughter). As we grew up we no longer qualified as a ‘typical balanced family’ and our Nielsen box was removed. It’s kind of sad because I think my parents, my sister, and my own viewing taste got better with age. I think Nielsen does everyone a disservice by removing boxes from family households once the kids grow up. Maybe the ratings would reflect the larger base of adult taste if they tracked families as they matured.

    Comment by nielsen — November 22, 2008 @ 3:03 pm

59. Eli Stone was fantastic and I’m very sad to see it go. Not sure about the other two as I never saw either of them. Bad day for Berlanti.

    Comment by Flick — November 22, 2008 @ 7:47 pm

60. Eli Stone was okay; I could never get into it last season (even though I tried, I really did), and haven’t watched a single episode this season. Never had any interest in DSM, either. But Pushing Daisies is my second favorite show, and I’ve looked forward to it every week. I even had PD withdrawals the two recent weeks it was off the air. I love how quirky and unusual, how quick and clever it is. And visually it’s astounding. Definitely like no other show on TV. Sad, sad day in television when PD goes off the air. If it weren’t for Scrubs and Lost returning next spring, I wouldn’t be watching ABC at all; it has absolutely nothing that appeals to me nowadays.

    But to be honest, I always suspected PD wouldn’t make it long on network television. Let’s face it, it’s an intelligent, imaginative, original show, and the masses, well…they aren’t. (Why do you think reality shows thrive while anything with a story and characters suffers?) It does please me, though, to see so many fans here. Proves PD (and Eli Stone) has a following after all. If only the network execs would look at internet comments - then they’d see what people actually like and what desperately needs cancellation.

    In any case, even though I expected Daisies’ death to happen eventually, I’d hoped it wouldn’t be so soon. Rest in peace, you magnificent but underappreciated show.

    Comment by I heart the Pie-Maker — November 23, 2008 @ 2:45 pm

61. PD and Eli are both good shows, Eli being very reminiscent of the quirkiness of Ally McBeal without the buzz to carry it through. DSM is a guilty pleasure. It is a shame that networks still use an antiquated method of measuring success while ignoring the reality that media, as we know it, is rapidly evolving. They are getting rid of good shows, with followings, still trying to hold on to the blockbuster shows that dominated broadcast in the past, but will be of far less importance in the future.

    Network TV hasn’t yet learned how to evolve and it’s a shame that really good, promising shows get canned in the process. As a viewer, I hate to watch a new show on ABC because they always get cancelled (or ABC makes stupid decisions that tanks the show).

    Comment by MW — November 23, 2008 @ 2:59 pm

62. ABC that was stupid Eli Stone was the best show in years

    Comment by Jason yates — November 23, 2008 @ 10:35 pm

63. Um Eli Stone was the best show on ABC. If any show on the network is “unwatchable,” then it would have to be Life on Mars

    Comment by Depressed Eli Fan — November 24, 2008 @ 6:06 am

64. SAVE DIRTY SEXY MONEY:

    http://www.petitiononline.com/dsm123/petition.html

    Comment by DSM lover — November 24, 2008 @ 5:54 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Leave a comment