By
Zack Armstrong
Arizona Daily Wildcat
A slave to ratings
Comedy Central has picked up the television show "Sports Night," and I am more excited than Donnie and Marie on Jolt cola.
After being canceled by ABC last May, many cable networks, including HBO and Showtime, showed interest in producing new episodes of the show but to no avail. Aaron Sorkin, the show's creator and writer, decided against new episodes and instead focused his time on his other show, "The West Wing."
Comedy Central will only show reruns of the show's 45 episodes, but that is certainly better than the entertainment void that ABC calls its schedule - including, of course, "The Geena Davis Show." My only hope is that Susan Sarandon will make a guest appearance and that the two will drive off a cliff together.
While "Sports Night" maintained a loyal fan following and critics' praise, it was not getting the viewership that ABC would have liked, so the network canned it. It did not matter to ABC that it was a fresh and original approach to the sitcom genre, or that it was one of the few spots of good television in the big pile of crap that is network TV. All that mattered was the ratings.
Network television's blind and thoughtless quest for higher ratings have led executives to drop the ball time and again, but thankfully cable television has always been there to pick it up. It seems like anytime something new and original floats to the surface, it is only a matter of time before the networks try to drown it. Then along comes cable with an inflatable raft and a life preserver to pull the show from the water and give it mouth to mouth resuscitation, instead of letting it die like a metaphor taken too far.
Another example of this was the cancellation of the most original television show in the past 20 years, "Twin Peaks." This show also ran on ABC, and after two seasons was taken off the air. Reruns are shown on the cable channel Bravo from time to time, and I highly suggest viewing them.
And let's not forget about Fox's "The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr." That was a good show - really. TNT bought it and aired it occasionally. I hear Ted Turner became a huge Bruce Campbell fan after inadvertently discovering him when he watched "Evil Dead" - a film he mistakenly thought was about Jane Fonda.
Canceling good shows is a travesty of this maniacal, modern world that we live in and a glimpse into a future where corporations decide everything for us. Some people might call this an overreaction and argue that those people are not wrong. However, we need to take action now or shows like "Suddenly Susan" and "Veronica's Closet" will be shoved down our throats for years.
Maybe I should start a letter writing campaign or boycott all network television stations and all of the products they advertise. Or maybe I should just get cable.
