When Bad Things Happen to Good TV: NBC Sacrifices The Black Donnellys

So, NBC has officially cancelled the show "The Black Donnellys" which is too bad because it was a good show. The interesting thing about the show, though, was that people seemed to be turned off by it in droves. For reasons that escape me, no one wanted to watch this show. It was compelling, powerful and well-written but people just are not ready for a show about Irish gangsters on network television. While "The Sopranos" is winding down on HBO and the show slowly crawls to a close NBC's attempt to create something in that same vein was soundly rejected by the viewing public.

I think part of the problem was that NBC decided to remove "Heroes" for most of the television show's run. I am still scratching my head over why NBC would choose to remove "Heroes" from the roster for the entire month of March and most of April. My guess is they want to end the season with a bang and wring the ratings out of the show come May. Still, "The Black Donnellys," a show that required you to really invest your emotions into some pretty shady people, required a powerful lead-in. When it first appeared it did so right after "Heroes." I felt that NBC finally had a decent show on after "Heroes" after that abysmal attempt with "Studio 60." I felt they had replaced a show that was filled with miserable and unlikable people whining and talking while walking for an hour had been replaced by compelling characters and really powerful acting.

"Heroes," of course, has been gone now for a very long time. I honestly do not even remember what happened on the last episode before its long hiatus. I believe that NBC was showing that stupid gameshow "Deal or No Deal" in its palce which makes no sense. Howie Mandel's bald head and grating personality is no replacement for powerful writing and rich, deeply drawn characters. For me, the whole gameshow thing went out the window a long time ago. I usually find them amusing the first time I watch them and then quickly lose interest. I am just not a games guy, I guess. I also skip "1 versus 100" and "Identity."