Well, Frank’s in the seminary teaching and Tim’s lookin at 30-life in Jessup. Damn I miss that show, but they ensured that it would never come back in the HOMICIDE movie. Killing Gee? Arresting Tim? I think they just figured “screw it” and ripped everything to shreads. Best hour of drama on TV, bar none.
SOB
Anyone who’s ever been to St. Louis 
You may have given me my sig…
I think I could have managed to watch Strangers With Candy if they’d gotten ANY FUCKING OTHER ACTRESS ON THE PLANET to play the lead. God I hate that woman. I can’t even look at her without getting angry.
Angry? I couldn’t look at her without getting nauseous. Yeesh, whadda skank-o-saurus. If I am expected to watch a show about a chick in high school, she’d better be a hottie.
Y’know if they played it straight it would have been funnier, but they had to trick her out with the buck teeth etc. Almost as if they knew the show wasn’t that funny and maybe they could make it funnier by putting the star in a getup that wasn’t even that funny when Jerry Lewis was wearing it and stumbling around saying “freun-laben” and so on. Sorry, no sale.
I won’t miss it; it was merely another half-talent sketch comedy show - with one exception: early on they picked one of their bits and decided to run with it to the exclusion of all else. It was as if Saturday Night Live suddenly turned into a 90-minute show about a pair of lame-ass cheerleaders.
Falcon, McKenna, we three should join forces. I knew it wasn’t just my devotion that killed Cupid, Sports Night, Newsradio, and Homicide. I’m also probably responsible for the demise of It’s like…you know, but most people would say that was a good thing. (Me, I watched it for my Chris Eigeman fix–though the presence of A. J. Langer didn’t hurt at all. Mmm…)
I swear, Cupid was one of the best-acted, best-written, most funny and moving television shows I have ever seen. And they killed it mid-season.
Sports Night was amazing, especially the first season. (Eli’s coming…) Plus, it’s a perfect example of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Memo to ABC: if you don’t promote a show, no one will watch it. Geniuses.
Newsradio was just plain amiable. Loved that show. Phil Hartman, we hardly knew ye.
And Homicide…well, it was half-dead the moment it became the Falsone and Ballard Show, but sticking at the worst possible time slot for the entirety of its existence probably didn’t help. Truth be told, cancelling Homicide was almost a mercy killing. It was painful to watch it deteriorate. First they kick off Bolander, then Howard, then they mangle Kellerman’s character, marginalize Munch, and turn the whole thing into Melrose Place East. Tom Fontana, you bastard.
All I have to say is, they sure as hell better leave my West Wing alone.
Thanks, Gadarene, for the affirmation. Oh wait, this is the Pit–hey, NBC, fuck you for putting those “fuckable” idiots on my HOMICIDE.
It is a good question, though–at what point do you want your poor show to be put out of its suffering? I don’t think NEWSRADIO was quite dead–I loved “Towers” for example–but they had absolutely no idea what to do with Max Lewis and it showed. MWC’s tenth season is never spoken about without a shudder. But, like HOMICIDE, its swan song sometimes was pretty good. It was killed anyway.
As for STRANGERS WITH CANDY, well, Jerri’s ugliness kinda grows on you. She’s so revolting she’s fascinating, and that’s the whole point. Besides, aren’t you tired of all th e pretty plastic perfect people that are pushing aside everyone else on TV?
Carolyn
Larroquette folks: I happen to be home & my daughter left the TV on. As I walked into the kitchen, what should greet my oh-so-lickable earlobes? 1:00 pm Eastern, USA cable, “The John Larroquette Show.” Yes, the cable-waves full of bad reruns finally produce something worthwhile.
Just FYI.
BTW, and completely off topic, but I have to do this: Willie Nelson’s new blues duet CD, “Milk Cow Blues” just came in the mail (ordered in advance after seeing A&E’s “Live By Request”) and I think I might be able to die happy now. Phenomenal!!!
That’ll be $39.50 for the plug, Willie, now that you’ve got the IRS paid off.
ewww.
I watched Homicide, off & on. Amazing show, but my TV habits have varied, and I can be fickle. I think, though, that that show had a long, respectable run. It wasn’t exactly a premature kill. OK, maybe for some storylines. But I loved the send-off movie (though it was painful, too; poor Frank & Tim).
Liked NewsRadio a good deal, though I don’t think I’ve ever seen the last season.
First season of The John Larroquette Show, weird & good. Chris, who thought he was Jesus (or was he?) was a trip. Second season, pretty bad.
I watched Cybill, though people thought I was sick in the head–Cybill Shepherd, Christine Baranski, Alicia Witt–delightful bunch.
Cupid–the one thing yet to give Jeremy Piven recognition as a lead. And Paula Marshall–man, how many shows have I followed her through?
But seriously, if a show makes it several seasons, does it really count as a kill? Aren’t practically all shows cancelled to make room for new ones–eventually? I guess if the stars and producers all want to quit it, thst’s different.
But man, what show is eternal? 60 Minutes, Meet the Press, and their ilk, sure. Other than that, um… Law and Order, I guess…
Strangers with Candy was definitely an acquired taste. If weren’t for the fact that I was visting with a Comedy Central-aholic I probably wouldn’t have watched beyond the first episode.
Though, once I caught onto the humor, it became clear that it was a very funny show. It’s was unique and a nice break from the mind-numbing sameness of most sit-coms.
I didn’t have a problem with Jerri’s looks at all. A lot of burned-out ex-druggie hookers look like Jerri. besides, half the jokes were at her expense. It just wouldn’t work with an attractive character.
The show I’m finding too weird to be funny is the League of Gentlemen. They are clearly influenced by the likes of Monty Python, but are still missing the mark comedically, in my opinion.
I’m not saying Jerri should have been attractive… I’m just saying that the actress was annoying. She came across as too contrived and like she was going out of her way to appear as lame as possible… sort of like if Forrest Gump had been played by walking around with crossed eyes, knees together, feet out, wrist thumping the chest, teeth out… you get the idea. You can play a caricature the right way, or you can play it the way Jerri was played.
Good. Excellent. (Dancing around in joy!) Happy days are here again.
They took that ugly, lesbian, not very funny bitch off of the TV! Hooray! I am sooo tired of weird, crappy so called comedy!
Rosie O’Donnell’s been cancelled?
Homicide ended when Andre Braugher (Frank Pembelton) left, anyone who mentions any episodes after that will be shot in the head (a la Bolander) and tossed in the Bay (like Cresetti).
grin A nitpick to your lovely rant. Old salami-brain wasn’t exactly tossed in the bay, unless you know something the rest of us don’t about his suicide.
This show keeps me sane.
I like the way you think. Welcome to the boards. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Weirddave, the SDMB’s resident Baltimoron, defender of all things from the queen city of the Patapsco River basin, and one of only two Ravens fans here. ( John Corrodo converted. Yea! 1 down, 8000 to go!) Welcome aboard!
Great. Another back to back set of “What’s my line?”.
This is the most depressing news I’ve heard all…year. I loved that show so much. It sucks that it was cancelled. It was super.
A) Forrest Gump wasn’t a caricature.
B) Forrest Gump sucked.
You stick with “Touched By An Angel” and give me back my “Strangers With Candy”. You clearly didn’t understand the show. The whole concept was that it was an after school special where no one ever actually learned the lesson they were teaching. And Jerri was supposed to appear as lame as possible. Her character was unattractive, unpleasant, mean, vindictive, and she never learned the lesson. I fail to see how Forrest Gump relates to this. It’s more related to “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” which was also great.
Actually, Crosetti (Polito,) and Howard (Leo) were kicked off; Bolander (Beatty,) Felton (Baldwin,) Pembleton (Braugher,) and Kellerman (Diamond) all saw the writing on the wall at different times and walked, as the show started a rapid dance to the shitter.
Show premiered on Thurs night, it got moved later. Next show in that time slot coughERcough became that huge hit. They owed two of their best actors to Homicide too.