The state of US television

[sombrefan]

Creator of "The House of Daniel" talks about his show's cancellation and the American Family Association

“I think pretty soon we're all going to have to be sitting in a room with these bigots and have to get their approval before a network will sign on to do anything,” he says. “Imagine if the AFA had been as powerful and felt as empowered in 1970. Would we ever have seen All in the Family or M*A*S*H or Mary Tyler Moore or Hill Street Blues? Any of those shows.”

Comments

I watched the first episode of this

[kuzibah.livejournal.com]

I thought it was didactic, badly acted, and had the worst sound quality of any network show I've ever seen. It was also fairly dull.

I know this guy would like to think that his show was extra-edgy and failed because of a vocal minority, but the truth is every issue raised on that show was handled better elsewhere within the past two years (including the main character talking to Jesus; that was a recurring plot point on "Rescue Me' last year.)

This gentleman also forgets that when "NYPD Blue" debuted, many affiliates refused to carry it. Every single one caved after one season, when the show became a big hit. Organizations like the AFA don't have the power to trump ratings, because TV is a business, and ratings=money.

I'm sorry for him that his show was cancelled, but in my opinion it was because it wasn't particularly compelling, not because of religious pressure.

Re: I watched the first episode of this

[wondersheep.livejournal.com]

I liked it. The first episode sucked, the second was mediocre, the third was excellent, and then it got cancelled.

[vanoakenfold.livejournal.com]

I never saw the show myself, so I can't rightly comment on its quality -- but All in the Family and M*A*S*H each got plenty of flack from the "vocal minority" but the difference was because those were comedies and were poking fun at themselves rather than being a preachy drama. It's like having a show about Muslim infidelity -- how can you not expect to get canceled?