The Best & Worst of '07/Part One: Cable Still Rules The Scripted Series Space

As television shows go dark, it’s time to assess the best and worst of 2007.  All this week, I’ll be exploring scripted series, what works and what doesn’t, and why.

Up for discussion this week: Bionic Woman, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Moonlight, Women’s Murder Club, Num3ers, Life, Ugly Betty, Pushing Daisies, Dexter, Brotherhood, Californication, Saving Grace, Mad Men,  and lame product placement and more.

With writers shivering on the sidewalks of NY, picketing for their pittance in residuals, it seems perhaps churlish to talk about the sheer monotony of the ’07 television season and scripted series in particular. 

In a recent LA Times op-ed piece, "Are The Corporate Suits Ruining TV?", Marshall Herskovitz (My So Called Life, Quarterlife) blamed media consolidation and the FCC’s abolition of the “finsyn” rules – which then allowed networks to own the product they air.

“The most profound change resulting from that ruling,” said Herskovitz, “is the way networks go about the business of creating programming. Networks today exert a level of creative control unprecedented in the history of the medium. The stories my friends tell me would make me laugh if the situation weren’t so self-defeating. Network executives routinely tell producers to change the color of the walls on sets; routinely decide on the proper wardrobe for actors; routinely have "tone" meetings with directors on upcoming pilots; routinely give notes on every page of a script….

….The problem, of course, is that these executives often have little background or qualification for making creative decisions. They are guided by market research and — they want to believe — a learned intuition about what the public wants. This season’s new shows have been a good indicator of how successful that strategy is: Even before the current writer’s strike, virtually every new show was struggling."

I’m not sure I completely agree with Herskovitz’s assessement.  After all, Showtime, AMC, FX and ABC (to name a few) are airing some excellent programming, although it’s true that all three have a distinctive branded tone. 

It’s not that a lot of shows are terrible but many do feel corporatized.  They’re bland and numbing and there is no compelling reason to continue tuning in. 

Stale plot elements recycle in an endless loop, like Lost’s iteration 17294535.  Add in the cheesy gimmicks, sloppy and/or mechanical writing, bad promos, and clumsy product placement, and television can be a tedious space.

Just before Thanksgiving, I finally gave up on quite a few scripted series, both new and established, mostly broadcast-net dramas.  In terms of quality, cable television still rules the scripted series space.

My list – by no means comprehensive:

Appointment TV:  Dexter, Mad Men, Pushing Daisies, Californication, Brothers and Sisters, Saving Grace, 30 Rock, Brotherhood, Ugly Betty, The Shield.

On probation but still watching: Desperate Housewives, Journeyman, Life, Damages, Chuck, Entourage.

On probation but still checking-in sporadically, hoping they’ll improve:  Num3ers, Stargate Atlantis,  Eureka, Torchwood, The Closer, Bionic Woman, Reaper.

Bionic Woman and Desperate Housewives are on the cusp of being shifted over to the "done with" list.  

Shows I’m so done with: Grey’s Anatomy, Women’s Murder Club, Psych, Tell Me You Love Me, Moonlight, Nip/Tuck, Heroes and any other series unfortunate enough to have its soul sold to the Nissan Rogue.

CBS procedurals were banned in my household a long time ago. (See Channel Slumming and Why Vassar Girls Shunned the Procedurals.)

Part Two coming up:  Bionic Woman as a case study of a freshman failure.