What is Wrong with the TV Networks
by Mike on Jul.23, 2008, under Irritated, TV
Update: I just found out that Birds of Prey is now available for download on iTunes as well. The advantage here is that you can download individual episodes, and the whole series is a few bucks cheaper than the DVD. However, the DVD set includes a few extras, including the unaired pilot, plus the entire Birds of Prey animated web series, so it might actually be worth buying the physical disks. If you still want to get it from iTunes, just follow the link on the bottom of this post.
After doing some casual browsing the other day on Amazon, I came across a list of DVDs that were due out in the next few days. In particular, the list named TV shows and DVDs that were “never before released.” One TV show set off a flag in my head…Birds of Prey. I knew that I had heard of that somewhere….
Oh yeah, now I remember…that awesome show about Batman’s alleged daughter. It had aired in 2002 on what was then the WB (now the CW). And what happened? Half way through the season when things were getting good, the WB axed the show. Despite a huge internet wide petition and a huge fanbase, the network put the kibosh on the show.
Seeing the DVD set for sale reminded me of how much I enjoyed the show, but it also got me thinking. It was again the CW that nixed another great show: Reba. So I ask: What compels a network to throw together an ending, which appears to have taken the weekend to make, for a show that clearly has potential? True, while some shows like Reba had a chance to grow on people, Birds of Prey was ripped out from under its fans…
For those of you who <shutter> don’t remember Birds of Prey, maybe this YouTube opening will jog your memory. After you have reminisced about how great the show really was, head on over to one of these sites to pick up a copy of the DVD set. Who knows…maybe the CW will see just how many fans would love to see the show return to TV!
July 30th, 2008 on 7:34 pm
Hmm… never heard of it.
Yeah… there have been a lot of shows that I thought were good… but were done either mid season or after the first season.
Recently (in 2006)… NBC had a show. The name escapes me right now… but it was about a group of like 20 people that won the lottery… split it up at $20 mil each. And this show basically followed their lives and showed how the money changed all of them.
While it sounds kinda lame… the show kinda drew me in… But after the first season (it made it through 13 episodes) it was gone.
Now I remember… Windfall
Another good show is The Riches… which you can find on Hulu.com. It’s a very interesting show… that I feel like it died. I hope it’s just an off-season thing and that it comes back in the fall (or whenever shows start up again).
That’s just two weird shows that I like/have liked. :-/