HANK is too dumb for my tastes. As with ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE and BROTHERS, it seems to me the producers are going for the ‘low intelligence’ demographic. (Is there an industry term for that? There should be.)

Studio audience and laugh tracks seem passe now. Are there any half-decent half-hours left with a studio audience or laugh track?

PRODUCTION PROBLEMS:
Hank… does Kelsey Grammer even look like a ‘Hank’? bad character developement.Nothing felt right about this character. The only good thing was grammers’ acting that outshone the rest of the show.

Mrs. Hank…how did she go from uptight society to redneck sister?
bad character developement
Teenage daughter…you’re kidding me, right? She’s gotta be thirty or so…bad character developement.

Grade school son…just too complicated…bad character developement.

OBNOXIOUS BROTHER-IN-LAW…need I say more?…bad character developement.

Hysterical Swoozie Kurtz mother-in-law guest star…give her an emmy!I wasn’t expecting much, but I’d watch this character weekly. Put her with Grammer, and ditch the rest of the cast and you’ve got a winner!

A psychologist could probably explain it. It’s like the way some people get enjoyment when celebrities die. I don’t believe the freeing up of a 30 minute TV network timeslot can be the true cause of such celebrations.

Allow me, if I may, to take you all the way back to the Fall of 1983. There was a sitcom on ABC that I and about 9 other people watched called “It’s Not Easy.” It had a pretty long and tragic gestation period as it had gotten pushed from the previous season due to a number of casting setbacks — first when one actor who was second position in the original pilot found out that their low-rated show which everyone had expected to get cancelled had gotten a surprise renewal (and, with thanks to a better time slot, went on to become a huge hit), and later when a second actor in the original pilot was killed in a car accident. When “It’s Not Easy” was finally recast and finally went on the air, it was dead on arrival. ABC didn’t beat around the bush. They cancelled it after all of 2 episodes had aired and took it off the air completely after 4. It was the first show cancelled in the ’83-’84 season. (The lead-in that helped take it down, third-season show “9 to 5,” was dumped with it.) The irony? One of the time-slot competing shows that had run it over in the ratings was “Cheers.” “Cheers,” the show that had infamously finished dead last in the prime-time Nielsens one week and wasn’t even watched by the comatose in the Fall of 1982. The other was “Simon & Simon,” the aforementioned low-rated show in the Fall of 1981 everyone had expected to get cancelled but got a surprise renewal, forcing star Gerald McRaney to pull out.

Just remember that for every “Cheers” or “Simon & Simon,” there’s 20 “It’s Not Easys.”

And as for “Hank,” no, I’m not “happy” about its cancellation (that emotion is reserved for the disgusting “Dollhouse”), but neither am I an ostrich with its head buried in the sand, oblivious to the world around me.

The main reason I hated to hear it was cancelled is because my daughter is a costumer on the show and this was her big break to get into television. She’s been in the business four years paying her dues and we were hoping she could finally have a shot at a half-ways long term job. Yes, Kelsey can afford to never work another day in his life, but you people don’t even think about the people behind the scenes that really need that job.

In the case of Hank, besides being a waste of time, a waste of money, and a numbing the taste buds of the 5M people that watched it, what were it’s redeeming qualities? No critical acclaim, no originality, no good writing, no plot besides the initial premise. Why would ABC waste more money with something that is going nowhere creatively, and in viewership? It’s a network, they operate for profit.

Even if they were a foundation for the protection of the arts, Hank would have been caned, because it has no artistic merists. Hell, it wouldn’t even have been aired, if ABC was a foundation for the arts…

Let me ask you this. Would shows like Cheers and Seinfeld be given a chance to succeed in todays television market. Both shows had horrible ratings in their first seasons. Cheers was the lowest rated show in its first season, but was given a chance to build an audience. Now both of those shows are the most successful sitcoms ever.

I’m just saying Hank has been averaging between 5 and 6 million viewers a week. It’s not like no one is watching the show.

I would just like to know from the people who are usually unhappy when a show gets canceled the reason why they are unhappy or care for that matter.

? If a fan can be unhappy, then nonfans can be happy.

When a bad show is occupying a time slot, and not making a profit, it is taking away money that could be better used to develop new shows and space that could be used to try out new stuff. TV money, and landscape are not infinite. Every show that is not turning a profit is actually robbing money that could be otherwise be spent in ordering more pilots, and diminishing the odds of a really good show getting a chance air.

So, yes it is appropriate to celebrate the cancellation of poor performing crap. Not to mention that a cancellation is freeing studio space, and talent for newer, even if not always better, stuff.

I would just like to know from the people who are usually happy when a show gets cancelled the reason why they are happy or care for that matter.

Thanks

You’re right, Hank wasn’t that bad, it suffered from something even worse on TV than being bad, it was boring. In a comedy that is deadly. It wasn’t even bad enough that it was entertaining how bad it was.

Here’s hoping the double whammy of ABC cancelling Hank & Eastwick will mean that Ugly Betty will get one last shot on Wednesdays to save itself.

Can’t say I thought the show was anywhere near as bad as the general consensus, though it wasn’t anywhere near as good as it could have been. But the writing was on the wall last week with that 5th place demo finish… behind “America’s Next Top Model.” Ouch.

Regarding the production halt, didn’t hear about that — although I will take Whoa Nellie’s word for it.

Modern Family gets a 3.5 demo which in this broadcast climate is already good enough, and ABC launched an all new Wednesday line up again with four new sitcoms, given the failure rate of ABC with sitcoms, the numbers they are getting consistently with Modern Family so far is a success with them. We can’t blame ABC if they give MF that treatment because they are seeing a potential long term hit for this show. It’s the best performing among the four so its makes sesne that would build around it. And Modern Family’s ratings is on par with How I Met Your Mother, which is also considered a hit in CBS, and they just trail behind 2.5 Men and Big Bang.

Unlike CBS that have several hit and stable shows to boost or build around shows ABC only has Grey’s, DH, DWTS and Lost to consider hits. DWTS is already used to boost Castle and forgotten. Private Practice only worked with Grey’s and Brothers & Sisters seems also dependent with DH. They have fewer options and they are really in a vulnerable state and they are counting on with their new shows for the network’s long term success and IMO they are agreesive.

My problem with ABC right now is that seem to be thinking little and not big like CBS does. They just picked up a crap reality show and are planning on using DWtS to give it a boost. How sad this network has gone.

ABC is a horrible network right now and Hank getting canceled is just a reflection on how horrible this network has become when a unfunny comedy like Modern Family all the sudden is treated like royalty.

Now THERE is a show ABC should never have cancelled.

It’s doing just fine at 9, it doesn’t need help.

Fingers crossed that will help Modern Family. It is a– well, family oriented show (even though its humor is smart and sharp), so hopefully it will do better at 8.

I think ‘My Name Is Earl’ can come back probably to this timeslot. Then again, I’m probably dreaming.

Really they should create a new sitcom to take it’s place.

It would have fit in well with Cougartown.

Yeah I’m not surprised about this news either. Modern Family reruns would work, and possibly boost new episodes of The Middle, which is almost as good as Modern Family. Friday reruns of Modern Family were low rated, but as long as it’s on the same night, people might not know which one is new and just watch both. I don’t know, does that logic make sense?

It would probably still do fine, the Wednesday 8pm competition isn’t much. Mercy wins every week with less than 7.5 million viewers.

—

Think the Modern Family reruns at 8 will turn to premieres in the midseason? Pairing up Modern Familiy with The Middle for the first hour and then Cougar Town with Romantically Challenged for the second hour makes some amount of sense to me, as you’ve got the “family” hour and the “relationship” hour, but breaking up Modern Family and Cougar Town is probably too much of a risk.

A Modern Family repeat, i wonder how it will do? Maybe a 1.5? a 2.0 for a repeat would be great