Help! The 'Suits' are Ruining My Favorite Shows!

I am growing increasingly miffed by the broadcast network's (probably more specifically ABC's) handling of the whole “winter break” scenario when it comes to scripted series.
It is obvious that decisions are being made by the “suits” rather than the creative types, but isn't that always the case with the networks, and probably one of the primary reasons why their ratings have tumbled over the years.
(As an aside, nobody used the word “suits” better and with more venom than director Billy Walsh on “Entourage,” when filming the bomb “Medellin” that almost ruined Vince's career. In this one case the “suits” were probably right.)
I can understand taking a few weeks off from series so the networks can air “Frosty the Snowman” and “Carrie Underwood: An All Star Holiday Special.” And I do look forward to seeing “National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation” and Bing Crosby in both “Holliday Inn” and “White Christmas” for the umpteenth time every December.
But why can't my favorite series return in January? Supposedly the “suits” are afraid of competing with NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics, but do you know anyone who actually religiously watches the Winter Games on a nightly basis, other than relatives of competitors? OK, the Opening Ceremonies are interesting for about 45 minutes, but by the time the Finnish national team comes marching in, I am ready to change the channel out of boredom.
Yes, the figure skating usually draws decent ratings, but does it make sense for the “suits” at Fox and ABC to alter their programming to avoid competing with the luge or biathlon events? Moreover, the Olympics are only on for two weeks in February. Yet some shows are now on “winter break” until March! In fact “V” won't return until March 30!
I do agree that shows with serialized story lines like “Lost,” “24,” and “Prison Break” are best seen when aired in consecutive episodes without repeats or preemptions. But last week's announcement that “FlashForward” will now not return until March 4 makes absolutely no sense to at all. For me, one of the really exciting attributes of this show was its ties to the real world calendar.
One of the show's major plot lines focused on learning that FBI agent Demitri Noh is supposed to be murdered on March 10, and (as we discovered last week) the murderer is supposedly his partner Mark Benford (or at least the murder weapon is Benford's gun). It was going to be fascinating to see how developments over the coming weeks and months would (might?) lead to Demitri's demise.
But now the show is returning just a week before the predicted murder, so what's the point? And for everyone else, the “flash forward” vision that they saw was to occur (writer's note: it certainly is difficult to figure which tenses to use when writing about this show) on April 29, 2010. So when the show returns on March 4, are we supposed to wonder what has transpired over the past three months? Or have the “suits” dictated that they will just be picking up the action right after the last episode, aired on December 3? The whole tie-in with real time dates was much of the fascination of the show. Now that whole concept has been seriously compromised, if not ruined.
I recently read an interview with “FlashForward's” creator, David Goyer, who said that the show was originally scheduled to return in January, but the decision to push it back until March (by the “suits,” of course) was in fact because the network did not want to compete with the Winter Olympics.
Goyer further said that certain episodes have been “swapped out” and others are being rewritten. All I can say is that I am glad I am not a writer on the show. As far as I am concerned, the ABC “suits” are crippling the show and probably killing it, as NBC did a few years ago with the promising series “Jericho,” which also went on a three-month hiatus.
Of course I will certainly follow “Lost” to the end, but I think I will look long and hard at any broadcast network serialized show in the future before getting too caught up in the plot. I still fill burned by the cancellation of the ABC series “The Nines” two years ago, which just halted production in the middle of the season, without any plot resolution.
The same holds true for another ABC series “Invasion,” which was cancelled after one season just when things were getting interesting. It is one thing when a sitcom or a drama without a serialized story arc is cancelled, but it is quite another when viewers invest time and energy into following a serialized show that just ends abruptly.
So I think I will just stick to cable networks such as HBO and Showtime, which run such great series as “True Blood” and “Dexter” in consecutive weeks and aren't afraid to compete with “A Muppet's Christmas.”

'V' Is for Very 'Nice'

If you love the ABC show “Lost,” and you have become quickly addicted to the ABC show “FlashForward,” then you probably will be somewhat bored as I was by the new ABC show “V,” which premiered last night.
On the other hand, if you find both "Lost” and “FlashForward” too complicated, too complex, and too difficult to follow, then “V” might be just the right sci-fi show for you.
“V” is a remake of the 1980s series about visitors from another planet who come to Earth and promise to exchange their technology for our water and our friendship. The show reminds me why I was not too enthralled with television back then.
Right off the top you realize that there are good guys and bad guys, and that some of the good guys will be initially seduced by the bad guys. But of course at the end, somehow, the good guys will prevail. I am sure that George Bush and his cohorts will probably love the show.
That was the way television rolled back then. This new version of “V” is for people who like to sit back on their sofas and go along for a nice, safe comfortable ride. It is not for people (like myself) who prefer analyzing every scene and trying to figure out the meaning of “Lost's” numbers or the names pinned on Agent Benford's bulletin board. (And who still isn't sure if Ben or Locke are ultimately good guys or bad guys.)
I am not saying that “V” is not an entertaining show. I am sure that it will capture decent ratings. Furthermore, with the special effects that are available today, it will also be visually dramatic. Giant spaceships hovering over the world's capitals are tailor-made images for a 50-inch HDTV.
The original series was supposedly an allegory of how the Nazi's took advantage of people's economic angst to take control of Germany back in the 1920s, and this version of “V” makes considerable mention of the recent world-wide economic recession.
Moreover, it was updated in other ways, with references to terrorist sleeper cells, far away wars, a hubris-filled cable news anchor, and of course cell phones and the Internet. And most of all, every person under the age of 30 calls each other “dude.” (100 years from now when people look back at movies and television shows from today, the overuse of the term “dude” will definitely be labeled as the benchmark catchword of the day.)
Since Disney owns ABC, I'll finish up with an analogy using roller coasters from Disney World. “V” is like Thunder Mountain, exciting but relatively gentle for a roller coaster, with the highlights being the animatronic figures you see as you whiz by. “Lost” and “Flash Forward” are akin to Space Mountain, which, while not being the fastest roller coaster in the world, blasts you off on a hair-raising, intense ride through the dark with surprising twists and turns that make it far more exciting.