Most television programs these days are garbage. There have been some solid shows over the years, like Friends or Seinfeld, that most people can agree are enjoyable. Even if you aren't a huge fan, you can acknowledge they are respectable shows with mass appeal. But a majority of shows are complete trash. These shows are almost identical to each other: annoying/overweight/unattractive/lazy/misogynistic husbands and the overworked/underappreciated/beautiful wives who love them. See Everybody Loves Raymond, According to Jim, King of Queens, etc. They range from mildly amusing to outright groan fest.However, every now and then you have a GEM of a show. A show that is smart, and funny, and witty, and has heart. These shows inevitably get cancelled. See Freaks and Geeks, Veronica Mars, and (the biggest loss of them all) Arrested Development.
Freaks and Geeks was a delightful show with great acting, likeable characters, and many relatable themes. It made it one season. Now I'll never know what happened to Lindsay Weir after her summer following The Dead. (Though Judd Apatow and crew are now gaining much acclaim...but alas, too late to save the Weirs and friends). Kristen Bell played an excellent leading lady asVeronica Mars, a show with good dialogue and interesting plot twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. Cancelled after three seasons. Guess Veronica and Logan are never to reconcile. And then Arrested Development...ah Arrested Development. Gob, Buster, and George Michael Bluth...three of the funniest characters in television history, and the rest of the cast had genius comic timing. The show was basically perfection. Three seasons. Three seasons of the funniest, smartest television show ever. Nothing short of tragedy.
In the alternative, Everybody Loves Jim of Queens made it 7-9 seasons. Despite the fact that the plot was exactly the same in EVERY episode (husband being a jerk, wife upset, in-laws interfere), these shows got a healthy run, and continue to live on ad nauseum in syndication. The only explanation for this is that the majority of TV-viewing Americans have very, very bad taste.
