Looks Like My Last Resort Reviewing Gig Was Doomed Anyway

Last Resort has officially been cancelled by ABC.

I haven't seen an episode of the series since I experience my own cancellation from Road Runner.  I did actually plan on catching up on the episodes that I missed, and I wanted to follow the show (and possibly move my recaps to this site).  It is just a little harder to stay loyal to a show when I have to watch it for free and already have enough shows that I'm incredibly behind on. 

The series did seem to peak with the amazing pilot, and none of the following episodes were able to keep that intensity and drama.  I still enjoyed the show, and was intrigued with where the direction was heading.  Unfortunately, I seemed to be in the minority as the ratings were dismal and the cost for the show was likely very high.

Last Resort is sticking around to finish its 13 episode order.  The funny thing is that would be a full order for a cable series, but it is a sign of lack of faith from a network.  Now, I need to decide if I allocate an hour a week to stick with a series that is destined to be ushered off to the graveyard by the start of next year.  If the entire 13 episodes are not already filmed, then there is a chance the writers have a chance to offer up some resolution to storylines and turn the whole thing into a miniseries.  There is also a strong chance they are done filming, and even if they aren't, they'll likely keep things unfinished in order to shop the series around to possible buyers for next year.  It was a solid series with a novel concept, but the ratings likely mean it doesn't have life anywhere.  It is unfortunate, because it was something very different than the glutton of procedurals.

666 Park Avenue has the exact same fate as Last Resort.  I'm a little relieved about this series' cancellation, because now it is one show that I don't need to bother catching up on.  I watched the first two episodes and didn't love it, but was interested enough to let things play out.  But not interested enough to find time to actually watch any episodes.  It remained on a "Shows to Watch List" for the last month and a half, and I'm now happy that I can just scratch it off.  There is no point following a show that I'm sticking with just for the answers, when it is clear they won't have the time to answer them anymore.

The downside is what this may mean for future show pickups.  Both shows likely had a pretty large budget, because they relied on special effects for several scenes.  They also tried being a bit higher concept than usual network fare.  I'm a little worried their failure means ABC is going to order up a slew of dull police or medical procedurals next year, because those continue to be the safe bets.  I am as interested to watch that type of dull pap as much as I want to see Honey Boo Boo dance or the life of a baggage handler.  TV has some crap, and it sucks when unique shows fail thus encouraging the continuation of brainless but decently rated junk.

I prefer mediocre or flawed shows with unique concepts over the reliable but painfully predictable programming dominating the network ratings.  Hopefully, the successes over on FX and AMC will be enough for network TV to take a few more chances next season when it comes to dramas.