My New Bubble Show

My love for Chuck has been well documented, as well as the show's bubble status over at NBC, but the spy dramedy is not the only show I like that is on the bubble. Unfortunately, ABC's Castle is also at risk of being cancelled.

Now, I'm more emotionally invested in Chuck because I've been watching since day one, and it has a mythology and larger storyarcs in place that have me hooked, whereas Castle is a by-the-book procedural. The thing is, Castle is a more entertaining procedural than all of the CSIs put together (and don't get me started on the other ho-hum cop shows on CBS). Sure, Castle has the same case of the week premise, but the chemistry between Nathan Fillion (Rick Castle) and Stana Katic (Kate Beckett) is fun to watch. Plus, Fillion is a pure pimp.

I'm a little shocked that Castle is on the bubble because I knew that the ratings weren't stellar, but far from bad. I guess I was wrong, and it looks like my new favorite crime drama is going to have the same fate as my last favorite crime show (Pushing Daisies), which is just saddening.

The thing is, I think Castle could catch on with audiences, even more so than PD, because it's not as quirky but still fun to watch. I could see the Fillion vehicle do well in a line-up that includes Desperate Housewives on Sundays (although I doubt ABC would give it Brothers & Sisters time slot since the latter is more established). Maybe even pair it up with Grey's Anatomy & Private Practice. Sure, I'm not a fan of those particular shows, but I'm for anything that would keep Castle around for a few more episodes.

Sadly, I don't see any big moves (or hope for that matter) in Castle's future, and more than likely it's a goner, which means it could join the aforementioned Pushing Daisies, Scrubs, Kings, and possibly Chuck on the list of my favorite shows that are not coming back next season. Sad day. This is exactly why I avoided watching TV in the past...the emotional let down is too great.

My Daisies are Being Pushed

It looks like I should have done my research before putting out my dream, ABC prime time lineup. I can't say that I'm surprised to see that Pushing Daisies is on the bubble because it hasn't been bringing in the numbers, but it'll suck if this show is canned due to circumstances it had no control over.

Every sophomore series was devastated by the WGA Writer's Strike because they did not have the chance to really find a wide audience. The strike also kept new shows off the air for months, so potential viewers didn't have the chance to see shows like Pushing Daisies. I also think some viewers were turned away from network TV because of the strike, but that's just my own conspiracy theory.

So, it looks like Ned, Chuck, Emerson, and Olive will be pushing daisies themselves, which is unfortunate because this show has tons of potential.

My Mid-Season Clusterfrick

It's almost that time of year, mid-season on network TV. Usually, mid-season has little to no buzz, but I'm actually excited this year because Scrubs will start its new life on ABC.

Unfortunately, this mid-season might be a downer for some of my other favorite shows; namely Pushing Daisies. Apparently, PD's second season numbers are drastically lower compared to last season, which could spell doom for the Pie Maker. According to Wikipedia, Daisies is not on the mid-season calendar and has been replaced with Scrubs and The Goode Family. Ironic, huh?

I understand why Daisies hasn't been a huge hit for ABC since it actually promotes creativity rather than reality based schlock. Brightly-colored, quirky, fantasy shows will not resonate with all viewers, but then again watching washed up celebrities prance around doesn't either.

The thing is ABC has the chance to set up a pretty fun night if they just gave Pushing Daisies a shot. For example, you could have an hour block of sitcoms by pairing up Scrubs with Samantha Who?, follow that up with Pushing Daisies, and round out the night with Eli Stone.

Now, I haven't watched an episode of Samantha or Eli, but from what I know they both have that slightly quirky edge to them which could work nicely with Scrubs and Daisies. Sure, you may turn some viewers away with an all "outside the box" night, but you could keep a lot of viewers for the entire evening.

If I ran ABC, I would put this lineup on Tuesday nights starting this winter. Sure, it would go up against American Idol, but the same is true for Wednesdays. It would make the most sense to put these shows on Mondays, but then Scrubs or Daisies would probably have to go up against How I Met Your Mother, Chuck, and House. My DVR's already working overtime on Monday nights.

So, that's what my ideal ABC lineup would look like if I ruled the world (or Disney). I just hope Pushing Daisies gets some new life, and Scrubs doesn't get crushed on its new network. Either way, it could be an interesting mid-season.