To cut or not to cut?

Popular shows face cuts or schedule to end

 CANCELLED

 CSI: Miami

 News:

After ten seasons, CBS decided it was time to call it quits on the CSI spinoff CSI: Miami. Due to budget cuts, the network needed to cut one CSI show and since Miami had become the most expensive to produce, CBS decided it was time for an end.   CSI: New York almost failed to make the cut as well, but due to good number in their ninth season, the show has been renewed for at least another year.

 Editorial:

Is it really necessary to have more than one CSI? Although the not-so-occasional glimpse of a dead body or the discombobulated mess of spilled organs reeks of entertainment value, how many dead bodies are too many? I only watched CSI a couple of times, but every time it was essentially the same story line. Guy gets murdered, CSI team investigates using fake technology to miraculously discover the identity of the killer, and in a tearful final moment, the killer is arrested. The character development is minimal and creativity (with the exception of the ways a person could die) is virtually nonexistent. CBS made a good decision to cut the show and it is only a matter of time before CSI: New York seeks the same fate.

 Extreme Makeover – Home Edition

 News:

After airing its 200th episode in January, ABC decided to cancel this once popular reality show. Due to a decline in ratings, the home makeover team is no longer able to build for those in need.

 Editorial:

Isn’t it sad to live in a world where a network cuts a show based on charity because the show isn’t making enough money for the network? That seems contradictive since the point of Home Edition is to help the less fortunate as opposed to making the fortunate wealthier. I remember back in the olden days when the show first started, Ty Pennington and his team seemed legitimately devoted to helping others. Lately, the homes seem to have been designed more for show than anything else. Home Edition has even been involved in several lawsuits due to their profit focused business. Although this show had a wonderful concept, the network diverged from the original idea, making the ending inevitable.

 Fear Factor

 News:

Although Fear Factor was still the most popular non-scripted series on the network, the show will not return after controversy struck when contestants were forced to drink a concoction of bodily fluids from a donkey. The episode never aired, but once word went around, advertisers refused to fund the show and NBC took this as a sign to start rebuilding their image.

 Editorial:

I find it entertaining how dumb some people will act in order to get money. Who would even consider drinking anything coming out of a donkey in the first place and what kind of sick person would think up such a stunt? Fear Factor has always been known for its creativity and grotesque episodes, but this definitely took the concept of gross entertainment way too far. Hopefully NBC will be able to transform their image with “upscale programming” as chairman Robert Greenblatt stated.

 ENDING

 Desperate Housewives

 News:

After eight seasons, Desperate Housewives came to a dramatic close. Word of the series ending came about after creator Marc Cherry announced he was leaving the show as executive producer. Even though ratings had been declining the last several years, the series finale attracted over 11 million viewers.

 Editorial:

When the show first premiered, Desperate Housewives became the must-watch show of Sunday nights. This continued for a few years until this once creatively entertaining show transformed into more of a cliché melodrama. These characters must have done something wrong in a past life in order to have such an unfortunate and dramatic fate. I miss the days of television when one could be intrigued by characters simply living but now days a dead body must be discovered once in a while or tragedy strikes a couple dozen times a year in order to gain viewers. This show had a really firm beginning, and unfortunately the ending failed to attract the 30 million people who viewed the season one finale.

 House

 News:

Over the past several years, Fox has been undergoing serious budget cuts. Unfortunately, House has only been renewed for one more season due to lead actor Hugh Laurie’s contract expiration. The network would be forced to decrease the actor’s salary, which wouldn’t go over very well. Last year, co-star Lisa Edelstein quit after the network attempted to cut her salary.

 One Tree Hill

 News:

After nine years, this once popular teen drama finally came to an end. Ever since the series had a change of cast members, ratings have declined and creator Mark Schwahn made sure to end every season finale as if it could be the last. One Tree Hill hung on as long as possible before the network and crew decided a final season was a necessity.

 Editorial:

Being a hardcore One Tree Hill fan, I was unable to continue watching the show after the original cast left. Much like Desperate Housewives, this series became filled with unnecessary drama in order to hinder the plot and lengthen the life of the show. If the show ended with the original group, that would have been a much more satisfying ending.

 egolden@unews.com