PhotoDude.com

Fri. Oct 11, 2002

Push Off

Push Off – I was watching a new TV series last night, the only new series of the fall where I haven’t missed a single show, and commented to Susan how I liked it because it was quirky, well directed, and oddly shot. Even the music is cool. This is a highly abnormal reaction for me to have over a new TV series.

I should have known. Today, I found out the show is joining a legacy that for me includes Brimstone and American Gothic; unique quality TV shows that barely get a chance before cancellation in a landscape filled with cheap ”Reality TV.”

"Push, Nevada registered just 4.4 million viewers last week, nearly a two-thirds drop-off since 12 million tuned in to watch the premiere of the series about IRS man Jim Prufrock on the trail of lost loot. The scenario of the show presented a pesky cancellation problem for the programmers at the Disney-owned network. An interactive tie-in allowed viewers to follow clues scattered through each episode in pursuit of a grand prize in excess of $1 million."

"In a statement, ABC president Susan Lyne says, ’We want viewers of Push to see the outcome of Prufrock’s investigation, and airing it through the seventh episode will give closure to the storyline.’ Translation: The network had no other choice because legally the prize money must be paid out."

I’m sure it will be replaced by some crowd pleasing and cheap-to-produce series. Something like Washed Up Celebrity Slumber Party.