Not from Cincinnati Anymore

I withheld writing anything about the show because I was still trying to figure out enough about what was happening with it to make a coherent pitch. What I should have said weeks ago was "Watch John From Cincinnati!" HBO canceled the show, as networks continue to do to shows I like. The thing about JFC was that it was doing something very unique...but in the way that the show ended it's first and only season, there are so many unanswered questions it's not even worth discussing. It's such a waste. The characters were intriguing, the storyline was Twin Peaksy, and with actors like Ed O'Neill [whose character Bill Jacks may have stolen the show], Bruce Greenwood, Rebecca DeMornay, Luis Guzman, Luke Perry (even the idea that Zach Morris and Dylan McKay shared the screen was intriguing), the dynamic Paul Ben-Victor (who joins a list of multi-show HBO veterans for his role on Entourage [Season 3]), and even Jennifer Grey. The story examines many people who are at the bottom of the list of people you would expect miracles to happen to. The mysterious character of John comes into their lives and only really tells people what they're thinking, what others are thinking and to seek God. One character is raised from the ground, one character is raised from the dead, and all of the characters are actively feeling themselves change. I also thought it was interesting the way the characters all used labels for each other (the hairlip, the lawyer, the doctor, the chemist, the Hawaiian, the porn star, the skinny girl, and other not so nice labels too). It was fascinating and I'm sad to see it not coming back.

Imagine if other shows were cancelled after one season. Imagine the mythology of LOST ending with Jack and Locke looking down into the hatch. Imagine Friends ending with Rachel learning Ross loves her and not dragging the storyline on for 7 more years... Imagine The West Wing concluding with gunfire on the President and his staff but no resolution. Imagine 24 ending with Nina killing Teri Bauer. Imagine if the Sopranos ended anticlimactically with all four Sopranos sitting in a restaurant having dinner...oh wait.

Nothing in the new shows this year stands out as my next favorite TV show, so in the meantime I will continue to enjoy Entourage, Flight of the Conchords, Hard Knocks, and wait impatiently for LOST to return in February.

Speaking of LOST, some exciting stuff coming out of Comic-Con. I've always held back from writing about LOST on this blog, but it won't take long to find info...don't worry the producers are way too smart to let spoilers ruin anything for you.