Fred, I'm definitely in agreement. There are a number of American TV shows that I thought were excellent, but didn't last more than a season—or sometimes even less.   This was not because they weren't good shows, but because they either didn't draw a sufficient number of viewers (not enough people to watch the commercial breaks) or they managed to offend someone and the network didn't have the guts to stand by their initial decision to air the show in the first place.

One show that I really liked—it got down to the nitty-gritty and dealt with some very real issues—was called Nothing Sacred. Young Catholic priest in an inner city parish dealing with things like a group of wealthy neighbors objecting to the church's free lunch program because it drew the homeless and the poor into the neighborhood, a nun who had to conduct a mass (big "no-no" apparently) because the priest had wound up in the slammer for participating in a protest march, and a teen-age girl wanting an abortion. The priest didn't absolutely forbid it as some viewers felt he should; he told the girl, "You know what the Church says as well as I do. Just remember that whatever you decide to do, you'll have to live with that decision for the rest of your life." Also, the young priest was wrestling with his own doubts about certain points of theology. Heavy stuff. But some people objected to the realness of the show and some objected that the show was not a "weekly sermon" (which, in it's own way, it was) and some objected that the show dealt with religious themes at all. I give ABC points for trying to keep the show going, but they finally crumbled before pressure from the conservative Catholic League despite the fact that a couple of Jesuit priests acted as consultants to the writers.

The Education of Max Bickford (starring Richard Dreyfuss) got the ax from CBS. Very good show about an underpaid history professor at an all-women's college dealing with real situations in his own life and at the college. Despite good writing and excellent acting, CBS gave it the ax because too many viewers who prefer their TV to be an endless succession of explosions and punch-outs found a show about a college professor "boring." Boston Public, a gritty drama about an inner city high school that deals with some pretty controversial stuff, did make it back, amazingly enough. Possibly because of last season's addition of Jeri Ryan (formerly "Seven of Nine") to the cast. In the meantime, the networks keep plaguing us with these ridiculous so called "reality shows" and more asinine sit-coms.

One thing about some of the British shows that PBS and the Arts and Entertainment (A&E) channel run is that they are limited in term. They have a story to tell and once the story is finished, the series ends. Too many American series' go on beyond the point where they've said all they have to say just because they do have a lot of loyal viewers—until the show gets so inane that they fall away. I remember that when opera diva Beverly Sills retired, her singing voice was still one of the best around. She commented, "I'd rather have people say 'Why did she retire?' than to have them ask 'Why doesn't she retire?'" Good point.

Don Firth