I was habituated to the time slot and, although disappointed when they put Studio 60 on hiatus, I kind of understood why. Studio 60 was great when it was good but had (has) a lot of spotty points that just don't work. So I tuned into The Black Donnellys out of habit more than a genuine interest in the show.
By the first twenty minutes, I knew I was into something good.
NBC pulled the plug, unceremoniously and without grace, on the show after only a few episodes. Fortunately, they made the episodes in the can for the rest of its short season available online and I was able to finish out the season and it only makes me more certain of this fact: NBC is the stupidest network on the air today.
Donnellys was set up to fail to begin with. It was a mid-season replacement for a faltering show that was overly-infatuated with its own self and only gave the new show five or six weeks before they killed it.
The Donnellys is ... was ... could have been ... NBC's Sopranos but it doesn't look like they had a clue about what they had. Frankly, it was better than the Sopranos, I think, and I hope they either revive it or, HDNET picks it up for more episodes, or, best yet, HBO buys the series and really lets it cut loose. HBO--now that's a network that knows how to produce, and support, a series.
NBC ... if you're listening ... put the Donnellys on the air in a good timeslot and give it the support it deserves. It was the best, most mature, best-produced and most well-written show you had.
On a side note: Haggis is one massively talented writer and storyteller. I'll watch/read/listen to anything he's got to offer from now on. Crash, Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima, The Black Donnellys ... geez. Awesome run of late.
Enough, even, to actually forgive the Texas Walker Ranger years!
By the first twenty minutes, I knew I was into something good.
NBC pulled the plug, unceremoniously and without grace, on the show after only a few episodes. Fortunately, they made the episodes in the can for the rest of its short season available online and I was able to finish out the season and it only makes me more certain of this fact: NBC is the stupidest network on the air today.
Donnellys was set up to fail to begin with. It was a mid-season replacement for a faltering show that was overly-infatuated with its own self and only gave the new show five or six weeks before they killed it.
The Donnellys is ... was ... could have been ... NBC's Sopranos but it doesn't look like they had a clue about what they had. Frankly, it was better than the Sopranos, I think, and I hope they either revive it or, HDNET picks it up for more episodes, or, best yet, HBO buys the series and really lets it cut loose. HBO--now that's a network that knows how to produce, and support, a series.
NBC ... if you're listening ... put the Donnellys on the air in a good timeslot and give it the support it deserves. It was the best, most mature, best-produced and most well-written show you had.
On a side note: Haggis is one massively talented writer and storyteller. I'll watch/read/listen to anything he's got to offer from now on. Crash, Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima, The Black Donnellys ... geez. Awesome run of late.
Enough, even, to actually forgive the Texas Walker Ranger years!