Fox strikes again!

What is it about TV shows that I like and the dreaded axe falling? It has happened so many times it can't be a coincidence. Firefly - LOVED that show, cancelled after less than a season. Dead Like Me - nifty little drama about grim reapers, cancelled. Kitchen Confidential - pretty men, great storylines, cancelled. Veronica Mars - not cancelled, but I endure the nail-biting tension of the whole "will they, won't they cancel it?". Wonderfalls - sure, only found out about it after it was cancelled, but the principle still applies!

And the latest casualty? Drive, the new TV show from Tim Minear, him of the school of Joss (and previous cancelled shows, Firefly, Wonderfalls, The Inside...) I've seen the first two eps of this show and while it didn't cast me in to raptures, it did have one redeeming feature - Nathan Fillion was the lead character. Ah, my beloved Nathan, when will you get a show that is not cancelled five seconds after it airs? (Two Guys & a Girl doesn't count... Namely cos I didn't like it that much!)

The premise of Drive was an illegal cross-country car race, where the winner will receive $32 million. We had people coerced into the race (poor Nathan - his wife kidnapped and held to ransom so he would compete... and we will never find out why), a new mother who has husband issues, a stupid blonde woman trying to avenge her parents who were killed in a previous race, a hispanic ex-con who bonds with his never-before-met half-brother in two seconds so they can join forces and race, and some guy dying of cancer (cos there has to be one in every bunch). While it did have the crappiest credits I can remember seeing in quite a while, it wasn't a bad show. It might even have become quite good over time. However, Fox have pulled it from their scheduling after four episodes, which I'm pretty sure were grouped into two two-hour specials. So, because Drive didn't garner immediate huge ratings on the TWO nights it aired, it has been pulled. Seriously, how can you know that soon if a show is going to tank or not? Fair enough, it would have cost a fortune to film, but still. If you are going to give a show a chance, you should at least let it run for 13 episodes, see how the plebs like it and then make a decision.

So, Doctor Who, Dexter, Battlestar Galactica, watch out! The sword of Damacles is perched precariously over you, if only because I like you guys. You have been warned.