Share Your Memories is a monthly column that invites readers to contribute their recollections of what they watched on television and how they watched it. Topics range from obsolete equipment to network programming practices to specific TV shows and everything in between.
How Did You Learn the News?
Depending on how long you’ve been watching television, you may not remember the first time you learned a TV show you watched and enjoyed had been cancelled and wouldn’t be returning. These days, many people learn about TV cancellations on Facebook or Twitter, in some cases directly from a member of the cast or crew.
I’m old enough to remember a time before the World Wide Web, before cancellation reports spread instantly through social media. I’ve written about my love of one season wonder Earth 2 (NBC, 1994-1995) before. It was the first “grown-up” TV show I watched and I was devastated when NBC cancelled it after a single season. But I don’t actually remember how I found out Earth 2 was over. Although the World Wide Web existed in 1995, and Earth 2 fan sites and Usenet groups existed, my family wasn’t online.
My best guess is I heard the news from my parents, who probably read about Earth 2‘s cancellation in a newspaper or magazine article.
If you remember learning a favorite TV show had been cancelled, I’m curious to read your recollections. Did you find out from your parents? Did you hear it from a coworker? Or did you learn the sad news yourself in TV Guide?
Remember WENN was a half-hour comedy (with a touch of drama) that aired on cable network AMC from 1996 to 1998. I loved this quirky little show about a struggling radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, set during the late 1930s and up through the beginning of World War II.
The last season ended with a cliff-hanger, and there had been an AMC contest with the winner getting to appear in a bit part during an upcoming episode of Remember WENN, so of course there would be another season — but that season never came.
I never officially learned of the cancellation, I just kept waiting. New episodes would begin airing at random times during the year, so I kept thinking they would start being shown in a month or so. I don’t recall how long it took for me to stop hoping they’d resolve those loose ends of the story line.
Years later I read that new management took over and that was that.
Learned about cancellations at the age of five in 1972 when I asked my mom what happened to the summer-replacement series, “The Jerry Reed When You’re Hot You’re Hot Hour” (there’s an obscure one for you). I was told something along the lines of “It went away, and its not coming back.”. Bummer.
I think I learned about many cancellations when the new fall lineup came around and the show wasn’t on it. Although I seem to recall that many shows would announce the series finale so it was shortly before the show ended.
For some of them it was probably something I heard about on Entertainment Tonight or at least some news program. I don’t really watch the show anymore because all their news now is usually days old or just advertising for some upcoming movie or show. But ET was the primary source of TV news for a while.
I was severely disappointed when “Bearcats!” (1971) was cancelled. I was 8 years old and dismayed that the world of network television could be as cruel as the real world.
I don’t recall how I learned of its demise (good question, though). It seemed like the newspaper always had stories about tv shows getting the ax.
Unlike most short lived TV shows, “Bearcats!” did get a DVD release. While I enjoyed revisiting the series for nostalgic reasons, I didn’t find it nearly as captivating as an adult viewer.