TV Jots

ABC Admits Early Decision

This week brings bad news for fans of Life on Mars, ABC’s adaptation of the popular United Kingdom crime drama of the same name. TV Week reports the network has decided to cancel the once promising rookie after just one season of 17 episodes.

Currently airing on Wednesdays immediately after the long-running island drama Lost (it initially followed Grey’s Anatomy on Thursdays, a time slot that couldn’t have been any more ill-advised), Life on Mars not only failed to pick up enough ratings steam, but its viewership has steadily decreased since its October 9 premiere.

The series last drew only 5.55 million pairs of eyeballs for its most recent fresh episode on February 25. Compare that to the 9.82 million people who tuned into Lost.

The upside to the cancellation, if you can call it that, is ABC’s decision to let show runners know about the imminent end far enough in advance to give fans of the show a definite and hopefully satisfying conclusion. As anybody who has watched enough TV in the last few years knows, that kind of certainty happens far too infrequently. As a result, viewers are often left feeling jilted over an inadequate or abrupt end to a series they invested substantial time and effort in watching.

I personally never took to Life on Mars, despite a lot of anticipation prior to its debut and persistent attempts to get into the plot during its first few weeks. The characters and storyline just didn’t resonate with me, which happens. Still, it’s always sad to see another show with a smart cast that includes the likes of Jason O’Mara, Harvey Keitel, Michael Imperioli, and Gretchen Mol go.

The Life on Mars series finale is presently set to air on April 1.