Poll Results - Which Of The New ABC Shows Sounds Most Promising?

Your humble scribe has decided that it is time to reveal the poll results for the new ABC shows today even though it's only been thirteen days since I put the poll up. There are a couple of reasons for this. For one thing I didn't go out to the Casino for lunch today, mainly because I feel like a big steaming pile of poo. Based on the results of the poll this gives me a great deal in common with the ABC line-up.

The other thing is that Younger Brother and Little Nephew depart tomorrow – very early in the morning – for a five day excursion to "The Happiest Place On Earth," which to my great surprise is not Hershey Pennsylvania (think of it – golf, a legendary amusement park, and the whole town smells like chocolate) but rather Disneyland. I've never been to Disneyland, thanks to a university prof who scheduled his final exam during the time when Mother and Younger Brother had booked a trip that was supposed to include all three of us (I missed a trip to Europe as a chaperone for a group of 17 year-olds for exactly the same reason; different prof). Am I bitter (as the late great Barbara Frum is supposed to have asked many people although it is more famous coming from the mouth of CODCO's Greg Malone in full Barbara Frum drag)? After all these years? You bet your sweet ass I am!

All of this Disney talk does tie into ABC of course since the network is owned by the Walt Disney Corporation (and the company regularly gets attacked by the PTC because of it). The network has released their 2008-09 schedule (and pulled the clips from the shows off of YouTube – bad network), and let's just say that those of you who bothered to vote found it singularly un-impressive. Five votes were cast (which is disappointing). Tied for last with no votes are Opportunity Knocks, The Goode Family, and The "Untitled Ashton Kutcher/Tyra Banks project." In second place with one vote (20%) is the American remake of the British series Life On Mars. But the overwhelming winner, with four votes (80%) is "They all sound like a big steaming pile of poo."

And I for one could not agree more. The only show that sound in the least little bit intriguing from this mess is Life On Mars. The big question though is whether they can make this concept last for the entire year. I'm not sure if they can. Then again I'm not sure that they're going to have the chance to. When you consider the fate of shows like Daybreak, and Journeyman – whether those fates were deserved or not – the concept might be too quirky or unusual for the American market to fully embrace. Yes, I know that the original was embraced by the viewers of BBC America, but (1) are those viewers going to be accepting of the American retread, and (2) will it attract an audience who has never seen BBC America?

New post up shortly; be sure to vote and almost as important comment.