I won't name names because I don't want to disparage any other Whedonesquers' favorite shows, but wow, I can't believe some of these shows hung on for as long as they did! Meanwhile we must beg for a mere full season of a quality genre show...

gingeriffic | September 10, 23:16 CET

Chris Carter's The X files was a very important show, it really springboarded networks to get back into fantasy, and it was so well known mainsteam, while maintaining a big quality consistency for many years, the x files was a ratings success for it's network as well, and alot of studios started taking chances again, even though Joss's shows are different, it would be very hard I say for a Joss starting out now, and introducing Buffy, we gotta be thankful of the timing of our favorite shows happened when they did, so many shows could be made and be brilliant now, but studios are more cautious, the x files era seems to have gone, you got shows doing well, but mainsteam, it's been polutted by too much reality crap, and it's cheap, and amercians watch it, studio gets what it wants, money. We need another Chris Carter or someone else bringing a idea, as cool as the x files was for example, and sprinboarding a new wave of fantasy again, until then, it's gonna be hard.

Sci-fi channel is cool with Stargate being good for them, it's got a spinoff.

Lucily Alias and 24 are more mainsteam, but there not outright fantasy.

How long will David Fury's Lost be around, look at Wonderfalls, will they give it a quick death, if studios don't like it.

Thank god for dvds, because so many great tv shows are on it and coming on it.

DVDS our are haven until networks have another revolution with fantasy.

[ edited by SeanValen on 2004-09-10 21:30 ]

SeanValen | September 10, 23:29 CET

Nice article... though I find it funny that there are quite a few errors/simplifiers of many show's plots. e.g. Buffy is at the epicenter of the fiends entrance to our world. Charmed: Though Pru (spelled incorrectly: Prue) is no longer on the show, she was replaced by cousin Paige.

Entrance? Cousin? The writer needs to watch more TV.

tnewebmaster | September 11, 00:37 CET

Interesting list of shows there. Some i've seen on occasion, some i've watched regularly, there is even a few in there that i actually liked but strangely only three or four i can honestly say were worthy of one hundred or more episodes (Buffy and Angel being two naturally).

Makes you wonder if we will ever see any other show make it to it's hundredth episode or if we have seen the last of these long running series in favour of quick cancellations and 13 episode DVD collections.

And is it just me or does the fact that Charmed is about to overtake Buffy in the episode count really annoy anyone else?

Koven | September 11, 01:15 CET

Oh, it is not just you, Senior Partner. I scrolled back up to Buffy to see the # of episodes (as if I didn't know already - but I was in a state of disbelief) and back down to Charmed again. Much grumbling and snarling then followed.

Angela | September 11, 01:31 CET

Simon, that was an enjoyable read. Thanks!

Madhatter | September 11, 01:43 CET

Senior Partner, yes. Anything about Charmed annoys me.

Still, and this is weird... Buffy comes on at 7am here in Arizona. My baby girl gets up at around 6:45. So I watch roughly the last ten minutes of Charmed every weekday morning.

I hate it. I ab-so-lu-tely despise it. Yet I still watch those few minutes while waiting for the 7am payoff.

I feel like I'm betraying Joss or something... *hangs head in shame*

Willowy | September 11, 07:59 CET

Good - I wasn't the only one irritated at seeing "137 episodes and still tracking" for "Charmed." Just goes to show that networks will keep shows on the air for years despite their lack of quality ('cough7thheavencough'), while they cancel amazing shows, like, oh, say, "ANGEL." Can you tell that I am still bitter? Fall premiers are here and no Joss; but I digress, I am really glad that "The Hollywood Reporter" mentioned both "Buffy" and "Angel."
An interesting read. Thanks for posting it.

obsessed | September 11, 08:18 CET

I do situps sometimes to Charmed because it's.......on. And because my despising of Charmed and its inanities galvanizes me into unusually intense situp action. I'd never be able to do situps to Buffy or Angel or Firefly -- too much going on, too much to pay attention to, too much to ooh and aahhh over. My brain muscles would win out over my stupid stomach muscles.

And therein, boiled down to its essence, lies the difference between Charmed and the Whedonverse. To me, anyway.

phlebotinin | September 11, 08:28 CET

I think it is really interesting to note that The Simpsons is among those 20 that have passed the 300-episode mark, and is still counting. My heart also breaks imagining what great stories Boomtown could have told if it had reached the 100-episode mark. I'm telling you, after the first few eps of that, I thought it had the potential to rank among the best TV ever.

brother_grady | September 13, 19:09 CET