Cancellations: Moonlight, New Amsterdam
Wednesday May 14, 2008
Mick (Alex O'Loughlin) and Beth (Sophia Myles) in the final episode of Moonlight, Friday, May 16 on CBS.
© Eric McCandless/CBS
Neither Moonlight nor New Amsterdam will be returning in the fall, indicating that the "immortal detectives seeking love" trend noted last year was a very 2007 thing.
The news will of course upset to the very passionate contingent of Moonlight fans, who have organized a nationwide blood drive to rally viewer support for a renewal. To be honest I'm more upset about New Amsterdam. Moonlight had considerable appeal but was largely uneven, and especially early on was hamstrung by some very conventional P.I. plots. Alex O'Loughlin got the job done but never arrested me as the star of a drama, and Sophia Myles, whose been excellent elsewhere (including Doctor Who), was unable to raise her character above the banal but inevitable tension over whether and when she'll fall for Mick. On the plus side, Myles and O'Loughlin did have chemistry together, and with a new direction something could have been made of this; but the show failed to prove itself despite a rare second chance after the writers' strike.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, CBS was annoyed that Moonlight was failing to hold its (not huge in itself) Ghost Whisperer lead-in; rating dropped after Moonlight came back from the writers' strike, and that was a key test. Last Friday's episode garnered a 2.0 rating among adults 18 to 49. It could have been so much show, but in the behind-the-scenes turmoil that saw several key positions change hands (not to mention the pilot being rewritten and recast right before airing), Moonlight got jumbled and missed out on having the vision and focus it could have had.
But canceling New Amsterdam is an absolute crime. New Amsterdam had great potential to use its leisurely pace to develop its more complex characters, particularly John (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Omar (Stephen Henderson). Coster-Waldau is a striking series lead, able to convey geniality and the the discomfort and frustration that comes from pursuing a 400-year quest. New Amsterdam took the most welcome risk of establishing John as a deeply flawed character, having succumbed in the past to the temptations of immortality; even his present-day persona is still recovering from his sins and is driven partly by a need to compensate for them.
The show's main potential weakness was insisting on pairing every present-day case with a crisis in John's past life; that could eventually get old and formulaic (we should only see key crises in John's past life that inform the present); but no doubt the writers would have realized this as the show evolved.
New Amsterdam is a show that, like its central character, deserves to survive and find both love and redemption.
Comments
I am so disappointed Moonlight has been cancelled. I wish CBS would have given it a chance especially after the strike. I was not a big fan of New Amsterdam…I tried watching a few episodes but it couldn’t keep me interested.
I think that CBS should take a page from the Jag series. NBC canceled and CBS picked it up and it was a great show for them for years.
Also Jericho was a good show. The reason that ratings are low is because you never know what time or what day a show is going to be on. ABC moved Men in Trees around til they lost a lot of their veiwers. They should take a page from cable series. I think they are mostly on a regular schedule. If CBS removes there will be only NCIS that I watch. They took The Unit off and I never missed an episode. Why don’t we get up a petition to save some of these shows that they are removing. CBS has a bunch of comedy shows that are so full of innuendoes that if I had small children there is no way I would allow them to watch. Why can’t a show be funny without the vulgarity and nakedness that is so evident on the shows. Well, I’ve vented. Thanks for allowing me this.
I’m extremely saddened that Moonlight has been cancelled. Alex O’Loughlin and Sophia Myles were great on the show. IMO, It was a fantastic show. I hate CBS, they just ignored all the fans, they’re always concerned about the stupid ratings. I’m throwing away my television.
Moonlight reminds me too much of Angel.. and it’s just not original. We’ve seen this sort of stuff before. It has the ’so yesterday’ feel.. sorry!
I’m sorry to hear New Amsterdam isn’t coming back. Its one show I thought deserved a second sesaon - but I was sure it wouldn’t get one. They don’t really like original TV on the big commercial networks if it means taking any real chances.
As I guy I can see why New Amsterdam might appeal, I tried 4 episodes but just couldn’t get into it.
As a girl Friday nights were my kick back from a hard week, glass of wine in hand to watch some major man candy kick vampire butt and chase done a cute girl. If CW takes up Moonlight then I’ll just switch my kickback night to fit in. Got to love the Hot Guys.
Just as I suspected–the networks don’t have a clue! What has a popular show with the fans have to do to get recognized? It’s NOT all funny shows with predictable characters…it’s shows with a little mystery…! NETWORKS: Get it right for once…!
I loved “Moonlight” and never dreamed they would be stupid enough to cancel it. (I’m running and ducking as I write this), but although I loved the concept of “New Amsterdam” and watched it faithfully, I was rather disappointed with the last couple of episodes. It felt like he was becoming almost wishy washy. “Maybe she’s the one. Maybe she’s not.”
Well, I swore I’d quit watching television after Witchblade. They cancel Jericho, Moonlight, all the rest…Why even bother? Watch out people. Supernatural is next when we turn our backs!
Losing Jericho, New Amsterdam and Moonlight turned what started as an unusually hopeful TV season into truly sad examples of how disfunctional the industry is.
I have to disagree slightly with your assessment of Moonlight. Despite some blips, the first twelve episodes were gold. The post-strike episodes were awful, losing the character and story focus that had finally come together by the last pre-stike episode. The behind-the-scenes chaos showed glaringly in those four episodes and, despite how much I feel this show had great potential, I’m glad it’s over.
I totally agree with your assessment of New Amsterdam. The powers that be of this show really knew who their immortal was and were executing his very lengthy life superbly. I had no doubts that everything about the show would get better over time, if only Fox wasn’t so cancellation happy. I hope Coster-Waldeau is back on U.S. television soon. In numerous ways, his acting is stronger and more consistent than O’Loughlin’s.
Jericho being dumped by CBS for a second time broke my heart.
The networks in general can’t seem to get it through their heads that some of us want some new, serious and quality drama shows. I guess thinking TV viewers don’t count.
you’d make a lousy woman. we don’t really need a emmy worthy plot. we need mick st. john. i just want to look at him. i can’t remember ever seeing anyone so absolutely flawlessly georgeous. it almost hurts to look at him. i am furious that cbs is so shortsighted. now that i know alex o’loughlin exists, you can be sure i’m a life long fan. amsterdam i didn’t even bother with. the lead wasn’t all that attractive.
I disagree — Coster-Waldau was quite handsome (as opposed to being model-pretty) and his body was even hotter than Alex’s (you must have missed those nude swimming scenes).
I am very disappointed with the cancellation of Moonlight and New Amsterdam and Jericho and Journeyman and all of the great shows who are not being given a chance just because theyare not bringing enough viewers, and therefore money. The issue with cancelling shows all the time makes viewers getting tired of watching crap on TV, and switch to download series online for free.
Also, shows should be broadcast internationally at the same time. It would definitely bring more viewers! Look at “Lost” and “Prison Break”. I am sure that one of the reasons why they are still on is because they can be viewed on private channels at the same time (or just a week later) as in the U.S.
Anyway, money makes the world turn, as usual…
Was a faithful watcher of both Moonlight and New Amsterdam & enjoyed them both. Somehow I figured that they wouldn’t make it in the ‘networks derby.’ Lost is about the only one I can think of that I really liked that stayed on the air.
Hey,maybe one of the cable networks will step up to the plate. Sci-Fi seems to be doing well with its Eureka series (or have I missed some news??); wouldn’t that be a good example of a way to handle these fan favorites??
Ghost Whisperer and Moonlight were two of my favorite shows. It is depressing to think I will no longer Friday.
Why are all these amazing TV series being cancelled? It is so nice to be able to watch a show that isn’t a reality show or a comedy that’s an insult to human intelligence. Everyone knows what reality and the real world are like, which is why people watch TV: a means for escape. New Amsterdam was an original show, with a great cast, and well-written plots. It may not be a reality show or some inappropriate comedy, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good. If the studios had the same standards (and I use this word loosely) 50 years ago we wouldn’t have I Love Lucy. That show is an undeniable classic, but it didn’t have any foul language or nudity, so how did it EVER succeed? PLEASE, bring back New Amsterdam and Moonlight. What else do us fans have to do??