To CBS:
I love watching many of your TV series: CSI, CSI: NY (You can flush Miami down the loo), NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles (ie, NCIS: Bromance), The Big Bang Theory, Blue Bloods, The Mentalist, et al. However, your decision to cut short "S*#! My Dad Says" has prompted me to remind you of a simple fact: your shows are watched around the world. How you choose to develop or stifle a show affects how audiences watch it around the world. You are responsible for the resurrection of William Shatner's career. A man seemingly destined to be remembered for only one great role, you gave him Denny Crane. Treating his sole attempt at a sitcom as some kind of chew-toy, does not reflect well on your network and the decisions you make. On behalf of the fans out there, who believe you have ended "S*#!" too soon, let me remind you of the achievements of one of your principle foreign markets: Great Britain. Since the late 1950's and early sixties, British TV has fostered the talent and produced the following:
Absolute Power, Absolutely Fabulous, After You've Gone, Al Murray, 'Allo 'Allo, Are You Being Served, As Time Goes By, At Home With the Braithwaites, The Avengers, Beautiful People, The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Bergerac, A Bit of Fry & Laurie, Black Books, Blake's 7, Bless Me, Father, Bless This House, Blue Murder, Bob & Rose, The Booze Cruise Series, Bottom, Brideshead Revisited, Cadfael, Campion, The Catherine Tate Show, Chef!, City of Vice, Cold Feet, Coupling, Cracker (Robbie Coltrane's (Hagrid from Harry Potter) finest hour), Cranford, Crime Traveller, Dad's Army, Secret Agent aka Danger Man, Danger Mouse, The Darling Buds of May (Ever wonder where Catherine Zeta Jones came from?), The Day Today, The Deal (Part 1 of "The Tony Blair Trilogy"), Desmond's, Doc Martin, Doctor Who (Classic and revival), Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries, Downton Abbey, The Duchess of Duke Street, Dylan Moran, Eddie Izzard, Edge of Darkness (You're welcome, Mel Gibson), Enemy at the Door, Ever Decreasing Circles, The Fall & Rise of Reginald Perrin, The Fast Show, Father Ted, Fawlty Towers, 55 Degrees North, A Fine Romance, The Fixer, Foyle's War, Garth Merengi's Darkplace, Gavin & Stacey (Remade as 'Mad Love', this week), George and the Dragon, George & Mildred (remade as 'The Ropers'), Good Neighbors (aka 'The Good Life'; a much better title!), The Grand, Green Wing ('Scrubs' on crack!), Hamish Macbeth, Hardware, Harry Enfield & Chums, Have I Got News For You, Hillsborough, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Hotel Babylon, How do you Want Me?, Hustle, I, Claudius, The Inbetweeners, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Inspector Morse, The Irish R.M., The IT Crowd, It Ain't Half Hot Mum (Yes, it's racially distasteful; it's also damned funny!), Jeeves & Wooster, Jonathan Creek, Keen Eddie, Keeping Up Appearances, Kingdom (Speaking of bad choices, WHERE THE HELL IS SERIES 4?!), The Kumars at No. 42, Lark Rise to Candleford, The Last Detective, Last of the Summer Wine (After more than 30 years, we miss you!), Lead Balloon, Lee Evans, Lee Mack, Lewis, Life On Mars, (Whatever Happened to) the Likely Lads, Little Britain, Look Around You, Lord Peter Wimsey, Love Soup, Lovejoy, Luther, MI-5 (aka 'Spooks'), Maigret, Man About the House (remade as "Three's Company'), Mapp & Lucia, Marple, Men Behaving Badly, Michael McIntyre, Midsomer Murders (Thank you John Nettles!), Mock the Week, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Moving Wallpaper/Echo Beach (Despite British popular opinion, I loved this duo!), Mulberry, Murder In Suburbia, My Family, Neverwhere, The New Statesman, New Tricks, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Northern Lights/ City Lights/ Clash of the Santas, Not Going Out (The Best sitcom on TV, period!), The Office, The Omega Factor, Omid Djalili, On the Buses, On the Up (Ended far too soon! What a masterpiece!), One Foot In the Grave, Only Fools and Horses (Voted by the British public as the best sitcom ever!), Open All Hours, Our Friends In the North, Outnumbered (The Best depiction of parents and children ever!), Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure/ Oz and James Drink to Britain, Peep Show, The Palace, The Persuaders, Phoenix Nights, Poirot, Porridge/Going Straight, Porterhouse Blue, Press Gang, (All Quiet On the) Preston Front (The show that probably started it all, for me!), Pride and Prejudice, Prime Suspect, Primeval, The Prisoner, The Protectors, Pulling, Q.I. (My favorite TV show of all time!), The Queen (part 2 of "The Tony Blair Trilogy"), Raffles, Randall & Hopkirk(deceased) (Original & revival), Rebus, Red Dwarf, Rising Damp, Robin's Nest (remade as "Jack's Place"), Roman Mysteries, Rosemary & Thyme, The Royle Family, Rowan Atkinson, Rumpole of the Bailey (Still probably the best character in the history of British TV), Russell Howard, The Saint, The Sally Lockhart Mysteries, Sapphire and Steel, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Second Thoughts, The Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Sensitive Skin, Shakespeare Retold (Awe-inspiring remakes!), Sherlock (A brilliant re-imagining of a classic), Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett, naturally...if you're not sure why, read a Conan Doyle story, then watch his portrayal. 'Nuff said!), Skins, The Special Relationship (The Third film in "The Tony Blair Trilogy"), State of Play (You're welcome, Russell Crowe), Steptoe and Son (Every British comedy made after it, owes everything to it; remade as "Sandford and Son"), The Street, The Sweeney (The first modern cop show!), Terry & June, That Mitchell & Webb Look, Thick as Thieves, The Thin Blue Line, To the Manor Born, Top Gear (If you're not watching it Mondays at 9pm est...what in the hell is WRONG WITH YOU?!), Torchwood, A Touch of Frost, Touching Evil, Two Fat Ladies, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (Almost a decade old, the pilot was written by an 18 year old!),The Two Ronnies, Two's Company, Ultraviolet, Up the Elephant & Round the Castle, The Vicar of Dibley, Waiting For God, Waking the Dead, Who Do You Think You Are?, William & Mary, Wives and Daughters, Yes Minister/ Yes Prime Minister, You Rang M'Lord & The Young Ones.
If you are a member of the American public, and any of these shows or people are not familiar, get off your ass! CBS, you have a lot to live up to! If you bring back "S*#!", give it more support than hoping Shatner can carry it alone. Remember! We're watching you!
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