Crazy Television Programming

May usually means season finales for television shows, at least on broadcast network TV, yet two shows are quitting early after tonight, as it's still April.  And the last episodes of the season may be the last episodes of the series.

Earlier in the 2013-14 season, CBS was touting "The Crazy Ones," with Robin Williams starring as an ad man - Mork meets Don Draper, if you will - as one of the most successful new sitcoms of the season.  Debuting in the 9 PM Eastern slot on Thursdays, its ratings were largely based on the happenstance of its scheduling, and since switching places with the cancellation-resistant "Two And a Half Men" - which had been on at 9:30 PM Eastern - its numbers have suffered.  Now "The Crazy Ones" looks like it may not be back on in the fall.  I mentioned that Williams' costar, Sarah Michelle Gellar - who played the title character in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" - was coming in with a new show just as her old "Buffy" costar Alyson Hannigan was going out with "How I Met Your Mother."  Well, Gellar may be following America's favorite living TV redhead out the door at CBS now.  What must Gellar think of that?  Well, as Mork would say, "Shazbot!"

I might be using language a little stronger than Orkan curse words if "Parenthood" is gone for good after tonight's season finale.  The series began its fifth season in September 2013 with a full-season order and several sitcoms - all but one of them first-season shows - as the lead-ins for its 10 PM Eastern slot.  We all know what happened: The new sitcoms were sitbombs, and NBC suffered some of the lowest prime-time ratings in television history for Thursdays.  And so "Parenthood," already up against Kerry Washington's red-hot "Scandal" on ABC (also ending its season tonight to accommodate Ms. Washington's pregnancy) and CBS's "Elementary," has suffered as a result of NBC's Thursday night collapse.  I started thinking this season might be it for "Parenthood" when Zeek and Camille decided to sell their house and downsize; it's almost like a metaphor for what NBC has to do in order to survive.  But since the network is owned by Comcast, the deep pockets of the parent company may allow the once-proud Peacock Network to keep it in the air as a loss leader while Comcast makes its money elsewhere.  The only problem is that too much of NBC has been loss-leading for the past decade as it has remained mired in fourth place.

My advice:  Enjoy tonight's "Parenthood" episode.  You may be saying goodbye to more than just the Braverman house.