It's Hard to See When Your Head's Up Your Butt

If the rumors are to be believed, HBO will not be renewing the cult hit John From Cincinnati, which is a big letdown for this cultist. The pundits, bloggers and people who actually make a living prognosticating about such important matters all predicit the axing of this show by HBO, just as the subscription network did to David Milch's other creation, Deadwood.

I don't watch too many shows religiously, but I've really enjoyed this one. HBO brass are looking at Nielsen ratings, which only reflect the raw numbers for a show that is just 9 weeks old. They aren't measuring loyalty or the fact that those who watch this show often watch it again just to pick up the very intriguing and well-written dialog. I've likened the conversational interplay in this show to modern Shakespeare; it's just twice as smart as anything else out there. I'll be the first to admit that the show has a few really, really bad actors, but they're canceled out by a few really, really good ones.

It's mysterious, hard to follow and it has a huge WTF factor, which your average American doesn't want to to be bothered with. They're more interested in American Idol and other assorted trash. "Show us humliation! Show us people eating worms!"

HBO knew when they launched this show that the audience would be small but loyal. If they do cancel, I'll be giving Showtime serious consideration. And don't you know HBO will be sure to release the whole season on DVD. And then they'll scratch their heads when it sells well.

That's how we do it in IB.