Goodbye, Elmo

Tonight was the series finale of "Men in Trees," one of the best shows I've watched in decades. ABC canceled it because of "ratings," but the reality is, they never truly supported the show. It was moved all over the schedule and inexplicably pulled for months at a time. No show could survive that.

I'm thinking of not watching much network TV anymore. All the quality shows I so enjoy are so often canceled by short-sighted goobers who think we really want to see "Redneck Millionaire Real World Jacka**" three nights a week (apologies to Brad Paisley for mauling his lyrics).

Remember "Homefront"? I'm not even sure it survived an entire season. It chronicled the lives of its stars during WWII and starred Kyle Chandler from the Atlanta area.

Then there was "Sports Night." Felicity Huffman has certainly moved on to bigger things, but she rocked this show. Loved the edgy banter and diversity of characters.

My favorite of all time: "Northern Exposure." MIT was often compared to NE, and the surface similarities were sometimes humorous. NE stands alone, in my mind, in the quality television forest. Nothing has ever measured up to its plotlines, dialogue and character development.

But MIT came close, very close. With another year or two under its belt, there might be a tie in my heart for best show. But we'll never know.

So goodbye, Elmo. I will miss spending an hour with you every week. Annie - you probably made the right decision for you, but you broke my heart, along with Patrick's. Jack and Marin, I'll miss the goofy way you two drive each other insane, then come together in compromise and grow even closer. Rub Uncle Ned's furry little head and give him a kiss. Drive carefully Jane and Sam, and eat a potato for me.