What happened to quality TV???

Why is it that great shows get cancelled so that crappy shows can go on??? I say this because I'm half way thru watching the series "The Black Donnellys" and i'm wondering why on earth it got cancelled. 

For those of you that do not know, The Black Donnellys is a tv show that had one season in 1997.  Its about four irish brothers living in New York City that get involved with the Irish and Italian Criminal underground.  It had a great cast that included Olivia Wilde (who is everywhere these days) Michael Stahl-David (Cloverfield) and Jonathan Tucker (the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, Hostage, The Ruins).

Here is the IMDB description:
"Four very different Irish-American brothers - Kevin, Jimmy, Tommy and Sean - have sworn to live by the code of "family first." But as they become increasingly involved in the ruthless world of New York organized crime, their loyalties to their friends, to their loved ones, and especially to each other will be put to the ultimate test"

I'm on about episode 6 of the series(half way thru) and so far its a really great drama.  The characters are interesting and how the narrative is being told thru the words of Joey Ice Cream.

I dont know why this was ever cancelled.  How great shows like this gets cancelled and shows like Jersey Shore/John & Kate plus 8/Housewives of whatever the hell city they are from now stay on the air.  It truely boggles my mind.

Now most people that know me know that I hate (and i dont use hate often for anything) 95% of reality TV, and I have legitimate reasons why I do.

1) They are not as real as most people think.  The shows edit through over 1000 hours of video and edit it together to paint the cast in a certain light.  They actually have writers on the show even though its billed as unscripted. Check out this article if you do not believe me http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53032-2004Aug9.html  Also, members of the production crew will tell random pedestrians that if they go up to one of the cast members, they cannot talk about certain things like the show.  This takes away from the so-called realism of the show.

2)  The productions are a mess.  I know and have talked to people who have worked on reality tv shows and they tell me that half of them are nightmares to work on.  Especially shows like Jersey shore (it should be noted that I do not know anyone personally that has worked on Jersey Shore, but I have friends that do)  The cast has some sense of false entitlement and feel everything should be given to them on a silver platter, so they treat everyone like total crap.  I understand that self-confidence is important, but being confident does not give you the right to be a total douchbag to anyone.

3)They send more negative messages then any violent video game.  Some of the messages they show are, but not exclusive too, showing that if you become a pregnant teen, you can get on tv and make lots of cash(teen mom); All that is important in life is getting wasted, screwing around (spreding herpes no less), and being a total douch/bitch with a false sense of entitlement (Jersey Shore);  talking bad behind someones back and being a back stabber for no reasons(real housewives).  Guess what kids, if you do all these things you can be a star too.  Never mind being a good person, dumbasses unite!!!

4)Its the same thing EVERY WEEK!!!  It doesnt change. Sure you can say that "Oh but you never know what they are gonna say and or do," but if you pay attention you can predict the entire series by watching 1 episode. Take Jersey Shore (which is epitome of bad TV) for example.  They drink at their house, they go to the club and drink and pick up men/women, someone tries to start problems within the group for no other reason then to have something to move the episode along, and thats it.  There is no growth or enlightenment of any cast member.  Sure they can try and say things like its from the heart, but it really means diddly squat when u do the same thing the very next week.


Now i'm not saying all reality TV is bad.  Some shows can be very interesting.  Its the shows that can teach you something that you might not have known that are good.  Shows like; How Its Made, Dirty Jobs, Brew Masters(I'm an amateur brewer and love this show) Cake Boss (although its repetitive after a couple of episodes, but i do love watching the different kinds of cakes they make),  Pawn Stars, American Pickers.  Game shows and Contest shows can also be really good (I personally dont consider these last two reality TV, but on wikipedia so I must follow their unmistakable logic. lol

Its just hard to believe that quality shows like The Black Donnellys, Heroes (it was great the first season and should have been given another chance) Firefly(although it did get a movie made from it) Freaks and Geeks(had a great cast and a handful of them went on to big hollywood careers); Arrested Development.

I really hope that we get out of this crappy reality tv phase so we can get back to good quality tv.  I am looking forward to the promising new shows (Terra Nova, American Horror Story, Grimm, Hell On Wheels, Once Upon A Time) and the return of actual quality shows (The Walking Dead, The Vampire Diaries, Two And A Half Men0 that will hopefully save the quality of TV.