What's HOT & What's NOT: The state of Prime-Time television.

I'm sure it has got me into trouble more then once but I've never been afraid to share my opinion....

We've once again entered that time of year when television network executives breakout their sharpies and start "stroking off" their lists, I'm of course referring to their list of series that won't be returning in the fall. And in a world that seems to be dominated by reality television, once again this year two of the shows that I've found myself firmly attached to will not be coming back.

Lucifer is the one that I think has really upset me, it's true that season three seemed to fall off the rails a little with the whole Sinner-man story-arc, but generally speaking the series was a well-written & performed diversion to an otherwise stagnant Monday night lineup. 

The news that they would not be picked up for a fourth season seemed to take the cast and crew off-guard as well, with the hashtags #SaveLucifer and #PickupLucifer going viral on social media within a matter of hours. 

And without ruining the series finale for anyone who has yet to see it, showrunner Joe Henderson recently told Deadline that "His team created a huge cliffhanger" that's going to "Frustrate the hell out of fans so that there was no way Fox could cancel us".

Unfortunately Henderson was only 50% right, his team created a huge cliffhanger, but Fox pulled the plug and unless another network steps in to save them, fans will truly be frustrated with the unexpected series finale.

Last week when ABC decided to cancel Designated Survivor it was less then surprising.

The series which stars Kiefer Sutherland has suffered multiple turnovers as a number of cast and crew have gone through a revolving door during its two years on television. And although this series started off strong - telling the story of a man thrust into unexpected power after a horrible terrorist attack, anyone can see that it has lost its way during the course of the second season.

What made this series so compelling during season one has ultimately harmed it during season two, the lack of a conspiracy and a true villain. In my personal opinion, had the writers not introduced Terry Serpico's character, Patrick Lloyd as a rich industrialist then the second season could have been about discovering who funded the man behind the attack on Washington D.C

Having said that, The Hollywood Reporter has recently suggested that talks are underway with Netflix to revive the series for a third season with its fifth showrunner in two years. They may also want to consider talking to some new writers or their run on the video streaming service might be a short lived one. 

On the plus side, Gotham has been confirmed for its Fifth and final season. The series which has taken a unique approach to the DC Batman story, focusing on a young Bruce Wayne prior to dawning the cape and cowl, was one of many shows that Fox was rumored to be cutting.

However Variety has confirmed that the Warner Brothers produced show will be given the green-light for one final run so that fans can witness Young Master Wayne finally suit up and seize his future legacy.

And with The CW renewing both Supernatural and it's entire DC lineup of shows, my options for series to continue binge watching has never been better.... Now if The CW would only pick up Lucifer that would be perfect!

Outside of a few shows where a decision has yet to be made you can click here to see a complete list of what will and will not be returning in the fall. Let us know in the comments below what cuts have truly disappointed you and remember to join in on the conversation on the CanGeek Community Page.

Thanks for reading.

Star Trek: It has always been about hope!

I found myself feeling hopeless on Sunday night....

When it was announced that Star Trek was making its long awaited return in 2015 I was ecstatic, it had been almost a decade since production wrapped on Enterprise and I needed something to look forward to, to be hopeful for.

Whither it be James T Kirk engaged in mortal combat with Khan, Jean-Luc Picard defending the Federation against a Borg invasion, Benjamin Sisko protecting the Alpha Quadrant against the Dominion, Jonathan Archer helping to lay the foundation of Starfleet or Kathryn Janeway attempting to bring her crew home, Star Trek has always been about hope.  

However by the time the two hour series premier of Star Trek Discovery had concluded I was not left with a feeling of hope, but rather a feeling of hopelessness - this was not the Star Trek I had grownup with.

Discovery has a much different feeling to it, a very dark and hopeless feeling. 

Set roughly a decade before the events of the original series, Discovery begins with a confrontation between Starfleet and a fractured Klingon Empire. The Klingon's have been absent for almost one hounded years, other then popping up every now and again to kill colonists as a reminder that they are still out there - and that's how we meet our main character Michael Burnham.

Burnham is orphaned during one such raid and is adopted by Spock's father Sarek. Sarek places Burnham in the Vulcan Science Academy, and once her education is complete he logically returns her to the human race by placing her aboard the USS Shenzhou under the command of captain Philippa Georgiou.

It is during her service as the Shenzhou's first officer that Burnham sparks a war between the Federation and Klingon Empire, betrays her shipmates, and ultimately causes the death of her captain before facing a court-martial and being imprisoned for life.

Star Trek has always been about hope, but the premier of Discovery left me feeling hopeless.

As we look forward to next weeks episode it's fair to assume that Burnham will somehow evade her life sentence and once again find her way onto the bridge of a Starship. 

However in a series that opened with so much aggression and has already killed off what was believed to be a central character, this show feels like it is tapping the darkness that is the Kelven timeline as opposed to the hopefulness that was always just beneath the surface in the original timeline. 

With that in mind I can't help but wonder if Star Trek Discovery will be the CBS All Access attempt at Game of Thrones in space, only time will tell but here's hoping that the shows helmsmen sets a course in the right direction in the weeks to come.

Because Star Trek has always been about hope.