A TV show doesn’t have to be accurate, real or even slightly realistic in portraying its subject matter. Besides being entertaining, it needs to follow its own rules. In Plain Sight does the former, but not so much the latter.

How many times have you heard Mary or Marshall tell a new person into the system that they can’t do anything that connects them to their former life?

In last week’s episode, “Iris Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” they went to great lengths to establish this fact with the father who was a doctor. They were practically breaking the rules to even let him volunteer at a small free clinic.

Yet, this week in “Don of the Dead,” the couple runs a soup kitchen and homeless shelter, just like they did back in Boston. And, a few weeks ago in “Who Shot Jay Arnstein,” the guy was running an art gallery while in witness protection, but had been busted with stolen art.

The In Plain Sight writers need to pay more attention to the conventions they have set up in their world of witness protection. They need more consistency in the stories they are telling, as this is just one of problems with the show.

Hopefully, they will get better in season two, since it was announced last week that there would be a second season of In Plain Sight.

Have you been watching In Plain Sight? What do you think of the show so far?

While preparing this year’s bubble shows that should be saved post, I read an article about New Amsterdam’s cancellation by FOX.

As I sometimes do, I started reading the comments left on the article.

A couple of comments down an Autumn Dreamer posted:

I wanted to watch this. Then I came to my senses and remembered it was on FOX. I figured it’d be better in the end if I didn’t. How sad that I was spot on.

And then three later an amateursleuth posted:

Autumn Dreamer, that makes two of us.

I’ve had enough of FOX screwing the viewers over. I won’t be watching any of their new shows unless they’re solid hits and have already been picked up for a second season. If I miss out on the beginning of something good, so be it. I can always catch up.

Holy self-fulfilling prophesy, Batman!

If you don’t watch, then the likelihood of it becoming a hit, so you can catch up, becomes much lower. Especially, as the number of disenchanted TV viewers like this grows.

The problem goes something like this:

• TV fan starts watching a show.
• TV show pulls in low ratings.
• TV network pulls show after only a few episodes, or less.
• TV fan is disappointed and becomes wary of the next offering by that network.
• Thus, when that network puts out another show, even less people watch, so it gets pulled early.
• But, yet another TV fan is disappointed and becomes wary of the next offering by that network, and so on, and so forth.
• Until you get lots and lots of people like the ones who left the comments mentioned above.

However, if you are a TV fan and you see something that looks good, don’t sit back and wait. Tune in. Get your friends to tune in. Or, at least fire up the TiVo . Otherwise, you are just contributing to the problem. Also, in the case of New Amsterdam, you missed eight pretty good episodes that put an interesting spin on the oft-used immortal storyline.

Don’t get me wrong; the networks need to give their shows more time to find an audience. Not to mention, marketing them better in the first place.

But, not watching because it might get pulled, would be like:

• Declining a date with an attractive suitor because they might break things off, just as you are beginning to like them.
• Or, not studying for a test because you are just going to fail anyway.

Please don’t buy into self-fulfilling prophesies like these, because you might just end up a failure, sitting home alone, with nothing to watch.

“P.S. Please stop sending us nuts.” That is how the open letter posted on the Jericho Fan Forums by CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler ended. Why should the nuts stop? Well, because CBS has decided to renew Jericho for a second season. While it was only for seven episodes, it is better than leaving things how they ended and they did leave open the possibility of more Jericho, if it does well.

The Nuts for Jericho campaign ended up sending over 20 tons of nuts to CBS. Not only that, but they have raised almost $15,000 in donations, thus far, for Greenburg, KS, which was devastated by tornados on the same night as the Jericho season finale.

Here is the complete letter:

To the Fans of Jericho:

Wow!

Over the past few weeks you have put forth an impressive and probably unprecedented display of passion in support of a prime time television series. You got our attention; your emails and collective voice have been heard.

As a result, CBS has ordered seven episodes of “Jericho” for mid-season next year. In success, there is the potential for more. But, for there to be more “Jericho,” we will need more viewers.

A loyal and passionate community has clearly formed around the show. But that community needs to grow. It needs to grow on the CBS Television Network, as well as on the many digital platforms where we make the show available.

We will count on you to rally around the show, to recruit new viewers with the same grass-roots energy, intensity and volume you have displayed in recent weeks.

At this time, I cannot tell you the specific date or time period that “Jericho” will return to our schedule. However, in the interim, we are working on several initiatives to help introduce the show to new audiences. This includes re-broadcasting “Jericho” on CBS this summer, streaming episodes and clips from these episodes across the CBS Audience Network (online), releasing the first season DVD on September 25 and continuing the story of Jericho in the digital world until the new episodes return. We will let you know specifics when we have them so you can pass them on.

On behalf of everyone at CBS, thank you for expressing your support of “Jericho” in such an extraordinary manner. Your protest was creative, sustained and very thoughtful and respectful in tone. You made a difference.

Sincerely,

Nina Tassler

President, CBS Entertainment

P.S. Please stop sending us nuts

So, what do you think of that? A network hearing the disappointment of their fans and then doing something about it, I am really impressed. This should do a lot for CBS, which is trying to branch out from their core, older skewing, audience.

So, what does this mean for TV fans and future “Save Our Show” campaigns?

Well, it means they can work, if creative and focused. But, not so fast, while congratulations are in order for Jericho fans and campaign organizers, there is still more to think about.

If CBS doesn’t see the Jericho audience grow, both on TV and online, then they won’t see their advertising dollars grow. If they don’t see enough money rolling in from DVD sales, episode downloads and advertising dollars, then they won’t have the incentive to continue the story past this shortened second season. After all, it is about money and if they think they can make more of it with another show, then it won’t matter how many tons of nuts you send them.

This will be a test case for this type of activity. CBS really looks to have listened and will be using the return of Jericho to test out their multiplatform distribution of TV shows.

The thing TV fans in general need to look out for is, if this were to fail in some way. If the audience doesn’t show up, if the ratings aren’t there, if people aren’t watching or participating online, if people aren’t buying the DVDs and such, then it will be used by ALL the other networks as reasoning to not renew shows, no matter how enthusiastic and creative the fan base seems to be. All future “Save Our Show” campaigns will be buoyed if this is a success, which I truly hope it is. But, if it isn’t, it could be a really long time before a beloved show could be brought back from the network cancellation graveyard.

So, if you are not just a fan of Jericho, but a fan of great TV shows and wants to keep the possibility alive that one day your favorite show could be saved, you need to do one or all of the following:

• Watch and get your friends, family, co-workers and anybody else to watch Jericho when they start replaying it over the summer.
• Watch and get your friends, family, co-workers and anybody else to watch Jericho via streaming video at CBS’ innertube.
• Download your favorite episodes or the complete first season at Amazon Unbox or iTunes .
• Buy the season one Jericho DVD set when it comes out on September 25th.
• Keep up with the show by visiting the Jericho website.
• And most importantly, watch and get your friends, family, co-workers and anybody else to watch when the second season of Jericho airs, especially if you know someone with a Nielson box.

These activities will not only increase the likely hood of seeing more Jericho past season two, but will help to ensure that future campaigns will have a chance to work.

So, as a fan of great TV shows, I say you should watch Jericho, as one day it may be your favorite show that gets unceremoniously cancelled. Let me know what you think.

Well there are many problems with the Ghost Whisperer but the main problem is that there doesn’t really seem to be a point to the show that captures your imagination while making want to know more and continue to watch. You might say the point of the show is helping spirits crossover. If that is the main point of the show, then really what is the point? To watch the ghost of the week get their problem solved in some sappy sad attempt at being heartwarming or touching. For the TVaholic this just doesn’t cut it.

The show needs and overarching story. Great she can see and talk to ghosts and so could here grandmother. Big deal. Why is this the case? The show doesn’t tell you. They don’t even attempt to hint at why? So again I ask what is the point of this show?

The ghost of the week will get old after awhile, it only took me two episodes. One really but I try to give each show a second viewing just to be sure. People that like the show Smallville like it for the overarching storyline and complain most when the show gets bogged down in the freak of the week stories. Ghost Whisperer started off bogged down.

The show it replaced on Friday night, the superior Joan of Arcadia, had the type of story I am talking about. Was Joan seeing things and then why was this happening to her? These and others were hinted at in the show. Giving it an overarching storyline that you wanted to tune in and watch week after week to find out more about why this was happening. The show was more than just the lesson of the week for Joan. Unfortunately CBS saw fit to cancel the show after the second season when the reason was finally revealed.

This is not the case with Ghost Whisperer. If they continue on this path with each episode being a story in itself but never advance and overall story allowing for growth of the characters, it will not keep viewers returning week after week. Why would you? You could tune in anytime and watch an episode and never miss anything.

So, I had the idea for this post last week and decided to watch last Friday’s episode, which was the fourth show of the season. I wanted to have the show fresh in mind when writing about it. It was just like the two shows I had seen until the very end when a ghost catches Melinda’s eye and stares her down and then vanishes with an evil and sinister sounding laugh as a vehicle passes by. I thought to myself are they trying to introduce some long-term struggle for the main character to deal with. Something that will be hinted at more and more until she and we find out what is going on. I don’t know and don’t really care and had I not been thinking of this writing idea would have not ever bothered to even watch another episode.

If they are introducing an overarching storyline then good for them because this show needs something to give it a chance at being worth watching on a long term basis. Unbelievably based on these first few episodes the show was picked up for the entire season.

What do you think about Ghost Whisperer? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.