10.13.09 PROOF THAT ‘SOUTHLAND’ WAS AWESOME

I was kind of bummed that NBC canceled “Southland.” The show wasn’t groundbreaking, but it was a perfectly good cop drama that didn’t have any frills or pull any punches. As one commenter pointed out, it seemed like a worthy successor to “Hill Street Blues.”

Now that the show is looking for a home elsewhere — most likely TNT — details are coming out about the already-produced first six episodes of the second season, and it turns out NBC didn’t have room for the show because it was too awesome dark.

[T]he first episode of the second season was apparently going to open with a scene in which a convict defecates, or is stabbed and bleeds slowly to death – or both.

While this might have been a great way to warm up an audience at 10 o’clock for those Gas Pipe Explosion Slays 6 stories with which local TV stations like to lead off their 11 p.m. newcasts, it would have been a bit a mood killer for what was to have been “Southland’s” new lead-out program on Friday nights — Jay Leno’s comedy talk show.

Well well well. Yet another thing that just so happens to be Jay Leno’s fault. As if undercutting Conan O’Brien and burning down that orphanage weren’t enough, Leno also has to kill off promising shows. What? Evidence? I need evidence to accuse someone of burning down orphanages now? Sheesh. The Internet was so much cooler before lawyers discovered it.