TV: Just Shoot Me!

Yesterday's post was boring. I'm boring.

So boring, I started thinking about one of my favorite lines ever on TV, from the sitcom Just Shoot Me! -- Nina is telling Finch a story, and Finch suddenly breaks in with, "I just remembered: you're boring, and my legs work," and quickly walks away.

Which then reminded me of one of the funniest guest appearances on a TV show ever, when David Cross appeared on Just Shoot Me! as Elliot's "special" brother, Donnie (who, it turns out, was just faking it to get his family to take care of him). That character seemed to sink into the national consciousness; everybody remembers that appearance. Even people who never watched the show can somehow still remember David Cross sing-songing "Chicken pot chicken pot chicken pot pie!!"

And then I got to thinking about how Just Shoot Me! was on the air forever (well, seven seasons), but it didn't go out the way most long-lived shows do, with big promotions and a special finale episode. It just kind of disappeared. I think it didn't even finish out its last season. Most shows that go that long get a certain amount of respect and fanfare on their exits; Just Shoot Me! simply vanished, as though it had gone into the Witness Protection Program.

On further research, I see it actually went out the same way as The Drew Carey Show (which I've previously written about); its final episodes were held until the regular season had finished, then burned off over the summer. It was by no means a landmark sitcom, but still, that's a pretty crappy farewell from NBC: "Thanks for all the money; don't let the door hit you in the ass."

I'm gonna quit now, before I bore myself again.