maybe the show wasnt...um... "white" enough. hope no one takes that the wrong way.
sharelol @ bladeage. It was extremely White, but also extremely funny (much like Frasier), so I don't think that had to do with its cancellation.
I guess sometimes a show can be great, but if its on the wrong network, at the wrong time, or if there's another show that grabs more of its audience than it does...then it's over.
Not funny.
shareMy personal suspicion is that it came out too close to the end of 'Wings' and Church at the time was very firmly established in the viewing public's mind as Lowell, the handyman. I remember watching this when it was first shown and feeling kind of jarred by the major shift in character. Another possible issue might have been the rather dark, cynical humor of the premise, which admittedly shifted into the background as the members of the ensemble, along with the writers, found their respective voices.
However, I just finished watching the first season on DVD this weekend and, now that I've had some distance, I'm amazed at how brilliantly funny this show was, particularly due to Church's talent at portraying Ned. There were times I almost couldn't breathe, I was laughing so hard.
Another thing I noticed is that Debra Messing is much better dressed in this show than in her current series which will not be named. She is drop-dead gorgeous as Stacey, from head to toe.
the reason why it was cancelled is due to the fact Thomas Haden Church was not a lead actor. He was good in small doses on Wings but boring as the lead person on Ned and Stacy.
And ratings was the main reason why it was canned, can't blame it on Wings at all. Thomas left in 1995.
What channel did this show air on? A few years ago either Lifetime or WE was showing reruns, but I never watched cuz I never heard of it. Is anybody showing it now? It sounds funny.
Tomorrow's just your future yesterday!
"And ratings was the main reason why it was canned, can't blame it on Wings at all. Thomas left in 1995."
In the first season, after about five or six episodes they added this little blurb which explains the premise of the show. I would guess that they added that so that new viewers dropping in wouldn't be confused.
However, that blurb was horrible. The shots they chose were poor. The dialog for the blurb after the first two or three sentences is just stilted and off. I expect that intro blurb did more to drive away new viewers than just letting them be confused for a bit would have done.
I agree with everything you just said. Especially how Stacey was gorgeous in this show!!! I loved her here!! I like Lowell too. But his character as Ned Dorsey became too much of a character!! It was hard to watch the show with him trying so much. He needed to be how he was in the 1st season.
shareAnother thing I noticed is that Debra Messing is much better dressed in this show than in her current series which will not be named. She is drop-dead gorgeous as Stacey, from head to toe.
Stacey/Debra Messing looks much better when not dressed at all .
personally i think it was cancelled because it aired in the days of 'friends' and other "must see" shows that just got more viewers, so the network dropped the ned and stacey. look at will and grace... it came along after ned and stacey, very similar show, it succeeded... i think it was just bad timing. i remember watching ned and stacey as a kid, well, young teen, and it was one of the best!
shareJust wasn't all that popular, alot of good ahows arern't
Jack Warden 18/9/20-19/7/06share
a lot of valid points. i think that a lot of great shows get overlooked and cancelled early and yet some of the stupidest shows last forever. also, i do think that thomas haden church was so different than in wings and i do think people had a hard time, finding it kind of jarring.
www.jakeseverythingburrito.com
I think it was just too dark and cynical for most people, although that's exactly why I liked it. Will & Grace was way too saccharine and sweet for my taste; Ned and Stacey had just the right combination of wit and spice to tickle my funny bone.
And by the way, has anyone else noticed how THC was so much like Bill Murray on this show? Razor sharp and quick.
@Ed in MO
I think it was just too dark and cynical for most people, although that's exactly why I liked it.
That's exactly why I liked it, even though I though Ned was way too arrogant and self-centered. Some of FOX's early shows were like that---which may have been a factor in why they didn't last, either---just a guess,though. I recalled Church from the show Wings, which was one of my fave shows back in the day--and yeah, seeing him transfer from this sweet,naive dude on Wings, to a cold,arrogant sarcastic bastard named Ned, was quite a trip. It was funny seeing this two opposite people who clearly couldn't stand each other try to fake it and make it as a couple for their own reasons. It was also the first show I saw Debra Messing in,pre-WILL AND GRACE (which I also liked.) I got it on DVD,too.
I'm pretty sure it had to do with ratings. But I remember that Time magazine called it one of the smartest and good shows on Television. And if you read other commentaries here and there from so-called experts, who I tend to agree with (on N&S anyway), the resounding sentiment is that it was a travesty that this great show was canceled. I can't wait for season two when they had "Amandamuffins".
shareI remember watching this show on a regular basis when it came out, and I'm pretty sure the reason it was cancelled was because when Ned and Stacy were forced together in the first season, it caused a lot of stress, and consequently, a lot of laughs. When the writers/creators decided to have them actually fall in love, the show jumped the shark, and had no place left to go but down...The ratings plumetted,a nd the rest is history. I may be wrong, but if memory serves correctly, that's what happened...
sharedoes anyone know when the 2nd season will be released?
shareCross74: I agree that the 2nd season DID miss that "special something" that the 1st season had, I'm just not so certain it's for the reasons you stated.
You can definitely sense the strain in the humor of season 2 (ESPECIALLY towards the final episodes)...It might have been the writers were running out of ideas...Or perhaps it was their frustration (in the way the show was being treated by Fox?) coming through??
I suspect a combination of these 2....And I also heavily suspect the writers sensed "the end" looming in the 2nd season, that they knew Fox wouldn't bring them back, that's why I believe the writers led Ned & Stacey to finally fall for each other because that's what we all wondered what would happen all along anyways. As much as I hated that it ended (and that I didn't like the finale AT ALL), I'm still thankful that there WAS an ending...As we all know, just because you like a show and watch it for years, doesn't mean that you'll be granted a final episode.
-"humanity is a condition that must be overcome"
I gotta say that I remember this show being quite funny when I used to watch it back in the days. I only wish that it was out here in Oz on DVD cos I actually don't know if it is. I never watched Wings because it was usually on really late and I think the only episode I watched I watched a few times. It wasn't bad tho and I just remember how blokey Thomas Haden Church was in it - a bit sexy in a way! He was pretty funny.
I actually wondered whether I'd be able to take him seriously in Spiderman 3 since I haven't seen Sideways yet. Lo and behold, he made me a believer of his character and he gave him a real depth as well. Maybe it was the ever-present sadness in Flint's eyes that made me fall for him or maybe it was the soft and quiet nature of his voice (which is usually so deep and booming) that did it, I don't know. All I know is that every time he came on-screen, he brought a certain presence along as well. And if Spiderman can forgive him, that's saying something. I forgave him when he first came on-screen tho, admittedly speaking! I love Thomas Haden Church, he is a fantastic actor.
I totally disagree with cross74 on this. I know that a lot of other shows lose the tension once they try to establish the 2 feuding leads, but I don't remember that being the case with NEd & Stacey.
As someone up top mentioned, I don't think it found its audience in the "friends" heyday. Or maybe the network should have stuck with it, because coming on after Melrose Place seems like a RIDICULOUS lineup. Not the same vibe at all.
I think this show was ahead of it's time. If they released it now, it would be a monster hit. Much like Arrested Development was too surreal for the mainstream audience, IMHO.
And like most people have said here, Debra Messing is super cute in this show, but not so much in W&G. I also liked her in Along Came Polly, even though she played kind of the bad person.
Hey have you noticed how debra messings wasnt as goofy as she's in will and grace. and ned dorsey character was too much of a character. it got stale.
shareAired on Fox before the network was mature enouth to handle it. If it would of been on NBC at the time then it would of made it, just like its clone Will and Grace did. Fox wanted their Freinds clone they made 2 Ned and stacey and Partners, aired them on the same night as the lead out of Melrose Place(1 of Fox's hottest shows at the time) Ned and Stacey did OK it wasn't realy a good Match w/ Melrose (Fox would find a good companion Alley McBeal 2 seasons later). <Fox gets a new president> Fox rewarded Ned & Stacey w/ their only good comedy spot Sun night between the Simpsons and the newely relocated X-files, it did OK but Fox had a midseason comedy in the wings namely King of the Hill which would make an hour long cartoon block on Sun. So Ned lost the only logical lead in they were tried back on Mon w/ Married w/ Children as a lead in ...but Married was on its last legs plus it did not have the same audience as its new lead in Melrose plus it did not bring Ned and Stacey any more viewers...Ned and Stacey was then dissplaced so Pauly Shore could have a chance. If fox would of just tried it earlier on Sun they could of saved both it and Married could of made it another season. Butthe strategy failed Fox lost 2 good sitcoms and 1 bad sitcom. They got lucky and both Ally Mc Beal and Malcolm in the middle were hits the following year saving the network
shareI only saw this show one time, in Jan of '96, and I didn't think it was that great. I didn't know Messing at the time and I always liked Church's Lowell character from Wings. I also liked the bit part he played in the movie Tombstone. Perhaps if I had seen more episodes of Ned & Stacey I'd have a better opinion of it. Church left Wings and they carried on without him for two seasons; the same two that overlapped N&S. I loved Wings as a show but it started to get stale in Church's last season. When Amy Yasbeck joined the show it started going downhill, not due to her, just that whenever retooling takes place it is usually a symptom of a show on the decline. That said, Church left Wings at a good time, I suppose. Someone mentioned earlier that he wasn't a good lead man. This could be so, as well as the suggestion that there was a perception change in the Lowell character with Ned. Someone else said that the show jumped the shark when N&S hooked up. The cycle of the sitcom is the building up of two characters getting together as such developing over seasons before it is written into the script. The fact that N&S had to resort to this as early as the second season was a direct sign that the show was in trouble. But to answer the question of this thread directly, in the world of television it always comes down to ratings. If you don't get good ratings you get sacked. But like someone already said there are a lot of good shows that don't get good ratings. I can't help thinking of NBC's Joey when this topic comes up. It was a good show that had the unfortunate displeasure of having to "replace" Friends. It might not have been Friends but it wasn't supposed to be. It definitely deserved more than just two seasons, as many of you obviously feel about Ned & Stacey.
shareThe fact that N&S had to resort to this as early as the second season was a direct sign that the show was in trouble.