My friend and roommate from college, Kevin Imamura, once told me that whenever he likes a tv show, they cancel it.  His record was almost dead on for a while, which I would imagine would get a little old over time.  Why bother watching tv if things you like don't mesh with the ratings cutoffs?  I can only imagine that this is what the producers at The Jimmy Kimmel Show are hoping to avoid.

I should point out that I'm a fan of the offbeat late night show genre.  I used to record Late Night with David Letterman back when he follwed Carson, just so I could watch it in the morning before I left for school.  I actually like Conan O'Brien in that slot now, because I think he brings that same sort of self-deprecating, network-ready edge that I suppose the Jay Leno crowd isn't up for.  This is why I really, really liked Jimmy Kimmel when his show first went live.

A different opening sequence every night.  The seated monologue. with photos and other random bits.  The rotating announcers.  The weekly guest hosts.  The drunk audience (though briefly).  The family business that is the show.  This was all probably driving the executives at ABC insane, especially since all of this was happening during the relatively sedate pre-midnight Leno timeslot.

I've already commented on the first major transition, which you can spot right away with the flashy, canned opening sequence and the wimpy stand-up monologue.  A recent extended spate of repeats as Jimmy did some press and co-hosted Regis & Kelly after an appearance on Howard were hiding yet another transition, as we saw immediately in the form of a completely redesigned set and yet more movement toward accepted norms.

I'm more than a little disappointed.  His comedy is still orders of magnitude better than Jay Leno has to offer, partially because it's a little bit more edgy, and partially because I think Jay is coasting along as he has been for several years where Kimmel and even the new, perkier Letterman are pushing that little extra bit harder to draw an audience.  Still, I'm sorry to see Kimmel going to formla when it was the anti-formula that I found was one of the more appealing aspects of the show.

To be perfectly honest, I would TiVo all of the original shows to make sure I caught them.  Ditto for the more recent format-changed shows.  The repeats were still tossed out-- the cases where they repeated a show from the previous week or two was almost insulting.   Now, I sometimes catch the monologue, maybe catch a guest if it's someone funny [and by the way, David Cross was horrible for his most recent appearance-- appearing in his tux jacket and  what I would guess were his un-funny pants, and Todd Barry was miserable... and I actually think Todd Barry is pretty funny otherwise], and I've found that more often than not I stop the Tivo from recording the show and watch something else.

The New Kimmel Show.  Relegated to "I'll watch it if I'm not doing anything else at the moment" status.  Bummer.