‘Rules of Engagement’ canceled by CBS; let’s allow it to take a bow

Usually when you hear the news about a show getting canceled, you either well up with tears or want to throw something very heavy at your television, hoping that this will somehow create a loop in time for the very thing that you love coming back on the air. However, we have to say that we’re doing neither for “Rules of Engagement.” Instead, we just want to give it an opportunity to take a bow.

You see, this is a show that really had no business making it on TV for as long as it did. As a matter of fact, we spent weeks running around in our tinfoil hat proclaiming that CBS was trying to actively throw it under the bus. Remember that attempt to move it to Saturday nights? Basically, this show has gone through everything from numerous time-slot changes, night changes, starting up at mid-season, and being completely ignored by marketing departments. The audience was always there. Even this spring, the ratings were good enough for the show to survive had it been on another network.

But every show has its time, and for “Rules of Engagement” this was it. It will live on in mid-season as a great example of a traditional sitcom in this era, while CBS continues to try and make questionable decisions when it comes to ordering new shows this year. The only thing that we regret, and have always regretted with this network, is their frequent inability to never let a show know in advance that they are ending in order to create a proper send-off.

“Rules of Engagement” is joining a rather extensive crop of canceled shows today, including “Vegas,” “Golden Boy,” and “CSI: NY” at CBS and a number of comedies (plus “Rock Center with Brian Williams”) over at NBC.

Photo: CBS