I have always been the kiss of death to original TV programming. I was a huge fan of Judd Apatow's "Freaks and Geeks," which aired only 12 episodes. And it was like a scavenger hunt trying to track it down. It seemed like its time slot moved every week.

"Firefly" suffered a similar fate. And although the critics raved about "Arrested Development" and it escaped the cutting block for three seasons, it too died too early a death.

So I can sympathize with Anna, a reader who today passed along the following plea she saw on an HBO bulletin board asking for help saving the recently canceled "John from Cincinnati":

Where is John from Cincinnati?
 
That’s the question on the minds of many of the fans of writer/producer David Milch’s latest HBO series, “John From Cincinnati.” But ask any of those fans about the show and they will tell you it is much more than a TELEVISION show. They will tell you that this “experience” has touched them in a very personal way. They will tell you there is a message – a message of love and hope. What? An HBO production with a message – a message of love and hope? What’s going on, here? When did HBO BECOME HEARTFELT?

Well, if they had a heart, they didn’t hold onto it for very long. John From Cincinnati was canceled after 10 episodes.

But the fans of John From Cincinnati just won’t give up. Rallying together on Internet forums and blogs, they have signed petitions, written letters, and
SENT teddy bears TO the HBO CORPORATE offices to show their NEED for a second season. Some suspect, all the uproar MIGHT BE a marketing ploy manipulated by HBO to have fans do their marketing for them. Whatever the case, the fact remains that the show was canceled and its fans are not happy.

With a second season hanging in the balance, there have been more than 400 different fan generated discussion threads about "John From Cincinnati" just on the HBO Web site Community Forum BULLETIN BOARDS alone. And what’s more, these people are educated. Spend some time on these threads and you will receive an Ivy League-quality education in world history, art and music appreciation, politics, film, poetry, literature and spirituality. There is even a fan generated continuation of the series, Episode 11, complete with scripts, dialogues, monologues, set design and music scores.

It looks like the fans in this fight have a slight advantage over HBO – they KEPT BOTH THEIR brain and THEIR heart.