V staff writer Clark Perry on V's cancellation

THAT'S A WRAP

ABC has officially cancelled V. We hate to end the saga on such a game-changing cliffhanger, but them's the breaks.

After being on the viewer-fan end of many an unfair cancellation (hello Firefly, Karen Sisco, Threshold, etc.), it's interesting and enlightening to be on the creative side for a change. No matter what the show's about, or who's involved, it all comes down to money. And while V did respectable numbers and gave the network one of its few shows with a strong male viewership, it was in the end too expensive to continue.

While I can see the reasoning clearly from the other side, it's no less frustrating to experience. There were so many cool tales left to tell. We'd opened up a new world of stories that would've been fun to explore. Now we'll never see Erica shattered and vengeful over her murdered son. We'll never find out what Bliss is doing to the troubled soul of Father Jack. And we'll never see the all-out global war as humans use every weapon they've got to take back their planet.

Many fans have written to ask: Can V continue on another network? If another network's interested, then sure, it's possible. Other shows, like Medium, have jumped networks to survive. But the major networks have already committed their budgetarty war chests to the upcoming fall slate of new and returning shows. None of them have any room or money for V right now. In another year they might ... but the actors' contracts will be long expired by that time.

Is cable an option for V? Sadly, no. Cable shows are produced for a fraction of the budget of a network show, and there's just no way for an effects-heavy show like V to scale down the numbers.

I had a great time on my first TV writing gig. I worked with and learned from some amazingly talented people, and was thrilled whenever something I'd written made it to the final cut. The actors and crew and everybody else flat-out rocked.

If you are one of the millions of people around the world who watched what we made: thank you, deeply and sincerely.

Now it's off to the annual merry-go-round known as staffing season. When I emerge on the other side, either with or without a new gig, I'll report back on that singular experience.

http://clarkblog.typepad.com/clarkblog/2011/05/thats-a-wrap.html