2007 Departures: 'Sopranos' whacked, '7th Heaven' in the hereafter

We lost a few notable television programs over the last year and I know that means we lost some good entertainment. The ending of HBO's The Sopranos came as a great disappointment to a large fan base which probably approached cult status. HBO gave fair warning of the show ending, making the fact known some twelve episodes before the final conclusion. That didn't soothe the blow however. Dedicated fans still hang on to the belief that Tony Soprano shall someday return. From what I've been told, the series sounded robust, interesting and colorful although I never actually saw one episode myself. That probably means I'll own the complete series on DVD some day.

7th Heaven went to the scrap heap this year after a good solid 10- or 11-year life cycle. There was hope that the show might garner an eleventh good season, but I think everyone knew that race had been run. I seriously enjoyed 7th Heaven, having watched a fair cross-section of complete episodes over the entire run of the show. Recently it's been reported that 7th Heaven was one of a group of programs that Hallmark has purchased the rights to. I'm sure that as a perennial favorite, 7th Heaven shall perform well in reruns as long as we need to get our fix of Lucy Camden.

In May of this year, King of Queens gracefully bit the dust. It's about time if you ask me. Good acting floated the show, which was otherwise mediocre. I thought that the players could have made better use of their time. Even good fans of the show realized that after the first 100 episodes they had all become the same. The show had a good run and exited in a timely manner, as should be the case with all those shows themed, "loser dude gets the chick."

One of the unexpected cancellations of the year was The OC. It's another program I didn't watch myself but I know it was a well-liked and well-produced program. Jonathan Toomey at TV Squad called the show "well-crafted and culturally meaningful." Fans across the internet have praised the show for being engaging and well-rounded.

It would seem that at least one of the stars of The OC has strong aspirations for career advancement, as evidenced by the appearance of The OC's Mischa Barton on the cover of the January '08 issue of Maxim. This is just one more example of the truth about there being life after television. It is rumored that The OC's sexiest star is aiming for the big screen.

For more information about television program cancellations, be sure to see our friends at TV Squad.

This post was written as part of a series on on 2007 departures. Read about more products, companies and people you won't see in 2008.