Short But Happy Lives: Occasionally I am reminded of how much I hate TV. Actually I don't hate TV, I like TV, but I hate the decision makers behind TV. I have just stumbled on another of the endless litany of decent TV shows that got cancelled after a brief run because a time slot was needed for some miserable knockoff of a tawdry reality show or asinine action fantasy that was a hit on another channel.

This time it is Wonderfalls. I happened to stumble on this series while channel surfing and found it delightful. It's the story of a slacker girl who works in a Niagara Falls gift shop; she suddenly finds that animals are talking to her. Not real animals, fake ones: little figurines, stuffed toys, pink lawn flamingos, etc.

The show is loaded down with lighthearted ironies and affecting characters. Nice balance of comedy and weirdness, fateful action and random chance. Nothing dramatic or bombastic, just small clever stories filled with wit and served with a wink and a smile. To give you a sense for what is was like, two of the people behind it went on (separately) to do Malcolm in the Middle and Dead Like Me.

It is currently being rerun on Logo, the gay channel. Except half the time when I try to TIVO it I only end up with some silly gay show instead because apparently Logo can't manage to set a straight schedule. (Get it? A "straight" schedule? The gay channel can't keep a "straight" schedule. That's a joke, son.)

I could easily buy the series DVD but I don't want to. They only made 13 episodes before it was replaced, probably by some dire and dreary variation of Law and Order, and I would prefer to have the discovery last a while.

Networks should rerun these unjustly-treated short-time shows more often. Is there a reason Encore Western has to rerun tedious melodramas like Gunsmoke when they could fly through The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. in a couple of weeks? And why can't the Sci-fi Channel take a break from the 24/7 Star Trek inundation to show Eerie, Indiana.

But I'm now officially rambling. Your (correct) comment at this point is, "Quit yer whining and go out and buy the DVD. Now where's the next football column?" Touche.