"I should have known right then."

"It was too good to last."

Sometimes when you're expecting very little from a TV show but you give it a chance for pity's sake, it completely wins you over. The shows you enjoy usually involve strong ensemble casts -- the kind of cast that seems to have a pre-existing familiarity and natural chemistry.

Tonight, you gave The Knights of Prosperity a chance even though you'd heard the title maybe once and had no idea what the show was about. In fact, you thought it was that show starring this guy, and only stuck around when you found out it wasn't (ie. in the first three seconds of the episode) because you found out that it stars this guy, whom you have silently pledged to support simply because he was born in your hometown (even though he wasn't raised there. Also, his birthday is the day before yours). Funnily enough, the pilot for that show starring that other guy featured this guy, who is now one of the titular Knights. Anyway, by the end of the episode -- one of the lucky pilots that actually made it to air -- you were hooked.

Whether or not ABC will give The Knights a fighting chance remains to be seen. Between scheduling difficulties, multiple name changes and a lead actor who isn't exactly regarded as "bankable", things aren't looking up. When a show's own network continues to publish a preview page using a URL referring to the series' scrapped title -- then saddles it with a particularly uninspired and uninspiring synopsis -- you can practically hear the clock ticking. After all, it's not as if a fine cast and critical praise will spare a show from cancellation (witness the television career of Judd Apatow), and this wouldn't be the first time a show featuring a cast you like was axed, totally perplexing your nine-year-old self in the process. It probably won't be the last time a show you like is cut from the roster, either.

So: enjoy the show while you can. Remember that your favourite programs live on in DVD box sets and syndication, and that it's not every day you see this old rooster making fun of himself on network television.

TRACK LISTING: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, "Even the Losers"