Do we give up too easily?

Courtesy: TV Fanatic

You've probably heard by now The Playboy Club got cancelled after just three short episodes. So sad! I was bummed when I heard the news, knowing how many good Chicago people were employed by the show.

What I was also bothered by is how quickly networks pull the plug on shows before really even giving them a chance. Three episodes, really? That's it? Have you ever gone back and watched the first few episodes of Sex and the City or Friends? They're certainly not fabulous yet, and the actors look sort of awkward or uncomfortable.

It seems like that's how we're becoming as a society...we need things to be instantly amazing, or else we're done with it. Before we're so quick to judge...I think we all need to remember how we were in the beginning. For example...

One of my first live shots in television news, I was so nervous, I even wrote my own name down on my notepad, fearing I would forget the basics for the sheer terror of being live. I was covering an attempted prison outbreak, and the blaring sirens in the background certainly weren't helping my nerves. During my live shot, I started saying the suspect's name, but to my horror, I couldn't remember it. I looked down at my notepad, but it was a blur of ink. I kept waiting for the graphics operator to pull up the suspect's mug shot with his name, but each time I said, "Let's take a look at the suspect," nothing happened.

So finally, without knowing what else what to do, I said, "I'm sorry, I can't remember the suspect's name."

I was humiliated and the live shot was just plain awkward. Thank goodness my news director wasn't like NBC, and decided to give me another shot.

Or how about the time I was learning how to drive a stick shift? My mom and I were coming up to a stoplight at about 40 miles per hour when the light turned yellow, and I panicked and slammed on the brakes. It became very obvious that if we came to a complete stop, it would be in the middle of the intersection, so my mom yelled, "Just keep going!" My nerves were rattled, so instead of putting the gear into 3rd since we were still going about 20-30 mph, I instead put it into 1st. We jumped, skidded and I'm sure, looked like total idiots. Thank goodness my mom decided not to take away my driver's license that day, deciding she'd give me another chance.

How about you? Do you remember the first time you did something? Perhaps you got a skinned knee while riding a bike? Or while trying your hand at playing hairdresser, you gave your Barbie a buzz cut? We're not always brilliant at first, but luckily we have people who don't give up on us so easily.

Now, do you get it network TV?