Save Raines

A show that has come across my radar in only the past month, and has quickly gone on to be one of my favorites, is "Raines" on NBC. "Raines" is a cop show about a veteran homicide detective (wonderfully played by Jeff Goldblum) who suffers hallunications and sees dead people. Some people are saying this is a ripoff of Medium (which I've never seen) or The Sixth Sense. I, myself, thought from the commercials that it was basically "House with a badge". But I couldn't have been more wrong. This is a deep, dark, wonderfully intellectual drama with a colorful supporting cast and a great anchor in the form of Goldblum.

Unfortunately, "Raines" has only been doing so-so in its timeslot (Fridays at 9), due to the chokehold CBS has on the night. Friday is such a shitty night for TV anyway, and "Raines" deserves better.

See the show for yourself at http://www.nbc.com/Video/rewind/full_episodes/raines.shtml. If you like it (or better yet, love it), there are a few things you can do to persuade NBC to give this an order for new episodes in the fall. There is an online petition you can sign (http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/raines#sign). Then, you can write NBC at this address:
NBC Studios
3000 W. Alameda Ave.
Burbank, CA 91523

I am trying to find a phone number, but so far, no luck. Finally, go to this link to email NBC: http://www.nbc.com/Footer/Contact_Us/.

Again, this is a wonderful show that is very worthy of your time. And we can certainly use good TV nowadays. If NBC can give full-season orders to Studio 60 (which sucked, sorry Aaron) or to Friday Night Lights (more people watch the fish tank at my local pet store than this show), they can certainly give one to a great newcomer like "Raines". So what are you waiting for? Watch an episode!

Update (May 30, 10:47 AM): A good customer at my store just happens to work for NBC, she's been there for 40 years. While primarily in the news division, she also has some friends in the entertainment department and told me that she would drop the good word about "Raines" for me. I only regret forgetting to get a phone number at where I could reach NBC's entertainment department. If anyone can find one and send it to me at jblanch3@optonline.net, I'll post it on the blog.