By now, we all know that My Own Worst Enemy—that arguably ridiculous but still riveting spy drama—is cancelled.  We’ve seen the complaints, about networks not giving risky shows like it a chance, or methods to tabulate ratings not moving on with the times.  (Or maybe you’ve made those complaints yourselves.  I’ll admit I’ve always insisted the thing about DVR and online viewing.)  But, alas, there’s not much we can do about it.  Starting tonight, we’ll be watching the last five episodes of the series.

I’ve been looking at reaction online about the cancellation, and so far it’s been a blame game.  Some blame the competition, with other networks getting much more viewers on the Monday night time slot Enemy was in.  Some point at the show’s concept itself, although that’s a very arguable thing: while some think it’s pretty silly, others think it’s interesting and attention-grabbing.  Some even point at the “Heroes curse”—the fate that shows positioned after the now-struggling series didn’t last a season.  So, I wonder, what else is left to say?

Despite lots of investment, both in production (how else can you wheel in Christian Slater?) and promotion, My Own Worst Enemy has been ultimately cancelled.  It's just an indicator of the hard times NBC has gotten itself into: this season is proving to be its biggest failure in a while, with new shows not getting the ratings it is expected to have, and old reliables not performing as well as they should be. Despite the cancellation, however, fans can still catch the last episodes on the network tonight, as nine episodes have been produced before the ax fell.

So what went wrong?  There's been quite a lot of speculation about it, at least within the industry. Ratings, of course, are the most obvious culprit.  Last week, the show fared third in its Monday night time slot, pulling in 4.25 million viewers—a poor performance compared to CSI: Miami's 13.67 million viewers and Boston Legal's 8.83 million viewers.  Fans will contend, however, that My Own Worst Enemy should have been given a chance to, at least, finish out the entire season.  Some will even contend—and I'm one of them, I'll admit—that not all people are watching television shows on television anymore.  There's no way for us to know how many have actually watched the series, be it live on TV, on a delayed basis through a DVR, or online.

I guess that the networks will cancel their shows.  After a so far quiet killing season among the network ranks, NBC dropped the guillotine this evening on two of its shows.  Lipstick Jungle and My Own Worst Enemy are no more.  They have perished.  Cancellations have been levied, and there will be no saving either show.  Lipstick Jungle has filmed all 13 episodes of its initial half-season order, though it's unclear whether it, or My Own Worst Enemy (which is currently filming its ninth and final episode), will continue on the schedule for the time being or be immediately removed from the schedule.  Nonetheless, it's a disappointing moment for NBC, which had high hopes for each show, only to see them fail miserably in the ratings. 

My Own Worst Enemy finally returns from a one-week break, and in tonight's episode, “That Is Not My Son”, Edward (Christian Slater) tries to get Raymond (Mike O'Malley) out of harm's way, and Henry (Slater) finds himself in the middle of gunfire, and his safety compromised by a fellow operative (guest star Michelle Krusiec).  The show's doing okay on its Monday night time slot, but admittedly the show's fortunes have been mixed throughout its first three weeks on air.

We've all seen what critics thought of the drama's first few episodes, with some laughing off its improbable premise and others appreciating the inner conflicts that are demonstrated in Slater's screen comeback vehicle.  A fan base has been developing at a steady pace, and with the series progressing, it's hoped that the show makes it to at least the end of its initial run.

NBC’s My Own Worst Enemy started off sluggishly, gaining mixed reviews from several TV critics.  Oddly enough, audiences decided to stick with it.  In fact, even our BuddyTV readers believe that it should be given more than just a second chance.  Most of our reader comments revolve around following the series and seeing what other tricks it may reveal in the coming episodes.

“’My Own Worst Enemy’ isn’t that bad.  It isn’t that good right now either,” If Magazine said in their review.  “But [last week’s episode, “Hello Henry”] was a definite improvement over the let’s throw every plotline we have for the season into one episode and see what sticks.”

We recently reported that the new NBC series, My Worst Enemy, received mixed reviews as it debuted earlier this month.  The John Eisendrath-produced show which stars Christian Slater is set to air its third episode tonight and it has so far endured the airwaves with lukewarm ratings.  In fact, TV Guide recently revealed the ratings for the Monday nights which kicked off this fall season.

First off, we have the 8pm timeslot, in which Dancing with the Stars grabbed 18.56 million total viewers over its 90-minute run, gaining around 900,000 week to week.  Close behind DWTS is CBS’ Big Bang Theory, with an explosive yet stable 9.28 million and How I Met Your Mother, with 9.36 million.  Chuck closed in with 6.7 million.