Last week, the New York Times ran a story on changes coming to network series television. (I haven't linked to it, since New York Times links expire in a few days.) The gist was that we may be seeing the end of the 20+ episodes a year TV series in favor of shorter series runs and one-shot mini-series.

It looks as though this affects both dramatic and comedic series. The Times article appeared to be prompted by NBC's decision to run a reality show on Thursday night instead of back-to-back sitcoms. Reality shows in general seem tied to the demise of series TV, because they allow networks to dispense with scripts, and thus, writer payrolls.

I'm happy to see shorter series appear, but I hope that long-run TV series continue. There are both short and long-run series in the comics world, and although I was initially unhappy with the growth of 4-6 issue comics series, I've come to appreciate them over time. Sometimes, a story can seem truncated by the short series format. For example, I felt the ending to the Vertigo series Cinnamon, which I praised when it first appeared, was rushed. It might have been the fault of the writing, but it might also have been that the story required a longer run to develop.

The network TV series that have my eye these days include Alias; Enterprise, which has finally become consistent amidst rumors that it may be axed; Line of Fire, for its psycho mob boss and butch FBI chief; and on the comedy side, Whoopi, for its city humor and cheeky celebration of drinking, smoking and other anti-family values.