• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, August 15, 2007

HBO can surf the waves well with low-rated and critically positive TV shows. Where it wipes out are with those low-rated shows that get mixed reviews.

"John from Cincinnati," the dark surfing drama, had the latter going for it -- and less. Throw in the too-high-to-climb perch as a possible successor to "The Sopranos" (which some had called possibly the greatest piece of entertainment in TV history) and all this was too much of a hill for "John" to mount.

So for the first time in its recent programming memory, HBO did the unthinkable: It pulled a show after its first season.

Critics called "John" strange, weird, and not always understandable. With that kind of pedigree, it's hard to get viewers interested -- especially when they pay an extra $10 or more a month for HBO or its suite of pay channels.

This summer -- perhaps for the first time -- has also been one where HBO has been usurped, sort of, by new and better fare on basic cable networks this summer -- TNT's "Saving Grace," Lifetime's "Army Wives" and USA Network's "Burn Notice," to name a few.

With still the highest number of Emmy nominations among any network, HBO still has a long way to fall in the quality department. But "John" shows the vulnerability of any traditional TV network -- broadcast, basic or pay cable. No one is immune from media erosion, malaise, or overload.

HBO's longtime marketing line continues to be that it is snootily above the rest: "It's not TV. It's HBO."  TV executives have always snickered at that self-reverence. But with shows like "The Sopranos," "Deadwood," "Six Feet Under," and "Sex and the City," HBO always got the last laugh.

HBO clung to what it knows best with "John," catering to an initial small group of devotees, all with the hope of developing a bigger and cooler following.

But after getting barely one million viewers interested, the intimate, artsy show wound up being too hip for most of the cool room --- or just too bad.