My argument for shorter television seasons could open with example after example of shows that churn out 20 plus episodes each year, only to have maybe half of them achieve any level of quality (Heroes, Grey’s Anatomy).  I could also start with a laundry list of the great shows that take the “short cut” and give us more complete and entertaining seasons with as little as six installments (Eastbound and Down, Weeds).  Really, the idea of decreasing television seasons is such a sensible one, the case for it can begin anywhere!

Think about it, how many more risks would networks be willing to take if they didn’t feel obligated to commit to 22 and 25 episode orders?  That gets expensive.  Between crew, expendables, locations etc., the bill can skyrocket.

 But what if we cut that in half?  At a cheaper price tag maybe Dollhouse (shrunk even further to 8 episodes?) gets three or four seasons or maybe your favorite sitcom doesn’t jump the shark when it runs out of ideas in season five!  It is time for American TV to accept the idea of addition by subtraction.

There is resolution in shorter seasons.  The creators are forced to focus on story and character development free of the burden of time filling.  We could drive TV away from being content surrounding commercials and back to eventful narratives.

Here’s what I propose; 13 episode seasons.  Unlucky?  Don’t be ridiculous, it’s the perfect number!  You toss in three or four repeats (depending on the weeks in a month) and you get four month seasons.  That means networks could have three seasons per year!  That’s perfection.

Networks are already inundating us with summer schedules, often filled with mediocre game shows and overworked reality TV concepts. So why not use your Fall/Spring savings to woo audiences with original programming instead?  Syfy airs Eureka, USA Burn Notice, and both do quite well.  Audiences are there, and even if they can afford a lengthy summer vacation, their DVRs will be home ready to soak up all the nets have to offer.

HBO has been doing this for years.  Do you hear anyone argue about the brilliance of True Blood or Deadwood?  Have you ever heard anyone say, “gee that season went by quick?”  No, because it was enough, it left your thirst quenched.  The Sopranos aired 13 per season, with the final season of 21 being split into 12 and nine.  Why that wasn’t considered two seasons though is beyond me.

And it’s not just pay cable that has figured out less is more, the BBC has been doing it practically always.  The Office, Gavin and Stacey, Doctor Who, Fawlty Towers, Spaced, Father Ted, Keeping Up Appearances, the list goes on and on and on.  No one complains because all it means is more great shows are on the way every couple months.

The Brits aren’t the only ones with shorter seasons.  The practice is pretty much the accepted norm everywhere else.  I was in a Japanese pop band in college.  Yes, I will repeat that.  I was in a Japanese pop band in college.  Only our singer was Japanese and we would sit around and watch Japanese shows with her on weekends and I saw some terrific shows that ran 12 to 14 episodes and that was it. It was rare to see them ever return, they just kept churning out new stories and new shows, but it worked because each one was crafted with care and left viewers satisfied.  By the by, if there’s anyone out there with copies of Age 35, I’ll pay cash!

Not convinced yet? Let’s look at fan favorite Lost.  The first season rocked the television world, creating a rabid fan base.  The third season had more complaints than Toyota accelerator pedals.  The show ended with 121 episodes, averaging 20 a season over six seasons.  So here’s a thought, what if season three vanished to a different island, one without a camera crew and a national TV audience? I mean, it was mediocre at best, no?  Subtract those 20 mediocre episodes, take the remaining 100 and divide them over six seasons and you get 16 or 17 episode seasons.  A lot closer to my proposed 13 and presumably tighter and more compelling story telling.

Now of course all of these thoughts are predicated on showrunners and writers committing themselves to scripting and planning a series and its seasons to take advantage of the shorter time frame.  It also asks that they are committed more to quality than check cashing quantity which could be difficult being as home prices in Southern California are the real estate equivalent of a $10 baseball stadium hot dog.  But we can dream can’t we?

Come on networks!  Drop the bottom line, back end profit BS you’ve been living by for decades and let’s shake things up.  There’s no business like short business!