Bring Back Wagon Train (No wait, I Mean Reunion)

There's a very old episode of The Simpsons (Season 2) where Marge rallies Springfield against the uber-violence in "Itchy & Scratchy". At one point, the citizens protest outside the TV studio holding picket signs. ("Destroy the Violent People!" was a particular favorite.) Mo the bartender, however, uses the protest as a platform for his own personal agenda by carrying a sign that reads, "Bring Back Wagon Train!"

With that in mind, I'll now use this blog in a similar way... Are you listening Fox Network?... Good, then bring back Reunion!

This 2005 series gave us the story of six friends who graduate from high school in 1986. They reunite twenty years later and we learn that one of the friends has been murdered, another is responsible, and a third is blackmailing the killer. As the mystery unravels, we follow the characters' individual stories, which unfold episode by episode, with each advancing us another year forward from 1986. It was a neat gimmick that provided a unique backdrop for the series as it explored typical night-time drama storylines -- sex, drugs, betrayal, child abduction, marital infidelity, spousal abuse, secret loves, political coverups, and more. I also remember the cool soundtrack, which featured cuts from artists like Rick Astley and The Smiths.

Among others, Reunion starred Sean Estes (Never Back Down) and Chyler Leigh, who recently joined the cast of Grey's Anatomy. The problem was, this show aired on Thursdays -- which at the time was one of TV's most competitive nights (Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, CSI, et.al.) So Reunion routinely got crushed in the ratings. Fox then made things worse by pre-empting the show multiple times for the baseball playoffs and Reunion was canceled after 13 episodes (though only nine aired.)

Hey News Corp execs, we need closure! So if you can't resurrect Reunion, at least tell us who the killer was.

Incidentally, what made me remember the show was that one of the female leads, Alexa Davalos (above) is currently starring in a new movie, Defiance, about four brothers who, during WW II, build a forest camp and save hundreds of Jews from the Nazis.