the buzz log

On Monday, just one day after "John From Cincinnati" aired its first season finale, HBO pulled the plug on the surf series conceived and co-written by David Milch, previously of "Deadwood."

Reasons floated by bloggers and critics for the show's early death included: The reviews were rotten; the viewership was skimpy; the empty time slot left by "The Sopranos" was too tough to fill; the storyline was too weird.

Well, yeah. The "John" of the series' title was a seeming alien who couldn't take a dump. But was the buzz really so fecal? The answer is: Pretty much.

In a graph of the weekly searches from throughout the show's run, buzz jerks upward when the series starts, lurches again midway through the season, and then jolts for the finale (and news of the cancellation). But otherwise, that line stays pretty stagnant. And everyone knows that's no fun to ride:

However, HBO has offered a salve to Milch fans smarting from the loss of "John" so soon after "Deadwood." According to Variety, the cable channel and the uber-writer already have something else in the works. Some relationships take a licking and keep on ticking.