Once again, a quality show is cut down in its prime. While this statement could easily refer to NBC's treatment of Journeyman, CBS' treatment of Jericho or FOX's all-but-certain future treatment of Dollhouse, this time I'm writing about Life on Mars.

ABC's time traveling cop drama is dead, ABC announced this week, making me once again focus my anger on the alphabet network. Just as I'm getting over the premature and heinous murder of the fantastic trio of Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money, ABC reopens the wound to pour some more salt in it.

The network is almost as big a jerk as Jason Mesnick. Almost.

Life on Mars had so much promise, coming from a highly critically acclaimed British series. But much like with the three other casualties, ABC's scheduling destroyed it. The network aired the first seven episodes after Grey's Anatomy, which doesn't exactly have the same audience as a cop drama starring Harvey Keitel and Michael Imperioli.

Then ABC put the show on hiatus for more than two months with no reruns or promotion. Finally, it returned in January after Lost, which isn't the same as it would've been a few years ago when Lost was still a smash hit.

Making matters worse, the seventh episode ended with a cliffhanger, but when the show finally returned, ABC aired the episodes out of order so the cliffhanger wasn't resolved until the second episode back. Even with the glimmer of hope that an early cancellation means the producers will have time to film an actual series finale, I'm still angry.

But just like Rihanna, I can't stay away. ABC has a new batch of shows that have me very excited. There's Castle, premiering this Monday after Dancing with the Stars. It's a lighthearted procedural starring Captain Hammer himself, Nathan Fillion, as a cocky mystery writer who helps the NYPD solve crimes.

ABC is also bringing back Rob Thomas, creator of Veronica Mars, to remake his formerly canceled ABC series Cupid, about a man who thinks he's the god of love. Finally, ABC is bringing back another star that hits me in my fanboy breadbasket as The O.C.'s Benjamin McKenzie comes back to TV in a very atypical cop drama, The Unusuals.

Given ABC's track record, I have no doubt I will fall in love with all of these shows, only to have them killed off right away to make room for another season of The Bachelorette. But then more great shows will come on, and the cycle will repeat itself.

Damn you, ABC, for creating and destroying so many great shows.

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