TV’s Undead Even Though ‘American Gothic’ Was Canceled, Viewers Are Still Watching Unseen Episodes

I saw an original episode of CBS’s “American Gothic” the other night, and I must say I found it very disturbing.

I always react that way when I see TV’s undead: shows that have been canceled but continue to walk the prime-time earth anyway.

It can be a painful experience for viewing loved ones. When you care about a dear departed show, a highly promoted new episode offers a kind of false hope. It keeps you from letting go, makes you go through all the various stages of grief all over again, and messes with your mind.

Well, for those who fell in love with “American Gothic” - CBS’s decidedly creepy drama starring Gary Cole as devil incarnate Lucas Buck, sheriff of a South Carolina Mayberry gone wrong - save your prayers.

“American Gothic” is dead.

Unless this Thursday’s finale “Requiem” is a cruel hoax, which is entirely possible because “American Gothic” has been full of physical, emotional and all manner of hellish mayhem.

But it’s doubtful. “American Gothic,” one of last season’s most critically lauded but frighteningly unsuccessful programs, was a drama whose time ran out almost before it started.

Dark, unfamiliar and launched at a time when viewer disgust over controversial content was all the rage, “American Gothic” never really had a chance. A ratings stake was driven through its heart long ago. This, despite a brilliant discovery in Lucas Black, a 12-year-old with an amazing presence, and a startlingly unique pilot.

Which makes the show’s zombielike summer samba all the more unsettling: six broadcasts, or should we call them visitations, in nine days. It began last Wednesday with a double run, continued on Thursday with another hourlong sighting and will follow up Wednesday with two more back-to-back episodes leading to the Thursday’s grand finale.

Why is CBS torturing us like this?

CBS isn’t the first and won’t be the last network to make the most of a bad situation.

It’s called burning off, a bonfire of unseen episodes, which, again, given the Lucifer-leaning tendencies of “Gothic,” gives me an extra shiver or two.

With a dearth of original programming this time of year and nothing to lose, CBS, like its competitors, often tries to recoup what it can of its losses, knowing “if we run them, they will come.”

I, for one, am torn.

As delighted as I was to see “American Gothic” back on the air, I confess to feeling manipulated, cheated, used, angry, venal, and envious of other shows that had made it while this program, one I had supported, did not.

The kind of feelings I’d expect if I was someone taken under the wing of Sheriff Buck.

And because, as is often the custom with new shows but rarely the custom with the programming undead, no preview of the last episodes were offered, I’m frightened by the final prospects.

Faithful viewers know that Sheriff Buck has been in a series-long struggle for the soul of young Caleb (Black). And based on what I’ve seen recently, it looks as if Caleb is being lured to the dark side.

The drama seems to have traded its intense but appropriately drawled-out storytelling style for something that looks like it’s hellbent on becoming “Twin Peaks.”

Maybe the producers knew the end was coming.

Or perhaps, in desperation, they just decided to give up the ghost and do anything they could to ensure their prime-time salvation.

As far as this viewer is concerned, however, “American Gothic” was better off dead.

But I still can’t help myself when I see it on the air.

I just have to watch.