Laura Linney in "The Big C: Hereafter."

Credit: Showtime

Showtime's "The Big C" — or, specifically, the concluding miniseries titled "The Big C: Hereafter" — came to an end last night, and I have a few thoughts coming up just as soon as you don't take cash...

In the "Rectify" finale, Daniel (Aden Young) stops by the local diner.

Credit: Sundance

Some thoughts on the finale of "Rectify," and this entire first season, coming up just as soon as it's time we got into yarn...

Scott Foley, TJ Miller and Becki Newton in "The Goodwin Games."

Credit: FOX

I hear it a lot: I don't want to waste time watching a new show that might be canceled; if it's a success, I'll try it. On the one hand, I get it: I've been frustrated (and, in some cases, sad) when a show I invested my time and energy into got canceled in the early stages, and in some cases might have preferred not to have seen it. On the other, I'm grateful for even the one season I got of "Freaks and Geeks" and "Terriers," and I know plenty of Bryan Fuller fans who revere "Wonderfalls" even though FOX pulled it after only four episodes.

That said, "Freaks and Geeks" is a classic, and was very clearly one from the first episode. The harder call is making an investment in a show that has potential it hasn't realized yet, and that might not be on the air long enough to figure itself out — or, in the case of a show like FOX's "The Goodwin Games," that will never have that chance.

The Firewall & Iceberg Podcast is actually on a Monday for once this week, though we'll be back to an irregular schedule next week thanks to both the Memorial Day holiday and Netflix's release of "Arrested Development." (Dan and I want to have enough time to watch it all.) In the meantime, we had an awfully busy podcast today, including reviews of three summer series, the best HBO movie in forever, analysis of two finales and debate about an especially wacky episode of "Mad Men." 

The lineup:

Louis Ferreira and Kristin Lehman in "Motive."

Credit: ABC

The broadcast network TV season doesn't officially end until Wednesday night at 11, but it already feels largely wrapped up. Many of TV's biggest hits, from "NCIS" to "Big Bang Theory" to "American Idol," already aired their finales last week, and while several big shows aren't done yet ("The Voice" will run into mid-June), the networks have already started slipping into their summer clothes. FOX brought back "So You Think You  Can Dance" next week and is beginning the Summer Burn-Off Theatre run of "The Goodwin Games" tonight (I hope to write a short review of that later today, and I'll definitely be discussing it with Dan on the podcast), and tonight ABC launches another of its Canadian import dramas: the police procedural "Motive."