Under the Dome (the TV series, haven’t read the Stephen King book yet) seemed a pretty fascinating show when I knew it was a limited-run series, i.e., it was slated to end after one season. That meant we were going somewhere with the story. There’d be a beginning, a middle and an end. I was hooked from the first hour.

Right off the bat the show was a surprise success, and a big one for CBS. So immediately there was talk of continuing it — and now the show has been renewed for a 2nd season.

As good as the show is now, the premise — already a claustrophobic one — is going to get old. Now that the producers know they’ve got to stretch out the storyline, the “padding” will soon become visible.

I wish the TV and movie industry understood how to let something be awesome by itself, without squeezing every possible ounce out until it becomes a tired, old, boring empty shell of itself. But they’re always blinded by the lure of easy franchise dollars where they don’t have to create anything new, and they can ride a tired horse into the ground.

Heck, I’m still surprised they didn’t try to make a continuing TV series out of James Cameron’s Titanic.