Pull the Eye Patch Off. Pirate Master Walks the Plank.

Stuff like this really confuses me. The least they could do would be give the fans a full explanation.

Today, with only a few episodes left, we have learned that Pirate Master has been unceremoniously cancelled. What the ...? There is absolutely no reason given, and we are told if we want to watch the five remaining shows we may do so on CBS.com every Tuesday. The show is being replaced on the schedule with 48 Hours. Thanks!

Last Comic Standing did this a few years back and it didn't come off any better then, although there were major problems then between the network and Jay Mohr, but I'm not thinking there is any personnel difficulties with Pirate Master. So what could be the reasoning behind it being pulled after the ads shoved it down our throats for a month before it first aired?

Without any reason given, fans are left to assume it's because of ratings. Understandably, if you don't do well as a Mark Burnett creation in Survivor's time slot, it's not good, but honestly, nothing is going to bring you ratings like Survivor. It's like the granddaddy of reality TV.

So what went wrong with it? For one thing, they set one of the best characters adrift in the first episode. John was an exotic dancer and a scientist, a hot smart guy. Who the hell got rid of him? All the other guys. That's who. He even tried to save his ass at the last minute and stole all the compasses, but the remaining crew wasn't stupid, and knew Mark Burnett would probably provide them with more, instead of leaving them adrift.

The other thing that was questionable about this show was that the rules somehow left the same person in power week after week. It started with Joe Don in power, and after a few weeks of his reign, Azmyth took over, and stayed captain the rest of the time, save for the one week Louie was able to wrangle the position away. Azmyth was likable at first, as he was incredulous that Joe Don wouldn't share the winnings, but once Azmyth took over, he not only stopped sharing, but also picked up an odd British accent out of nowhere.

Not that there weren't provisions in place to prevent the same person being in power. The entire crew has the opportunity to mutiny against the captain as long as they can get the officers to go along with it. There was never one vote for mutiny the entire time. It seemed like these people were more content to sit around, not chance anything, and wait to be picked off. That's not very fun and hardly pirate-like.

Yet, Burnett and CBS knew the outcome of the show before they started airing it, so they knew it would be one guy running away with it. They aired it anyway, so they must have been hopeful that we wouldn't notice it. That's the whole fun of watching Survivor, watching the power shift back and forth and alliances crumbling. When it doesn't happen, it's rather ho-hum.

We still have a chance to find out the outcome of Louie, the Rupert-clone. We can tune in to CBS.com and watch it online, but it's hardly fair to the fans that are stuck on dial-up. At least they can give us the courtesy to let it air out. They don't have to renew the show, but at least let it air out when there are only a handful of episodes left. It makes me worry for the day that will eventually come when Survivor begins to fall from its reign. Will it find the same demise?