In Credit, As In Television, Ratings Rule

The key to being accepted or rejected for a credit card or a loan is your credit rating, which lenders look at before they make a decision.

A bad credit rating can be caused by failing to meet payments with creditors, maxing out credit cards and even county court judgements (CCJ’s).

Your credit rating can even go down if you records are searched several times in a short space of time, and – in a catch 22 type-situation, you can be turned down for credit if you have never applied for credit, and as such have no credit history.

There are some simple things you can do, however, to make improve your credit rating and increase the chances of you being approved for credit.

First off, you should check your credit report for yourself to make sure there are no errors which could be bringing your rating down. Contact Equifax or Experian and you can see your credit report for a small fee.

Paying your creditors on time, every time is important to keeping your credit rating in check. If possible, pay your bills early.

Reducing the number of credit cards you hold is important, as too many cards in your name can be looked upon dimly by lenders. Get a balance transfer credit card if necessary and consolidate the debt onto fewer cards.

You should always be careful not to max out any credit cards you do have, because that will have a detrimental effect on your credit rating.

Getting yourself on the electoral register is a ten minute phone call which will improve your rating, and if you have any CCJ’s which have lapsed, you can quickly get them amended to improve your chances of being approved for credit.

Bad ratings are bad news for potential borrowers then. In the world of television, here are three great shows which were suffered from their poor ratings, and were ultimately canceled.

1. Arrested Development

Critically acclaimed American sitcom Arrested Development ran for three series between 2003 and 2006 on the FOX network before being cancelled because of disappointing ratings.

The story follows the dysfunctional Bluth family who are left to run the family business after its CEO and the family’s patriarch George Bluth is sent to prison for treason.

The continuous-format comedy used hand held cameras, inter-textual references, flashbacks and razor-sharp dialogue to earn the critics’ approval and fuel the careers of Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, amongst others.

2. Family Guy

Infamously known as one of the most frequently canceled television shows ever, Family Guy was brought back to the small screen as it was bolstered by impressive DVD sales.

The irreverent adult animation on FOX mixed the bizarre and near-the-knuckle comedy of South Park with an art style more closely related to the Simpson to create a cult phenomenon.

Perverse characters, pop-culture references by the bucket-load and surreal tangents made Family Guy one of the best-loved and most canceled shows in TV history.

3. Flash-forward

Hailed as the next LOST, Flash-forward was expected to fill the void left by the departure of ABC’s desert-island hit, but after the first series ABC decided not to bring it back for a second season.

Pre-release hype saw the show start off with decent ratings which quickly began to tail off. The high-concept show involved a world-wide blackout, in which people saw a vision of their own lives; six months in the future.

The generally positive reception from critics couldn’t save the show though, and it was canceled in May 2010.

Louise Tillotson is a financial author for a number of websites and blogs. She's also a keen Family Guy fan, and was deliriously happy when it came back on the air! Follow her on Twitter @louisetillotson