For those of of you that are emotionally strong, TubeWad as a good breakdown of some shows that have had the brightest candles but the shortest wicks — shows that got canceled well before their time. Its really sad actually how much good stuff there is on the list (and how much I’m more than intimately familiar with). Before I add a few thoughts, let me point that while we have potentially numerous squandered classics here, we are now suffering through the 14th season of Survivor (I shit you not)! Anyway, after that depressing thought… onward.
Firefly
Unfortunately, it will forever be the standard bearer of great shows axed before their time. We only got half of one season, though unlike most, we got great sendoff on the big screen. That really does say a lot for the missed potential of this show. Joss Whedon claimed that one of the reasons that Firefly had so much studio meddeling is they thought that 9 characters where too many — that the audience couldn’t handle it. However, look how it paved the way for shows like Lost and Heros. It really was ahead of its time.
Freaks & Geeks
Either Sim or Jeff said this was really good while it was on, but I never did get around to seeing it. It really sounds like it was a great show, helped by solid character development. Is the box set worth a peek?
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr
Firstly, Bruce Campbell is simply awesome. Secondly, this was a really fun show. At 27 episodes, it at least got a full season out of Bruce “Don’t call me Ash” Campbell. I still need to invest in the DVD box set — show my support.
Undeclared
A progeny of Freaks, focusing on college instead of high school, and yet again, I completely missed it. Did anyone catch it?
Arrested Development
I know this was good, but I never followed it. Ironically enough my parents loved it. I think since I missed the first few shows, I didn’t understand the few that I saw, and then ever came back. It had two full seasons (53 episodes) so I guess there might be something there to get back to.
Sports Night
The one good thing about Sports Night getting canceled is that it allowed Sorkin to move on to the West Wing, which is definitely a much better show. I saw a few of its episodes, but I agree with the author — Sorkin’s dialog doesn’t need a laugh track. Also, I think the subject matter was impalpable, similar to why Studio 60 got axed early too. I love the wit and pace to his dialog. I really hope he comes out with another project soon.
Unknowns
Dead Like Me sounds like it had promise, though it at least did get a full two seasons to try to do something. I remember briefly the old version of Dr. Who, though I never did get a chance to see the remake, thanks to Fox mis-marketing it and pulling it early (do we see a trend forming here?). It apparently still had some steam in the UK, however without Fox’s backing they couldn’t afford to continue.
Push, Nevada sounds too gimmicky and the description is a bit thin. Lets just say I’m skeptical about a show based around giving away one million dollars if someone solves the mystery. While I heard of Andy Richter Controls the Universe, I never saw it. The author compares it to Malcom in the Middle, which I never particularly liked anyway.
Jack of All Trades sounds like a blast and stars the great Bruce. This one I’m not surprised it got axed quickly — If you aren’t a hardcore Bruce fan, it probably wasn’t for you. I remember the cartoon, but I didn’t realize there was a live action The Tick. Another that was too off the wall (no pun intended).
While I was a big X-Files fan for the first few seasons, I got frustrated that it didn’t tie into an arc enough and never answered any of the damn questions (Lost… take notes). The Lone Gunmen were fun characters, but I just can’t imagine them sustaining a show of their own.
License
This work is published under a Creative Commons License.
Comments (4)
First off, I question any list about shows that shouldn’t have been canceled without mentioning Futurama. I know it’s coming back, but that is a show that should never have been canceled, while the Simpsons are in their 18th long-in-the-tooth season.
Brisco County was an awesome show, and is still cool in a tongue-in-cheek way. I bought the box set, but haven’t got around to watching past the pilot. It’s a show that really would’ve shined in HDTV with higher production values.
Freaks and Geeks really is an excellent show. It’s a character drama, but being about high school, has plenty of humorous moments. Producer Judd Apatow would go on to take his comedic genius to Undeclared and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. I only saw a few episodes when it aired, but bought the box set and am really glad I did.
Several of these shows aired during college, and I remember watching them with my roommates.
Andy Richter Controls the Universe was pretty funny. It suffered from being another one of those shows with fantasy sequences, but it was quirky and charming. Plus, Andy’s love interest, Wendy, was cute/hot. Andy’s now in his new show, Andy Barker P.I., which is about an accountant mistaken for a private eye. It shares some of Universe’s quirks, and I like it, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be killed pretty quickly. Most recently, they aired two episodes last Saturday night. That can’t be good.
The Tick, like Andy Richter, was an off-kilter Fox half-hour comedy. It’s exactly what you’d expect if you imagine the animated series performed by live actors, except with fewer action sequences. There’s no way it would last, but we enjoyed it anyway.
And finally, Undeclared. Undeclared was about college when I was in college. Like Freaks and Geeks, the characters were real. They actually wanted to fit into the stereotypes, but you see them as real college kids that you’d totally want to have as friends. I did get to catch this as it aired, and was sad to see it get dropped, but it’s still hilarious on DVD.
Of the above, the best shows were definitely F&G and Undeclared. The reason they didn’t make it is because marketers don’t know how to sell something that’s real. You had to give both shows a try, and then if you had any appreciation for a good story and deep characters, you’d know you found gold. The problem is they’re more like movies and took time to develop and savor, as opposed to concetrated sugar.
I think Family Guy and Futurama escaped this list because they actually made a comeback. Fox could not ignore the fan support around those shows, which was fundamentally due to the sales of the respective DVD box sets. The sales of Firefly box sets got Fox/Universal to decide to make a big screen adaptation.
I’ll check out F&G and Undeclared, though I think I might like Undeclared better =)
the one that i will always cry about is Earth 2. I’m sure that if i saw it now, i would think it was crap - but at the time (crica 1994 i think)…i moved heaven and earth to try and record that show.
and for this year I *think* i have to add Veronica Mars - the writing on that show is so freaking good!!
whats really sad is when you get to watch all the pilots in July and August and realize that there is quality TV out there, but most of it just doesnt get picked up!! For instance - last year i saw Traveler, loved it and then watched it get shelved (although its getting a May premiere now :))…At least the CW did not approve Aquaman - that really sucked.
I wish I could be a fly on the wall for those executive meetings that decide what shows will live and die. I swear, it really defies logic.
I remember seeing previews bits for Earth 2, but I don’t recall ever seeing an episode. Traveler looks intriguing. However there are so many ways a story like that can be butchered. It looks like the writers are relatively unknown, but did some work with CSI and X-Files — Interesting combination.
And here is really the bottom line problem — I don’t want to invest in a show if it is going to get yanked after 8 episodes. But if people like me don’t get into it from the beginning there is no way the studio will not yank it. Its a catch 22.
At this point, there are quite a few shows that I’m waiting for the DVD release to get into (Heroes, Rome… and I still need to get the first season of The Wire).