On her YouTube vlog,
Katie Wilson recently posted a video asking her fans what their favorite cancelled too
soon TV show was. That got me thinking...there have been a lot of great TV
shows, especially genre shows (Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror) that have been either
too smart or too original for network TV and been cancelled early on. Some
classic examples like
Firefly and
Crusade
where cancelled before the first episode ever even aired.
Here is my list of the
Ten Greatest Cancelled Too Soon TV Shows
Honorable Mentions: I was very tempted to include
Quantum Leap
on this list but its ending was just a little too satisfactory for me (my dad on
the other hand
*hates* the ending).
I also originally included Aaron Sorkin’s
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip but took it off deciding it
didn’t fit with the overall theme of the rest of the list – Science Fiction,
Fantasy, and Horror genre shows.
10.
The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (1993-1994; 1
Season/27 Episodes) - This sci-fi/western/comedy had more inaccuracies than
Xena
and
King Arthur combined, but that was a large part of the appeal.
The wronger it got; the cooler it was.
Bounty hunter Brisco, played by the incomparable
Bruce Campbell, along with his colorful ensemble of allies – including an Elvis
impersonating sheriff, a mad scientist, and a horse who puts Lassie to shame when
it comes to saving the day – went up against
super-powered villains, time travelling
criminals, desert pirates, and a real
Psycho (in a Hitchcock
inspired episode).
The first season
wrapped up most of the plotlines and came to an acceptable conclusion – though
a couple of series regulars were absent from the finale – but more seasons were
planned and unfortunately never came to light.
9.
Crusade (1999; less than 1 Season/13 Episodes) – Ok,
so
Crusade kinda sucked… a lot.
But it shouldn’t have.
The followup to
Babylon 5
– one of, if not the, best science fiction shows of all time – should have been
great.
And it might have been, but
repeated interference from the network forced changes and disrupted the
storyline, which was then further hurt by the show being aired out of
order.
Even with the great J. Michael
Straczynski at the helm,
Crusade never stood a chance.
8.
Terminator: The Sarah
Connor Chronicles (2008-2009; 2 Seasons/31 Episodes) – Not as good as
the first two films, on par with the third, and way better than the
fourth.
I could have lived with it
cancelling had the ending not been a cliff hanger.
A three hour movie or mini-series could
successfully wrap it up for me.
7.
Surface
(2005-2006; 1 Season/15 Episodes) – Admittedly,
Surface didn’t
start very strong.
But by the season finale,
it had managed to evolve into an evoking and engaging series with a compelling
mystery at its center.
In my opinion, it
had moved from cheap imitation of
Lost to a superior entertainment.
Invasion another show from the
same time suffered the same cycle as
Surface.
6.
American Gothic
(1995-1996; 1 Season/22 Episodes) – It’s hard to write this one because unlike the
rest of the series on this list I haven’t seen an episode in the 16 years since
it went off the air.
A supernatural detective
story of sorts,
American Gothic had the small town mythos
that has worked so well with more recent shows like
Haven.
The local
sheriff, played by
Crusade’s Gary Cole, making his second
appearance on the list, may have been the Devil, but at the very least he was a
powerful and charismatic evil entity.
The show also featured
Sling Blade’s Lucas Black, and
Honorable Mention
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip’s Sarah
Paulson.
5.
Carnivàle
(2003-2005; 2 Seasons/24 Episodes) – The first book ended, but a lot wasn’t
answered and a lot was left hanging is … dead? Is …? And for that matter is …?
It was what shows like
Lost,
Tru Blood, and
Game of
Thrones struggle to be – and usually successes at – but it got there
first…a mythos filled television novel.
Not the best show on this list, but probably the one I most want to get
brought back.
4.
Heroes (2006-2011; 4 Seasons/78 Episodes) – Aw…if only
they’d brought it back for a third season…oh what could have been.
But seriously, after a couple of week
seasons,
Heroes left us on a compelling cliffhanger.
It made a few mistakes – as far back as the
second season things were going astray – but it managed to be one of the smartest
and most engaging Super-Hero shows of all time.
Excluding cartoons, it is probably second only to
Lois and
Clark as the best Super-Hero series ever.
3.
Gargoyles
(1994-1997; 3 Seasons/78 Episodes) – One of my all-time favorite shows of all-time.
Killed twice.
One of many reasons Disney sucks.
The Avengers movie almost
makes up for cancelling
Gargoyles but not quiet.
This kids show had almost as much mythos as
Carnivàle
and
Lost and sometimes executed it better than the
latter.
Demona is still one of my
favorite Super-Villains…
2. Tie –
Firefly (2002; less than 1 Season/14 Episodes)
and
Dollhouse (2009-2010; 2 Seasons/26 Episodes) – Joss Whedon
is known for complex storytelling, witty dialog, quirky ensemble casts, and
network interference.
Both of these
shows exemplify those qualities – especially the last one.
Both shows were incredible, smart, funny and
dramatic, TV.
Both were destroyed by Fox;
the first quiet possibly intentionally.
Firefly’s
follow-up movie
Serenity concluded the show and answered the
unanswered questions about River Tam, but the adventures of Mal and Serenity’s
crew were far from completed and could have lasted for years if allowed.
Dollhouse suffered the
same fate, forced into a too quick conclusion though it lasted a bit longer
first.
Echo’s story was pushed into a
conclusion but it was far from the natural fluid ending one would expect from
the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dr. Horrible.
Fox should be ashamed of itself, it let the
Simpsons
go for years after it stopped being any good but killed these two shows in
their prime.
1.
Farscape (1999-2003, 2004; 4 Seasons/Episodes and a
Mini-Series/2 Episodes) – Farscape was one of those shows that knew exactly what
it was, but no one glancing at it understood it.
A quick look while flipping through the
channels would not stop many viewers – the show featured puppets as main
characters! – and its smart writing and incredible storyline were lost to
many.
Killed way before its time, the
show ended on a cliffhanger (the apparent death of two main characters followed
by the dread words To Be Continued).
The
Sci-Fi channel brought the show back a year later for a 2 episode mini-series
to wrap up loose ends but condensing what should have been a 22 episode season
into four hours took a toll on the finale.
The mini might have concluded the show, but a single additional season
might have more successfully brought it to a close.
Well, that wraps this countdown up, but I know I missed a ton of great shows.
Just in the course of writing this I had to
kick
Due South and
Time Trax out to make
room for
American Gothic and
Carnivàle,
once I thought of them.
Feel free to let me know in the comments or on my twitter page
@nerdisnewcool what shows you think should have made the list.
Check out Random Thoughts With Katie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCEhyP9f-IA&feature=g-u-u.
Give her a like and subscribe…she’s a true treasure of the nerd community.
Nerd Is the New Cool, signing off
The Cases That Haunt Us: From Jack the Ripper to Jonbenet Ramsey, the FBI's Legendary Mindhunter Unravels the Mysteries That Won't Go Away by John E. Douglas