Favourite shows that were cancelled

[Drago]

Originally a thread by The_Missing_Link in August '05 (http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/showthread.php?t=11989)

Has there been a show you were a fan of that got axed before its time? Discuss.

In my case, ESPN's Playmakers immediately came to mind. A gritty drama looking at the lives and controversies of pro football players, it premiered in 2003 to critical acclaim, covering subjects like steroids, domestic abuse and homophobia.

Unfortunately, by season's end, the NFL (definitely reinforcing their stigma of being the 'no fun league') got in a tizzy about how pro football players were being portrayed, and demanded that ESPN cancel it, or else they'd terminate their broadcasting of NFL games.

Obviously, ESPN had to pull the plug, and the show never resurfaced. I was hopeful that another network without NFL affiliation would pick it up, but no dice.

So how bout your sweet selves?

[mattbcl]

In 2006, NBC produced a show called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It was created, produced, and directed by the same crew that developed The West Wing, and much like its political predecessor, showcased what it was like "behind the scenes" of a late-night sketch comedy show (a la Saturday Night Live) when the cameras weren't rolling and the actors, writers, producers, grunts, and bosses were trying to make a show happen every week. It was well-written, poignant, realistic, and swear to God it was funny. Stars for the show included Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, D.L. Hughley, Bradley Whitford, and Steven Weber.

I love The West Wing and I rather enjoyed this show, as well - I have it on my DVD rack, but it doesn't occupy a lot of space there because it was cancelled after only one season. It didn't get a lot of viewership, and the conclusion most critics have reached for this is the show was ultimately "too smart". I find this regrettable because I tend to believe it means our society is kowtowing to the 24-hour cable crap devoted to "reality" television or bad soap operas all trying to pass themselves off as important. Could we maybe have cancelled Jersey Shore instead of this?

[Oslo]

I've never fallen in love with a show that was canceled while I watching, but I've fallen in love with Firefly post-cancellation. Sweet fuck, that is good television.

[Magmar]

Family Guy! Technically.... technically.

[nsmbwii]

Invader Zim, and Bobobo-bo-bobobo. At the top of my head since I don't even watch TV too much anymore.

[Jeff]

Heroes.

The writers should have never listened to the fans and critics. The first half of season 2 was supposed to be setting up for the second half, then the writers' strike hit and all we got was the first half, which admittedly sucked by itself and left all kinds of unanswered questions that were supposed to be answered by the second half. By season 3 it had just gotten popular to bash the show. The writers tried to fix what wasn't broken by taking the powers away from two of the most popular characters. Season 4, the last season, was ironically called "redemption". It was a decent season, but the damage was done. Through most of the last episode of season 4, it seemed like the writers knew it was the end. They still ended it with a cliffhanger.

Knowing NBC though, I'm sure it can't be entirely blamed on the writers.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Finnish TV showed Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R here but never the rest of the series. 86 eppies in Swedish, the language every Finnish-Finnish teen hates, plus 3 eppies in Japanese. It could be worse though, the Swedish episodes were 'uncut' unlike the ones shown there in the USA.

[DivineAll]

Samurai Jack, for the reason that the finale wasn't what people expected (serious Jack taking care of a baby and it becomes samurai-like at the end, what up with that CN?).

Also, Sym-Bionic Titan because it was too short. 20 Episodes, seriously? You just love giving Genndy Tartakovsky the middle finger, huh Cartoon Network. No wonder he left you for another studio.

Finally, Duel Masters. It was basically the Abridged Series before it even existed! Yet, the actual real life card game was basically MTG: Light, which might explain why it never took off in the States. Still, hope for a comeback though.

[Blademaster]

DRAGON BALL KAI.

[Heald]

Sealab 2021 all over.

Although to be fair, after the voice of Murphy died, the course probably ran its course, but still, it was a great show. I'm glad the writers moved onto awesome things like Frisky Dingo and Archer though.

Green Wing (one of the best British comedies of the 21st century, and definitely of all time too) as well, although again, it had a good run but I would love to see more.

[Becky]

Family Guy was cancelled? I don't keep up with tv news, but if that's so, it's a shame. Love that show!

[Telume]

Sonic SatAM.

2 Seasons then, FFFFFFFFFFFFF..

[Jeff]

Family Guy was cancelled? I don't keep up with tv news, but if that's so, it's a shame. Love that show!

Yeah... back in 2000 or whenever it was. Then they brought it back and it's still going.

[Master Rudy]

You folks can talk about your Firefly, your Terminator: SCC and your Futurama (yeah I know....Comedy Central has the rights now but it shouldn't have been canceled in the first place). However there is one TV show in paticular that I loved that seems to have gotten royally fucked over from day one:

Jericho

H1kq6i8VDBY

There's the second season trailer with the late season one/season two intro before it.
IF YOU THINK YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN SEEING THIS SHOW THEN I HIGHLY SUGGEST NOT WATCHING THAT VIDEO AS IT CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS IN REGARDS TO ONE OF THE MAIN PLOTS OF THE FIRST SEASON!!!!

The show started off as a seemingly run of the mill post-apocalyptic drama with the typical "modern western" elements that you tend to see in that area of fiction. The small town of Jericho, KS witnesses a nuclear explosion in the distance and once they receive news of a second attack it doesn't take long before they get cut off from the rest of the world. What's happened to the United States? Are we are war? How bad was the attack? What can the people of town do to survive?

Within the first two episodes it quickly goes from the typical things listed above to so much more: we quickly figure out that the two main characters both have big secrets. Former juvenille delinquent Jake Green has been gone for five years and can't give anyone a straight answer as to where he's been. The skills he has picked up however lead you to wonder what exactly he's been doing? Law enforcement? Life of crime? Meanwhile on the other side of town is new arrival Robert Hawkins. The man claims to be a former cop but his shady nature seems to suggest that he knows more about what's going on in the outside world than he lets on.

Over the course of the first season we learn that Jake had joined a PMC that was working with the US Army during the Iraq War which technically makes him former Spec Ops. Eventually he becomes the new Sheriff. As for Hawkings you spend the first half of the season believing he was one of the people actually involved with the attack. Instead it turns out that he's actually with the CIA and was working deep cover to locate 25 bombs created from missing weapons grade nuclear materials that were to be delivered by suicide bombers. A mole exposes him and with his cover blown and the timetable for the attack changed he only has enough time to disable the bomb he was suppose to detonate and get out a warning which included plate numbers on several of the trucks. His actions stopped the planned attacks on Columbus, OH and New York City but due to being exposed 23 of the bombs still go off and he's being actively tracked to be either framed as the mastermind of the crime or killed.

In the second season we learn that the remnents of the government have relocated to the western states and that the country has been renamed the Allied States of America. The name change should be enough to tip you off to something seriously being wrong. Eventually it's revealed that several of the people in the ASA were actually the ones involved in the attack and that the legitimate USA is now located in Columbus. The attacks have however crippled the United States to the point where it's the weaker power and in danger of falling to the ASA. The wildcard however turns out to be Texas. Following the collapse of the federal government they declare themselves to be independant. Several surrounding states even allow themselves to be absorbed by Texas as they lack the resources needed to be able to operate. By the end of season two Texas and it's states have rejoined the USA and the Second American Civil War has begun.

Without getting deep into spoilers the show manages to have the modern western/survival feel and eventually turns into of all things a spy drama while still keeping the backdrop of nuclear war. Amazingly however it all fits together and actually works in much the same way that Firefly had both elements of a western and a space drama. Finally the show itself had a few big name stars and great acting.

With so much going for it how did it fail and get canceled? It's simple.....CBS pretty much had it out for this show from day one. Amazingly within the first few episodes Jericho was accused of having a pro-Republican message at a time when it was extremely unpopular to have that sort of viewpoint. Trust me.....it didn't. If anything you could make a much stronger accusation in regards to 24 being like that.....until you find out that the show creator is one of the biggest liberals in Hollywood :P

Anyway once that happened it was almost as if CBS with their extremely liberal viewpoints saw the show as a threat. During the first season they constantly said the show had low ratings yet if you look at the numbers it performed very well and had ratings that many other new or declining series would kill to have. Jericho finished 48th overall in it's first season which may not sound impressive until you learn that it constantly went neck and neck with Bones in the timeslot it held and frequently beat out Deal or No Deal. Another factor was that it was one of the first major TV series to be streamed online. The show had a massive number of unique hits that in some cases actually outdid the numbers on the TV. Eventually viewership did drop off but this was mainly due to CBS putting the show on an extended hiatus with no word on the return. When the show did come back many folks who watched and enjoyed it did not know (either due to CBS mishandling it or purposely trying to screw it depending on your viewpoint).

The show was canceled after the first season but a fan campaign brought it back for a seven episode second season during the writers strike. However CBS moved the show from a successful 9 PM timeslot on Wenesdays and moved it to a 10 PM timeslot with Big Brother as the lead in (easily one of their lowest rated and most hated shows). Aside from the inital trailer a few months prior to the premire there was literally no advertising for the show on the second run. Somehow CBS got mystified by the fact that viewership dropped from an average of 10 million to an average of 5-6 million yet never figured out that advertising the show might actually help (I seriously knew people that saw the first season and never knew there was a second). As a result they once again blamed low ratings and then canceled it for good.

Overall I've always felt that despite having more episodes and actually getting a second season that Jericho got treated far worse than Firefly. Yeah I know.....Fox destroyed the viewing order, cut whole episodes from broadcast and juggled the show around so much that you never knew what time or day it was one. However if you know Fox at all it almost seems to be their standard operating proceedure (this also happened to both Family Guy before it's revival and Futurama). Quite a few fans of Jericho (myself included)believe to this day that CBS did everything they could to cancel the show for a reason that just seems downright silly when you look at it. Who cares if the show had what appeared to be a pro-Republican message? To me the key factors should be the story and the ratings.....not some imagined political message. Once it became apparent that there would be a major backlash if they didn't do a second season the decision to cancel was reversed.....only to have the show put in a worse timeslot with one of the most boring and annoying TV shows ever as it's lead in (not to mention NO ADVERTISING!). What it was all said and done it becomes very hard to argue against the fact that CBS seemingly put Jericho into a spot where it would perform worse in order to make their "low ratings" claims seem more legit. Hell the writers eventually managed to do the third season as a graphic novel.....only to have CBS threaten legal action and delay the fourth issue well over a year :-/

As far as must see canceled TV shows go this one really ranks up there I think. I'd highly suggest it to anyone that likes the genre it covers (as well as folks that may have liked 24 or Firefly ^_~)

[shazza]

South Park. :cry:

[Link]

Boy meets world and pete and pete. Both were classics growing up. :(

[RedStarWarrior]

Most of the good shows on Fox.

[Blademaster]

Dunno if it counts if it was ended by the creator rather than the network, but if so, then Courage the Cowardly Dog and, especially, Samurai Jack.

[abunaidesu]

the angry beavers.

[Blademaster]

Goddamn it why did you have to remind me of them? :(

[Telume]

Dunno if it counts if it was ended by the creator rather than the network, but if so, then Courage the Cowardly Dog and, especially, Samurai Jack.

Samurai Jack, even at 16 years old... that show was still fucking cool.

[crown34]

Symbionic Titan. Why the network chose not to continue is beyond me.

[Katie]

Angry Beavers was my first childhood cancellation piss-off, and I found out later it's because a parent mis-heard something Norb said as "shit" and complained so they just dumped it. So unfair.

More recently, Arrested Development and Dollhouse, but I'm not sure if they count if I didn't watch them while they were on air, but on DVD. I'm just mad there are no more DVDs.

[DarkestLight]

Heroes.

The writers should have never listened to the fans and critics. The first half of season 2 was supposed to be setting up for the second half, then the writers' strike hit and all we got was the first half, which admittedly sucked by itself and left all kinds of unanswered questions that were supposed to be answered by the second half. By season 3 it had just gotten popular to bash the show. The writers tried to fix what wasn't broken by taking the powers away from two of the most popular characters. Season 4, the last season, was ironically called "redemption". It was a decent season, but the damage was done. Through most of the last episode of season 4, it seemed like the writers knew it was the end. They still ended it with a cliffhanger.

Knowing NBC though, I'm sure it can't be entirely blamed on the writers.


Sonic SatAM.

2 Seasons then, FFFFFFFFFFFFF..

^X 2 X 10FUGGINMILLION! Still got the comics though, both Heroes and Satam -.-

Uhh have there been any others? Oh Greg the Bunny >O! WHY!

[Dark Sage]

I miss Samurai Jack too, but I'd like to note that while production was ended, it was never officially cancelled. They left the show open so they could possibly end the storyline with a movie at some future date.

You never know...

[Oslo]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Clone High yet. :cry: