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View Full Version : What is the best TV Series to be cancelled before its time?


swimfan
08-05-2004, 02:41 PM
Freaks and Geeks. Great cast, Martin Starr is a comic genius. Also has staying power. In the same vein, Undeclared.

Another would be some 80's series where these teenagers had super powers or something like that (Misfits of Science?). I loved that show then, though have a feeling if viewed now, may be a bit cheesy...

whiskeytown
08-05-2004, 02:43 PM
Firefly comes to mind....so does Futurama.

RB

Uston
08-05-2004, 02:43 PM
The only reason I clicked on your post was to give you the correct answer of "Freaks & Geeks". Thanks for stealing my thunder, bastard.

J.R.
08-05-2004, 02:49 PM
The Family Guy.

The DVD sales and cartoon network rerun ratings were so good, FOX is bringing it back. Nuff said.

The Armchair
08-05-2004, 03:01 PM
I second Futurama and Family Guy, and suggest Sportsnight.

jagoff
08-05-2004, 03:24 PM
Definately Futurama and The Family Guy and also Undeclared!

Roy Hobbs
08-05-2004, 03:29 PM
1. Sports Night. Even short-lived, it's one of the greatest sitcoms ever created.
2. Twin Peaks. The first season is so good. The second season, well.... I think it needed a little more time.

Vehn
08-05-2004, 03:35 PM
I liked the 2nd season of twin peaks more. The pilot for the show is basically unwatchable.

Roy Hobbs
08-05-2004, 03:40 PM
I agree that the pilot is bad...

But I thought that the second season on the whole was weaker than the first...I love the series finale, though.

RH

offTopic
08-05-2004, 03:48 PM
I think I'm the only person in Western Civilization that liked it, but:

The Critic

ThaSaltCracka
08-05-2004, 03:53 PM
yes! The Critic!!!!!!
Family Guy!
Futurama!
Playmakers!!! <------- C'Mon, you guys liked it

Rushmore
08-05-2004, 04:19 PM
[ QUOTE ]
2. Twin Peaks. The first season is so good. The second season, well.... I think it needed a little more time.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's the one. Can you imagine what would be going on in that series now if it were still running?

There was some seriously funny stuff, but there was some extremely dark, very frightening material as well. There was also a bit of prurient soap opera element as well.

It was so good, no way could it last on television.

elwoodblues
08-05-2004, 04:22 PM
Ed. I thought Ed was one of the better written shows in recent years, way too early for it to be gone.

swimfan
08-05-2004, 04:31 PM
Agree to both. Thinking about it, Twin Peaks kinda defines the need more time aspect to the question (sorta what Rushmore said).

Other shows mentioned:

Futurama - had enough time, imo. what more could they do with the show?

Firefly - don't get me wrong, i loved Buffy seasons 1-4, parts of 5 (a show that could have ended at season 5) and Angel (think it ended at an appropriate time), however never really could get into this one. definitely ended before its time, though didn't think it was that great. may have had to do with the episode jumpiness, from what i've read.

Family Guy - Yeah, I agree, great show, great amount of potential.

The Critic - decent show, didn't really care when it got cancelled though...

moondogg
08-05-2004, 04:35 PM
[ QUOTE ]
The Family Guy.

The DVD sales and cartoon network rerun ratings were so good, FOX is bringing it back. Nuff said.


[/ QUOTE ]

I was absolutely appalled when I opened this thread and saw it wasn't about Family Guy.

Dominic
08-05-2004, 04:37 PM
A series from the mearly - mid-nineties I absolutely loved was, Key West." It lasted only half a season, I think, but it was great fun..I think it's the only TV series I've ever seen to use Magic Realism...

CCass
08-05-2004, 04:52 PM
Star Trek (the original series)
I second (or third or forth) Sports Night

James Boston
08-05-2004, 04:53 PM
The State

swimfan
08-05-2004, 04:56 PM
-

mmcd
08-05-2004, 06:12 PM
Street Time on Showtime was awesome the first season. Second season though, they changed it around and f'd it all up. So judging by the first season it sucked that it got cancelled, judging by the second, good riddance

scotnt73
08-05-2004, 06:13 PM
cop rock

nicky g
08-05-2004, 06:18 PM
Futurama
My So-Called Life
Dungeons and Dragons

astroglide
08-05-2004, 06:22 PM
family guy, twin peaks, the state

mikeyvegas
08-05-2004, 06:27 PM
I think I was the only person watching, but I enjoyed

Push, NV

Vehn
08-05-2004, 06:49 PM
I love futurama but I agree about how it doesn't have any where else to go really. What happens after fry and leela hooks up? zzzz.

nicky g
08-05-2004, 06:53 PM
Futurama wasn;t really about plot development. It was just funny. It had more funny places to go.

astroglide
08-05-2004, 06:56 PM
i forgot cop rock

Vehn
08-05-2004, 06:56 PM
The best futurama episodes are the ones that are character driven like the fry's dog one rather than the random "they go to planet of x and bender does something criminal and hyjinks ensue" episodes.

nicky g
08-05-2004, 07:03 PM
I'm not sure I agree. Regardless, the characters weren't the sort that necesarily had to develop in a soap opera-ish kind of way to still be funny as characters. It wasn't Friends. Noone really cared whether Fry and Leela got together.

scotnt73
08-05-2004, 07:05 PM
[ QUOTE ]
The best futurama episodes are the ones that are character driven like the fry's dog one rather than the random "they go to planet of x and bender does something criminal and hyjinks ensue" episodes.

[/ QUOTE ]

that frys dog one bummed me out at the end though. i just want to laugh. not damn near cry over a cartoon dog.

lil'
08-05-2004, 08:11 PM
Sledgehammer! (from 1987)

Kurn, son of Mogh
08-05-2004, 09:47 PM
Harsh Realm

Kurn, son of Mogh
08-05-2004, 09:50 PM
Sorry, even I can admit that the writing on Star Trek had gone downhill by season III. I mean, Abe Lincoln hanging in space in front of the Enterprise???

paland
08-05-2004, 10:27 PM
Stingray
Nowhere Man

But then, I was a Rockford Files fan too.

(Did anybody mention Futurama?)

SenecaJim
08-05-2004, 11:34 PM
mary tyler moore show

ArchAngel71857
08-05-2004, 11:41 PM
besides family guy, critic, etc.

I know I was the only person who watched John Doe.


-AA

Schneids
08-06-2004, 12:12 AM
[ QUOTE ]
The only reason I clicked on your post was to give you the correct answer of "Freaks & Geeks". Thanks for stealing my thunder, bastard.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope that means you've purchased the DVD of its season.

Family Guy is a close second.

Ray Zee
08-06-2004, 12:19 AM
twilight zone
northern exposure

astroglide
08-06-2004, 12:44 AM
how many seasons did those have? a friend of mine used to watch northern exposure religiously, and seemed to always have some episode on the tivo.

razor
08-06-2004, 12:51 AM
SportsNight

it's not close.



thank goodness for DVDs

J.R.
08-06-2004, 01:33 AM
110 episodes from june 1990 to july 1996.

Excellent show, but its time had come. Its still re-run on the Hallmark channel, along with Magnum, P.I. and Mash.

Josh W
08-06-2004, 05:50 AM
Look, I know that I'm the 6th-ish person to mention it, but it warrants it. This list begins and ends with SportsNight.

The episode where they play poker is unbelievable. The poker is pointless, but when Natalie says "...so I guess I'd have to wear one of your shirts, and I *KNOW* how you hate that"....well, the whole thing. I could go on and on.

I seriously watch an episode damn near weekly. No matter what is going on in my life, something about it just hits home, gives laughs, and makes life that much better.

It's nearly 3:00 a.m., and I think I'll go queue up a DVD now...

(oh, and I think that Cheers was ended before it's time)

Josh

cjromero
08-06-2004, 07:43 AM
Another vote for SportsNight and Twin Peaks. I also must be the second person in America who really liked Push, Nevada.

On the reality TV front, I enjoyed watching The Mole.

TylerD
08-06-2004, 07:57 AM
They weren't cancelled, the writers just decided that the anymore would be too much of a good thing, so Fawlty Towers and The Office get my vote. (12 episodes of each)

Gewurtztraminer
08-06-2004, 09:37 AM
I have to go with Police Squad!, only 6 episodes made (I think only 3 aired), have always been a fan of Zucker and Abrahams (in small doses mind you).

Gewürtztraminer

razor
08-06-2004, 09:56 AM
Shoe money tonight!


The problem with popping in one of the DVDs is I just can't stop watching...

Roy Hobbs
08-06-2004, 10:39 AM
Agreed....I will watch four episodes everytime I pop in the DVD. Usually the William H. Macy episodes.

I also had this same problem with Twin Peaks. I watched the original run, but then in college I met someone who had them all on tape. A friend of mine started watching at three in the morning and didn't stop until 8....this process repeated over the next several days until we had watched them all...

Uston
08-06-2004, 12:19 PM
I hope that means you've purchased the DVD of its season.

Not yet, but I still might. I taped each episode when they were being shown on Fox Family a few years back.

M2d
08-06-2004, 12:19 PM
Grand

swimfan
08-06-2004, 12:26 PM
I think the DVD is worth it. There is a ridiculous amount of commentary and decent number of extras on it, as well as proper episodic sequence. Watching it recently caused me to pose the subject question (as if you had to guess)...

wayabvpar
08-06-2004, 12:42 PM
Sports Night in a landslide...one of the best sitcoms ever made IMHO.

Also loved 'Get a Life' from the early 90s. Chris Elliott rules.

Rick Nebiolo
08-06-2004, 12:56 PM
The Honeymooners (with Jackie Gleason). Check out this link. (http://www.fiftiesweb.com/honeymnr.htm)

~ Rick

AdamK
08-06-2004, 12:59 PM
Bakersfield, PD...

One of the best shows to come out of the US..
A group of us at uni used to get real high.. we all loved this show

Uston
08-06-2004, 01:04 PM
Thanks. I'll probably pick it up then, if only so I can watch Haverchuk's prank call to Fredericks in in digital quality.

jagoff
08-06-2004, 05:15 PM
Thanks for bringing that one back to my memory!

jagoff
08-06-2004, 05:17 PM
[ QUOTE ]
besides family guy, critic, etc.

I know I was the only person who watched John Doe.


-AA

[/ QUOTE ]

I watched the first couple of episodes of John Doe and thought that it was a pretty good show then *poof* it vanished

brian0729
08-06-2004, 05:45 PM
Greg the Bunny. Eugene, Seth and Sarah didnt even have a chance.

WEASEL45
08-06-2004, 06:19 PM
for reality TV, Beg, Borrow and Deal. if it was on Fox, they would have a new season every month

SossMan
08-06-2004, 07:08 PM
Reno911...whenever it gets cancelled.

Rushmore
08-07-2004, 12:05 AM
...TV Funhouse.

Good lord, that was hysterically funny.

Did it run ONE season? TWO?

Whatever it was, it wasn't enough.

riverflush
08-07-2004, 01:39 AM
It's easily...

Baywatch - on NBC.

I know quality art when I see it, and in 1989, I saw Baywatch on NBC.

2nd best cancelled show: Baywatch Nights

Tell me how many shows you know of that all-of-a-sudden change formats in the 2nd season...and the characters (Angie Harmon, et. al) mysteriously (with no explanation) become scientists chasing ghosts and vampires?

David Hasselhoff = creative genius.

lil'
08-07-2004, 08:39 AM
.TV Funhouse.

Ah, I had almost forgotten. That was some sick humor.

Jimbo
08-07-2004, 09:27 AM
1. Lost in Space
2. Car 54 Where are You?
3. Bewitched
4. Perry Mason
5. Mannix
6. The Jetsons
7. Captain Kangaroo
8. The Howdy Doody Show
9. Mighty Mouse
10 Dark Shadows
11 Lyons Den
12 Beverly Hillbillies
13 The Hulk
14 Demolition Derbys
15 Mr Wizard
16 Hazel
17 Bonanza
18 The Rifleman
19 The Waltons
20 The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams
21 The Girl From Uncle
22 It's About Time
23 Time Tunnel
24 Land of the Giants
25 Wonder Woman
26 The Immortal
27 The Flying Nun
28 Adam-12
29 Banecek
30 Madigan



Jimbo

DeathDonkey
08-07-2004, 07:46 PM
Thank you! I can't believe nobody else said this. Greg the Bunny was fantastic.

-DeathDonkey

Wahoo91
08-15-2004, 09:47 PM
[ QUOTE ]
1. Lost in Space
2. Car 54 Where are You?
3. Bewitched
4. Perry Mason
5. Mannix
6. The Jetsons
7. Captain Kangaroo
8. The Howdy Doody Show
9. Mighty Mouse
10 Dark Shadows
11 Lyons Den
12 Beverly Hillbillies
13 The Hulk
14 Demolition Derbys
15 Mr Wizard
16 Hazel
17 Bonanza
18 The Rifleman
19 The Waltons
20 The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams
21 The Girl From Uncle
22 It's About Time
23 Time Tunnel
24 Land of the Giants
25 Wonder Woman
26 The Immortal
27 The Flying Nun
28 Adam-12
29 Banecek
30 Madigan



Jimbo

[/ QUOTE ]

How can you have a list this long and miss The Brady Bunch?

JohnShaft
08-15-2004, 11:36 PM
Homicide: Life on the Streets.

Senor Choppy
08-16-2004, 01:46 AM
[ QUOTE ]

10 Dark Shadows

[/ QUOTE ]

1245 episodes wasn't enough for you? WTF?

Senor Choppy
08-16-2004, 01:50 AM
110 episodes. One of my favorite shows, but certainly not one that got cancelled prematurely.

When Arrested Development gets canned, at it to the list.

Rick Nebiolo
08-16-2004, 01:57 AM
Great series. I think losing Andre Braugher (sp?) from the cast hurt it though.

~ Rick

TaxGoddess
08-16-2004, 05:22 AM
Definitely Sportsnight. I was just getting into it when it was cancelled and then had to watch it from the beginning in syndication.

TaxGoddess
08-16-2004, 05:26 AM
[ QUOTE ]
The State

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow I forgot about that show. It was way cool. I enjoy seeing former cast members on tv (Reno 911, Snickers commercial, etc.).

Bubbagump
08-16-2004, 08:38 AM
I definately agree that Family Guy belongs at the top of the list. But I'm surprised nobody mentioned 'Dark Angel'.

I also think 'UC Undercover' deserved a second season.

Was I the only person who watched these 2 shows?

Bubbagump

Daliman
08-16-2004, 12:23 PM
I hate him now, but at the time, when he was a young actor not mugging constantly, my favorite show was "the duck factory" with JIm Carrey. I was amazed when i realized years later that was him.

hutz
08-16-2004, 01:28 PM
When I saw the title to your post, the first shows that popped into my head were Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared (although having the dad become a defacto member of the "gang" was pretty lame). As I was reading the other posts, but before I got to Mr. Shaft's, I decided that Homicide: Life on the Street would be my third choice. If The Simpsons is ever cancelled (as opposed to Matt Groening simply shutting it down prematurely ala Seinfeld), then it'll vault to the top of my list.

Victor
08-16-2004, 02:12 PM
Family Guy.

hutz
08-16-2004, 05:17 PM
http://www.jumptheshark.com/

youtalkfunny
08-17-2004, 02:32 AM
I never saw an episode of "Herman's Head" or "The George Carlin Show" that I didn't like.

Only knock on Herman: whenever he had to face a choice of, say, take advantage of the gorgeous passed-out girl or "do the right thing", he ALWAYS did the right thing. Or say, keep the bag of money he found, or turn it in. HE'D TURN IT IN.

If he would've occasionally banged the girl, or kept the money, that show would still be on! It was brilliant!

DeezNuts
08-18-2004, 06:33 PM
Freaks and Geeks. No question. I may have to check out Undeclared and SportsNight, but F&G has some the best writing and most realistic portrayal of teenagers I have ever seen.

All the cartoons besides the Simpsons that have been on network tv SUCK.

DN

Jett Rink
08-24-2004, 02:13 PM
This wasn't even a trick question yet only elwoodblues got it right. "Ed" by a mile.

Gronk
08-31-2004, 03:13 PM
Can't believe no one mentioned Duckman. Sorry to hit a thread 5 days cold but I'm bored at work, you know how that goes.