The TRIO cable channel is running a series this month called “Brilliant but Cancelled,” where they show series that were ostensibly cancelled before their prime, along with specials and documentaries examining why shows are cancelled.
One thing I definitely like is that they interview a bunch of producers who put it plain that letter-writing campaigns and internet petitions just don’t work. Useful for the next time someone approaches me begging me to do my duty and save Farscape or some such…
Anyway, they mention (and broadcast) the usual nominees for unfairly-cancelled series and bemoan how all this brilliance was denied audiences because the evil networks just cater to the lowest common denominator. Most of the time, I hear this kind of thing and I shake my head in unison and think “what a shame.”
But now I’m starting to wonder, after seeing some of these series and hearing their producers and writers talk. Which shows really shouldn’t have been cancelled? I can’t really think of any. Ones that are frequently mentioned:
Mystery Science Theater 3000 – This is my favorite television series of all time. Still, I’ll acknowledge it was on the downward slope for a while. They should’ve stopped when Trace Beaulieu left, if not Frank Conniff. The Ben Stiller Show – This is presented as a showcase of artistic integrity; they refused to make pandering changes like the network demanded. Sure guys, whatever; the fact is that the show was hit-or-miss at best. Firefly – I really enjoyed what I saw of this show, and kept getting the impression that it was building to something really cool. But it wasn’t quite cool enough yet. I definitely think that you have to come out strong right away; with as much money as goes into TV series nowadays, you can’t really afford to let a show “find its legs,” IMO. Action – No thanks. Does anybody outside of Hollywood like this kind of thing? Is saying “cocksucker” on national TV enough to qualify as “edgy”? Now and Again – Well-made, but poorly plotted IMO. And the characters were almost universally unlikeable. It never really grabbed me. Farscape – I never saw it, so I can’t comment. Is it worth all the hubub?
Obviously, these are my opinions. What are yours? As I said, there are some shows that I loved but can still see why they were cancelled. Are there any series that you honestly, genuinely, feel were unfairly or prematurely cancelled?
Action, Now and Again, and Farscape are three of my favorite shows. Ever. Admittedly, i liked Action when i was around 15, so maybe i was being immature… but I know Now and Again had incredible writing, acting, and plotting. Complety unfairly cancelled, and definatly should be revived…
More from Sci-Fi: The Invisible Man Funny and good… G vs E Cancelled by USA, then picked up by Sci-Fi, then cancelled again. Very funny and cool and neat… The Chronicle Not as funny, but pretty close… and another neat show Lexx Sick Canadian sci-fi that will be missed
*Farscape * The best of the original sci-fi shows… i have no idea why they cancelled it and then started promoting the last episodes…
Non sci-fi shows: Freaks and Geeks Just watch it if its on reruns… so damn good… and so damn true… Poltically Incorrect with Bill Maher Sure, he said some politically incorrect stuff, but that was the name of the show! Great guests, great interplay, intelligent conversation… it is missed…
Sports Night - Good writing, excellent ensemble cast. Only downside is that they used a laugh track and the show didn’t need that kind of window dressing.
Doctor, Doctor - What Matt Frewer did after Max Headroom. OPne of the flat out funniest sitcoms ever. Frewer was insane. Hopefully, somone will rerelease these on DVD.
“Politically Incorrect” put out one hell of a lot of episodes to be considered “cancelled before its prime,” and how many nights do you really need to see four dolts arguing over subjects they don’t actually understand? I don’t need to see Nelly Furtado spouting her 87-IQ opinions on North Korea to Arianna Huffington. Out of ten episodes you got intelligent conversation maybe 10% of the time. Most of the show’s entertainment value was in Maher’s opening monologue.
A rather obvious choice for a great show cancelled very early is “Police Squad!”
Going from ( spotty ) memory on this one, so I could be wrong. But I believe it was Carradine that bailed over the network’s objections. It was either the #1 rated show or #1 for some timeslot or something at the time - i.e. it was still profitable at the time.
1987’sFrank’s Place, starring Tim Reid (“Venus Flytrap” of WKRP and “Downtown Brown” of Simon & Simon) as a guy who’s lived in Boston for 35 years and inherits his dad’s restaurant in New Orleans. Very cool show, lots of excellent actors (including Reid’s real-life wife, Daphne) and some fascinating, complicated things to say about race that went way beyond the standard sterotypes and into the complicated feelings of real-life people.
Great atmosphere as well.
Lexx, Farscape, Invisible Man, MST3K…yep, those were all great shows. At least there’s a little more of Farscape to go. And of course, can’t forget Firefly, with numerous threads of it’s own.
Then there’s Invader ZIM, a wonderfully loony (and non-saccharine) cartoon that Nickelodeon cancelled after deciding it was too…well, too something for children. Given that they tried replacing it with a show called Butt-Ugly Martians, I’d venture to say it wasn’t that it was too tasteless. It was a great show, harking back to the days when cartoons could be enjoyed by children on one level and adults on another.
I’ll second most of the science fiction shows y’all have already mentioned. The first show that came to mind when I saw this thread was Johnny Bago. Damn. That was a funny show. Thankfully, I’ve got most (I think all) episodes on tape.
Same goes for Misfits of Science. Yeah. You read that right. That was freakin’ hilarious. And I’ve got all episodes (including a “lost” episode) on tape. Yay me.
I can’t believe I forgot both Police Squad! and Invader ZIM. Both of those definitely qualify, in my opinion. Police Squad didn’t even show any signs of getting weaker; there’s no reason the network shouldn’t have ordered more than 6 episodes.
As for Invader ZIM, I can definitely understand why it was cancelled by Nickelodeon; it’s not really their audience. What I don’t get is why Nickelodeon picked it up in the first place. Why commit a show to your network when there’s little to no chance of its succeeding there? I just got into the show recently – did it start before there was an Adult Swim on Cartoon Network?
Word, word, word. I remember watching this show with my parents (even though I was little) and being impressed with how good it was. Maybe it’ll come out on DVD?
Firefly is the biggie. This is the show that has most deserved a chance in the last five years. It was a truly unique science fiction show, with an entirely different view of the future which was every bit as compelling as Star Trek universe. It would have been a lot of fun exploring that one.
