I’m sure this has been posted before, but I couldn’t find it in a search. Must’ve used the wrong terms. Sorry.
There was a thread recently about Sitcom Rasputins. Now- Television James Deans: they just die too damn young. It’s just such a cold, hard and sucky racket when fresh, original, sweet, charming, intelligent, witty shows fall by the wayside like they do. :sad:
[list]
[li]Cupid[/li][li]Firefly[/li]
Okay, so I’m no television buff…
Freaks and Geeks, most definitely.
Bring back Brimstone!
I miss HBO’s Carnivàle. Its abrupt ending was horribly unsatisfying.
Farscape was cancelled prematurely, even though it was at the end of its fourth season.
Futurama
Alien Nation ended with an unresolved cliffhanger. They followed it up with a few made-for-TV movies some years later.
There probably ought to be a limit on how many seasons a show lasted to qualify for this thread. I mean, if a show reaches five seasons, there’s nothing “James Dean” about it – that was a pretty good run.
I nominate Sports Night and Joan of Arcadia.
The Tick. Both live action and animated. Especially animated. It makes me so sad to know there’s half made shows out there. I want them!
Of course, I have to mention Firefly. When I think about it, though. . .Farscape, Futurama, Family Guy, Freaks and Geeks, Firefly. . .
Note to self: if I ever have an idea for a TV series, do not have a title beginning with the letter F.
Joan of Arcadia and Dark Angel
Sigh.
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
Firefly, obviously. I thought at the time John Doe would fit, but since finding out what his “secret” was, I am glad the show died before revealing it.
Ohhhh, yes! What a wonderful show. How I miss it. If I could reanimate any dead TV show, this would be the one.
Freaks and Geeks has to be THE television James Dean. THe show was simply perfect.
Max Headroom
Enterprise (the last season showed potential)
I sure wish Murder One had stayed on the air. Preferably with Daniel Benzali, but Anthony LaPaglia was good, too.
I’ll say Futurama also as it was really only 4 seasons and Fox never stopped messing with it. I only saw about 30 shows in the first run, that god for the cartoon network. Show was great.
Showtime killed Dead Like Me after only 2 seasons.
Police Squad: Six of the funniest episodes ever and Dead.
The Famous Teddy Z: 1 season and dead, it had a lot of potential, good cast, funny episode and good production crews.
Square Pegs was a funny and semi-realistic show about 1980’s high school. In a way the original Freeks & Geeks.
Ultimately the answer to the question depends on which ox is getting gored. I enjoyed both Dead Like Me and Carnivale but I understand why they’re no longer in production. Both series were well supported by their respective networks but they just couldn’t find an audience. They had a fair shake but unfortunately neither series could find a big enough audience.
Marc
What was it?