Beat me to it. That show was a riot, although I can understand that network executives didn’t understand it.
Dead Like Me.
Wonderfalls.
Deadwood.
Rome?
I did like Joan of Arcadia and John Doe, but the networks have fooled me for the last time. Unless they have put the denouments and all the solutions to the “mysteries” sealed in a mayonaise jar, I am not going to fall for anymore “mystery shows” where what is going on is the mystery. I am sticking with Lost since I am so far in but no more. So, no Jericho, no Kyle XY (which is a direct rip of John Doe), etc. I did watch some Journeyman. There was “the Pretender” too, in the past.
What was that show about the producer and “his hooker”? One season, very funny.
WKRP in Cincinnati. It lasted for four years, but that wasn’t enough.
The original Star Trek.
Also, an obscure sitcom called Dweebs.
Millennium, great dark show, morbid as hell. to dark for tv I guess.
I will never understand why high quality shows like American Gothic and Picket Fences got cancelled arfter one season.
My vote goes to Carnivale on HBO. Gret first two seasons and they needed one more to finish the story.
Black Books.
Twin Peaks!!!
And Mr Benn.
Why am I always the one to have to point out the obvious?
The Straight Dope!!!
ETA: sorry for the shouting. it’s late I’m tired…
carry on.
I was just going to say the same thing TPWombat. I think there is a chance that another series might have sucked - there were a couple of ropey storylines in the last series IIRC. Still, there was loads left in the tank in terms of character, plot etc when it ended.
You know, I’ve never seen Firefly. Why does everyone like it so much?
As for the OP, of course there’s Futurama. Also, Stark Raving Mad. Although, if it had lasted, Monk would probably have never been.
Picket Fences lasted 4 years.
But how about
The Ed Sullivan Show
You Asked For It!
The Hallmark Hall of Fame
The Goodyear Playhouse
I could go on and on.
Picket Fences lasted four, at least here in the States.
Agree about Cupid – also liked the Fantasy Island remake with Malcolm McDowell that was simultaneous with it.
My number one lamented show, though, was Homefront, about soldiers returning from WWII and the various relationships that had changed in the meantime.
Tales of the Gold Monkey
Sports Night
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Much as I loved Twin Peaks, in retrospect it would have worked better as a miniseries which ended with the resolution of Laura Palmer’s murder, and then a teasing cliffhanger into another mystery (perhaps Maj. Briggs’ vanishing) in case ABC wanted to revisit with another miniseries or TV movie.
BUT since it went on another season, it needed a real payoff- something to get Cooper out of the Red Room.
[ul]
[li]Freaks and Geeks[/li][li]Dead Like Me (But only if Bryan Fuller, the creator, had come back to run the show. Great show, interesting premise, and yet it started to unravel after he left to run the next show on this list…)[/li][li]Wonderfalls[/li][li]Angel (Five seasons, sure, but it needed a sixth to deal with what I considered a pretty flawed finale. That said, the official sixth season in comic book form is simply excellent so far.)[/li][li]Veronica Mars[/li][li]Deadwood[/li][/ul]
Well, no, actually, it’s not at all like John Doe, and it’s revealed most of its mysteries already.
The first one to pop into my head was Cupid. Others may follow.
The idea for Kyle XY came first, according to the producers.
I really wish Nobody’s Watching had lasted longer (or in reality, had existed at all. They made a few episodes but they were only broadcast on the net and never picked up for TV by the WB Network, which commissioned them).
Written by the creator of Scrubs, it starred two congenial actors, some great supporting actors, a novel situation and some funny writing. (Still available to watch on the net).