I recall that CBS announced they were cancelling Designing Women, but it was brought back in response to fan support. I don’t recall, though, if there was any period where it was off the air.
Magnum P.I. was not scheduled to return (I’m not entirely sure it was cancelled, however) when it was given one more year.
They even had shown the final show where Magnum was killed. So the next season, it was kind of weird when Magnum shows healthy.
TV
Did Victoria Principal find him in the shower?
Classic Trek did come back as a saturday morning cartoon show.
For Firefly, we’ll just have to wait and see how the movie does next April.
Then there’s always Laugh-in.
It’s not that unusual for a show to switch networks after being cancelled by another. For instance, Get Smart was cancelled by NBC but picked up by CBS for the final season.
The Dick Van Dyck Show was cancelled by CBS after its first season, but it developed a following during summer reruns, so they picked it up for another year.
The Avengers was followed by The New Avengers about 15 years later. Both starred Patrick McNee as John Steed.
Wasn’t Charles In Charge cancelled and then resurrected on another network?
Let’s not forget the many incarnations of the Power Rangers.
There are two current incarnations:
Power Rangers - Dino Thunder
Power Rangers - Ninja Storm
Power Rangers - Dino Thunder stars one of the original Power Rangers as the leader of the current teenage group of rangers. “The Oldest Living Power Ranger” Dr. Tommy Oliver (now the Black Ranger) was in the original **Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers ** program as the Green Ranger. After the first season he was the White Ranger. Then in the series incarnation Power Rangers Turbo he became the Red Ranger.
(Yes, I fully understand that I know way too much about the Power Rangers.)
The Saturday Morning show Land of the Lost (subject of a majorly nostalgic recent thread) disappeared for twenty years before coming back with a new cast, better special effects, better acting and storylines that sucked like a Hoover Upright with a diesel engine. (The first one will always be the better.)
This may be more of a spinoff, but Fred Sanford returned to TV in Sanford, a show with most of the same supporting characters (Bubba, Grady, Esther, etc.) but no Lamont, an inexplicable fat hillbilly roommate for Fred and an even more inexplicable romance between Fred and a wealthy socialite. Sucked- died quickly.
Of course English TV does this all the time. Til Death Us Do Part (the series Americanized as All in the Family came back several times over 20 years, and the actor who played Alf Garnett (their “Archie Bunker”) still does occasional specials and appearances in character now that the actress who played his wife is dead. Absolutely Fabulous has gone away and returned with the same title and same cast several times as well.
No, Patrick Duffy found him in the shower. And boy, was it ever awkward!
Classic Star Trek was cancelled after the second year, revived after massive letter writing campaign from the fans.
Does the new Transformer cartoon count?
Even though it’s terrible?
And is there not a new He-Man cartoon as well?