We won't forget you...shows that aren't with us anymore

[Warduke]

I was thinking about shows that were cancelled and that I really missed, so why not make a thread about it



There are many shows that have been cancelled or have ended that should have gone on, so this is the place to post about it.



What shows that were cancelled that you really loved and should have gone on for years?



Also don't forget the FAQ, some shows are OT, so let's leave them where they belong...dead and buried





For me, there are two shows that got cancelled that made me really mad, Kindred: The Embraced and American Gothic.



Kindred was about vampires. The lead vampire was played by Mark Frankel, who died shortly after the show was cancelled, I think he would have gone on to much bigger things. It also had Stacy Haiduk



American Gothic was really good, I was so pissed when it got cancelled.

It had my favorite TV bad guy ever...Sheriff Lucas Buck (played by Gary Cole). I loved that character, sooo evil

It also had some lovely ladies, Paige Turco and the hottest teacher ever, Brenda Bakke

It was just starting to get really good and it got axed

---

Firebird: One Browser To Rule Them All.

[Cicca]

Ohhhhhhh Mark Frankel....

I remember him from Sisters. Another show that I miss. It was so convoluted and soapy and fun.



My So-Called Life is always on this list. How they could've canceled it is beyond me.

A really dumb show that I loved was Key West. I can't figure out why I liked it. I really can't. I mean, hellooooo, Fisher Stevens??



Then there's this one that I had to look up. My Life And Times It looks like it was only around for 6 episodes...??!? Wow. And I still remember it. And it's the first place I remember seeing Helen Hunt. She was great.



Which brings me to Mad About You. Which I didn't always watch and which seemed to be on the air for a really long time... And yet!

Is there a hyphen in anal-retentive?

[urnofosiris]

Hmm the only show that comes to mind is Above and Beyond. I liked that show, especially Kristen Cloke, yum. I would have liked it to continue, but I am not too bummed it didn't. I was bummed that DS9 ended, but I guess that does not count as it had a 7 year run. Beauty and the Beast doesn't count either I think, as that show killed itself, there was no point to it without Catherine.

The last mosquito that bit me had to check into the Betty Ford Clinic.

--Patsy Stone

[justin]

As I mentioned on the John Doe thread most series that I like seem to get cancelled after just a year. There's American Gothic and Space Above and Beyond which have been already mentioned.



Then there's Earth 2 which was about a group of colonists who go to settle another planet and find out that despite all reports from the planet it's inhabited also there's a goverment conspiracy to stop the colonists. The worst thing is the last episode ended with a major cliffhanger with the leader of the group having to be put into suspended animation because she was dying from an unknown disease.



Nowhere man, about a man who has his identity erased after he takes a picture of a military execution.



there's are lots of others that I can't think of at the moment.

Anya in a wimple...I'd pay full admission for that. Gods Served And Abandoned - by Antigone Unbound


You know the worst thing about people in a relationship? The fact that they're in a relationship. - Hilda Spellman

[cattwoman98111]

Witchblade. total cheese i know but i liked it, to bad Yancy Butler has so many problems.

I want it. Give it to me. I love it. 7-Year Bitch

[WebWarlock]

The shows I miss most are usually supernatural ones.



The X-files at it's prime was one the best things on TV. I don't buy many TV related products, but I do have Mulder and Scully action figures. They are right next to my Kim Possible one.



The Others was nice and creepy. It too ended in a big cliff-hanger. I was just telling my wife that 3-4 years later I still miss that show.



Millennium was also great. But I liked the X-Files world already and Lance Hendricksen, so this was a no brainer show for me. One of the first websites I ever set up was one for this show.



I always though Birds of Prey had a lot of potential and would have been a perfect choice to air after Smallville.



And Farscape is hands down the best new Sci-Fi show of the last five years.



Very cool thread.



Warlock

-----

Web Warlock

The Other Side,
home of Liber Mysterium: The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks: Available October 31st, 2003!

"I don't want to believe. I want to know." - Carl Sagan

[xita]

I just got my hands on the first DVD set of Dark Shadows and boy I am addicted. I love this show, it's so fun. I know it's earing on sci fi channel, but it's way ahead of where I am so I am reluctant to watch out of order, so I am going to be forced to buy those darn dvds But this show is so fun, sho cheesy. I just love it!

- - - - - - - - - - -
"Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose."

-Me & Bobby
McGee

[Sheridan]

Shows that I wish hadn't been cancelled? where to begin...



Space Above And Beyond I felt it had a lot going for it but I think the basic problem was that some critic tagged it as 'Melrose Space' and the show then became so dark trying to prove it wasn't that it lost the audience.



Now & Again Still cannot figure why that show failed, maybe just too offbeat for a mass audience?



The Invisible Man Not the cheesy 70's version, the one with Darrien Fawkes and the Quicksilver gland, good humour and good performances.



Farscape And the biggest WHY? of them all, a show on the Sci-Fi channel cancelled because it only appealed to sci-fi fans, somebody please explian that!!!

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Edited by: Sheridan at: 10/25/03 12:52 pm

[WebWarlock]

OHH! Save me a seat Xita, I *love* Dark Shadows. I used to watch it all the time as a kid.



Course Angelique is my fave, I even put her in my book dedication (along with our girls).



Ok, scripts are at times lame, the acting is at best average and the special effects are enough even to make a Dr. Who fan go "whoa, look at that crap." But there is still something charming about it all.



Did anyone catch the NBC revival of it back in the late 80'/early 90's starring Ben Cross as Barnabas? Not as good by any means.

I still have it all on tape somewhere.



Warlock

-----

Web Warlock

The Other Side,
home of Liber Mysterium: The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks: Available October 31st, 2003!

"I don't want to believe. I want to know." - Carl Sagan

[Gatito Grande]

I don't know which is worse: a show that's pulled *just* as its starting to get really good, or a good show implodes and is then yanked (we don't know any like that on this board, eh? )



Of the latter, I would have to start w/ Twin Peaks. It seemed like Lynch knew how to start a story (and a sub-plot), but not how to finish it. In the second season (and I only saw this on Bravo re-runs last year---I was a TV-less grad student when it was first on), Lynch would create a sub-plot, then introduce another character (or three), w/ another sub-plot (or four) . . . KABOOM! Then the show gets yanked at the worst possible cliff-hanger moment . . . (and the follow-up movie---given a chance to tie-off the end---only compounds it! Lynch, you dork!) But for awhile there, TP was the show to watch (and having recently---finally!---seen Mulholland Drive , I got to fall in love w/ Lynch and Lynchisms all over again )



Of the "new good show/gets yanked" phenomenon, the only one that sticks in my mind was VR5. Anybody remember that? (inc. ASH, pre-Giles) Lori Singer played a really interesting, complicated character (though the technology was already dated when the show began---they actually had her slam down the phone to connect the modem! )



Oh, I remember another show I "loved/got yanked"! Nothing Sacred. It was a fantastic show, w/ deep spirituality and a sensational RC priest (and feminist nun) . . . which meant, of course, that the Catholic Church went ballistic on it. God do I miss that show!



One other show, that wasn't cancelled, but just seemed like it was: Babylon 5. It was so threatened during it's fourth (out of a *planned* five) season, that show auteur JM Strachynsky (forget spelling that name! ) filmed the series finale that same (theoretically penultimate) year. Then the show got a reprieve, and it came back for its fifth season.



But, the air had gone out of the space station (so to speak). My favorite character, Susan Ivanova (played by Super Hottie Claudia Christian ), didn't return, and the show was just disconnectedly going through the motions (ahem) until the end. At that point, the filmed-the-year-before-with-Ivanova finale was shown, and it was awesome . . . but it still felt anti-climactic, after that lame-o Season 5.



GG Then there was XWP of course. It rebounded from a disastrous 5th season, to a terrific 6th---but the damage had already been done: to the ratings, to the fan-base, to the cast and crew---and the axe (um, kitana? ) fell. Out



Oh, I really liked Kindred: The Embrace, too. That show made vampires far sexier than any other I'm familiar with!

[justin]

I remember VR5 and it was a very good show.



Though it wasn't a modem that she was using it was an acoutic coupler, which is what people used before modems were invented.



So you're about it being anachronistic. She can afford this great VR stuff but not a propper modem. Also there's the question of how an acoustic coupler is able to transmit fast enough for her to see peoples thoughts in 3D.



But it was a great show despite it's technical flaws.

Anya in a wimple...I'd pay full admission for that. Gods Served And Abandoned - by Antigone Unbound


You know the worst thing about people in a relationship? The fact that they're in a relationship. - Hilda Spellman

[frenchrose888]

The first show that came to my mind was actually Fastlane - while it doesn't belong to my favourite type of tv shows (I'm more into the supernatural,dark, gothy kind or the odd, clever, Carnivàle type) I felt it had something. Obviously, it was just beautiful to look at, granted, in a very flashy way, but when it's done right, I think it can work - and it worked there. Peter Facinelli and Bill Bellamy were really starting to work well together, and Tiffanni Thiessen actually surprised me, in a good way, as this tough Lt Chambers. The plot was starting to get really interesting too when it got axed - and left us with one hell of a nasty cliffhanger.



Also, Popular was really something, it was unique, insane, bitchy and just plain good. Nicole Julian, how I miss you.



It's a pity, when some promising shows don't get a chance to grow, while others continue although they've long since run out of things to say...



(French)Rose

[sam7777]

Great thread!! Like Justine most series that I like seem to get cancelled after just a year. There are alot of shows that I miss:



Brimstone which was about a cop released from hell to track down escapees. It starred Peter Horton from Thirtysomething as the cop and John Glover as Satan. IMHO this is the best thing that I've seen Glover including his current gig as Lionel Luther. Dumped by Fox after 13 eps that rated better on Friday at 8pm than some of the crap that followed it. Brimstone still airs in repeats by the SciFi channel.





Nowhere Man was another great starring Bruce Greenwood as documentary photographer who has his whole existence erased. It's a sort of precusor to John Doe but also reminded me of "The Prisoner". Syndicated by Paramount and better than all the dramas on UPN that followed it IMHO. Great stuff.



Babylon 5: Crusade was the starship show that I wanted to see. It starred Gary Cole and the eps that aired last but were filmed first were some of the best SciFi I had seen in the star ship show genre. This was ruined by TNT who cut the budget and made them redo the show as a boring action show with less computer FX. All the wonder was gone and it was a harbringer of starship shite to come.



Birds of Prey was the last show on the broadcast networks that I saw. Since ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, WB and UPN would rather have males 18-34, I switched to cable and don't even tune into the broadcast networks anymore. All the networks except ABC have lost viewers this season and it's not hard to see why.

_____________________

I see dead lesbian cliches

Edited by: sam7777  at: 10/26/03 10:40 pm

[urnofosiris]

Oooh FrenchRose, where have you been hiding? Tres nice to see you post again. Anyway, enough pleasantries I didn't even know Fastlane was cancelled, bummer. I like Tiffany Amber Thiessen, she was good, especially in that one certain episode.

I totally forgot about Twin Peaks, I loved that show, but at some point it began to get a bit too weird. It felt like it was being weird for the sake of being weird, but still, it had some great moments and characters, and I have seldom seen a character that creeped me out more than that evil guy.

The last mosquito that bit me had to check into the Betty Ford Clinic.

--Patsy Stone

[fluffylamb]

There are two show that I wish had been more successful. Does anybody remeber the show "Christy" with Kellie Martin and Tyne Daly? It had a Little House on the Prarie feel. Kelly Martin's Christy was raised in an affluent family around the turn of the century, but becomes a teacher and moves to Cutter Gap, an impoverished region of the Smoky Mountains. I loved watching the two eligible bachelors (an uptight preacher and a gruff Scottish doctor) vying for Christy's affections. Tyne Daly won an Academy Award for supporting actress for her role as Christy's mentor.



It was a great show about a simpler time, but as it had minimal sex or violence, it was doomed to fail.



I don't understand why NBC's show Freaks and Geeks was canceled. That was a great, well written show. It was one of the more honest portrayals of the misery that is high school.



And, of course, I miss X-Files, at least when it was still good.

"In fluent aphasia the subject talks at great length, but are unaware that what they are saying makes no sense."
Art said, "I know a lot of people with that problem." -Kim Stanley Robinson's Blue Mars

[emma peel]

Ooohh, fluffylamb. Thanks for the reminder of Kellie Martin, which reminds me of the series "Life Goes On," which I really loved, but of course it was canceled after a couple of seasons.

Janice

[seurat]

There must be an unwritten law that every tv show I like must either be a) cancelled way too early, or b) conspire to kill off my favorite character so I have no desire to watch the show ever again.. Recently both Mutant X and Third Watch fell headfirst into the latter category. As for the cancellations...



Odyssey 5- a thought provoking, well cast sf show, so naturally it had to die right away.



Dark Angel - Jessica Alba would probably have been enough to keep me watching, but the show also had good supporting characters, was very well shot and decently written. And doesn't Fox wish they still had it on their schedule.



Birds Of Prey- Great fun eye candy that could have been developed into a fine show. Ashley Scott was amazing as Huntress. And doesn't the WB wish etc.



The Others- This is now being rerun here, so at least I can make sure I got all the ep's on tape. Very well written and cast, a real pleasure to see again in reruns.



And a host of others, which explains why I watch less series tv all the time.

"Always took candy from strangers/ Didn't wanna get me no trade/ Never want to be like Papa/ Working for the boss every night and day. I need a love to keep me happy, baby won't you keep me happy."-Keith Richards

[bla bla bla]

i'll just be naming my bunch which will just be repeating everyone else:...



x:wp of course

at home with the braithwaites - which wasn't cancelled exactly.. so much as.. came to its end. but still. it was good and not here anymore.

x files even though i could not stand doggett at all. or his redneck tree trunk face.

twin peaks - admittedly i didn't watch it when it was first on tv, but i've seen it.. and i really want to know what happens now.

popular which was just cool. i mean let's face it, it had nichole. it was cool.



and farscape! what the hell happened to farscape? it never hurt anyone..



i'm so glad they didn't cancel bad girls yet. that's just.. great.

"Hey Dykorama!"

"The name's Dyke. O. - and that's Ms. Rama to you."

[DaddyCatALSO]

I've loved a lot of shows but really don't miss that many; I don't really *care* that much about what Andy Taylor or Rhoda Morgenstern are doing now. A little curious about Rob and Laura Petrie....



I've had a knack for liking shows that don't last; about 10 years ago I tried to stop being a fan of anything because I assumed it'd be cancelled. I was too young to know just how bad _OK Crackerby_ was, I was disappointed with _Logan's Run_ but watched it because I was starved for genre. But then again there was _Frank's Place_, _Spenser for Hire_, _Geena_...



Going back from the sublime to the ridiculous, there was _My Living Doll_; "'Autumn, ye gods,' said Kharissa" how I'm dating myself ! Again I was too little to see how lousily it was written, I just thought "Robots! Cool!" I was also too naive to know what sexiness meant. But in retrospect, we're talking a half-hour show with *Julie Newmar* on camera most of the time. I can't consider it 30 mintues wasted, no matter how you slice it. I'd say that *does* compute.

[The Partisan]

I miss Vengeance Unlimited; brilliantly acted and scripted drama with Michael Madsen and Kathleen York. One-liners to die for. Only lasted half a season or so on ABC a few years back.



I'll add my voice to the cacophony lamenting the loss of Farscape. Maybe we'll luck out and get a TV movie or something.

[Ragna]

Picket Fences: As far as I know it only had one season, but it absolutely rocked. Definitely my sense of humour.



MASH: I don't like any movies or series about war, but MASH really is about peace. It was always funny and sad at the same time. Unfortunately there is no German version of the DVDs (as far as I know).



Clarissa: At least sort of. It was my favourite when I was about 12 to 14. I still watch it whenever I find any reruns.





Ragna.

[Munchkin]

Quantum Leap. Loved the interplay between Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, and with it the deep bond established between their roles of Sam and Al that made the series' finale especially poignant. Almost missed out on seeing it because of my dislike for some of the dodgier episodes (the "Evil" female Leapers, the Dr. Ruth appearance, the anti-"JFK" episode that argued that Lee Harvey Oswald was the Lone Gunman which was writer/producer Donald P. Bellisario's personal grudge against Oliver Stone played out at the expense of cogent storytelling), but otherwise an awesome show. Greatest moment: Al telling Sam that he doesn't feel sorry for Sam's leaping into his teenaged self and unable to change the tragic fates of his family, simply because Sam gets the chance to relive those happy moments at all. A classic.



Twitch City. Funny as hell, with Don McKellar's TV-obsessed shut-in Curtis coping with an ever-weirder assortment of tenants each episode (mysterious Asian businessmen storing "special" cookies, a cat-loving/hating weirdo, gay Nazis, an obsessed fan/stalker played by Jennifer Jason Leigh), while TV host Rex Reily's cast-change from Bruce McCulloch to Mark McKinney from one season to the next was casually explained as a "crainial transplant". There was even an OZ parody that focused on Curtis's ex-roomate Nathan serving time in prison for killing a homeless man (played by Al Waxman) with Cat Food. And despite her awful wardrobe and (by the second and last season) even worse-looking hair, Molly Parker was still pretty damned gorgeous to look at. A rare example of Good Canadian Television, which I'm chagrined to admit that I've seen so little of, being Canadian myself.



Homicide: Life on the Street. Actually, I'd already opened a separate thread for this one, so anything more specific from me will go there instead. But I will say this: Best. Damn. Show. Ever.



Edited to Add: Actually, Ragna, Picket Fences lasted for about 4-5 seasons, though I was personally never much more than a casual viewer myself to care too much about it. Plus, it was created produced by David E. Kelley, who I absolutely loathe for a number of reasons, the biggest being his willfully lowering the already poor standards of Mainstream TV and having it mistaken for "Quality" (re. "The Practice", "Boston Public"), just as Steven Bochco ("NYPD Blew") and John Wells ("Turd Watch") have set a bad example for everyone else to follow. But that's my own gripe to deal with.

________



Dave C.

Edited by: Munchkin at: 10/31/03 1:26 pm

[seurat]

You know, I was going to say Twitch City too, but it seems to me it was always intended to be a short form series, like Fawlty Towers, and after 12 ep's McCellar didn't feel the need to do any more. But for those who weren't lucky enough to see it, it was probably the strangest, funniest 6 hours of tv ever. The ep where the cats plot to take over the world is wonderful. And you gotta love Molly Parker, odd clothes and haircuts notwithstanding.

"Always took candy from strangers/ Didn't wanna get me no trade/ Never want to be like Papa/ Working for the boss every night and day. I need a love to keep me happy, baby won't you keep me happy."-Keith Richards

Edited by: seurat at: 10/31/03 5:49 pm

[Gatito Grande]

Well, I just wanna say that I loved Picket Fences, too (though like all too many shows, it had a sharp drop-off in quality towards the end). Also Northern Exposure: CBS used to have a lock on that "quirky (yet not sinister, ala Twin Peaks) small town" thang, and I appreciated it.



GG Especially when those "quirky small towns" ended up being gay-positive, pretty much ahead of most everything else on the airwaves Out

[Ragna]

Well, I'm from Germany and I'm pretty sure we did not get to see much more than one season of Picket Fences. I don't know much about anyone involved in the making of the series. I just loved the, well yeah, the "quirky small town"-thang.



Ragna.

[DaddyCatALSO]

Was also a _Picket Fences_ fan (wish I'd known who ALy was when she made her guest shot, but then, that's oxymoronic since that's who she still wasn't back then yet, or something); generally a fan of David Kelly series, nad the fall-off in quality on both PF and _Chicago Hope_ happened when he lost eprsonal interest in the shows and turned them over to soemone else. Of course, CVH just contiued getting even worse (drastically so) when he came back to it and he's never left _The Practice_ so... ... ... (never watche Ally MacBeal)

[EffieBlue]

I gotta go with Dark Angel especially considering what it was cancelled in favour of... bet there's some red faces at Fox becuase of that!!



and The Others



and Dr Who all those wobbly sets and dodgy costumes. I could never figure out why people just didn't run up stairs when the Daleks were after them.



Prisoner Cell Block H even wobblier sets and very dodgy dungarees.

Edited by: Warduke at: 11/8/03 12:54 pm

[justin]

Quote:

---

and Dr Who all those wobbly sets and dodgy costumes. I could never figure out why people just didn't run up stairs when the Daleks were after them.

---

Doctor Who is making a comeback. It should be back some time next year.



As to why people didn't just run upstairs, daleks can in fact climb stairs so that wouldn't have helped

Anya in a wimple...I'd pay full admission for that. Gods Served And Abandoned - by Antigone Unbound


You know the worst thing about people in a relationship? The fact that they're in a relationship. - Hilda Spellman

[tyche]

My So-Called Life was great - Claire Danes did her best work ever in that show. Pity it was cancelled so soon, though I have heard that it does have a very devoted internet fan community.

[jadeo0]

Dark Angel would get my vote as well, me being a huge fan of it the first season. However, the second season was something else.

A dose of Amber makes my day.

jess

Edited by: Warduke at: 11/16/03 10:14 am