Just rewatched Terriers.
Its maybe one of my favorite seasons of TV ever; hilarious, smart without being pretentious, and captures the 2010 recession zeitgeist about as well as anything I've seen. Donal Logue is one of my favorite actors, and he's just fucking on fire. I probably would have watched 6 seasons of the show; however, it didn't last past the first.
Anyone have any other favorite examples?
EDIT: Terriers also had maybe the best theme song of any TV show ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD8Kh7Pmzho
Unneed answer : Farscape.
Ok, nerds?
My answers, Jericho & Stargate Universe.
Uhh yeah.
Firefly
Arrested Development
Deadwood
The Crazy Ones
Dead Like me
Using the criteria that Fox uses to make its decisions, Seinfeld would not have had a second season.
Gunsmoke.
I'd love to se MST3k back on TV.
Futurama. Both times.
Quote from: Grey Fox on May 01, 2014, 11:44:38 AM
Unneed answer : Farscape.
Do you mean Firefly? Farscape had 4 or 5 seasons.
I'd add Freaks and Geeks and Arrested Development.
Also: Rubicon, Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls.
Anna Friel in Pushing Daisies was the most attractive woman in the hundreds of millions of years of females of any species being attractive to their male counterparts. (http://www.gotceleb.com/wp-content/uploads/celebrities/anna-friel/at-pushing-daisies-promoshoot/Anna%20Friel%20in%20Pushing%20Daisies%20Photoshoot%20-03.jpg)
Saved by the Bell: The College Years.
It would have kept Screech out of porn!! Maybe.
Journeyman - I loved that one, but I'm a sucker for time travel stories.
MASH
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on May 01, 2014, 11:46:12 AM
Uhh yeah.
Firefly
Arrested Development
Deadwood
The Crazy Ones
Dead Like me
Using the criteria that Fox uses to make its decisions, Seinfeld would not have had a second season.
Rome.
It needed at least one more season, and should have gotten one. HBO did not realize what they had until it was too late.
Quote from: Valmy on May 01, 2014, 12:31:52 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on May 01, 2014, 12:06:13 PM
MASH
:lol:
Ok then, Law and Order
Hockey Night in Canada. 60 years doesn't seem like long enough some how. :(
Quote from: Valmy on May 01, 2014, 12:32:47 PM
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on May 01, 2014, 11:46:12 AM
Uhh yeah.
Firefly
Arrested Development
Deadwood
The Crazy Ones
Dead Like me
Using the criteria that Fox uses to make its decisions, Seinfeld would not have had a second season.
Rome.
It needed at least one more season, and should have gotten one. HBO did not realize what they had until it was too late.
Didn't most sets burn shortly after season 2 was wrapped? That would have made a third season a bit difficult.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on May 01, 2014, 11:46:12 AM
Uhh yeah.
Firefly:
+1 Shame on that one. Yet shit like Babylon 5 survived.
Quote from: celedhring on May 01, 2014, 12:36:37 PM
Didn't most sets burn shortly after season 2 was wrapped? That would have made a third season a bit difficult.
HBO already cancelled the series so...yeah. They rushed through seasons worth of story in one and ended the series, before they realized they were making tons of money off the DVD sales on season 1. It was too late then.
Quote from: Valmy on May 01, 2014, 12:38:06 PM
Quote from: celedhring on May 01, 2014, 12:36:37 PM
Didn't most sets burn shortly after season 2 was wrapped? That would have made a third season a bit difficult.
HBO already cancelled the series so...yeah. They rushed through seasons worth of story in one and ended the series, before they realized they were making tons of money off the DVD sales on season 1. It was too late then.
Yeah, season 2 is stupidly rushed. It's a pity, such a fascinating material to work from.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on May 01, 2014, 11:46:12 AM
Uhh yeah.
Deadwood
While I loved this series and binged watched the entire thing, I'm glad it stopped when it did.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on May 01, 2014, 11:54:20 AM
Quote from: Grey Fox on May 01, 2014, 11:44:38 AM
Unneed answer : Farscape.
Do you mean Firefly? Farscape had 4 or 5 seasons.
Farscape was cancelled at the end of the fourth season, a season that ended with a cliffhanger; although they got to make a miniseries to resolve said cliffhanger forcing a full season's worth of story arc into a two part mini-series did not have ideal results. Far from it.
And I'll also third or whatever Firefly; that's a series that deserved a good long run. The lead characters had one of the most fascinating group dynamics I've seen.
Quote from: celedhring on May 01, 2014, 12:36:37 PM
Didn't most sets burn shortly after season 2 was wrapped? That would have made a third season a bit difficult.
They destroyed the sets, yes. The show was just too expensive to continue to make. Lots of prime examples of poor decision-making in the story of
Rome's financial decision-making.
In any case it was the most successful historical show this side of Band of Brothers and it was tragic it only got two seasons.
Fox canned Almost Human because it was more expensive than The Following. :(
That was a total shame. I enjoyed getting weekly homages to Blade Runner. :weep:
I can't think of a series that I wished wasn't cancelled but lately I've gotten a lot more into more TV shows. So now there are quite a few TV series that I like, and hoping they don't get cancelled, but a couple probably will be.
Really liking:
Game of Thrones
The Blacklist
The Americans
Arrow
The 100
Revolution
Waiting for The Bridge to start up again this summer.
Firefly, for sure.
Crusade had a lot of good things going for it.
The real lost gem, though, was Odyssey 5. Better-written than Crusade, better-acted than Firefly. I still am not completely sure what the story was about.
Another lost gem (though a better-known one) was American Gothic.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on May 01, 2014, 11:54:20 AM
Quote from: Grey Fox on May 01, 2014, 11:44:38 AM
Unneed answer : Farscape.
Do you mean Firefly? Farscape had 4 or 5 seasons.
I'd add Freaks and Geeks and Arrested Development.
No but Firefly is a good candidate.
Firefly was ridiculously badly managed by Fox. I would like to say I never watch Fox because I am still bitter but it is mainly because their shows are generally shit.
I resisted watching Firefly for several years because I knew I'd love it and it would piss me off to see it cut so early. It did.
Arrested Development, Rubicon and Terriers are good shouts.
I think Firefly got sorted out more than well in enough in the film, which is kind of legitimately great (if you've seen the show--I have no idea what you'd make of it if you hadn't).
My number one favorite cancelled show was Andy Richter Controls the Universe. Despite being brilliantly funny and weird (and starring two really, really hot women), it failed. There's a universe where Andy Richter's talent was recognized and he didn't have to crawl back into his creator's shadow; it's just not ours. Frankly, it's fucking depressing.
There's also NewsRadio, which got four seasons, but was famously and consistently fucked over by both NBC and the hands of fate. You can make a good argument that with Phil Hartman's death the core of the show was torn out, but honestly the fourth season's not bad. The Johnny Johnson trilogy featuring superhuman Patrick Warburton as Jimmy James' nemesis were some of the series' best, and although Jon Lovitz was never going to replace Phil Hartman, he was kind of funny in an annoying way, and everyone else was still at the top of their game. I'd have liked to have seen more, but it just wasn't in the cards.
Also: Space: Above and Beyond. It had some rough edges, but I really enjoyed the show.
Quote from: Syt on May 01, 2014, 01:44:34 PM
Also: Space: Above and Beyond. It had some rough edges, but I really enjoyed the show.
Yeah, I would have liked to see that go into a second season. But that was never going to happen given how they ended it in a very literal sense.
Quote from: Ideologue on May 01, 2014, 01:42:54 PM
I think Firefly got sorted out more than well in enough in the film, which is kind of legitimately great (if you've seen the show--I have no idea what you'd make of it if you hadn't).
My number one favorite cancelled show was Andy Richter Controls the Universe. Despite being brilliantly funny and weird (and starring two really, really hot women), it failed. There's a universe where Andy Richter's talent was recognized and he didn't have to crawl back into his creator's shadow; it's just not ours. Frankly, it's fucking depressing.
There's also NewsRadio, which got four seasons, but was famously and consistently fucked over by both NBC and the hands of fate. You can make a good argument that with Phil Hartman's death the core of the show was torn out, but honestly the fourth season's not bad. The Johnny Johnson trilogy featuring superhuman Patrick Warburton as Jimmy James' nemesis were some of the series' best, and although Jon Lovitz was never going to replace Phil Hartman, he was kind of funny in an annoying way, and everyone else was still at the top of their game. I'd have liked to have seen more, but it just wasn't in the cards.
The Firefly film feels like multiple seasons of story arc crammed into hour and a half, which is kind of sad. It's a nice closure, but it still feels quite shortchanged.
Quote from: Ideologue on May 01, 2014, 01:42:54 PM
I think Firefly got sorted out more than well in enough in the film, which is kind of legitimately great (if you've seen the show--I have no idea what you'd make of it if you hadn't).
My number one favorite cancelled show was Andy Richter Controls the Universe. Despite being brilliantly funny and weird (and starring two really, really hot women), it failed. There's a universe where Andy Richter's talent was recognized and he didn't have to crawl back into his creator's shadow; it's just not ours. Frankly, it's fucking depressing.
There's also NewsRadio, which got four seasons, but was famously and consistently fucked over by both NBC and the hands of fate. You can make a good argument that with Phil Hartman's death the core of the show was torn out, but honestly the fourth season's not bad. The Johnny Johnson trilogy featuring superhuman Patrick Warburton as Jimmy James' nemesis were some of the series' best, and although Jon Lovitz was never going to replace Phil Hartman, he was kind of funny in an annoying way, and everyone else was still at the top of their game. I'd have liked to have seen more, but it just wasn't in the cards.
Andy Richter Controls the Universe was awesome and unfairly killed. Such a great supporting cast on that.
NewsRadio did get 5 seasons (5th being with Lovitz). The fourth season was weaker than the third, and the early part of the fifth was quite weak but later on it got back some of the magic. I'd say I was fine with it being cancelled at the point that it was, but if Hartman would of still been around it could have gone for a few more seasons.
Oops, I meant 5th. -_-
Quote from: celedhringThe Firefly film feels like multiple seasons of story arc crammed into hour and a half, which is kind of sad. It's a nice closure, but it still feels quite shortchanged.
I thought that was one of the best parts--it feels stuffed with incident. Like I said, though, if you don't know these people, it's arguably a complete waste of time. (Not entirely, though; it'd still be worth watching for Chiwetel Ejiofor.)
Other than Andy Richter and Firefly I'd put up Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 as undeserving of cancellation. So goddamn funny. Some of the best rapid fire and "ohhhhh I get it" dialogue in a sitcom ever.
Dexter.
Quote from: celedhring on May 01, 2014, 02:03:19 PM
The Firefly film feels like multiple seasons of story arc crammed into hour and a half, which is kind of sad. It's a nice closure, but it still feels quite shortchanged.
Serenity desperately needed a director who knew how to direct films, and a co-writer who could write action scenes. The movie as is was pretty lame, particularly compared to the TV show.
Dark Angel
I dont understand the fascination with Firefly. I stopped watching it after the episode when they were doing a train heist of some sort (one of the first as I recall). Western themes with Western accents in a sci fi show really turned me off the show.
I watched the movie on TV at some point. It was a bit better.
The Misfits of Science
Clerks
While it wasn't canceled, I would have liked for more episodes of "Fishing with John" to have been made.
Quote from: crazy canuck on May 01, 2014, 03:32:35 PM
I dont understand the fascination with Firefly. I stopped watching it after the episode when they were doing a train heist of some sort (one of the first as I recall). Western themes with Western accents in a sci fi show really turned me off the show.
I watched the movie on TV at some point. It was a bit better.
So you stopped after the second episode? The movie is not as good as most of the series.
Quote from: Valmy on May 01, 2014, 03:42:56 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on May 01, 2014, 03:32:35 PM
I dont understand the fascination with Firefly. I stopped watching it after the episode when they were doing a train heist of some sort (one of the first as I recall). Western themes with Western accents in a sci fi show really turned me off the show.
I watched the movie on TV at some point. It was a bit better.
So you stopped after the second episode? The movie is not as good as most of the series.
Actually that was the first aired episode. The original pilot wasn't aired until after the series had been cancelled.
Quote from: Valmy on May 01, 2014, 03:42:56 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on May 01, 2014, 03:32:35 PM
I dont understand the fascination with Firefly. I stopped watching it after the episode when they were doing a train heist of some sort (one of the first as I recall). Western themes with Western accents in a sci fi show really turned me off the show.
I watched the movie on TV at some point. It was a bit better.
So you stopped after the second episode? The movie is not as good as most of the series.
Like I said, it really turned me off. Cowboys in space yippee. The movie was a lot better than that episode.
Quote from: crazy canuck on May 01, 2014, 03:58:22 PM
Like I said, it really turned me off. Cowboys in space yippee. The movie was a lot better than that episode.
Yes I heard you the first time. Anyway the series is not cowboys in space.
Quote from: crazy canuck on May 01, 2014, 03:58:22 PM
Like I said, it really turned me off. Cowboys in space yippee. The movie was a lot better than that episode.
That particular episode was made specifically at the network's request as a replacement pilot. It sucked, and deliberately so; the network wanted to cancel and needed bad ratings to justify cancelling.
The thing the TV show had going for it was the dialogue (I think Whedon does the best dialogue-writing in the business). That episode showed none of that strength, and the movie much too little of it. The movie was an attempt to do an action movie, and Whedon is crappy at writing action (how many times does he stop action with
deus-ex-machina crap? 60% of the time? 70%?) and bad at directing action. The TV show is well-paced for the kinds of writing he is strongest at. Some of the plots are dumb, but you won't mind. It's good stuff.
Quote from: frunk on May 01, 2014, 03:45:46 PM
Actually that was the first aired episode. The original pilot wasn't aired until after the series had been cancelled.
Wasn't aware of that. Weird decision since the pilot explains a lot of important stuff, particularly the business with the Tam brothers.
Oh, and as for
QuoteI dont understand the fascination with Firefly
, of course you don't. You've only seen one episode. Only
an idiot a very, very silly person would expect to understand what people like about a show after only seeing one episode.
Quote from: grumbler on May 01, 2014, 04:59:44 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on May 01, 2014, 03:58:22 PM
Like I said, it really turned me off. Cowboys in space yippee. The movie was a lot better than that episode.
That particular episode was made specifically at the network's request as a replacement pilot. It sucked, and deliberately so; the network wanted to cancel and needed bad ratings to justify cancelling.
The thing the TV show had going for it was the dialogue (I think Whedon does the best dialogue-writing in the business). That episode showed none of that strength, and the movie much too little of it. The movie was an attempt to do an action movie, and Whedon is crappy at writing action (how many times does he stop action with deus-ex-machina crap? 60% of the time? 70%?) and bad at directing action. The TV show is well-paced for the kinds of writing he is strongest at. Some of the plots are dumb, but you won't mind. It's good stuff.
Then I regret giving up on it after the first episode. I wonder if I can watch it on netflix? I will check it out over the weekend.
Quote from: grumbler on May 01, 2014, 01:05:49 PM
The real lost gem, though, was Odyssey 5. Better-written than Crusade, better-acted than Firefly. I still am not completely sure what the story was about.
Good call.
Quote from: crazy canuck on May 01, 2014, 03:32:35 PM
I dont understand the fascination with Firefly. I stopped watching it after the episode when they were doing a train heist of some sort (one of the first as I recall). Western themes with Western accents in a sci fi show really turned me off the show.
I watched the movie on TV at some point. It was a bit better.
That was the first episode aired. :P
Which was a problem, because they were aired out of order and nobody knew anything about anyone in the show or the setting or anything that they would have learned from the first episode.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on May 01, 2014, 05:28:17 PM
That was the first episode aired. :P
Which was a problem, because they were aired out of order and nobody knew anything about anyone in the show or the setting or anything that they would have learned from the first episode.
Those were problems, but pale against the fact that the new pilot was written in a weekend and subsequently sucked.
Terriers sucked donkey dick. Oh Spellus.
Quote from: Ed Anger on May 01, 2014, 06:18:41 PM
Terriers sucked donkey dick. Oh Spellus.
You are completely wrong.
Mann & Machine
Sheriff Lobo
Anyone remember a mid-90s American Psycho inspired Fox drama called Profit? It's really great, predicted the whole antihero Sopranos thing. Only ran for about 8 episodes.
Too bad the Trio cable channel went under. You would have liked it Spellus.
They showed Lookwell. That was just about the funniest 30 minutes of TV ever. Real shame it wasn't picked up.
Carnivale for sure.
Stargate Universe and even Atlantis I thought died early.
Someone mentioned Rubicon. yes.
What was that network show they tried to do about the porno industry?
It was incredibly bad.
I liked a PBS show called "Foot Soldier" with the bearded guy from Home Improvement.
Quote from: derspiess on May 01, 2014, 11:58:48 AM
Saved by the Bell: The College Years.
It would have kept Screech out of porn!! Maybe.
Something I did not know and did not need to know. :secret:
Quote from: Queequeg on May 01, 2014, 06:43:37 PM
Anyone remember a mid-90s American Psycho inspired Fox drama called Profit? It's really great, predicted the whole antihero Sopranos thing. Only ran for about 8 episodes.
Yes, I think it might have aired on Fox right after The X-Files. It was definitely an original show, but I didn't think it was particularly good.
As far as OP goes, I'll throw Kindred: The Embraced into the mix. :)
Quote from: Caliga on May 01, 2014, 09:00:15 PM
Quote from: Queequeg on May 01, 2014, 06:43:37 PM
Anyone remember a mid-90s American Psycho inspired Fox drama called Profit? It's really great, predicted the whole antihero Sopranos thing. Only ran for about 8 episodes.
Yes, I think it might have aired on Fox right after The X-Files. It was definitely an original show, but I didn't think it was particularly good.
It was really interesting, even if it had its faults. The sense of humor is fantastic, and I actually like the central character a whole lot. Probably more than the Bateman of the books.
Quote from: Agelastus on May 01, 2014, 12:54:27 PM
Farscape was cancelled at the end of the fourth season, a season that ended with a cliffhanger; although they got to make a miniseries to resolve said cliffhanger forcing a full season's worth of story arc into a two part mini-series did not have ideal results. Far from it.
Maybe if they didn't have so many episodes that didn't advance the main arc(half of which involved the ship getting "sick" and losing control of various functions), they'd have had more time to resolve those storylines. Anyway, much as I liked the show, after watching it for 80 hours I felt a bit fatigued, not really wanting more.
Greatest American Hero
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4JCehDOy54v
Cop Rock.
Quote from: Caliga on May 01, 2014, 09:02:20 PM
As far as OP goes, I'll throw Kindred: The Embraced into the mix. :)
:bleeding:
The sad part is how much they could have done with the IP. Then again, it was the '90s...
Be interesting to see a World of Darkness show these days.
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.
Man from Atlantis could have gone a few more seasons.
I loved Cupid with Paula Marshall and Jeremy Piven. Still holds up.
Man from Atlantis just caused a serious flashback. :lol:
Quote from: sbr on May 01, 2014, 11:08:44 PM
Man from Atlantis just caused a serious flashback. :lol:
:)
Rome.
The BBC were mad to cancel Ripper Street, but it's been picked up by Amazon.
I just remembered the classic case of a show cancelled too early:
Police Squad!
Those are six really funny episodes of comedy...
Quote from: Barrister on May 01, 2014, 11:26:20 PM
I just remembered the classic case of a show cancelled too early:
Police Squad!
Those are six really funny episodes of comedy...
That show suffered from being too intelligent for TV audiences, who needed the attention span necessary to appreciate it like
Airplane![/] in a movie theater.
As a kid I was disappointed that Pirates of Dark Water (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirates_of_dark_water) was cut short.
About Firefly: in just 14 episodes they managed to create very memorable characters with complex relationships among each other and a lot of mystery (What's with Blue Sun? Who are the Hands of Blue? What exactly was done with River, and are there more like her? What's with Book? Why did someone like Inara throw in her lot with this motley crew? Etc. - some of that gets answered in Whedon's comic books, like Book's backstory).
Firefly is the obvious answer.
I've just read a show I enjoy called Hello Ladies isn't getting a second series either :(
Futurama.
Twin Peaks.
Quote from: Norgy on May 02, 2014, 02:43:42 AM
Twin Peaks.
No.
Season one of Twin Peaks was among some of the best TV produced by U.S. networks.
But by mid-season two, it, well certainly, peaked.
Carnivale
Quote from: Josephus on May 02, 2014, 06:10:46 AM
No.
Season one of Twin Peaks was among some of the best TV produced by U.S. networks.
But by mid-season two, it, well certainly, peaked.
Agreed. By its nature, Twin Peaks was unsustainable.
Quote from: Josephus on May 02, 2014, 06:10:46 AM
Quote from: Norgy on May 02, 2014, 02:43:42 AM
Twin Peaks.
No.
Season one of Twin Peaks was among some of the best TV produced by U.S. networks.
But by mid-season two, it, well certainly, peaked.
I re-watched that one and "Rome" recently. I feel both ended too quickly. But, yeah, there was a certain degree of craziness about the second series. And not always good crazy.
"Carnivale" could've done with a third series.
Quote from: Habbaku on May 01, 2014, 10:12:30 PM
:bleeding:
The sad part is how much they could have done with the IP. Then again, it was the '90s...
Be interesting to see a World of Darkness show these days.
I don't think the show had enough time to be fully developed. It might have never turned into anything, but I'm not sure. IIRC the main reason it got cancelled is cause the main dude got killed in a motorcycle accident.
Also the Gangrel chick was hot as fuck.
Quote from: Barrister on May 01, 2014, 11:26:20 PM
I just remembered the classic case of a show cancelled too early:
Police Squad!
Those are six really funny episodes of comedy...
:thumbsup:
That suffered from being out before widespread adoption of the VCR. There are so many jokes, and they come so fast that each episode benefits from being watched again.
The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. Loved that show.
I actually think that half of Twin Peaks season 2 is at least as good as the first season, with the big reveal of who killed Laura Palmer being one of my favorite episodes of all time. The drop in quality after that is, however, astonishing.
Quote from: celedhring on May 02, 2014, 07:34:45 AM
The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. Loved that show.
Ooooh, good one.
FYI, Firefly was incredibly boring.
And Rome should have had more seasons.
Quote from: Tamas on May 02, 2014, 10:00:44 AM
FYI, Firefly was incredibly boring.
I am not surprised it bored you. You were almost certainly not part of its target demographic. Snappy dialogue doesn't translate well. Native English speakers will be able to get a lot more out of it.
Cover Up