TV shows that cancelled to soon...

[HTHMAN]

Mission:Impossible

Right, I know it ran for years and years, but it had some of the best plots and writing of just about any series. The series was vastly superior to any of the movies. It was a show that proves it was better to write good plots than to just stage chase scenes and explosions.

 

[purple kelly]

Really miss Luck on HBO. They never really tied it up.

 

[Hyfi]

Not sure if I missed the mention or not but 2 years ago network TV started a show called Swingers, that was just getting good when they yanked it.

 

[Oerets]

Really miss Luck on HBO. They never really tied it up.

Me too! Wish they would do a another couple of hours to tie up loose ends.



Barney

 

[KiM3Ce]

The Paper Chase with John Houseman.

 

[soundboy]

Mission:Impossible

Right, I know it ran for years and years, but it had some of the best plots and writing of just about any series. The series was vastly superior to any of the movies. It was a show that proves it was better to write good plots than to just stage chase scenes and explosions.

The idea of the TV show was that the bad guys were left dazed and clueless by whatever the M:I team did to them. There weren't supposed to be any traces or evidence left behind. Those stories required intricate plot twists and good writing....something most modern TV viewers don't appreciate.

 

[rebellovw]

Mystery Science Theater 3000

 

[MAC ED]

Recent ones for me,

Lucky (HBO)
and
Terriers (FX)


Both one season wonders.




Barney

TERRIERS was an excellent series. i read that the ratings were low because many potential viewers thought it was a show about dogs. morons!

 

[MAC ED]

Mystery Science Theater 3000

my favorite tv show of all-time. comedy central cancelled it because they stated the ratings were low. i haven't watched anything on comedy central since.
rumor was that after it's cancellation, AMC network was showing some interest
in picking it up. unfortunately, AMC backed out.
MST3000 could have run for 10 more years. one thing they had going was the never ending supply of bad movies. hell, they hadn't even gotten to the tom cruise catalog. they could have done a whole season.

 

[jaguar06]

The idea of the TV show was that the bad guys were left dazed and clueless by whatever the M:I team did to them. There weren't supposed to be any traces or evidence left behind. Those stories required intricate plot twists and good writing....something most modern TV viewers don't appreciate.

That was "my show", when I was a kid. We were at that time, a one-TV household (albeit, a truly fine big stereo console), so if someone's show was on, the whole family had to endure. The rest of the family didn't see the attraction of M.I., but I never missed it. And it really was the writing I cared about, er, beyond that bit that Barbara Bain didn't get enough airtime.

 

[harman/kardon]

Hooperman

Just 42 episodes, running time 25 minutes each. Pity.

 

[buckstir]

An oldie...have not seen since original airing...hopefully has aged better than some..."Then Came Bronson"...with Michael Parks...looked for it on DVD awhile back and came up empty.
"Shannon's Deal" very well done and very short lived...Elizabeth Pena was smokin'.....

 

[GerardG]

Mystery Science Theater 3000

An excellent show that I absolutely adored! :thmbsp:

 

[GerardG]

That was "my show", when I was a kid. We were at that time, a one-TV household (albeit, a truly fine big stereo console), so if someone's show was on, the whole family had to endure. The rest of the family didn't see the attraction of M.I., but I never missed it. And it really was the writing I cared about, er, beyond that bit that Barbara Bain didn't get enough airtime.

The best show of its kind and I could hardly wait to see it each week. Wonderful!! :thmbsp:

 

[hjames]

Zero Hour - recent show with Anthony Edwards and Charles Dutton.
A sort of Davinci Code conspiracy show with Rosicrucians and clocks as plot elements.
It had great potential but low ratings, so ABC killed after only 3 shows aired ...
We were halfway through the 2nd show last night when I found out, so I scrubbed all 3 off the TIVO.

 

[Beatnik]

Mad Movies

 

[Copa1934]

Sledge Hammer.

Yeah. Remember "Hardball", around the same period?

 

[Copa1934]

These shows deserved another season or two. They were canceled at a time when they had lots of momentum and could have gone on to great later seasons:

Carnivale
Freaks and Geeks
Arrested Development
The Prisoner

To this list, I would like to add the short-lived (2007-2009) NBC police show "Life" starring Damian Lewis and Sarah Shahi. It had a very intriguing noir-ish quality which is quite rare in a modern network creation.


These shows had lots of potential but had problems sustaining interest during their short runs, so I was not surprised they were canceled. Still, I was disappointed to see them go:

Firefly
Jericho
Terra Nova
Invasion
Profit
New Amsterdam


Then, these shows saddened me when they were canceled, but looking back on them now, I can see they really weren't as good as I remember them:

Battlestar Galactica (1978)
Square Pegs


I am impressed that a few of you remember "When Things Were Rotten." I loved that as a kid, but haven't seen it since its original run. I wonder if it has held up over the years or not?

Terra Nova, definitely one of our favs for recent shows. Many of the truly good ones like Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, etc. all fell victim to writing that declined, stories that went too far off the reservation, etc. A lot of people, including myself, got lost for a brief time with "Fringe" and it's dramatic plot changes, etc.

I can't help but wonder how many writers have used input from fans for ongoing episodes. If not, they should have, some of these shows could have lived on longer.

 

[renno61]

Supernatural show Sapphire and Steel which ran 1979-82, the bbc sci fi show Blakes 7 by Terry Nation(credited with creating the Daleks on Doctor Who ) ,Phil Silvers show with the famous sgt Bilko and spy show Probe which later renamed Search.

 

[JRobCal]

Northern Exposure .... Cicely, Alaska