The Most Unjustly Cancelled Series This Decade

[Geekyfanboy]

I got this from Syfy Portal.. I pretty much agree with their entire list.... what do you think?

Ten Forward: The Most Unjustly Cancelled Series This Decade
By ROBIN BROWNFIELD
Source: SyFy Portal
May-20-2008

There have been a lot of them, and much discussion of this issue and most of these series, but the painful cancellation of "Moonlight" just opens up old wounds from previously unjustly cancelled series.

I think science-fiction and fantasy genre fans must have their hearts broken more often than fans of any other genre or forms of entertainment. Time and time again, we invest ourselves in a new series that hooks us, and has a lot of promise – only to have those promises broken by greedy, gutless network executives. (I have other words for them, but I'm being charitable today.)

I also wonder if the frequent abortion of the shows we come to love leads to any psychological disorders in viewers that network executives could be liable for creating. Is there room in the DSM-V for Post Traumatic Series Cancellation Stress Disorder (with separation and abandonment Issues)?

This list will only contain 10 such criminally maltreated shows. I am aware that there are a lot more, and I'm sure you'll remind me of them! Still, since this is my column, I am going to list 10 shows that were cancelled that resulted in my own heart being broken in the past 10 years. I'm not including "Veronica Mars" in the list, because it was not sci-fi, but I consider the show to be an honorary member, since it is the red-headed step-sibling of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Moonlight."

1. "Firefly" was possibly the best series of all time ever to be cancelled. It had horses and space ships and people-eating Reavers, and, as we learned in the movie "Serenity," it had a slayer, too. No TV series ever quite looked like this, or so successfully mixed genres that nobody could ever see mixing together.

2. "Angel" is a close contender for the best series ever to be cancelled. It was the rare show that saw its ratings increase in its fifth year, largely as people grieving the end of its parent show, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" finally decided to check out this gem. "Angel," like "Buffy" and "Firefly," could make you laugh and then cry within the uttering of one sentence. Nobody does emotional rollercoasters like Joss Whedon and his Mutant Enemy writing staff. At least now we have more to look forward to with "Dollhouse" premiering in January.

3. "Jericho" built an avid following, all of whom went nuts when it was nuked by CBS. After the valiant effort of fans to save the show by sending more than 40,000 pounds of nuts to CBS headquarters.

It worked, briefly, as "Jericho" was resurrected for a shortened season that again was nuked by CBS. The result may be radioactive fallout, CBS guys!

Maybe the fans weren't as plentiful as the peanuts you waded through, but they might exemplify the half-life of viewers everywhere who are increasingly turning to other places for their entertainment. With the track record of great shows like this being pulled out from under increasingly disenchanted (and disenfranchised) fans, it's no wonder ratings are falling everywhere.

4. "Farscape" This show was abruptly canceled after it had completed production of its fourth season, even though it was contracted for a fifth season. The cancellation ended the series on a cliffhanger, which infuriated legions of fans, who campaigned for its return, and sought backers in Europe to try to revive it. The result was a four-hour mini-series which aired in 2004, and wrapped up some of the show's hanging plot threads. Now a new 10-part "Farscape" Webisode series is in the works to be presented on SciFi.com.

5. "The 4400." While I'm not really heartbroken about the cancellation of this series, it is frustrating to follow a story for four years and never know how it was intended to end. We needed things explained that just never were, thanks to the fickleness of NBC. It's a good thing "Lost" wasn't an NBC series!

6. "Moonlight." This one was just heartbreaking. While it hadn't achieved the greatness of "Angel," this series showed a lot of promise, and could have been damned great if given the chance to build upon the mythology and the romance that was laid out in its 15 episodes. And now we won't have the mesmerizing Alex O'Loughlin to ogle every Friday at 9 p.m.

7. "Wonderfalls" was another great show that had its knees bashed in by Fox network executives' baseball bats. It was poorly advertised, put in an awful time slot, then abruptly moved to an even worse time slot before it was cancelled after just four episodes.

This was one of the few partially unaired series I was so captivated by, I had to buy the DVDs to see what happened next. After viewing the 13 episodes, I was depressed. This could have been the show that took the crown from "Buffy." It was funny. It was sad. It was like a slightly more perverse "Eli Stone" without the saccharine preachiness about having faith. At the helm was Bryan Fuller – he of "Dead Like Me," "Heroes," and "Pushing Daisies." Sigh.

8. "Dead Like Me." Come on, guys! This was on Showtime! People had to pay to see it, so why the cancellation? This show was awesome! It was funny and sad and philosophical, and had great characters played by a top-notch cast. I did not subscribe to Showtime until this series aired. When it was cancelled, I cancelled my sub to Showtime, and didn't come back till "Dexter" aired. DLM had Mandy Patinkin, who, primadonna as he is reputed to be, is willing to go back to doing this series if it were ever to be revived.

There is a slight glimmer of hope, because this summer, the new, straight to DVD movie is slated to be released. Patinkin isn't in it, but Ellen Muth (George), Jasmine Guy (Roxy), and the hilarious Mason (Callum Blue) will be back. The movie also features the magnificent Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond on "Lost"), who I want to have my babies.

The glimmer part is that if the DVD movie does significantly well, we could see a revival of the series. I don't believe in fairies or wishing on stars, but if this series returned, I would be happier than a pig in... well, you know!

9. "The Lone Gunmen." This was a hilarious series, and ironically a bit too prophetic. The pilot episode had a plot about terrorists flying an airplane into the World Trade Center. It aired six months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the WTC. Still, many sociologists, historians, and political scientists were well aware of the possibility of that scenario occurring in real life.

What made this series – cancelled after just six episodes – work, was the humor. The plots were often bizarre and entertaining, and while our heroes were the biggest nerds of the century, they were good at what they did! And who could forget Jimmy Bond, Kimmy the Geek, and Yves Adele Harlow?

This series was cancelled on a cliffhanger. (Why do networks do this to us?) Fortunately, its parent series, "The X-Files," was still on the air, so the cliffhanger was able to be resolved on that series. Then they killed the Lone Gunmen.

10. "Surface." Yet another series ended on a cliffhanger. To this day, Dr. Laura Daughtry, her knee-jerk companion Rich, teenager Miles, and his girlfriend, are stuck in a steeple in South Carolina, surrounded by electrically-enhanced giant hungry sea creatures swimming in the floods caused by a mysterious tsunami.

My kids and I loved this series, despite the bashing it got from critics, who favored the slower-moving and lackluster "Invasion" over "Surface." We liked the latter much better, from the charming and increasingly creepy story of the bond between Miles and the baby sea creature Nimrod; to the oddball mismatch between Dr. Laura, and her troglodytic partner in obsession, Rich; to the creepy genetic-hybrid experiments with an alien flower that allowed unethical scientists to create a girly monkey man.

A year after it premiered, "Heroes" took its place on Monday night NBC. While I'm thrilled that "Heroes" has succeeded (and I liked the series even when other people didn't), I still wish there was room for "Surface" somewhere on their schedule.

Honorable Mention: "Invasion," "Tru Calling," "The Dresden Files," "Millennium," and "Star Trek: Enterprise" minus most of the first three seasons and the crappy finale.

[Geekyfanboy]

I would also like to add John Doe (another casualty of Fox) and Threshold on CBS

[wraith1701]

I agree with the bulk of these, with Firefly, Enterprise, and Dead Like Me topping my list.   Each of these shows had so much potential, it boggles my mind that they went away.  I still hold out hope that we will see more Firefly and Dead Like Me, but I fear the only future available to Enterprise is in novels and fan-fiction.

Angel and  Farscape were also two great shows, but I can sort of understand why they ended. 

Despite the periodic large story arc here and there, Angel struck me as being mainly an episodic, "monster-of-the-week" kind of series.  There didn't seem to be an end in sight for the threats that Angel and co. would face, and I think that point was made clear by the series finale.  Not the best end to a series, but not the worst either.  I like how it hinted that even now, Angel and his gang are out there fighting to protect the little guy from supernatural threats on the west coast.

Farscape nearly made me break my TV with the series finale.  Fortunately, the Peacekeeper Wars tied up a lot of loose ends.  And I hear that the show will be back in webisode form, so all is not lost.

[Rico]

One of the rare lists that I mainly agree with.  All those shows deserved better fates and longer runs.

[Omra]

I absolutely loved the lone gunmen, and was devastated when it was cancelled.

I never even knew there had been a series called 'Threshold' until I stumbled across it on SciFi, and fell in love with it.  I can't believe it was never extended, it was brilliant, and I loved the characters.

And I really enjoyed 'The Dresden Files' but it was never continued either. 

I remember a series called 'Earth 2', it had great potential.  But it was written by former soap opera writers and it showed.  Above and Beyond, Dark Skies, Dark Angel, Freaky Links.

And I cant remember the name of the show where these two undercover agents went after monsters, and they had a gnome who was an informant...

Or the Cop who had to go after souls that had escaped from Hell.

Anyways yes, there are a LOT of good shows, or shows with great potential which die an early death.

[iceman]

You would think that TV execs would know better, as it usually takes 4 seasons before a show makes money in syndication anyway, so why do they insist in cancelling good shows and replacing them with Even more crappy shows.

They have all complained about lower viewership, but is it any wonder when they do things like this, in many ways i miss the old shows when we had Colombo,McMillan and wife,the Cosby show, Raymond. What has happened to the good solid TV shows we used to have.

Allot of the shows we get now don't Even last a half a season before they are cancelled and of course the writers strike has not helped this either.

I know find myself going for days without watching TV because their just isn't anything worth watching, I really dread the end of Battlestar and really hope they do make the prequel series Caprica.

[X]

And I cant remember the name of the show where these two undercover agents went after monsters, and they had a gnome who was an informant...

Or the Cop who had to go after souls that had escaped from Hell.

That would be Special Unit 2 and Brimstone

[Darth Gaos]

Yeah Brimstone was awesome!!  And as far as the list goes I could not agree more...for a change.  It is no secret that I would like to gouge out the Eye in the CBS logo for the Moonlight thing (my wife wants to do things far worse and more disturbing than that!)  Plus she is still VERY bitter about the Surface fiasco, then Jericho pulled the rug out from her yet again.  These kinds of things have really turned my honey bunny into a horrifyingly cynical TV viewer to the point that she does not want to get "into" anything new this fall.

[Meds]

I own Brimstone on a tranfer DVD and i love that show. Its such a shame all those cancellations because out of all of them i think we only ever got to see Angel, Brimstone, Jericho, and Farscape in England.

[jedijeff]

For Me Enterprise, Dresden Files and Journeyman would be at the top of my list. But agree the others mentioned were unjust as well

[billybob476]

RIP Firefly. That hurts the most of all. Enterprise is a close second but at least they had 4 seasons. However Enterprise hurts because of that joke of a last episode.

[MouseSlayer]

yes journeyman should definitely be on that list. it's cancellation has begun my cynical period.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

There is a series that I simply can't remember that I hated them for canceling.  But Invasion is the one series that should not have ended.  I liked that one, even if it was semi-similar to Lost, but I think the networks were burning ppl out when they made so many shows like LOST, Invasion, Alien hunters...or some stupid thing on CBS that got thrown under the carpet fast. 

King

[Darth Gaos]

Firefly still torques me for no other reason than I feel the series did poorly because Fox completely screwed the pooch in airing the series.  There was a timeline to the show that some forget about and that Fox apparently completely ignored when airing the show.  I just think that out of all the shows listed that Firefly didn't really get a "fair" chance

[Omra]

Or when they put them in timeslots where they don't stand a chance.  Or even worse, keep moving them around so you have to hunt for them.  That one really used to burn my biscuits! >:(