Friday Five – Canceled TV Shows

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Welcome to the Friday Five! Each week we help our readers get to know us a little better, with the help of a fancy top five list! This week we take a look at our favorite Canceled TV Shows!

Television is one touchy subject! Everyone loves their stories, and to hell with you if you hate their show! Every now and then a truly great show comes along, only to get pulled by the network for reasons that were easily avoidable. It’s incredibly frustrating to spend your time getting involved in these fictional worlds, only to find out that cliffhanger ending from the season finale will haunt you for the rest of your life! Here we have our favorite shows that should have never been canceled, deserve another chance, or we just really really miss. Check them out after the jump, and let us know your top five canceled TV shows in the comments below!

Drootin

1. Firefly (Fox: September 20, 2002 – December 20, 2002, 1 Season, 14 episodes (aired out of order), 3 unaired, 1 movie) What other show could possibly be at the top of a nerd’s list of 5 favorite canceled TV shows than a Sci-Fi /Western created by a Nerd God (Joss Whedon) and starring a Nerd God (Nathan Fillion)
2. Clerks: The Animated Series (ABC: May 31, 2000 – June 7, 2000, 1 Season, 6 episodes (aired out of order), 4 unaired) The animated spin-off of Kevin Smith’s Clerks film was only given 2 episodes before getting the hook by ABC. They later released the 6 completed episodes on DVD including commentary, an added scene, and episode intros from Kevin and Jason Mews
3. The Tick (FOX: November 8, 2001 – January 31, 2002, 1 Season, 9 episodes, 1 unaired) The live-action version of the Fox cartoon didn’t last very long but was absolutely hilarious for the short time it was on. Patrick Warburton was totally ridiculous as the main character.
4. SportsNight (ABC: September 22, 1998 – May 16, 2000, 1 Season, 45 episodes) Aaron Sorkin helmed part-comedy part-drama based on a fictitious version of a nightly sports recap show (i.e. ESPN’s SportsCenter). This was one of my favorite shows when it was on the air from 1998-2000
5. Stump the Schwab (ESPN2/ESPN Classic: July 8, 2004 – September 29, 2006, 4 Seasons) One of ESPN’s game shows pitting regular Joe’s against the head of ESPN’s statistics department in a battle of sports statistics trivia.

 

Eric

Good TV is hard to come by, and sadly the best shows tend to get the worst support from their networks. It’s truly unfortunate that the greatest shows get canceled, and we’re forced to watch yet another season of American Idol, Survivor, and Jersey Shore. . .

1. Firefly (Fox: September 20, 2002 – December 20, 2002, 1 Season, 14 Episodes) Drootin said it all… This show was fantastic! However, poor support from Fox (such as being thrown into the Friday Night “Death” timeslot, and being aired out of order) led Firefly to fall under the radar. High DVD sales compelled Joss Whedon and Universal to make a movie, which did equally as bad in theaters… But again was saved by DVD sales. I personally never watched it until less then a year ago! I highly recommend it to all. I don’t see it ever coming back, but I would have loved another season or two.
2. Heroes (NBC: September 25, 2006 – February 8, 2010, 4 Seasons, 77 Episodes) Longer lived then Firefly, and just as cool. Ordinary people suddenly discover they have extraordinary powers, and things begin spiraling out of control. I started watching about midway through the first season, around the “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World” arc, and didn’t miss a single episode from then on. Heroes was presented in a comic book fashion, with different character arcs and villains. It was different, but after the writers strike, it struggled to find its place on viewers TV’s. Unfortunately NBC decided to cancel the show after season 4 had wrapped up, and has left us wondering “What would happen next?” since then.
3. Bored to Death (HBO: September 20, 2009 – November 28, 2011, 3 Seasons, 24 Episodes) Bored to Death was one of the easy to miss comedies on HBO. I missed all of season 1, but caught on during season 2, and stuck with it thoughout. After season 3 ended HBO decided to drop Hung, How to Make It in America, and Bored to Death, while keeping Enlightened due to it’s critical appeal. However, it must be known that Enlightened had the lowest rating out of those 4 shows…
4. The Spectacular Spider-Man (Disney XD: March 8, 2008 – November 18, 2009 – 26 Episodes) The Spectacular Spider-Man is one of those rare awesome shows, that gets canceled to make way for another rare awesome show. It’s being replaced by Ultimate Spider-Man in only a few weeks, but The Spectacular Spider-Man was still one of my favorite cartoons!
5. Lost (ABC: September 22, 2004 – May 23, 2010 – 121 Episodes) Technically Lost didn’t get canceled, it ended, and I still miss it! Love it or hate it, television has been struggling to find a suitable replacement for this amazing show since the finale ran almost 2 years ago.

 

Chris

I’m a fan of TV, I watch a lot of it and there were a ton of other shows I could pick. Pretty much every show from my childhood could go on this list. I tried to keep it a little more recent, with one exception everything ended within the last few years.

1. Chuck (NBC: September 24, 2007 – January 27, 2012 – 5 Seasons, 91 Episodes) I really enjoyed Chuck from the beginning. It was one of the few new shows to survive the Writers Strike back in 2007. And it had a huge fan base that when threatened with cancellation after I believe it was season 2 pulled together and managed to get NBC to reconsider, also helping get Subway to bankroll the show in exchange for a ton of product placement.
2. Heroes(NBC: September 25, 2006 – February 8, 2010 – 4 Seasons, 77 Episodes) Heroes got a raw deal. It just ended, The show really went downhill after season 2 which was pre-empted due to the Writers Strike and it just never picked back up. The worst part of this show being canceled was there was no ending. It was a cliffhanger. I’m still hoping we get a movie, or tv mini-series, or even comic book just to close out that last chapter.
3. Party Down (Starz: March 20, 2009 – June 25, 2010 – 2 Seasons, 20 Episodes) This show was really funny, It was one of those Starz shows that because it’s not a normal cable station they can get away with a little more. I don’t know if the show had bad ratings and that’s why it ended, or if it’s because 2 of the funnier actors, Adam Scott and Jane Lynch left for Network television jobs. Either way it was funny, and I still watch the show on Netflix once in a while just for a laugh.
4. The Lone Gunmen (Fox: March 4 – June 1, 2001 – 1 Season, 13 Episodes) What a great show, it was nothing but conspiracy theorys coming from some creepy dudes. The Lone Gunmen was a spin off from the X-Files, the main characters from Gunmen having had made appearances throughout that series prior to their own show. Unfortunately it didn’t do so well and only lasted that one season. But at least we got a conclusion, the cliffhanger last episodes was finished up in an episode of the X-Files that’s available on the DVD box set.
5. Terra Nova (Fox: September 26 – December 19, 2011 – 1 Season, 11 Episodes) Terra Nova was new this year, and had a really interesting idea behind it. Unfortunately it also had a HUGE budget with all the CG and whatnot that went into making just a single episodes let alone a full season. The show got canceled by FOX but there is still a chance it might get picked up by another network, or maybe Netflix the way Arrested Development has.

 

Anthony

1. Freaks and Geeks (NBC: 1999-2000 – 1 Season 18 Episodes, only 12 aired originally, fan outcries led to 3 more being shown in July 2000) The remaining 3 eps. were aired on syndication by Fox Family Channel, which is where I discovered and fell in love with this show. Never heard of it? How about its cast of future all-stars including; Seth Rogan, James Franco, and Jason Segel. I should also note this show was created by Judd Apatow.
2. Carnivale (HBO: 2003-2005 – 2 Seasons 24 Episodes) This show was amazing, it was highly acclaimed and won all kinds of awards. The show was originally planned to be 6 seasons, however it proved to be too expensive for HBO to want to commit. Each episode was reportedly over $2 million.
3. Firefly (Fox: September 20, 2002 – December 20, 2002, 1 Season, 14 Episodes) Yeah yeah yeah I know like everyone says this. I think it may be the most missed show of all time!
4. Arrested Development (Fox: 2003-2006 – 3 Seasons – 53 Episodes)  It was hilarious, just talking about it makes me want to watch it again!
5. Undeclared (Fox: 2001-2002 – 1 Season 17 Episodes) Also a Judd Apatow creation, this show went largely under the radar for most people. I was a fan and was sad to see it go.

 

Walnuts

I watch alot of TV but am having a tough time thinking of my favorite cancelled shows but I’m going to do my best.

 

1. Firefly (Fox: September 20, 2002 – December 20, 2002, 1 Season, 14 Episodes) It’s been said already, need i say more about it. It’s a great show and even after seeing the movie there still wants enough closure…(Maybe if we get all the ME3 Whiners to cry about it we can fix that)… The only thing I have to say about how mad I am that it only lasted 14 episodes(if I remember correctly only like 11 aired and they were out of order) is this.
2. Freaks and Geeks (NBC: 1999-2000 – 1 Season 18 Episodes) This show was awesome and honestly me and everyone else here can relate to the characters in the show.
3. Heroes (NBC: September 25, 2006 – February 8, 2010 – 4 Seasons, 77 Episodes) I got into it in Season 2 and loved it from there, If they would have just picked a real story line rather than change it every 6 episodes I feel it would have done better. If I had a choice I would want Hiro’s powers. Who wouldn’t want to be able to teleport and travel through time like he can.
4. Star Wars: Droids (ABC: 1 Season 13 Episodes 09/85-07/86) I only ever saw a few episodes but i love every second of it. A Cartoon that followed C-3P0 and R2-D2 during the time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. It was Fantastic!
5. Samurai Jack (Cartoon Network: 4 Seasons, the 4th never finished airing, 08/01-09/04) Dudes and Dudettes this show was the shit. The art was Epic, the story was awesome, and the character design was innovative. There is almost nothing better that a Samurai that was sent to the future while fighting his arch-nemesis Aku. Thinking about it now I hope Netflix has it, so i can watch it. And from what I hear they will finally end the series.

 

Shahid

1. Firefly
2. Heroes
3. Scrubs – I know they went on for a while but the last season with the new characters was still funny nonetheless.
4. Highlander
5. Assassin’s Creed mini-series (Although it was just a short movie…they ought to make it a series. They ought to!)

 

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