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Favorite early cancelled TV series

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I've been watching some episodes of the Lone Gunmen (again), a TV series killed off after only 1 season. A real shame.

Luckily the Lone Gunmen didn't have a story arc, unlike the TV series like Nowhere Man or Surface.

So, what are you favorite TV series that were killed of early (which are not called Firefly).

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What was the one with cowboys in space? It's on the ti..p of my tongue.

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As far as originalty goes (regarding your question) it is basically Firefly in highschool, but aaaaaaanyway, I liked Freaks & Geeks. Great show, was killed way too early.

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blah blah firefly blah. Also Amazing screw on Head, though i don't know if that counts, since they made a pilot then aired it at 2 am on syfy so nobody saw it. I'm sure it would have been expensive though with those actors.

Apparently they don't even bother taking it off youtube!

Ow8bBPPOe9w

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Because I am of the female persuasion, it is My So-Called Life.

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Twin Peaks is my choice. It ended on the biggest cliffhanger I've ever seen in a show. Even worse, the movie that came out after the show ended was a prequel.

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Dollhouse. Fortunately got a chance to have a "proper" ending, but still hurt nonetheless. Also, Jericho.

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Carnivale. Arrested Development too, but that's coming back at least. And maybe that was as good as it was at the end because they knew they were getting cancelled.

Oh and Invader Zim!

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Korgoth of Barbaria technically wasn't cancelled, just not picked up, but god damn that is one glorious pilot.

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Well, Firefly and Dollhouse were already said, so other shows I remember that were cancelled:

Tru Calling, another show starring Eliza Dushku, had a bad start, around 10 episodes from the beginning was just the same, but when they introduced Jason Priestley's character the show started really getting interesting.

They had a full first season and were greenlighted for a second season, but after they had filmed five episodes of the new season and getting ready to broadcast it in tv, suddenly the tv channel pulled the plug on the show.

I have the whole show on dvd and the second season felt really like that season they would rrally made it great.

another show I remember was MTV's Downtown, there are only 13 episodes of that show. it was an animated show with a guy who looked a lot like Guybrush in Curse of Monkey Island, but with glasses.

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I hate Dushku. She's such a horrible actor. UGH.

Ahem.

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Keen Eddie is the best, most humane cop series I have ever come across. Of course it had to be cancelled.

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Twin Peaks is my choice. It ended on the biggest cliffhanger I've ever seen in a show. Even worse, the movie that came out after the show ended was a prequel.

I definitely don't agree with this. Twin Peaks resolves completely midway through the second season. The whole rest of the show is a writeoff for me--when I rewatch it, I don't even keep watching the end. The first season and a half feel totally complete for me, I don't think it would have gained much by continuing for more seasons.

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Does anyone remember Invasion?

Bodysnatchers but, in the Lost, drag it out eternally and mislead you, style.

Like, the second series ended on such a REAL cliffhanger, with entire town being rounded up by the "military" and loads of key character and plot points. Then just dropped, the worst.

Also, Perfect Couples, which I know is a sitcom, but it was also one of the few I could sit down and enjoy with the wife, unlike her other favourite shows, gossip girl/90210 and the like.

Funny, but in a, that couple is so "so and so" who we know, isn't that funny, OMG that's just like us, yadahyadah.

Also, Stargate SG1 should never have been cancelled and no one can persuade me otherwise!

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I definitely don't agree with this. Twin Peaks resolves completely midway through the second season. The whole rest of the show is a writeoff for me--when I rewatch it, I don't even keep watching the end. The first season and a half feel totally complete for me, I don't think it would have gained much by continuing for more seasons.

The last episode, directed by Lynch, was pretty good, but you're right. Revealing the killer was a big mistake. Mark Frost agrees with that now (Lynch never wanted it revealed). It became a joke in Season 2. Such a shame.

LOST did a great job of selling a mystery, though. If they'd had the experience of hindsight, I'm sure they could have let the series run for many years by introducing new mysteries, rather than solving them. I'm pretty sure LOST learned from their mistakes.

Anyways, there was this sci-fi Western that I can't remember the name of, but aside from that (and Twin Peaks), I really enjoyed Bakersfield PD.

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My biggest early cancellation disappointments, apart from the obvious Firefly, would probably be Sports Night and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It could be I'm an Aaron Sorkin fanboy (spoilers: I probably am) but I loved both of them and felt like they just didn't get a fair shake. At least Sports Night got a second season, but Studio 60 - which I probably liked even more - didn't even manage that.

On the up side, Sorkin has a new series coming out soon, so I'm sure I'll fall right into that.

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Twin Peaks resolves completely midway through the second season. The whole rest of the show is a writeoff for me--when I rewatch it, I don't even keep watching the end. The first season and a half feel totally complete for me, I don't think it would have gained much by continuing for more seasons.

Apparently that was the original idea though; for it to run indefinitely like a soap opera, but with the supernatural stuff it alludes to and David Lynch's sublime sense of the weird and funny. Unfortunately, the later directors failed to reproduce that, and the first plotline was such a major piece of structure it just, as you say, is a writeoff without it.

I've not quite finished it yet. I just got to this bit:

Wooden%20Knob_lg.jpg

I can see the episodes I'm in the middle of are going to be forgettable, meandering, horrible filler. There's no sense of it building toward anything, even with

Wyndham Earle

around.

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There are 13 episodes out there of a show called Kitchen Confidential, based on the Anthony Bourdain book/life, starring a yet-unknown Bradley Cooper. It's a one-camera sitcom that's nothing amazing, but fairly charming, and very accurate to how it is to work in a kitchen.

Also starring: Frank Langella, John Cho, Xander from Buffy, the little brother from Freaks and Geeks, Jaime King, and Sam Pancake (the gay guy in every sitcom ever).

Apparently it got screwed by some kind of sporting schedule, just as it was hitting it's stride. A nice way to spend a couple of evenings if you're looking to catch a comedy without committing to 8 seasons.

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Outside of the previously mentioned Firefly, Dollhouse (though I think Dollhouse got through most of its important ideas), Amazing Screw-On Head...

Kings--while the ostensible main character & his love interest were very mediocre, the show itself was fascinating, and got really good at the end. Pretty much the perfect role for Ian McShane, but Sebastian Stan as the self-loathing gay prince really captivated me.

Caprica--even more uneven and schizophrenic than its parent series, but also more interesting IMO. I have no idea why they thought this show would ever succeed--"Let's take our show with space porn + intellectual sci-fi, remove the space porn, and make several of our main characters terrorists. It's sure to be a hit!" What an amazing trainwreck.

Terriers--:( :( :(

Pushing Daisies & Veronica Mars--Like Dollhouse, these got more than 1 season and wrapped up pretty well, but still, the world would be a better place with more of them.

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Oh and Invader Zim!

Oh man, Invader Zim. That was such a fantastic smorgasbord of weirdness.

This is the saddest thread. I keep reminded of great shows that got killed. I really enjoyed Kings and Pushing Daisies is one of my all time favourites.

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Oh man I loved Veronica Mars! I get the feeling that I never actually finished the series, but I'm not sure if that's because it was canned early or because I actually didn't finish it. O:

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Apparently that was the original idea though; for it to run indefinitely like a soap opera, but with the supernatural stuff it alludes to and David Lynch's sublime sense of the weird and funny. Unfortunately, the later directors failed to reproduce that, and the first plotline was such a major piece of structure it just, as you say, is a writeoff without it.

I can see the episodes I'm in the middle of are going to be forgettable, meandering, horrible filler. There's no sense of it building toward anything, even with

Wyndham Earle

around.

It gets really awful and boring in the middle of the second season but picks up again towards the very end when Lynch comes back. It would have been better if it just ended when they finish the case with Laura Palmer's murder but I still think Lynch would have been able to redeem the show somehow.

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I always bring this one up but Brimstone. Peter Horton as a resurrected cop tasked with sending demons back to hell.

Totally cornball. Totally awesome.

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