13 TV Shows that were Canceled Before their Time

Raikus — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:49:00 GMT

There are a lot of TV shows that were well written, beautifully show, had killer actors but just didn't make it. These are TV shows that passed before their time due to being the wrong show for the wrong time, having too high of a budget or just because the TV execs didn't get it. So let's pretend that we've discovered some mutated 13 fingered monkey paw and can wish shows back into existence to finish their well-deserved runs. These are our picks.

Dead Like Me

Premise: What happens when you die? Most pass on to their deserving afterlife, but for a select few they limbo on Earth for a while performing Grim Reaper duties. Reaping, as it's referred to in the show, is tough work. It requires a network in each community to take the souls of people before they die. That "before they die" part is especially important for George's reaper group, who deals with traumatic deaths and murders. If the soul isn't pulled from the body prior to death that person could experience a lot of pain and even go a little insane due to the circumstances. Once the soul is pulled it accompanies the Reaper until it's time to shuffle off this mortal coil and go to their destination.

George (or Georgia), the show's protagonist, is a teenage do-nothing who -- after getting a job at a new temp agency -- promptly dies from the common toilet falling from space. As she was her Reaper's last job, she now becomes the newest Reaper on the block (think of it as the Reaper Clause) and has to learn the ropes.

Why we love it: While featuring an unknown in the leading role, the rest of the cast is full of superb actors. Mandy "You Killed My Father, Prepare to Die" Patinkin plays the Reaper leader Rube. Callum Blue, Jasmine Guy (Whitney from "A Different World") and Rebecca "Noxema Girl" Gayheart (though briefly) fill in as supporting cast. As cool as the Grim Reaper angle is, what really made this show shine was the disgruntled relationship of George and her overbearing -- dare we say bitchy -- mother Joy and her strange yet adoring sister Reggie. How George deals with her own death and, more importantly, how Joy and Reggie deal with George's death is a constant and interesting theme explored throughout the show's two seasons. While this series did get a movie to try and wrap things up, it was an utter disappointment.

Brimstone

Premise: What do you do when there's a massive prison break on the highest security prison in eternity? Well if you're the warden -- who's also known as the Devil -- and that prison is Hell, you let another prisoner out so he can round up the escapees. Ezekial Stone is a former cop who killed his wife's rapist. After getting shot and killed himself he goes to Hell for that sin. He makes a deal with the Devil -- track down the 113 demon fugitives and send them back to Hell. In exchange, he'll get a second chance at his life on Earth.

Why we love it: If we had to pin our love for Brimstone on one thing, it would be Jon Glover's performance of the Devil. Glover plays the role in a gleeful, sarcastic and witty way that personifies what you'd think old Lucifer to be. There are some very cool parts to the series -- like the fact that Ezekial always wakes up with the contents of his pockets on the day he was killed ($36.27 which is a reference to Ezekial 36:27) and that all the demons have to be sent back by destroying the "windows to the soul." Still, it always comes back to Glover and what a presence he is to watch on the screen. Unfortunately we only had 13 episodes to relish it.

Strange Luck

Premise: Not many people remember this mid-90's show starring D.B. "Toe Pick" Sweeney, but if you've never seen it you missed out. Sweeney plays Chance Harper, a man who literally has Lady Lucky riding shotgun with him at all times. If he needs some money, he scratches off a lottery ticket and there it is. Unfortunately his luck has both good and bad effects on the people around him. As a freelance photographer that usually means he's there at the most opportune time to snap the shot. The show centered on Harper trying to help those around him and the search for his long lost brother.

Why we love it: Strange Luck was full of quirks and interesting plot points. Chance's luck was almost like its own character -- or at least a well made MacGuffin -- that continually pops up to drastically change the story. There was a bit of fan service with the show as references to Fox's main hit, the X-Files, entered the series. However, the reason we love Strange Luck so much is because of its last episode. Music, plot and emotion has almost never been blended as perfectly as in "Lightning Strikes" where Chance rushes to save a man set to be executed in the electric chair for a crime he didn't comment. Speedy to the prison with the real killer in his car, Chance runs off the road and hits an electric pole. This kills the power at the prison just as the switch is being thrown and a live wire at the site cooks the actual murderer -- all while set to Live's "Lightning Crashes."

Love Monkey

Premise: Part Jerry McGuire and part High Fidelity, Love Monkey was a fun drama starring Tom Cavanagh best known for Ed fame. Tom is a music executive that gets fired from his major record label job and decides to open a competing independent music agency. The show was kind of hipster, kind of romantic and a lot of fun. The travesty is that CBS canceled this show after 3 episodes although the rest of the episodes (in all totaling 8) ran on VH1.

Why we love it: Love Monkey had that magic that's hard to define. The feeling was much like High Fidelity in that you loved the main character and felt that world. It was someplace you wanted to be. On top of that there was a great supporting cast that included Judy Greer as Tom's best friend, Ivana Milicevic (from Casino Royale) as Tom's possible love interest and Jason Priestly, Larenz Tate and Christopher Wiehl as Tom's male buddy group.

Freaks and Geeks

Premise: Set in 1980 and featuring the lives of "normal" high school students, Freaks and Geeks explored the series's namesakes through a cast of characters that went from smart kids to stoners to burnouts to nerds to bullies and everything in between. Written and directed by Paul Feig and Judd Apatow, this show starred some of the best actors of its generation -- as it would later prove through the success of its cast. If it helps, think of it as a more fleshed out and recent version of "Wonder Years."

Why we love it: We'd be remiss to not mention Freaks and Geeks in a best canceled TV show thread. The show took a decidedly real approach to early 80's youth showing both the good and bad sides. There were no "feel good" endings and plot points continued for nearly all of its 18 episodes. Hauntingly realistic and full of faces that you know now, Freaks and Geeks fills that void of High School memories that we never see portrayed on TV (save for My So Called Life).

Life

Premise: Damian Lewis (best known for playing Major Winters in Band of Brothers) starred as Charlie Crews in this cop drama that was on NBC for two seasons. Crews, a former cop imprisoned for 12 years for a triple murder, gets released after DNA evidence proves he didn't commit the crime. As part of his wrongful imprisonment settlement with the city, Crews received $50 million in compensation and is reinstated as a homicide detective on the force. Crews also comes back with zen-like peace gained from the many books on tape he listed to while in Pelican Bay.

Why we love it: Charlie Crews is one of the coolest and most interesting characters to even hold a badge. The show centers around his return to the police force that falsely imprisoned him, including working with his old partner, and tensions are extremely high. For most of the show you're not sure on which side certain characters come down (good or bad) and tag along as Crews and his partner (who's father just happens to be one of the primary suspect for the crime Crews was imprisoned for) solve murders and Crews works on solving his own case. The show had two great seasons that resulted in Charlie getting his man -- in one of the most satisfying endings to a season-long criminal -- and calmly walking into the sunset. Unfortunately, it was capable of doing so much more.

Farscape

Premise: What do you get when you mix Jim Henson Company puppets with a SciFi character drama? Only one of the best shows every created -- Farscape. Farscape followed the brash and often arrogant American astronaut John Crichton who was flung through a wormhole to the far reaches of space. There he finds a living ship called Moya who is manned by an assortment of alien refugees and fugitives. Crichton battles against a hostile force ironically called the Peacekeepers and their leader, Scorpius, who is keen to unlock the secrets to wormhole technology that he thinks is stored in Crichton's brain. Farscape lasted four glorious season and saw each season grow to be better and better. It ended up winning multiple critic awards and paved the way for more serious SciFi dramas like the reimagined Battlestar Galactica and Stargate Universe.

Why we love it: Farscape provided one of the richest experiences of any show ever made. The characters were diverse (especially considering two were Henson puppets), deep and the plotlines just kept coming. Crichton was played to the pinnacle of cocky, sarcastic protagonist by Ben Browder and his character worked well with the icy Aeryn Sun (played by Claudia Black) and bipolar villain Scorpius. The series didn't wait around for new adopters and instead rewarded its dedicated audience with layers upon layers of history and depth. Ultimately we did see a three hour "conclusion" to the series with the Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars but Farscape could have been and deserved to be a long-lasting series. Anyone that says otherwise can go frell themselves.

Sports Night

Premise: Sports Night was about a fictional ESPN Sportscenter-type show and the lives of the people working on it. It centers around the two Sports Night anchors and the behind the scenes crew that put together the show. Although it started off as a sitcom, complete with laugh track, Sports Night always enjoyed a drier, more realistic sense of humor. By the end of the first season the laugh track was ditched and season two continued as it really should have been the whole time. Bad for us, Sports Night never saw a third, fourth or fifth season.

Why we love it: Sports Night was the quintessential fast-talking, on your toes, intellectual comedy. It coupled sports, humor and quality actors like Peter Krause (Six Feet Under), Josh Charles, Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) and Joshua Malina (West Wing). If you ever watched Aaron Sorkin's more well known drama, the West Wing, and said, "Hmm, this would be awesome if instead of politics this was about sports" then Sports Night was your show.

Greg the Bunny

Premise: In a world where muppets and humans exist equally (or close to it), Greg the Bunny gets cast as the new co-host of Sweetknuckle Junction. Clearly based on Sesame Street as evident by Count Blah and other show references, the show is made for kids although the show itself is often using very adult humor. The show starred Seth Green as a son wanting to impress his father (played by Euguene Levy of American Pie fame) and best friend of the title character. It also included a more human cast but the focus was always on the muppets.

Why we love it: Aside from creating one of our favorite sayings: "Crayons taste like purple!" Greg the Bunny mixed muppets and people in a wonderful world full of comedy and very, very odd situations. The decidedly adult comedy set in such a kiddish show was a favorite of ours. Still, Professor Ape, Count Blah, Greg and Tardy the Turtle made this show. Chalk full of quotable lines and great laughs, Greg the Bunny should have lasted much longer than its allotted 13 episodes on Fox.

Carnivale

Premise: Set during the Depression in Dustbowl America, Carnivale follows the path of young Ben Hawkins as he befriends and becomes part of a traveling carnival. The carnival is led by the mysterious and unseen "Management" who's mouthpiece is the dwarf Samson. Paralleling Hawkins story is the story of Brother Justin Crowe, a Methodist preacher who begins following his own path. Throughout the series Biblical allegories are thrown around like rice at a wedding and we discover the both Hawkins and Crowe have supernatural powers. The main question is which is powered by good and which by evil and, in the end, who will win out.

Why we love it: Carnivale was a brilliant show that unfolded like a series of novels. The settings of the period piece were perfectly constructed and the foreshadowing was spooky and mysterious. Nearly all the characters in Carnivale were interesting and each filled with an unknown quality. Management was a driving force behind keeping the show interesting as we wanted to see what their plans for young Hawkins might be. In the end though we had closed one chapter and were itching to watch another... and the show ended. Carnivale remains one of the largest unfulfilled shows in the history of TV and it was ultimately done in by its tremendous budget.

Anything with Andy Richter in it

Premise: There are two things you should know about Andy Richter: he's a funny, funny man and he can't stay employed. Over the last eight years Richter has helmed three shows that held so much potential -- Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Quintuplets and Andy Parker, P.I. -- and cohosted one of the most famous canceled shows in history -- The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

Andy Richter Controls the Universe lasted 19 episodes and featured Andy as an aspiring short story writer who makes his living drafting technical manuals for a large corporation. It follows his everyday life and his pining for the new secretary that's dating his best friend. Show creator Victor Fresco has since repackaged the series and it is currently on air as Better Off Ted.

Next up was Quintuplets which saw Andy as the father of quintuplets who made a moderate income at an advertising agency. The show lasted 22 episodes before being canceled. Then it was on to Andy Barker, P.I. which stars Andy as an accountant opening his own business. While accounting doesn't go as well as he had hoped, luck would have it that his new office is a private investigator's old office and clientele still come in asking for P.I. services. Andy starts moonlighting as a P.I. for additional income and find out quickly he's in over his head. It only lasted 6 episodes.

Finally we have the ill-fated Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. We won't talk about that one much here as almost everyone knows the story, but let's just say Richter has some very bad luck. Sorry Conan.

Why we love it (him): Didn't you hear us when we said that Richter was a funny, funny man? Well, he is and all of his shows showcase it (with the possible exception of Quintuplets). Both Andy Richter Controls the Universe and Andy Barker, P.I. were exceptionally funny shows. Richter's clumsy and sometimes clueless comedy matched with his big heart gave these shows an added dimension that allowed them to surpass typical comedies. If you have a chance to catch either two of those shows, do so.

Firefly

Premise: Created by mastermind Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy, Angel and Dollhouse), Firefly followed the transport ship Serenity on its travels through the "Verse" (a future set in 2517 where humankind has expanded to different planets of the galaxy and began terraforming them). After a massive civil war that saw the Alliance defeat the Browncoat rebels, Capt. Malcolm Reynolds skips around picking up odd and (usually) illegal jobs to keep his crew flying. Basically a western in space, Firefly became one of the most loved TV shows ever to be utterly botched and screwed over by a network. Firefly only lasted 14 episodes (three never aired) after Fox ran the series out of order and failed to promote it.

Why we love it: The only reason that this show isn't #1 is because we got the exceptional Serenity movie to help complete the series. Firefly firmly goes down as one of the best shows ever created, from concept to execution, and will likely have a cult following for decades. Firefly was full of beautiful CGI that set the mood and characters that didn't just portray their characters, but became them. There were no bad characters in the series, only ones that some people liked more than others. How can you argue that Capt. Tight Pants is better than the Hero of Canton? Or that Kaylee is a better character than Inara. Firefly worked because everyone shined like an equal. It hurt when certain characters blinked out of the Verse forever in the movie, but that speaks even more for how good of a series this proved to be.

The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.

Premise: If Firefly was a Western set in space, then The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. was a SciFi show set in the West. Following famous B-movie actor Bruce Campbell as the title hero, Brisco County Jr. sets out to avenge his father's death at the hands of the John Bly Gang. Soon it becomes evident that Bly is after an odd artifact called the orb that hold great and unknown power. Throughout the series, Brisco and his horse Comet (with whom he converses frequently) search for Bly and the orb along with Socrates Poole (a lawyer for Brisco's employee and cataloger of his adventures) and Lord Bowler (Brisco's rival and eventual partner). The show lasted 27 episodes.

Why we love it: C'mon, you really have to ask that? First, it has Bruce Campbell, one of the best machismo actors ever born. We could watch him chew bread for an hour -- he's that good. On top of that you have a beautiful blending of Western, SciFi, Fantasty and Steampunk that still hasn't been topped. The show had adventure, story, acting, comedy and style and even though it ended with Brisco rounding up all of the John Bly gang and finding out exactly who Bly was and why he wanted the orb, it still ended to soon. If we could revive just one TV series as was, it would be this one.

----

So there you have it. Do you agree or disagree with any of the picks? Have your own shows that you think should have made the top 13? Let us know in the comments below.

The Wastebucket : greg the bunny, before their time, firefly, strange luck

13 TV Shows that were Canceled Before their Time