Shows that ended before their time?

[WillParkinson]

My vote:


Eureka

True it's not done just yet, but this season is the last. And it's a shame because it's a great show.

[geardaddy]

1. Andy Richter Controls the Universe

[Rob H.]

16. This x a bajillion

Creator Victor Fresco's more recent show, Better Off Ted, was gone much too soon, too.

[Broken_Hero]

2. I'm going with a recent find of mine....

Birds of Prey. It came out about 5yrs ago, and I never watched an episode til I got their only season(on dvd) about two weeks ago. The premise was actually really interesting to me, although I know the action/tone was somewhat silly at times, but I thought it was a decent take on DC mythology.

[AsahinaKimi]

3. WITCHBLADE on TNT

[wysimdnwyg]

4. I like Eureka, but I think its time has come

The last full season just seemed like one big setup to get Jack and Allison together. And even this early, it's apparent this aborted final season is going to lead to the altar (and probably have them leaving Eureka).


I'll voice the opinion of most geeks in America: Firefly. One (barely more than half) season was woefully inadequate for this outstanding show. Damn Fox and their reality show fetish.

[WillParkinson]

14. I think the rush to the altar...

Is because they're trying to give closure to the show. We just finished watching the story arc that finished this past week. I hated the fact that they did what they did (not saying anything for fear of ruining it for anyone), but still liked the episode overall.

Now if they'd just bring back Nathan. Oh, baby.

[Liberal_in_LA]

22. they started a story arc involving Jack's sister coming to town pregnant. Then before babies born

She's gone!

[Orsino]

5. Firefly

I hate to plug Fox at all, but this really was a great show, one with a great start and lots of room to grow.

I loved the movie, but I'm glad that I saw it before the series--or I would have been let down.

[Liberal Veteran]

6. Joan of Arcadia.

True, the second season wasn't perfect, but it did set up an interesting arc.

[gratuitous]

8. Second that

I thought they'd set up an interesting confrontation between Joan and the Evil Person (whoever he was), as well as injected a lot of ambiguity into what Joan was experiencing: Is she really talking to God in various guises, or is she suffering hallucinations from Lyme Disease, or just what? The set up for the never-done season three was promising.

[Rhiannon12866]

24. Third on that.

I sat through the season finale, the confrontation between Joan and Evil Incarnate, but nothing much happened, turned out to be a cliffhanger that remained forever hanging. I was disappointed, too, since I was looking forward to the resolution that remained unresolved. I enjoyed the show, thought it was one of the very few with an original premise and the writing and acting were good.

[gratuitous]

7. The Cape

Nobody watched it this past season, and NBC just sort of stopped running episodes in the middle of everything. It was my kind of superhero show, with the protagonist not quite in control of his powers. The storyline was pretty good, too, and I wasn't sure where it was going to go.

Thumbnail sketch: Hero is a cop, who is set up to be killed in an ambush. The bad guys are actually in league with the city administrator, a private contractor offering Robocop style security to a crime-ridden city. Hero escapes ambush, but is presumed dead, leaving behind a grieving wife and son. Wife goes back to work as a deputy DA, and through that job comes into contact with some of the elements of the ongoing story of the hero. Hero is taken in by a criminal gang posing as a traveling circus. Here he is bestowed the title Cape, a gadget of all kinds of hidden powers, requiring skill and practice to master. As The Cape, he begins fighting back against the city's corruption. He also occasionally pays nocturnal visits to his "widow" and son in costume to give them encouragement (The Cape is a Green Hornet- or Batman-style comic book hero whose exploits are faithfully read by son). There is a series of bad guys (Scales, the Liche, etc.), all with weird powers to be faced each week.

Another interesting wrinkle was that the crooked administrator/contractor had a hidden personality "Chess" who masterminds the criminal empire. But Chess is in turn controlled by his therapist (played by Elliott Gould). There were many layers and many story threads being juggled, but the series ended abruptly when Chess's security forces raided the traveling circus, hero's best friend is killed, and the circus and The Cape have to flee for their lives.

[ceile]

52. Agreed.

They just stopped showing it w/ no wrap up. Last episode I saw, the chick (can't remember Summer Glau's character's name) was going crazy..? She painted everything around her white. Is the full series on DVD or anything?

[gratuitous]

58. Yeah, that was a weird twist, too

Hero's enforced estrangement from his wife (who couldn't know he was still alive, or she'd be in danger too), and his attraction/avoidance situation with the young circus woman was an interesting subplot as well. That didn't look like it was headed to a neat and tidy ending, especially if she was cracking up.

I'd be interested in watching the whole season and the unaired episodes, but the market for it might be limited to just you and me.

[Aristus]

9. The West Wing.

For me, the show ended with the fourth season. The subsequent three seasons simply coasted on the reputation fostered by the first four, but without the masterful writing by Aaron Sorkin. I'm looking forward to Sorkin's new show on HBO, but sometimes I wish he would offer another political show on broadcast television and set in the world of President Santos. My concept was "Nations", a drama set in the office of the U.S Ambassador to the U.N. It would offer Sorkin the opportunity to educate his viewing audience in the intricacies of international politics in an entertaining way, just like with TWW, and re-acquaint people with the notion that public service can be, and should be, honorable and noble.

[fizzgig]

23. that would be a great show

[Aristus]

25. Hey, fizzgig!

Haven't talked to you in a while...

[fizzgig]

26. i'm in and out from time to time

i post mostly in the groups now, but i do poke my head in around here.

how've you been? you still on vacation?

[Aristus]

28. Yeah. Last day, today.

Going to drive over to Niagara Falls, then head to Toronto airport and fly home.

[fizzgig]

33. enjoy the falls!

and safe trip home

[Aristus]

39. Thanks, fizz!

Loved the Falls (although not the super-tacky, kitchy tourist trap the surrounding town is...), and made it safe home...

[Major Nikon]

10. Star Trek

[madamesilverspurs]

11. Brooklyn Bridge

[HERVEPA]

12. Frank's Place and Brooklyn Bridge

[watrwefitinfor]

44. Second Frank's Place. So understated and brilliant.

I saved a few episodes on VHS and they are STILL great.

Wat

[dimbear]

13. Jets vs Raiders, Nov 17, 1968 n/t

[chrisa]

15. "Surviving Nugent" - the Ted Nugent Reality show with Tila Tequila

Just kidding. I accidentally watched that once, and then took my TV outside and hit it with a flamethrower.

[laundry_queen]

17. No one will probably agree with me

as it was a show geared towards teens (I was 20 or so at the time).

My So-Called Life. Loved Claire Danes.

[fizzgig]

19. i keep meaning to watch that on netflix

i was totally the target demographic when it was running, but i really loved that show.

[ceile]

53. I agree with you.

So well done. Even its cult following couldn't save it though...

[SteveG]

18. Firefly & Key West

very different shows, well done and quirky.

[KG]

20. Life

[Liberal_in_LA]

21. Fast Forward. Sci fil shows from a few years ago - Surface, and that other one.

[IcyPeas]

27. Carnivale /eom

[smokey nj]

29. M*A*S*H and Law and Order.

[HopeHoops]

30. Clearly "Star Trek". It's five year mission only lasted three seasons.

[MadrasT]

31. Deadwood

Totally needed at least one more season. It just ended with all these unresolved story lines. Frustrating.

[Populist_Prole]

35. +1562

I never really cared for westerns: movies or tv shows, but this show had me me hooked from the get-go. It could have gone on much longer.

[ScreamingMeemie]

32. Detroit 1-8-7, Friday Night Lights, It Takes Two

[struggle4progress]

34. Mr. & Mrs. Smith

[rppper]

36. The tick....

Cartoon version of course.....

[WillParkinson]

37. Don't you get it?

SPOOOOOOON!

[sarge43]

38. Kings, Frank's Place and, of course, Firefly n/t

[Sequoia]

40. The Invaders.

A Quinn Martin Production about aliens living among us and how you could tell because they'd put their little finger up when drinking out of a cup. This was on in the mid 1960s or so but I seemed to be the only kid who liked it. It was probably corny but what do kids know!

[DiverDave]

41. Star Gate Universe

Dang it, just when it was getting good.
It had so many ways to become even better.
They (Sci-fi) went to pro wrestling
Idiots.

[cloudbase]

42. Barney Miller n/t

[JesterCS]

43. Stargate Universe, Enterprise, Firefly

[watrwefitinfor]

45. Moonlight

Alex O'Loughlin as a Vampire - BEFORE Hawaii Five-0.
And what a vampire he was! Gone too soon.

Wat

[DutchLiberal]

46. Life & Twin Peaks

[yellowcanine]

47. Sarah Palin's Alaska.

Eight episodes. Was not renewed for the second season. Maybe this is why:

At the conclusion of the series, long time Alaska resident and author Nick Jans commented that the show made clear Palin's actual unfamiliarity with the outdoor Alaskan lifestyle, observing that most of the supposed adventures on which Palin and her family embarked were "guided trips aimed at mass market tourists ... requiring no skills beyond a pulse and the ability to open your wallet".[11]

So it seems that Sara Palin actually does not know that much about Alaska. What a shock!

[grntuscarora]

48. Firefly,

of course.

And Studio 60. It deserved an additional season or two, imo.

[bif]

49. Arrested Development.

Cancelled way to soon.

[NightWatcher]

50. House

I just get into the show to find only 2 left. Thank goodness for DVR and USA who shows 20 episodes a week.

I dig the show so much I even bought a walking cane with flames like House had in season 5.

[Shrek]

51. Terriers n/t

[ceile]

54. +1.

Was he going to Mexico or jail...? We'll never know.

[ceile]

55. Raines n/t

[otohara]

56. All My Children

it was bad, but the Chew is worse from what I can tell by the promos

[Duer 157099]

57. Luck. Carnivale. n/t