Wrongfully Ended TV Series

[Cadus]

I feel this thread definitely needed (at least for me). It is to be a vent for all that pent-up rage that you might have about TV shows that were cut or ended prematurely. You have my sympathies.

My selected series, although it wasn't too amazing, is the 2009-2010 show Flash Forward. That show was building up to something and I never found out what. Everyone in the world lost consciousness for two minutes, sees their lives 6 months into the future, and I never find out why? Disgusting.

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[dkreichen1968]

I think that possibly the most famous wrongfully ended TV series was Firefly. It was planned for 5 seasons, but was canceled without a full season order. Despite that, it has engendered a loyal fan following. Could FOX's "blacklisting" have to do with the fact that the "Confederates" (brown coats) were the good guys and the "Imperialist Northern Thugs" (the purple bellies) were the bad guys?

 

[reverenddejesus]

I wrote a blog post about this very subject a short while ago: TV in Short | Watching TV with Americans.

Freaks and Geeks deserved several more seasons, although the history of American film and TV would have changed drastically had its stars, writers and producers not been free to pursue their careers elsewhere. I was always sad that Murder One didn't have a run as long as NYPD Blue but they sabotaged the show so much in the second season that it would have needed a complete makeover to be worth continuing with. Twin Peaks of course but I like the accidently groundbreaking experimental cliffhanger finale ending as it is.

 

[FWAmie]

I personally think that Merlin shouldn't have ended in season 5.But that is only because I am a huge merlin fan. But when a tv show ends, why does it end? I mean if so many people are watching it shouldn't they keep the show going?

 

[Fringe Reception]

I was personally surprised when Northern Exposure ended so swiftly. 'Maurice' was recovering from a broken leg, 'Ruth Anne's' emphesema was not cooperative with their filming schedule and 'Joel Fleishman' wanted a lot more money. True or not, this was the "legend" told in Seattle, many years ago.

Jim

 

[SJ Coryell]

Firefly by far is THE show that should have continued. Fox screwed them over big time! They kept changing the date and time that it was on, they played the episodes out of order, and they did not even finish all of the episodes before they canceled it. Sooooo wish they had kept going with it.

 

[dkreichen1968]

Firefly by far is THE show that should have continued. Fox screwed them over big time! They kept changing the date and time that it was on, they played the episodes out of order, and they did not even finish all of the episodes before they canceled it. Sooooo wish they had kept going with it.

The Confederates were the good guys. Case closed! Why did they even let it go into production?

 

[SJ Coryell]

The Confederates were the good guys. Case closed! Why did they even let it go into production?

Because it was a good show concept and it could have been a lot better if they had given it the time and attention it deserved. The fans were out there, they just were not given the time to get behind the show. If they had released Firefly today it would have taken off and won the ratings needed- it was just pulled too quick for the time it was presented. It went into production because it was a great idea and was one that was ended way too soon!

 

[dkreichen1968]

But the Confederates (i.e.the South) were the good guys. We can't undermine the idea that the North was on the unmitigated moral right in the War of Northern Aggression. Okay, you see where I stand, and my family was still in Europe at the time. Yes, and I used the words "unmitigated" and "moral."

 

[SJ Coryell]

But the Confederates (i.e.the South) were the good guys. We can't undermine the idea that the North was on the unmitigated moral right in the War of Northern Aggression. Okay, you see where I stand, and my family was still in Europe at the time. Yes, and I used the words "unmitigated" and "moral."

Are we talking about the same show? Firefly was the sci-fi space theme show.

 

[Cadus]

I agree with Merlin whole-heartedly. I loooooooved Merlin, and it saddens me that I have to use past tense for that. It's usually some random reason if a "successful" show is canceled, like a main actor doesn't want to continue a contract or something.

And yeah, Firefly is definitely sci-fi. Google tells me that some people have written about comparison between "confederacy" and the show, though.

 

[tmcmeekin]

I agree this thread is definitely needed!

My favorite show of all time, Pushing Daisies, falls into this category. It was cancelled after two short seasons (more like half-seasons really, with 22 episodes total in the series). The entire series was perfect, in my opinion (unlike shows that waver in quality from episode to episode) and it is one of the most original, brilliant, witty things ever created. I think the super-fast pace and multi-layered, highbrow jokes went above a lot of people's heads when it first aired, and I needed to watch each episode AT LEAST twice to understand it fully.

I also second the votes for Firefly, and Freaks and Geeks.

 

[reverenddejesus]

I was personally surprised when Northern Exposure ended so swiftly. 'Maurice' was recovering from a broken leg, 'Ruth Anne's' emphesema was not cooperative with their filming schedule and 'Joel Fleishman' wanted a lot more money. True or not, this was the "legend" told in Seattle, many years ago

Well, they replaced Fleischmann with another New York doctor but the show was so centred around Joel that it was unlikely to be an effective substitute. And it was a big mistake to try to replace the romantic dynamic between Joel and Maggie with Chris and Maggie. Interestingly, it was in a season produced by Sopranos creator David Chase that it all went wrong! And, believe it or not, I wrote a blog about this too:

Going out with a Clanger | Watching TV with Americans

 

[kamikazefairy]

I second Pushing Daisies, and now I feel the need to rewatch it and mourn the loss of what might have been.

Also, Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23 was surprisingly good, but was abruptly cut mid-season. Only 26 episodes total, 8 of which were never aired on ABC.

 

[Fringe Reception]

Another series I was saddened to hear that ended without even a whimper was Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Great show.

A cocaine posession conviction killed the show in a heartbeat. Geez ... were others in the show and possibly those making the show "concerned" about their own legal implications or were they givin immunity??? Just a nearly 40 year old question.

Jim

 

[Cadus]

The problem with this thread is that people are suggesting good shows that I kinda don't want to check out because they've already been "wrongfully ended." Like I sort of want to check out Pushing Daisies, but at the same time I don't want to do that to myself. I'm not a masochist.

 

[CaliTVguy]

I think that possibly the most famous wrongfully ended TV series was Firefly. It was planned for 5 seasons, but was canceled without a full season order. Despite that, it has engendered a loyal fan following. Could FOX's "blacklisting" have to do with the fact that the "Confederates" (brown coats) were the good guys and the "Imperialist Northern Thugs" (the purple bellies) were the bad guys?

I loved Firefly when I "discovered" the show in 2006! I watched the entire season in a weekend. I saw an anniversary special on the show last year that was pretty good as well. If it ever got "re-birthed" I would watch it. Similar to when Battlestar Galactica was brought back for a few seasons.

 

[dkreichen1968]

Are we talking about the same show? Firefly was the sci-fi space theme show.

You haven't actually watched the show have you? It's a space western, based on the post War of Northern Aggression "old west." We've got the miners, the homesteaders, the outlaws, the Indian savages, the Presbyterian parson, the prostitute, and the doctor and his sister who were on the wrong end of the Union's experimentations. The "brown coat" Confederates are the good guys, the Imperialistic Northern "purple bellies" are the bad guys. And yes, it was designed that way.

 

[cherriesandrum]

My primary one is definitely Firefly too, but I'm also going to say Arrested Development.

I know the new season and talks of a movie are supposed to be great, but the amount of hype between the end of the show and the new season was too much for any show to handle. If the show had just continued, we (or maybe just I) wouldn't have been so disappointed with the product.

Also, I kind of hate Michael Cera now. He's so douchey in every role he's in now! I saw Crystal Fairy and I was just so happy everyone kept calling him an asshole. Oh, Bleecker, where have you gone?

 

[kamikazefairy]

Also, I kind of hate Michael Cera now. He's so douchey in every role he's in now! I saw Crystal Fairy and I was just so happy everyone kept calling him an asshole. Oh, Bleecker, where have you gone?

Thank you! I loved his babyface, awkward roles. Nothing he's done recently has had the innocent magic of Paulie Bleeker, which is when I loved Michael Cera.