I just watched Serenity last night to wrap up my Firefly journey and I happened to stumble upon this MSN list of the top 10 cancelled TV shows (here's E! Online's list.). It got me thinking... a lot of my favorite shows seem to get cancelled right quick. In fact, I have enough favorite dead shows to make my own top 10 list. How sad.
10) Playmakers - Way too melodramatic and I'm not really a football fan, but entertaining nonetheless.
9) Action - Jay Mohr always comes off as a colossal prick so watching him play a super-sleaze producer (thx Manko Jinko) exposing the seamy underbelly of Hollywood seemed perfectly natural.
8) The State - The 90s MTV sketch comedy show had an unbelievably funny cast. The excellent Reno 911 is loaded with State alum.
7) Twin Peaks - Weird, sad, funny and just freaking creepy. Good stuff.
6) Firefly - Genuinely funny and fun Sci-Fi with a great cast and a unique take on the future.
5) Undeclared - Another terrific Apatow project axed before it had a chance to take off.
4) The Tick (live action) - Started slow, but really found its groove a few episodes in.
3) Futurama - One of the funniest shows ever. Right up there with The Simpsons and The Office (and Arrested Development).
2) Arrested Development - Has this show officially been cancelled yet? Well, if it has it was an enormous mistake. This may sound pretentious, but this show really did have layers and layers of comedy. (Side note: You'll notice that FOX shows seem to be over-represented on this list and the majority of my favorite runner-ups were aired on FOX too. What the hell?)
1) Freaks and Geeks - Judd Apatow's funny, sweet and painfully on-the-mark high school dramedy was fantastic from episode one.
What were some of your favorite cancelled shows?
Hmmm I must comment on the god old days of NIck where they ahad kids on the shows instead of poorly drawn cartoons.
Salute Your Shorts
Ledgends of the Hidden Temple
Hey Dude!
Atre You Afraid of the Dark?
Nickalodian Guts
Keenan and Kell (sorry)
Rocko's Modern LIfe
That one popscle stick guy Stick Stickly
I nener did like that stupod Doug show though.
Futurama NEVER equalled the brilliance of the Simpsons. Whilst the Simpsons have sleeped away from their position as leading social commentators and the best comedy on tv over the last 5 to 7 years, they did hold that position for atleast 10 years. Futurama never quite worked on as many levels, and I found a lot of the minor characters unnecessary and unfunny. But I still enjoyed the show overall.
As for Family Guy, I wish it had remained cancelled.
FOX is always taking shows off prematurely before audiences even get a chance to get familiar with it and their always moving its time slot all over the place so nobody knows when to watch, Im just glad the Simpsons survived when they were moved to thursdays for awhile then back to sundays where they belong. heres a couple of shows i use to watch, all FOX shows.
"Wonderfalls", "House of Buggin", "Hermans Head" "The Edge".