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Post by theroadtodeep13 on Nov 16, 2011 17:17:18 GMT -5
What TV shows do you think ended before their time was up? For me, there are some obvious choices, such as Dragnet (2003), also known as L.A. Dragnet. This remake of the classic Jack Webb series starred Ed O'Neill as Sgt. Joe Friday of the Los Angeles Police Department, and Ethan Embry as Sgt. Friday's partner, Frank Smith. The first season had action and substance. The ratings for season one were excellent, as well. With season two came many changes, such as Smith's removal and Friday's promotion to police chief (this came after O'Neill asked for a reduction in screen time in order to be with his family.) Most, if not all, secondary characters from season one were also gone from the show. A move to Saturdays resulted in low ratings and the abrupt cancellation of the series in October of 2003. If the producers had a fair chance, the new format could have worked.
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Post by Shep on Nov 17, 2011 6:44:41 GMT -5
There are many, many shows that deserved to run another season or two imo ("Thriller," "Star Trek," "Harry O," "The Twilight Zone," etc etc). But the ones that particularly bother me are the ones I loved that only lasted one season (or less):
"Bus Stop." A very good 60s drama.
"The Loner." Rod Serling's existential Western.
"Three's A Crowd." The "Three's Company" spin-off.
"Firefly," "Freaks and Geeks" and "My So-Called Life." Everybody knows these, of course.
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Post by Phantom Engineer on Nov 17, 2011 8:12:12 GMT -5
Enterprise should have lasted longer. Not that it was so great but it was getting better.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Nov 17, 2011 9:47:46 GMT -5
So, so many. Only the good die young. The crap lasts eight seasons and gets syndication.
My personal quick list: Freaks and Geeks Firefly The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. SledgeHammer! Arrested Development Sports Night Voyagers!
And it looks like Community is about to join the list.
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Post by caucasoididiot on Nov 17, 2011 10:40:21 GMT -5
Many good calls above, but the show that immediately comes to my mind here is Babylon 5. Creator J. Michael Straczynski set out to overcome the "big red reset button" syndrome endemic to series TV by designing it from the start as a five-season arc in which characters and situations would change radically. Unfortunately, WB announced that they weren't going to pick up the fifth season, and so JMS was forced to start rapidly tying together enough loose ends to get a finalé. Then suddenly TNT announced that it would pick it up, and the poor guy had to try and crack them open again.
It all ended up a muddle, which JMS tried to get around by developing a sequel series called Excalibur. It only went about 13 eps before dying due to creative differences with TNT, and while those 13 were uneven, I'd love to see where it was headed. One of the real draws of the early part of B5 had been the aura of mystery, and that was back. One part I quite liked was Excalibur's captain having an alien artifact that would answer questions, but in a flashback we saw that he had gotten it from a distraught man who cautioned, "It lies . . . not always . . . just enough."
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Post by theroadtodeep13 on Nov 17, 2011 11:24:37 GMT -5
Enterprise should have lasted longer. Not that it was so great but it was getting better. Enterprise flat out SUCKED![/u] I quit watching that before the first season was up! Scott Bakula did NOT make a good captain.
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Post by caucasoididiot on Nov 17, 2011 12:57:54 GMT -5
Well, while I didn't like what little I saw of the first season much either, Phantom makes it clear he's talking about the end of its run. I've heard a lot of people say that the show was really turning around at that point.
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Post by The Mad Plumber on Nov 17, 2011 17:06:40 GMT -5
I have to admit that I strangely liked Kim Possible and was disappointed that when it originally got cancelled. So, when the show did get renewed for new episodes, I felt that was a great thing. However, I really wasn't too impressed with the episodes that came. Also, I think I was suffering a schedule that didn't permit time to watch this new season. A part of me came to realize that maybe perhaps that Kim Possible already jumped the shark even before it was renewed. The latter episodes of its first run lacked the cutting humor of the earlier episodes. My ability to enjoy Kim Possible on a whole has been hampered by the lack of any good DVD releases.
So, Kim Possible's status as a show that ended prematurely might be debatable. Originally, I felt it was cut short, but with a little more perspective, it may have already been running on empty.
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Post by notundercovercop32 on Nov 18, 2011 0:50:40 GMT -5
The Weird al Show was a great kids show that got cancelled way too soon.
Every Nickelodeon Gameshow before 1999 got canceled way to early.
I wish they had made more episodes of Daria. I would prefer her to come back before Bevis and Butthead.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Nov 18, 2011 2:45:08 GMT -5
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Post by zombiewhacker on Nov 18, 2011 3:04:19 GMT -5
WKRP in Cincinnati Rocky & Bullwinkle Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures The Great Space Coaster Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Also what Mad Bomber said about Kim Possible goes ditto (in my case) for Dexter's Laboratory. They cancelled it too soon, then brought it back, but it was never the same. (Come to think of it, the same could be said for WKRP.)
Honorable mention: some dippy show with robots and some guy stranded in a giant orbitting dog bone. Forget the name, though.
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Post by Ratso on Nov 18, 2011 19:17:48 GMT -5
Arrested Development was such an amazing show it's amazing a show like that died the way it did.
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Post by afriendlychicken on Nov 18, 2011 21:11:16 GMT -5
These are the ones I can think of: POLICE SQUAD: 6 whole episodes. JUST THE TEN OF US: The Growing Pains spin-off which I thought was pretty good. GILLIGAN'S ISLAND: Come on, we needed at least another three seasons of this show. Of course, by the end of season five they would have drowned Gilligan and the sixth season would have been a lot less fun.
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Post by Phantom Engineer on Nov 18, 2011 22:23:04 GMT -5
POLICE SQUAD: 6 whole episodes. JUST THE TEN OF US: The Growing Pains spin-off which I thought was pretty good. The first one makes me admire you. The second one makes me despise you. It all evens out.
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Post by TheNewMads on Nov 18, 2011 22:33:12 GMT -5
definitely "Grin and Bear It," the TV detective comedy by the auteur behind "Giant Spider Invasion" and "Monster A-Go-Go." Can you believe a show this promising never got made?
i'm schlitz and he's bud, but i'm drinkin' the bud and he's drinkin' the schlitz. is it just me or did it just get HILARIOUS in here?!?
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