Most Egregiously Canceled Shows

[Pearl@32]

I spent too much time on this. Hope somebody enjoys it.

http://www.avclub.com/content/node/87769

AV Club staff picks:
Freaks And Geeks, Arrested Development, TV 101, Dead Like Me, Frank's Place, Deadwood

INTERESTING COMMENTS, with Firefly/Whedon comments in green:

Firefly, people. Firefly.
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Had anyone else claimed FREAKS & GEEKS, this was my next choice. Also, PROFIT.
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Firefly, motherfuckers. That show got butchered.
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Firefly has to be the most egregious omission. Second: Undeclared. Third: The Misfits of Science. C'mon, y'all remember the Iceman, right?
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Firefly wasn't just caneclled, it was gang-raped by Fox before it even hit the airwaves.
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I get that its not really "Best Show Ever Cancelled" worthy, and almost all the shows on this article are better, but I just think Veronica Mars deserves a mention, with only three seasons under its belt. [ETA: Many nominated shows that had the luxury of a second season or NINE...] What a great, funny, smart show that really captured the emotions (if not the realism) of the modern class conflict in high school and college. Even the much criticized final season had tons to love about it, especially the great Ed Begley Jr. supporting role in the beginning. That combined with the final episode, and the cliffhanger, it was a wonderful show that I hope continues living in comic book (or pog) form.
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Why do people like Firefly so much? I watched the first few episodes after hearing so many recommendations from friends and was seriously underwhelmed. It seemed like extremely pedestrian TV Sci-Fi, with a bunch of stereotypical, flat, unengaging characters.
I don't mean to troll. If someone can explain what they really loved about this show, maybe it will inspire me to give it another go. But I don't mean to get people angry or defensive.
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I had exactly the same thought while reading this. Seriously, guys, how could you Chucking forget Firefly?
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Honestly, Firefly I think gets a pass because while it may have been canceled prematurely, it also got a big-budget, big-screen wrapup that answered all of its questions and gave us closure on its characters and plotlines. That's a pretty big luxury and really softened the blow. It sucks that it got canceled, sure, but it got a great send-off, which is more than any of these other shows got.
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Carnivale.
Dead Last.
Boston Public.
K Street.
Firefly was an utter disappointment to me, especially since they chose to broadcast the far-superior pilot episodes after the show had already been cancelled.
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Girard, Here are 5 incontrovertible reasons why Firefly rocked:
5. It had the highest concentration of jig-dancing of any sci-fi show ever put on the air.
4. Kaylee's charmingly inadequate accent.
3. The oddly laid-back theme song. "Take my money, take my land..."
2. It starred Ann Veal's dad, Captain Hammer, and a future cyborg as little Ms. Crazy-pants.
1. Country western-style space zombie pirates.
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One show that I loved that no one else liked and of course was quickly cancelled was The $treet.
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Have to put the Sugartits Seal of Approval on Firefly and the official Curse of the Tits on Fox. I loved that show and they couldn't have handled their treasure in a more peremptory fashion. Philistines.
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Firefly fans should count their blessings, the longer Whedon runs a show the more of a derailed mess it tends to become. He should be held to a two season limit for any project so he doesn't end up destroying a promising beginning with the most retarded ending imaginable.
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If you like Firefly, then you have four full seasons of Farscape to enjoy ... you know, the show that Whedon completely and utterly ripped off to make Firefly.
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"1. Country western-style space zombie pirates." And a brainwashed ninja-killing-machine-girl. Plus, cowboys. Plus, it was funny. And I liked the characters, for the most part.
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JOHN FROM CINCINNATTI!
come on!
If I win the lotto I'm personally funding the full series. At least 3 seasons on dvd.
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I love Firefly with all my heart, but does anyone remember Sports Night on ABC? Early walk-and-talk Aaron Sorkin starring Peter Krause, Josh Charles, Robert Guillaume, and Felecity Huffman. It was awesome. Anybody?
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Sweet Dave, you beat me to it by five minutes. Sports Night wasn't cancelled first season or anything, like Freaks and Geeks (and I'm surprised My So-Called Life hasn't been mentioned), but it went too early for me. That's in large part because of my love for the character of Danny, and the almost complete absence of Josh Charles from anything I would want to watch since (In Treatment is an exception, but I don't get Showtime/HBO/whatever channel it's on).
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I'm well on board with both Firefly and Freaks and Geeks.
But there's still a 14-year-old inside of me that will never get over the cancellation of PROBE.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probe_(TV_series)
And unlike all the others mentioned, this show will never get so much as a DVD release. And with Asimov long dead, there'll never be anything like it on TV again.
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Yes, I remember Sports Night. Yet another insufferable Sorkin walk-and-talk show that's half as smart as it thought it was, and five times as serious as it needed to be.
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Herman's Head, by a nose
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The two funniest shows of the last ten years:
Greg the Bunny
Grosse Point
While no one else may remember Grosse Point, Greg the Bunny should get some love, Seth Green, Sarah Silverman, Eugene Levy, and puppets. What more can you ask for in a show.
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I saw the title, thought "Nichols!" and was all set to extol the virtues of that one-season James Garner show from 1971, sadly not on dvd... then I read, and read, and .. no "Firefly". So I got all confused, since we know that the AV Club loves Whedon, and esp. that show. Weird.
I was lucky in my "discovery" of Firefly - barely even had heard of it when it was on, never saw the movie, but read Ebert's review... THEN bought the show on dvd and the movie and now... um, I watch the whole schmear in order about every two months. 'Cause, though I HAVE a life, it's not very interesting.
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I think Firefly is so good because even in the limited episode we saw it was something different. Cowboys in space was a pretty cool idea. Plus the characters on the surface might have seen like stereotypes were actually much deeper then that.
What really sells firefly is Jayne. From his general lack of carrying about anything, his love of guns, the hat his mom made him. He is just a comedy gold mine.
Man now I need to go throw the DVDs in and watch some.
BTW I love Farscape as well but I don't see how firefly is a ripoff. Other then the dysfunctional family in space theme they both have and share with a lot of other shows going a lot farther back. Ever here of Blake's 7? The show that Farscape ripped off
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I had a friend in college who was very upset when Kindred the Embraced was cancelled. She strangely preferred it strongly to Buffy. No idea why. No idea why I thought of this just now.
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There are some shows that fit in this list not because they were great, but because they had potential greatness that would have surfaced, given time. I'd add Lucky and Action to this list. And mmmmmaybe Harsh Realm.
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On potential: Strange Luck.
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My sister loved Point Pleasant, but I only got to see the pilot. That only lasted one season. Anyone like that one?
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Buffy got cancelled way too early. And the XFiles. And Seinfeld. 
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I nominate From the Files of Police Squad.
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I can't believe no one has mentioned JAG yet!? CBS only gave it ten seasons! It was just finding its voice! 
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The first thing I scanned for in this article was Firefly!
And I disagree with the person who said Whedon projects get worse as seasons go on. Angel got better, and Buffy was great all the way through (Season 2 is classic, but 5 - 7 are my favorite). Firefly was just starting to get brilliant near the end (make sure you watch it in the proper order, not by air-date). Can't wait for Dollhouse. PS - and Season 1 of Buffy was its worst.
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Firefly's my all time favourite show (cancelled or otherwise). Living in the UK, I was lucky enough to see the show in the proper order, so god knows how pissed off Americans must be to have experienced the full, unencumbered wrath of Fox.
Patrick C. is right though that the movie softened the blow... I'm not nearly as pissed off about its cancellation as I was before the movie. A little closure goes a long way.
Oh, and yes, some love here for Grosse Point too. Curse its nastily abrupt ending.
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10th for Firefly.
@Patrick C. - What do you mean we got a good send off? We never found out what the Chuck was up with the Preacher or really what became or would become of Summer or if Mal and the prostie would hook it up. What the hell man. Plus space cowboys.
@Girard - Why would you ask people to explain something they love when you've already asserted that you felt it was boring, pedestrian and that the characters are flat? So you don't like it. I feel bad for you really. Firefly was clever, funny, and had great characters with wonderful overarching plots as well good B and C plots. That's why I love it. Doesn't change your mind does it?
Plus space cowboys.
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To whoever said Seinfeld was cancelled early: dude, it was on the air for, what, seven years? Sometimes shows need to go. Those last couple seasons were terrible, because clearly Jerry and the writers had run out of ideas. That whole "trail" in the final episode was painful to watch. Not funny, not funny at all.
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Cowboy Bebop + Farscape = Josh Whedon's Jungian Shadow.
The man is a hack.
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There was also a bit of Outlaw Star in there.
And agreed on most of those shows...
[and I'll throw in Duckman]
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Dude by your standards Farscape was not even an original concept(what really is)
Blake's 7 + Buck Rogers + Muppets = Farscape
I'd even go so far as to say that Farscapes style of dialog(especially Crichtons lines) seem heavily influenced by Whedons style of writing. Considering Buffy was on for a few years when Farscape came on I believe that is entirely possible
Also just for fun: Grapes of Wrath + Twin Peaks = Carnivale 
Any partner Cop Show + twighlight Zone = X-Files
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Farscape, Firefly, and Cowboy Bebop all share the common root of "a bunch of outlaws roaming around space in a tramp freighter", which dates way back to the Golden Age of science fiction. (See also Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon.) 
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Does anyone remember that Denis Leary cop show? I think it was called The Job. Leary was a drunk ass pill poppin cop(hmmmm, sorta like Rescue Me). I only saw a couple of episodes but one gag I remember ondly was Leary and his partner didnt wanna work this homicide so they flipped the body over a wall so it would be in another jurisdiction. Then some other cops flung it back over the wall. And so on and so forth for the entire half hour. It was truly a funny show. Does anyone else remember it?
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I remember The Job. About the only funny line I remember is: "Shrimp is the black man's lobster."
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Black Donnellys. NBC. Something like 5 murders in the first episode. Then they took it off after only 3-4 more.
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Nichols! Yes! Ketchum, Ma Ketchum, Mitchell, Slump the dog, Ruth (a young, very hot , pre woodpile, pre Lois Lane Margot Kidder). Even after 37 years I still miss them.
I have read interviews where James Garner called it the favorite of his series.
Wow, Bucky Calloway, It is rare now to find anyone else who even remembers it....Damn, I'm getting old.
I say If Deadwood had been written as a network comedy 37 years ago, it would have been "Nichols".
I liked this show that much.
Swedgen....
I would strongly urge everyone to check out this lost masterpiece, but YOU CANT FIND IT ANYWHERE!!!
With all the drek already out there polluting the collective conciousness, why the hell is this not out on DVD? WHY? WHY?
I call for a full AV Club investigation into this travesty.
You don't bathe a dog like Slump, you brush him....
Furthermore, I wish to announce that I will disregard my personal political beliefs in the upcoming election and vote for any candidate who promises to pass legislation requiring that "Nichols" be released on DVD.
You can have my vote. Who wants it?
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Chuck Firefly and all you damn Browncoats. 
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Look. You want to talk about shows cancelled before their time, there's only one definitive answer -- Heil, Honey I'm Home.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbj9otRPdiM
Oh, British satire of 50's television that featured Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun living in domestic bliss until their lives are turned upside-down when a pair of Jewish neighbors move next door, we hardly new ye.
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Does no on else cry for Rome?
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!!!!
(sob)
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Futurama!!!
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Push, Nevada.
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Sure, the second season of Firefly could have been brilliant. But an old friend of mine put it best in the form of a zen koan. He said "It's a shame Frank Herbert never wrote a sequel to Dune."
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If Whedon ripped off anything to make Firelfy...
by Tadzio
...it wasn't Farscape, Beastie, but Blakes 7 (whilch nilus seems to get.) But I'm adding my voice to the cry of Firefly fans.
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Live Action "The Tick." Great show that was shown absolutely no love from FOX.
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RE: No Firefly?
by The Curse of Tim Minear 
That's how I felt about Wonderfalls on DVD, too. Such promise, over too soon. At least something like Arrested Development got two and a half seasons.
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The Animaniacs ended to quickly for my taste. And I can never find re-runs of it on any channels, which sucks even more. On a campier note, Dark Angel was shut down to quickly, also. Stupid ending too, even for a show starring Jessica Alba.
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RE: MTV Animation
The State...The Maxx (though I think that was a limited run anyway)...The Head...Aeon Flux...Liquid Television...MTV has a history of not giving their shows more than 2 seasons.

[Spooky]

Thanks for putting that together.  A very good read. I always get a kick out of the "this show ripped off that show" arguments, all the good shows take bits and pieces from several sources that have influenced their creators.

[Pearl@32]

Pearl's picks:
Firefly, Deadwood (a last 4th season), The Tick (animated), Dark Angel, Cashmere Mafia, Dharma & Greg, Whose Line is It Anyway?, Farscape, The Class, Once and Again, The 4400

Honorable mentions to My So-Called Life, New Amsterdam, and The Job

[Pearl@32]

Thanks for putting that together.  A very good read. I always get a kick out of the "this show ripped off that show" arguments, all the good shows take bits and pieces from several sources that have influenced their creators.

"Whedon was a hack, man, a hack!"    To be honest, I don't think Whedon has a great track record in Hollywood.