Any top five has to include Freaks and Geeks, the only cancelled series that could conceivably push "Firefly" from the top position.

Honorable mention: "The Lone Gunmen" and "Brimstone"

I always remembered Kindred: The Embrace for some reason. It only lasted 8 episodes, but I loved it.

And I thought I was the only one who seemed to like "Nowhere Man".

Oh, and does "Futurama" count? It ran for 5 seasons but I still think it was canceled prematurely.

Ever heard of Get a Life, starring Chris Elliot? Hilarious sitcom on Fox, axed by their head asshole Barry Diller, who hated it. One of the funniest shows ever.

Oops -- just noticed the Honorable Mention. Well, that's better than nothing.

Oh, I just remembered a few more:

"Phenom" (1993) - it was a sitcom about a tennis phenom. Hilarity ensues.

"The Ben Stiller Show" (1992-1993) - It only lasted 12 episodes.

"My So-Called Life" (1994) - It was a show that a lot of teenagers could relate to I think. Perhaps it was just ahead of it's time.

Ed!

Anyone remember Manimal?

It had that guy that was the shark hunter in Jaws 3-D. Actually, I don't remember much about it... other than I thought it was extremely cool as a kid.

Back again with a few more:

"Sports Night" (1998-2000) - This show had a lot of heart. Loved every episode.

"The Job" (2001-2002) - I was never much of a fan of Dennis Leary but I realized the brilliance of this show.

"Popular" (1999-2001) - Maybe it was teenage hormones coupled with Leslie Bibb and Carly Pope, but I enjoyed this show. It was sort of dark and satirical.

"Nothing Sacred " (1997-1998) - This show was the best publicity the good side of the Roman Catholic Church had had in ages. Too bad the Catholic League couldn't grok that and viewers didn't catch on. Among my favorite TV dramas ever.

i remember being severely bummed out when they cancelled The Paper Chase.

but when was that? the late 70's?

Oh, Firefly... I recently got turned on to this and spent two hours last night tracking down the DVD here in Little Rock. Finally found it at a Hastings. I'm so happy to see this here today!

"The Paper Chase" was another superb show; based on the 1973 film (which won John Houseman an Oscar), the TV series ran from 1978-1979. I was sad to see it go, and the Showtime re-do that ran from 1983-1989 wasn't nearly as good as the original.

Does anyone remember an NBC hour-long dramedy called "Tattinger's" that ran in 1988 (the show had great writing and hunor, boasted fine performances, and projected a real sense of NY flavor, but after it didn't catch fire with viewers, NBC turned it into a quite clever and witty half-hour show called "Nick and Hillary" that was really quite good, but at that point, the public just didn't care. Too bad; I really enjoyed that one). It starred Stephen Collins and Blythe Danner.

the thing about the paper chase was that, because i had no experience i such matters, i thought that ALL college professors were going to be like that.

i was worried sick on my first day of classes.

then i found out, hey, they don't give a crapola if i'm here or not!

i vaguely remember tattingers. i used to have a thing for blythe danner.

Heh, I still do. Gwyneth is gorgeous, but she has nothing on her mom, who glowed like the stars in her dewy youth and still radiates incredible beauty today.

I think any fan of good TV who takes a look at the first several episodes of Firefly (which were never broadcast in the correct order during its run on Fox!) will agree that Firefly is "best cancelled" show of all time.

Damn, is it September 30th yet?

Farscape is the best canceled show of all time.

Brimstone, starring Peter Horton as a detective released from Hell to be the Devil's bounty hunter, chasing down damned souls who have escaped. With John Glover as the sometimes goofy, sometimes menacing Devil, the scripts took unexpected twists and turns, and threw the audience curveballs out of nowhere, like the Dutch Nazi who wants to be sent back to Hell, because he hasn't paid enough for his sins. Also costarring the ever-yummy Teri Polo.

Among my picks are Brimstone, The Job and The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire. The best show, however, has to be Farscape. That was so interesting on so many levels. Honorable mention goes to Twin Peaks. There were more tales to tell in that fascinating little Northwestern town.

I say the funniest show I ever saw was Hermans' Head on Fox...

Are you referring to Roy Scheider when you spoke of Manimal? One small snafu. The star was Simon McCorkindale. That one role, however, was not one for the record books as a launch into viewing memory megahit.

We're forgetting the greatness of Hello Larry! The show featured my first crush, Kim Richards, who is better known as Tia from Escape to Witch Mountain.

Well, I had been trying to forget. Thanks a lot, Mr. Battista.

Glad to see Sports Night and The Job get a mention

Undeclared, freshman at college by Apatow

Bakersfield PD, very funny, can be seen often on Trio

Gideon's Crossing, too smart for TV medical show, starring Andre Braugher

Did Thirtysomething get cancelled?

in living color

remind me of firefly please someone?



for about half the thread i was horrifically thinking you guys were pining for what i finally remembered as The Tick

Futurama. Hands down, the wildest thing ever to make the airwaves - it's everything The Simpsons was in its first two years, squared. With mint sauce and an alien lobster.

Night Music and TV Nation

And the Richard Pryor Show

Another good one, cancelled too soon, was Max Headroom. Viewed with a squint, it might even be talking about the blogosphere...

I loved Philly, which was canceled after one season. My wife has hardly watched television since, she was so disappointed.

But I would put Firefly at the top (er, bottom) of my list as well.

Did Max Headroom help some other (real life) dude solve crimes? I remember "him" much more as a cultural icon than as the actual television show.

Agree on Sports Night as well. Great show, funny, interesting, great writing, great cast. I'm glad that Peter Krause, at least, went onto greater fame on Six Feet Under.

they should bring back Cop Rock.

c'mon, you KNOW you wanna see that again!

A few: Heartland which only lasted a few episodes on CBS back in the 80's.
Square Pegs which was a "totally different head". It's Your Move starring Jason Bateman as the ultimate brat kid. Quark with Richard Benjamin. More recently: Joan Of Arcadia. Definitely agree with Sports Night - my wife and I both enjoyed that show which is rare for us.
I've also got to throw in a vote for Lobo.

The show with Chi McBride as a black member of Lincoln's cabinet (The Something Something of Desmond Somthing).
In one episode, Desmond catches Lincoln having 'telegraph sex' in the Oval Office. "Why...you're just like some horny hillbilly...from Arkansas." I busted a gut over that one.

Highcliff Manor. What Soap was to regular soap operas, Highcliff Manor was to Dark Shadows. Satirical and out there, it really pushed the envelope with some of its humor - which is probably why it only lasted 3 or 4 episodes.

The same could probably be said for Good and Evil. Beyond starring Terri Garr as the Evil sister and some risky humor, I don't remember much about this show.

I would have to say Futurama tops my list. I thought it was one of the smartest satirical shows on tv.

Definitely Farscape for me, too.

Wonderland, set in a prison hospital for the criminally insane, a venue, to my knowledge, never before visited. Had a lot of potential. Two episodes.

And The Tick. But not the live action version: I saw one episode, about a superheroine not being allowed into an all-male superheroes club, and I sat there asking myself, isn't this issue about 25 years old? And that was enough for me.
God(dess) grant that the animated The Tick is released on DVD someday, if it hasn't already.

'Night Court' was one of my favs.

Colin Powell's Powerpoint presentation before the U.N.

I agree with Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared. Judd Apatow makes great TV, although I was a little shocked to learn he was a producer for that horrible Anchorman movie with Will Ferrell. He's making his directorial debut with the "40 Year-old Virgin" movie, which looks decent.

One show from recent memory that was good and too brief was "The Job" on ABC, a cop comedy with attitude starring Dennis Leary.

I can't really remember any other good shows that had short runs.

That is all.

Nowhere Man, Firefly, and QUANTUM LEAP. That episode where Sam goes back to try to save his brother in Vietnam was one of the best episodes of television!!

I think there were two Max Headroom shows. One was a hip interview show, the other was a dark futuristic adventure. The second one was clever and short-lived.

One show from recent memory that was good and too brief was "The Job" on ABC, a cop comedy with attitude starring Dennis Leary.

That was a great show, but if it wasn't cancelled would we have gotten the even better Rescue Me?
Sometimes cancellations lead to better things....

Same with castings, if Bruce Lee had gotten to do Kung Fu, we may not have gotten Enter the Dragon.

Dark Angel

Also, I must put in a small plug for my hero Al Franken and Lateline.

Worst recent cancellation: Peter Jennings. R.I.P., eh?

does anyone remember a show called midnight cafe??? im not even sure about the title of it. but it was on after wwf on the USA network in the early 90's. i used to love the show but drugs have helped in removing it from my memory... til today. i remember the dude used to time travel thru the cafe doors or something... it was awesome.

Firefly is rad. the movie Serenity comes out this month! im pumped

Undeclared, Freaks and Geeks, and My So-Called Life are all fantastic, so was Wonderfalls which aired four episodes on FOX a couple years ago, but you can now buy all thirteen episodes on DVD which I reccomend doing strongly.

I can't believe Love Monkey only ran 3 episodes. NBC execs seem to jump the gun on everything lately, including Three Wishes and a handful of other shows that lasted a max of 5 shows...how is a show supposed to find an audience when it barely lasts a month?!

Dead Like Me.

Glad to see somebody else remembers "Probe". This show has *such* potential and was cancelled after only a handful of eps.

Herman's Head and Wiseguy...oh yeah...Miami Vice!

You silly people, you say the best EVER and if someone recalls a show from more than five years ago, you stare blankly. Yes, "Highcliff Manor" was one of the best sitcoms ever, and thus doomed to an early death. Who remembers "Unsub"? It was way before its forensic time, and even David Soul and M. Emmett Walsh couldn't save it. And what of "Lucan"? Any thoughts on that?

Greatest American Hero,
Now and Again,
(and now tragically) Journeyman