Discovering a new favorite TV show is exciting, but sometimes it’s too short-lived. If one of your favorite programs was given the axe, you may have been left in the blogosphere chatting with like-minded fans who are also wondering what happened. Recently we lamented Rubicon‘s loss with a list of some of the best shows that were canceled before their time. This week, we offer 9 more:
1. FAMILY GUY
CANCELED: 2000
Sometimes your favorite show gets canceled more than once. Family Guy has been through enough rejection to warrant its own country western song. The show was canceled in 2000 after the end of its second season. FOX brought Family Guy back for a third season and put it up against NBC’s Friends.
Jennifer Aniston and company wiped the floor with Stewie and and his friends, which led FOX to officially announce the cancellation…again. Although this cancellation seemed to be the final nail in the coffin, strong DVD sales allowed Family Guy to return three years later and the show has been a staple of the Sunday lineup ever since.
2. HEROES
CANCELED: 2010
Heroes was a show that burned out like a supernova collapsing in on itself. Its first season saw dramatic ratings, drawing 14.5 million viewers every week. However, each season that followed drew less and less ratings, bringing those impressive first season numbers down to 6.54 million in its fourth and final season, seen here.
Fans of the show complained of bad writing, which was due to the writers’ strike, but this cancellation had to do with a general burnout of this show across the nation. Although the series is dead, geeks who are still salivating at the thought of Hayden Panettiere popping up on the big screen could be in luck. There are rumors of a movie somewhere down the road, though no official plans have been made.
3. POINT PLEASANT
CANCELED: 2005
So what do you get when you cross Lost, Smallville and Dawson’s Creek? You get a show that was too muddled for the fans to care about it, or even fully understand. The show that debuted in 2005 was only given eight episodes before getting the axe.
Point Pleasant was the story of a girl who washed up on the Jersey shore. Maybe if there were more fist pumping scenes and “smush” rooms, the show could have had a shot.
4. INVASION
CANCELED: 2006
Invasion was set to air in 2005. The show focused on a small Florida town devastated by a hurricane that yielded water-based creatures who took the bodies of their victims in order to infiltrate the small town. The show was advertising heavily and ready to air, when along came a girl called Katrina.
There is nothing more devastating to your what-if scenario than seeing it become an already-did scenario. Although the show was shelved and released a few years later, it didn’t have the staying power it needed.
5. PRISON BREAK
CANCELED: 2009
Prison Break was a fast-paced action series that behaved more like a 22-episode movie. Season 1 told a great story; a guy breaks into the jail he designed in order to break his innocent brother out of it. And then that happened. And then the writers were stuck.
They tried a few different techniques, like putting our main characters on the run, or making them break out of a different jail. Eventually, it became abundantly clear that the show had juiced all of its creativity in the first season, and FOX cancelled it.
6. FLASHFORWARD
CANCELED: 2010
FlashForward showed promise with little execution. It was hyped as the next Lost. In its first episode, the producers were gutsy enough to show two minutes and 17 seconds of darkness. Everyone blacked out, and when they came out of it, the world was burning.
No one knew what happened, and apparently neither did the writers, as after three episodes the world reverted completely back to normal. There goes your suspense, your 12.5 million viewers who watched the first episode, and your shot at a second season.
7. DEFYING GRAVITY
CANCELED: 2009
Once upon a time there was a pitch meeting that forced someone in Hollywood to say the following out loud; “Grey’s Anatomy… in 2058…in space.” Despite the collection of good looking people, there was no reason to watch future Grey’s-in-space, especially because the regular Grey’s-on-earth was still airing in prime time. After eight painful episodes, the studio pulled the futuristic space-plug on this awful idea.
8. DEADWOOD
CANCELED: 2006
From the gold-panning mountains to Yankton’s discussions about territorial boundaries, Deadwood was equal parts history lesson and lush period piece. Fans didn’t understand when HBO pulled the blanket from under this instant classic, but luckily, each season finale was conclusive enough to sate viewers.
For anyone interested in manifest destiny, the Pony Express, or the US before territories were established, Deadwood is a great show that is as interesting as it is entertaining. Sadly, HBO’s decision to cancel shows often come without much warning, so True Blood lovers should prepare themselves!
9. Firefly
CANCELED: 2002
Space cowboys. What could go wrong?! Apparently, this show’s trouble was in the timing. The series was released in September of 2002, and rumor has it that the episodes were mistakenly released out of order. It’s hard to hook fans when no one’s quite sure what’s going on or why. The show averaged less than 5 million viewers per episode and was canceled after just eleven of fourteen episodes aired.
In spite of its short run, it won an Emmy for Outstanding Visual Effects in 2003 and garnered stronger-than-average DVD sales. Its huge post-TV following has yet to get it back on the air, though. It’s too bad this one couldn’t have followed in Family Guy‘s footsteps, though it was able to take off as the precursor to the feature film, Serenity.
