What shows do you wish had been given a REAL chance to develop?

I would liked to have seen decent runs of:

John Doe
Threshold
Smith
Jericho

And a real last season of The 4400 thank you very much! You showed us a war sequence dammit!

There's only one such show...Firefly

The most criminal cancellation of a show is Freaks and Geeks.

Done and done.

Abso-freakin-lutely. One of the best shows ever was canceled after 11 of the 14 episodes aired? It's a gorram crime. But at least we got Serenity which is, in my opinion, the greatest sci-fi movie ever. But I would have loved to see what Joss Whedon would have done with the story lines over a period of a few seasons.

I was really starting to get into My Own Worst Enemy this year before it was canceled. Started weak, but ended very strong. Judd Apatow's Undeclared is another one that I liked a lot that was canceled way too early.

Honorable Mention:
Titus
Harsh Realm

YES, and Arrested Development.

I must be the only person in the world who thought, "Freaks and Geeks" was overrated and just kind of okay. I liked Apatow's other try at a TV show, "Undeclared" much better.

What's really amazing is how often FOX is the culprit.
My favorite cancelled shows:
Firefly
Arrested Development
Futurama

The worst was Firefly, which was given no shot, aired out of order and canceled after half a season. The networks have not totally figured out how to capitalize on a cult hit yet. Or maybe even how to measure the ratings. The people that like Firefly, love it. That's another one I was proud to have introduced to all my friends, once again too late (as with Arrested Development).

My so-called life

Agreed. Brilliant series that appeals to all ages. My parents love it, my little brother and his girlfriend love it, and I love it. The ensemble cast was something to watch(a lot of them are doing well now..Apatow, Rogan, Franco, Segel, Cardinelli. The topics covered were well done, and it was truly heartbreaking in parts.

I don't think the network understood what they had, or how to market it. It was more "real" than any of the WB affiliated shows at the time, but it wasn't quite for "adults" either, meaning there were no sex scenes or violence. Oh well, it's still an excellent series.

whatever happened to the kid who played cardinelli's brother?

After I posted I realized that I neglected to mention Futurama. Another great show that Fox didn't give a chance to succeed. Fox does seem to be the worst at canceling good shows.

John Francis Daley has sadly not had much of a career compared to the other actors on the show. He appeared in a few movies (Waiting is probably the most widely seen), he was on Kitchen Confidential for a while and he's currently on the cast of the TV show Bones.

It's insane how many good actors made appearances on the show. Sure, you've got Rogen and Franco, but also Ben Foster, Shia LeBeouf, Rashida Jones...it's just crazy how much talent was around that show.

Arrested Development
Twin Peaks
Deadwood
Firefly

Arrested Development
Freaks and Geeks
My So Called Life
Pushing Daisies
Histeria!

Off the top of my head.

Well, when the star of the show is the catalyst for cancellation, there's not alot you can do about it.


P.S. - Futurama was a good show that eventually abandoned futuristic humor for more topical humor that was rooted in this decade - what's the point of that?

[quote=P.S. - Futurama was a good show that eventually abandoned futuristic humor for more topical humor that was rooted in this decade - what's the point of that?[/quote]

Because, like MASH, sometimes the best way to comment about the present is to focus on another time period.

Another one: American Gothic. CBS screwed this one over the same way that FOX screwed Firefly. They aired the episodes out of order, neglected to air it every week, and eventually canceled it after less than one year.

That show was on 7 years, didn't he invent everything awesome out of every combination of common household products by then?

Naw...I'm sure he had some more in him.

But surely he exhausted every use of a paperclip, that was always the cornerstone of his awesome inventions made out of common household products!

Mkratzer21 - Well, it's nearly impossible to quote you above, so I'm just going to reply from here:

I agree that futuristic shows can comment on the present, that's not ym problem - it's that the humor from the show simply borrowed material from the present and played to a 21st century audience. After a while, the setting was mere window dressing, which I think reveals a show that used it's time frame as a hook for viewers and not artistic purposes. Then, again, what is the point? 'Wall-E' sidestepped this casual laziness rather well, all the while focusing on a narrative as well.


P.S. - Are we talking about the good, early 'MASH' or the preachy older seasons? Please tell me people can tell the difference