Gone But Not Forgotten:
15 Television Shows
That Were Canceled To Early
While having a talk recently with a friend about tv programs that were ended far to early, I got the idea that I should get off my ass and do a list of shows that I feel were ended far to early, mostly because, well, I like to do lists and I needed something to blog about cuz its been abit of time sense I been able to sit down and write out a post, and i figured this would be a good way of shaking off the rust so to speak. Anyway, here we go, here is my list of 15 tv shows that i feel were canceled far before their time, and not truly given a fair chance to grow and become what they could be, feel free to add your own in the comments if you wish... but for now, here we go....
15. Wolverine And The X-Men
Now, alot of people might chuckle and scoff at the idea of this being a show that was canceled to soon, but you need to understand, its hard enough to please everyone when it comes to a comic book related tv show, be it animated or live action, its almost impossible to make every fan happy, but amazingly, Wolverine And The X-Men was able to actually please everyone, with its slick art style, with its adult friendly themes, the fact they drew characters like Emma Frost and Domino to their proper, curvacious womanly shapes, unlike most cases where they were deemed "to hot" for a cartoon and would be altered. The show also wasn't ashamed to go full on comic book nerd with its stories, even if the idea of Charles Xavior in a coma and talking to Wolverine through the power of his mind when he wakes up 20 years in the future, and the two of them guiding two teams of X-Men to fix the past and prevent Charles' future from happening, is a tad on the high end comic book side. The series was brilliant at times, utterly dark and terrifying at others, and always being as faithful as they can be to the comic books from which they all were spawned, make no mistake this wasn't that horrible 1990s Fox Kids X-Men series that made no sense at all and just randomly crammed characters into stories they didn't belong in or grouped with characters they'd have no business with, this was a show that wasn't afraid to show how dark Magneto could get if he chose to be, the truest sign of this was the unresolved cliffhanger that turned out to be the series final episode, where they'd changed the future, only to appear in what looked to be a properly animated and written version of the Age of Apocalypse, one of the most beloved X-Men stories of all time. Its a shame we never got to see it animated, all because Marvel's new owners Disney felt they wanted to go in a different direction with the X-Men on tv. Shame.
14. The Middleman
Before i explain the awesome that is The Middleman, let me have a second to digress about the network that aired it ABC Family. I could write an entire book on the immense volume of high quality programing that has been made by the American cable network currently known as ABC Family, a network that started out as a christian ministry channel and eventually evolved through afew sales into its currant incarnation, ABC Family, a sort of redheaded stepchild to in the Disney/ABC television juggernaut, now with it being said redheaded step sibling, it allows ABC Family to experiment with its original programing, and this is where I can write the book, they've over the years tried many series that wouldn't really "fit" what each of its parent channels would find fitting toward their style of broadcast, and though you can truly get behind such things, sadly, they're known for canceling programing they take risks on, infact four shows i feel were some of the best infact made this countdown, the first of which is Middleman. The Middleman is based on an obscure independent comic book of the same name, and was about a superhero or sorts called The Middleman, who was meant to be a sort of last resort problem solver who works for unknown mysterious people whom he's never met and never actually questioned, he just calls them "O2STK" (Organization to secret to know), he was recruited as The Middleman right after his time as a green beret, and does the job on his own with the help of his robotic secretary Ida, until he meets a girl named Wendy Watson, whom he decides to take on a sidekick, or "middle associate" as he calls her, What makes The Middleman stand out, isn't the goofball nature of the characters, its strength lies with in the stories themselves, because each episode, no matter how goofy it is, each episode is crammed to the bursting seems with references to every geek related thing you can think of to do with the plot of that episode, like for instance in the episode to do with time travel they met a man named Brigga Deer Leftbridge-Stewart, a reference to an iconic character from Dr. Who, and in an alternate universe story, everyone had goatees, like in the star trek episode Mirror Mirror, and in the ghost episode the haunting was at 1984 Ray Parker Jr. Avenue, ect. It was truly the ultimate geeklove show, it was smart and funny and well written and researched and each thing was crammed in for a reason, it was awesome, and truly deserved more than the 12 episodes it got.
13.Demons
Demons was a short lived series that explored the little used sci fi genre of demon hunting, part currently airing tv series Grimm and Lost Girl and part League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, this show follows one of the last of the Van Helsing bloodline, Luke Rutherford as he is trained in the family business of killing demons by Rupert Gavin, a long time friend of Luke's dead father, as well as the blind Mina Harker, a blind woman that can see the life of an object just by touching it, you later find out that Mina Harker is infact Wilimina Harkness, from Bram Stroker's Dracula, who uses modern dialysis to keep from needing to feed, though it leaves her blind when she's not drank blood, they eventually get joined by Luke's sort of girlfriend Ruby as well, even though Ruby and Mina bitch at each other constantly, though one is left to wonder if they bitch at each other out of jealousy or sexual attraction to each other, sadly though we never find out. Demons was great in the fact it served to fill a void in the sci fi on television universe, the hunting of monsters and demons and such, sure most shows have maybe one or two that show up and torment the main characters now and then, but until recently with the arrival of shows like Grimm and Lost Girl, that are only now starting to reach a wider audience, did you ever see such things, Demons was truly ahead of its time by many years, which i think is what hurt it in the end, and why it only lasted one series of 6 episodes, which is a shame really, because it ended with a cliffhanger that was a great spot to pick up and run, it also is sadly the second series canceled that year for the lovely Zoe Tapper, who really needs to get on television more.
12. SLiDE
I did a review of SLiDE not to long ago, atleast before I discovered it wasn't going to return at any time in the near future, and what i said then is still true, its very rare that you find me enjoying a show thats a high end drama aimed at teenagers, most of them are just inane drivel full of angst and more angst and abit more angst crammed in to give it that angsty feel that one needs for a teenage aimed drama, you know, cuz teenagers are full of angst. And though there is a good amount of that in SLiDE, they balance it out with enough of the other things a teenager goes through that you truly feel something for these kids, they're young, they're stupid, they do things to hurt each other with our realizing it and don't really know why, and they also spend all their time together, and form a sort of family, which is truly what any group of teenagers really do, even if one doesn't wanna admit it. SLiDE doesn't fall into the pitfalls of most shows like this, where you don't get over stressing of the stuff writers believe teenagers are dealing with, its almost like they have actual teenagers as consultants on staff or something to keep them true to the real world they are trying to build on the cast. Its hard to go into the dynamics of the show with out spoilering it for you in any way, specially given how little episodes there are of it, but trust me if you have a look at the show, and give it a good honest fair look, you'll discover its well worth being seen on the same pedestal as shows like Skins and Secret Life Of An American Teenager and other shows that are seen as its contemporaries.
11. Over There
Over There was one of those shows that on paper looks like a network's wet dream, its dramatic, its hard hitting, its created by and creatively supervised by former black ops military operatives from each branch of the US Military, all of which when the show was greenlit hadn't been back from Iraq, where the show was set, no longer then 18 months, and with the creative consultants all being officially released from the military, they could give a realistic look at what was really going on over there in iraq, thus giving us a very eye opening and very true to life account of what your average unit would go through on a daily basis, critics and fans raved about how true to life this show was, and how it wasn't afraid to show that its not all "yay go america thank you all for saving us!" and such, this was so true grit it needed a one eyed drunk bastard named Rooster Cogburn for the full effect. The only problem was, given that this show was so realistic, and so true to what really happens in war, and what was really happening in Iraq at the time, the network caved in to the US Military who disliked the honesty of the program, and wished it would be taken off the air so as not to ruin their "yay everyone loves the military" smokescreen that seems to always be tossed onto any program or movie dealing with the military here in America. Its a shame though, the very thing that made it a stand out series is what in turn killed it after only 13 episodes. If you can find this rare series, you should give it a look, it will open your eyes to alot of things.
10. 10 Things I Hate About You: The Series
Remember earlier when I said ABC Family was sort of the king of canceling things to early? Well this is another of the fine examples of it doing that. See, back when word got out that they were creating a tv version of the cult classic film 10 Things I Hate About You, the fans roared up in anger and dislike, but then, something strange happened, the pilot was quietly aired, and once it started getting around the internet and into the hands of the fans, the response wasn't what we were all expecting, the response was infact very good, much to the shock of many. Oh sure there were changes made, but none of them were changes that really took away from the characters, they if anything made them more interesting and flushed out, because as great as the movie was, alot of its characters were pretty single sided. This series kept the characters with all of their personality quirks and oddities, as well as keeping the format very light and funny, but still allowing them to grow with out it seeming forced. Its a pretty fun little show that eventually does follow down the same lines as the movie did, but it doesn't force itself there, it just happens naturally, and was setting up for the third season to allow for it to go off on its own while keeping old fans and new happy at the same time. Its seriously worth having a look if you haven't seen it, i just wish it went more then 20 episodes.
9.Jack Of All Trades
Now before I go any farther I tell ya, like most, I am a massive fan of Bruce Campbell, or as some call him, the king of the B-Actors, from the original Evil Dead onward there has been nothing Bruce has been in that hasn't become a cult classic to some degree or another, the problem with cult classics are, sometimes it takes a long time for a something to gain a following, and in the case of Jack Of All Trades, that happens to be the case, where its only recently being regarded for its brilliance that was years ahead of its time. Its not that hard to believe though, given its timing in history, Bruce was just finishing his run as Autolycus the King Of Thieves in both Hercules The Legendary Journeys as well as Xena Warrior Princess as both of those tv series winded down production and ended their runs, and it would be many years before Bruce graced the tv screen as Sam Axe on the brilliant series Burn Notice, so Bruce took this time to help create a sort of hybrid of his first tv series, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. with the mostly overlooked but brilliant series The Wild Wild West, which most deem as the very first Steampunk television series, this means that the show was both a historical farce, where in many noted characters through out history would appear in one or more episodes, and thanks to the steampunk element of the series, they would be able to use technology far beyond what they really had at the time the show took place. The plot was pretty lighthearted and fun as well, which is to be expected by Bruce's work, Bruce played Jack Stiles, the greatest american spy there has ever been, who in 1801 is sent on a special mission by President Thomas Jefferson to help a british scientist/spy undermine Napoleon in the East Indies, setting up shop on the fictional island of Pulau-Pulau, where Jack and his partner, the brilliant in incredibly beautiful Emilia Rothschild, to whom he was the assistant/bodyguard for to the general public. Jack would also, when the need arose to be more upfront and direct with their work, would take on the guise of a local zorro like legend known as The Daring Dragoon, a masked swordsman who fought for the people against the reigning government. Oh sure it sounds abit goofball fun with very little grounded in reality, but thats what made it so fun! Plus, the theme song almost an emmy for best television theme song in 2000. Oh and ofcourse Angela Dotchin, who has no retired from acting and is working in the fashion industry in London these days, is illegally hot. I mean seriously, look at her, and her accent, she's so hot, I'm told, she'll make a straight girl switch hit atleast once.
8. No Heroics
Every now and then, you have a cool little show like this that slips under most people's radar, maybe it just didn't have the right promotional backing, maybe it didn't have the right time slot, maybe they weren't sure where to go after the first series was done, any number of things could have caused a lovely offbeat show like this to fall to the wayside, even though, it really shouldn't have, specially with the superhero movie boom and the soon to be superheroes on tv boom that will be happening in the next few years once Marvel TV gets its first few shows out and ready for air, had this show waited out time, it could be a massive hit, but sadly, it was just afew years to early. Ofcourse to the dedicated comic book reader out there, this series will seem to be based, or atleast losely based on the comic book "Astro City" where in there is an almost entire city of super beings, and where in, is a social status class order, as well as every superpowered battle is reviewed like a movie or a play, in a sense keeping the status qua, and just enough cult film Mystery Men to keep the not really superhero types watching. The main location for the series is one of the show's best in-jokes actually, it all centers around a bar for superheros only called "The Fortress" a play on The Fortress Of Solitude/Batcave concept of a hero needing a place to hide their gear and stuff, but also, its a play on Marvel's The Bar With No Name, a secret bar for super villains. The bar even has brands and drink names that are jokes on super beings its actually really a secret nerdfest if there ever was one, most episodes take place in the bar, focusing on a group of secondary and lesser heroes, though you see the higher ranked ones appear and be utter douchebags to them along the way, it was a great idea for a comedy and it sadly was afew years ahead of its time. Shame really.
I have often championed this series, claiming it was just enough of the forgotten classic film "Cocoon" and just enough X-Men comic books to be interesting, It was a great little series that tried to answer a question that many of us who study such things have often wondered, at the time the script was written, there were 4400 missing people officially listed as "abducted by aliens" through out the world, there are afew more now, but thats not important, but is important to the story is though, that the writers tried to answer the question we all were wondering, "where did all of those people go?". In their world, that question is answered one summer evening as a giant ball of light comes crashing through the atmosphere and lands at a lake outside of Seattle Washington, and much to the shock of those sent out to investigate the ball of light, they discover that it wasn't an object, but infact people, 4400 people who look exactly as they did the day they disappeared, they have no idea where they were, or how they got to where they are, or that any time has passed sense they were taken. Its tasked to government agency NTAC to sort out, handle and deal with all things related to these new arrivals, dubbed "The 4400" by the media and government. As time goes on, and the 4400 start to make it out of quarantine and are released into the world, be it to their families, whatever may be left of it, or helped into a brand new life if they are all alone, they start to show signs that they've returned different, altered, and each has some form of unique power, which most of them discover accidentally. NTAC ofcourse tries to keep a lid on this, even using a medication to dampen the powers in those who had et to surface anything, until rebel billionaire returned with the 4400 Jordon Collier announces to the world that the government was holding down the abilities of the 4400 and that there is nothing to fear from them, even claiming he was sent back with the knowledge they were taken from, altered in, and returned from a far distant future, and that they were all given powers for a reason, and that in time, everyone could have a chance to be like the 4400, causing a media firestorm over what he could mean. With out going to much into the story for those that have never seen it, over the short 4 years the series was on the air, the show takes many twists and turns and ends on what is one of the best cliffhangers I've ever witnessed, and to this way would love a tie up miniseries, or even a two hour movie, either would do, for the way it ended, it needs a true ending, I won't spoil it for you if you've never seen it, but you really should give this one a go and you'll see exactly what i mean, and why this needs more episodes.
Once again we return to the network that takes risks only to kill off what doesn't fit the mold that every other show out there fits into, this time its for a show they had called "Huge" which in all honesty, more then any other show on this list, truly should be put back into production, simply because of its message, "Its ok that you're overweight, as long as you believe in, and love who you are.". Set on the grounds of a fitness summer camp called Camp Victory, or "fat camp" as they're also known, Huge follows the cast of overweight teenagers as they go through their daily lives, as well as trying to lose weight, however the weight loss is the least mentioned thing on the entire series, it is there, and they remind us its there, but the show does something that no series before it ever really did, it dared to show that overweight teenagers, are infact, regular teenagers, who deal with regular teenage problems and life choices, and feelings and everything that all the "pretty people" that you see most tv shows aimed at teenagers filled with, Huge makes no attempt to really be different then any other show aimed at teenagers and young adults, thus living up to its statement that as long as you love yourself and are happy with yourself, who cares what size you are, you are who you are, and you should embrace it, be you skinny or fat or somewhere in the middle. The show also has going for it, the fact its got some of the best written teenage characters, or teenage related characters in recent years, the show's focus Willamina Rader, the overweight daughter of two parents who really don't care about her, as much as they care about the fitness centers they own, its implied that Will, as her friends call her, over eats as a means of attempting to get attention from her distant parents and to rebel against their overly healthy ways, you find yourself in a way rooting for Will in her battle to not really change who she is for anyone, and how she slowly discovers that she doesn't have to be brash and abrasive to everyone around her, and that she seriously loves basketball for some reason, through her you get to know all the others who are at the camp with her, the brother and sister who won't admit they're related cuz the brother is possibly gay, and his sister is ashamed of him, and Ian the sort of token Seth Rogan goofy and friendly chubby fellow, even Amber, the "thinnest girl at fat camp". Amber is actually one of the stand outs of the lovely cast of young actors, played, amazingly, by Hayley Hasselhoff, the daughter of a certain 1980s TV Icon turned joke by the name of David Hasselhoff, seriously, you've no idea how good of a talent Hayley is, i'm kind of surprised she's not in anything new by now. Sadly though, even with its brave and unique take on teenager drama, and the belief that as long as you love yourself, you don't have to be ashamed of what you look like or how big you are, this show, as many before it that didn't fit the generic mold, fell to the wayside, though it, and its poss, and its positive message, deserve to be brought back to television, cuz i'm stick of skinny folk all the time. Plus, they have this hilarious spoof of Twilight in one episode that'll have you rolling on the floor laughing.
No one that knows me will be surprised to see this on the list anywhere near the number one spot, its one of the many shows that truly wasn't a bad series, so much as a victom of non-logical placement and just not really fitting into the network's demographic of viewers they try to aim at. See, Reaper aired on a network here called The CW, which was a unification of two smaller networks The WB and UPN, for some reason they felt when merging into this new form, they would try and corner the market on the younger demographics; teenagers, 20somethings, ect, and though they were, and still are, mostly successful with that aiming, in doing so, they actually purged their entire comedy line up from the network, Reaper being the last one standing, mostly people assuming because of its connection to nerd-god Kevin Smith, who was one of the show's producers. For those not aware of the show or its premise, its simple, its the story of Sam Oliver, his girlfriend Andi, and his life long friends Ben and Sock, and how on Sam's 21st birthday, he discovers that he is, infact, the son of the devil, who is played brilliantly by the great Ray Wise, Sam also discovers that though he is the son of the devil, he has a very special job to do, he is to become a Reaper, which means he is to capture souls that escape out of hell, a job he enlists his friends, and eventually his girlfriend, to help him with. As the series goes on, they all become more and more entangled in a deeper darker world of angels, demons, reapers and souls of all sorts, they befriend demons, get involved in a plot to take over Hell, and discover that The Devil hates Halloween, simply because its the one day he's not feared by mankind. The series ends on a cliffhanger, that was a clear set up for a third season, and though there were hints of what was to come, and word they were going to continue to continue the series as a comic book that never really panned out, the series deserves atleast one more year to atleast give a final ending to the series, and if for nothing else then to see Ray Wise play The Devil, a role he was born to play once again.
I first mentioned this quirky little show about a year ago when I was finally able to track down and view the entire series, and boy was I glad i had finally taken the time to do so, I love an offbeat british dark comedy as much as the next man, but this series took the concept to a whole new level, something that I just loved beyond what words can express, it was totally fresh and totally out of its mind, and it was just utterly brilliant for that.Suburban Shootout is the story of Joyce Hazeldeen, who just wanted to move to the country with her cop husband, and enjoy starting life after her son had left for college, but it doesn't seem to end up that way, she happens to get sucked into what is best described as a territory war between two rival gangs made up of the housewives and middle aged women of the small town of Little Stempinton, The series tells the tale of Joyce not only being forced into the middle of all of this, but her attempt after attempt after attempt to free herself from all of this with out letting her husband know, for fear of what he might say if he discovers that she's been unwillingly involved in all sorts of organized crime. The show at times borders between completely hilarious and absurd to out of its damn mind, something that is great in a surrealest comedy played off as a mock drama, something that we don't really do here in america for some reason, we werelly should try a mock drama, we might actually like it. Still, the series ends on a stinger that could honestly keep the show going longer, with out giving away to much of it, Joyce could easily spend a whole season fighting in her mind about what he wants vs. what she's doing, and it would still make for awesome dark comedy. And if you haven't seen this show, well, go give it a watch, if you need more endorsement, Oprah was a huge fan of this series as well, and if she can get 2 million housewives and spinsters to read War and Peace, anything is possible I think.
Alot of times I argue that a television show couldn't have been made at any other time in history, then when it was made, for whatever reason the world and entertainment tastes would merge in a perfect storm of the perfect television program for the world at that given time. I always use All In The Family for an example of this, but for the British, a better reference point would be this short lived cult classic The Boys From The Black Stuff, a social and political commentary on life in the early 1980s in England, under the reign of Margot Thatcher, who we were in america were lead to believe was a great leader, but only after she was out of power we were able to discover the monster she truly was, The Boys From the Black Stuff defines that time period as best as anyone ever could with out making it a documentary, the series, first seeing air as a television movie called "The Black Stuff" and expanded into a series after popular demand, the series continues where the television movie left off, its five main characters are still an out of work street tarring crew, now all off to look for their own forms of work, only to find corruption and trickery everywhere, it truly is a commentary on life in the united kingdom at that time. I've often wondered if a simular idea would work here at the current time in the US, but then I realize it'd be lazy reality and dismiss it. The thing with this series was, it was sort of perfect, it was true to the world it was living in, it didn't try and make the world a better place or downplay anything, if bad things happened in the world, they happened there as well, it makes it feel like you're watching something that could be happening to a group of guys that go to the same pub as you, or something like that, and also, the show, though very open with its distrust and dislike for the highest tip of the upper high class, it didn't give you it heavy handed, like many shows at the time would have gone just for effect. The Boys From The Black Stuff never did say it was sorry for what it was, and you would be amazed at just how great this show is if you haven't seen it, but check it out, it will open your eyes to a period in history that needs to be remembered, specially because it was ended because of political pressure.
At first look The Yard looks kind of like a show about how children are always in a constant struggle over who it is that runs the playground come lunch time or after school, and though on the surface they could be considered right, the show really goes more then that, it takes the concept of grade schoolers and their playground life and uses it for an allegory for all that happens in adulthood, in a way of showing that no matter how old you grow, life is pretty much the same as it always has been, just the playground we all fight over controlling changes. They even go one step farther by sort of also making it a cop show or sorts, with clearly defined good guys and bad guys and in between characters, this element is what lead most reviews of the show to lovingly and jokingly call it such things as "The Wire Babies" and "The Soprano Kids", the show even tosses in a homage to the cult classic Trailer Park Boys by having the series filmed as a documentary, even though unlike TPB there is a voice over narrator. I know that some people out there might not really get this one, or wonder why it needs to be brought back, and thats fine, see, its the originality of it, its the fact there really is no show like it, before for after, and is basically a completely blank slate that could, if you are clever enough, use to sound off on any number of things in the world, just through the eyes of a child who sees it as just another day doing what they do in the schoolyard.
Now we come to the show I feel is most deserving, the final show on this list canceled by ABC Family after they got too scared to lose their core middle america religious fanatic viewers, I am talking ofcourse of the short lived, and always buzzed about when they do air the 6 parts of it, normally as some sort of marathon on the weekends when they aren't airing Harry Potter movies back to back back. Fallen was original created as a series of books aimed at teenagers, much like such juggernauts as Twilight, The Hunger Games and even from this very list, Huge, it was originally believed that the 4 books in the series would be crafted into six episodes to form as the first season, a mini-series that would be used as either a launching pad or a stand alone if the series didn't do well ratings wise. Now, sadly, the series did amazingly well, but, the only problem is, the network caved in to pressure and complaints from religious groups who found the show's concept blasphemous, thats a thing one should learn about American TV actually, alot of things get canceled because of pressure from one group or another, all you need to do is say "boycott" and unless you're nerds, the networks shit their pants to solve your problem. The plot they find so offensive? Well thats simple, Fallen is the story of a boy, Aaron Corbett who is infact a Nephilim, a human-angel hybrid, it is said that from the Nephilim, there would be born a child who could send the fallen angels of earth back to heaven against the will of god. Aaron learns of this when he turns of age and starts to discover he has special powers, and he is attacked by a group of angels called "The Powers", a violent group of hunters who hunt the young nephilim and kill them, Aaron eventually meets others of his kind and some fallen angels, and together they all go about helping Aaron send the fallen to heaven where they feel they belong, as well as fighting off the powers. Its seriously a great show, with some very high brow concepts and some very dark but very good storylines and scenes, the scene where on of the powers loses his wings for not killing Aaron is shockingly dark for a teenage aimed tv series, but thats one of the things that make it great, that they aren't scared to go where they had to go to get things as true to the story as possible. Sadly, I doubt this show and its controversial concept will ever see more episodes, but, a guy can dream right?
So thats my list of 15 programs that I felt should have been given longer time to shine then they were, be they ended because of low ratings to do time slot or lack of promotion, or being unable to fine a core audience, or just being ahead of its time, or whatever the case may be, either way, I feel i've given some of these redemption or sorts.
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BC
7. The 4400
I have often championed this series, claiming it was just enough of the forgotten classic film "Cocoon" and just enough X-Men comic books to be interesting, It was a great little series that tried to answer a question that many of us who study such things have often wondered, at the time the script was written, there were 4400 missing people officially listed as "abducted by aliens" through out the world, there are afew more now, but thats not important, but is important to the story is though, that the writers tried to answer the question we all were wondering, "where did all of those people go?". In their world, that question is answered one summer evening as a giant ball of light comes crashing through the atmosphere and lands at a lake outside of Seattle Washington, and much to the shock of those sent out to investigate the ball of light, they discover that it wasn't an object, but infact people, 4400 people who look exactly as they did the day they disappeared, they have no idea where they were, or how they got to where they are, or that any time has passed sense they were taken. Its tasked to government agency NTAC to sort out, handle and deal with all things related to these new arrivals, dubbed "The 4400" by the media and government. As time goes on, and the 4400 start to make it out of quarantine and are released into the world, be it to their families, whatever may be left of it, or helped into a brand new life if they are all alone, they start to show signs that they've returned different, altered, and each has some form of unique power, which most of them discover accidentally. NTAC ofcourse tries to keep a lid on this, even using a medication to dampen the powers in those who had et to surface anything, until rebel billionaire returned with the 4400 Jordon Collier announces to the world that the government was holding down the abilities of the 4400 and that there is nothing to fear from them, even claiming he was sent back with the knowledge they were taken from, altered in, and returned from a far distant future, and that they were all given powers for a reason, and that in time, everyone could have a chance to be like the 4400, causing a media firestorm over what he could mean. With out going to much into the story for those that have never seen it, over the short 4 years the series was on the air, the show takes many twists and turns and ends on what is one of the best cliffhangers I've ever witnessed, and to this way would love a tie up miniseries, or even a two hour movie, either would do, for the way it ended, it needs a true ending, I won't spoil it for you if you've never seen it, but you really should give this one a go and you'll see exactly what i mean, and why this needs more episodes.
6. Huge
Once again we return to the network that takes risks only to kill off what doesn't fit the mold that every other show out there fits into, this time its for a show they had called "Huge" which in all honesty, more then any other show on this list, truly should be put back into production, simply because of its message, "Its ok that you're overweight, as long as you believe in, and love who you are.". Set on the grounds of a fitness summer camp called Camp Victory, or "fat camp" as they're also known, Huge follows the cast of overweight teenagers as they go through their daily lives, as well as trying to lose weight, however the weight loss is the least mentioned thing on the entire series, it is there, and they remind us its there, but the show does something that no series before it ever really did, it dared to show that overweight teenagers, are infact, regular teenagers, who deal with regular teenage problems and life choices, and feelings and everything that all the "pretty people" that you see most tv shows aimed at teenagers filled with, Huge makes no attempt to really be different then any other show aimed at teenagers and young adults, thus living up to its statement that as long as you love yourself and are happy with yourself, who cares what size you are, you are who you are, and you should embrace it, be you skinny or fat or somewhere in the middle. The show also has going for it, the fact its got some of the best written teenage characters, or teenage related characters in recent years, the show's focus Willamina Rader, the overweight daughter of two parents who really don't care about her, as much as they care about the fitness centers they own, its implied that Will, as her friends call her, over eats as a means of attempting to get attention from her distant parents and to rebel against their overly healthy ways, you find yourself in a way rooting for Will in her battle to not really change who she is for anyone, and how she slowly discovers that she doesn't have to be brash and abrasive to everyone around her, and that she seriously loves basketball for some reason, through her you get to know all the others who are at the camp with her, the brother and sister who won't admit they're related cuz the brother is possibly gay, and his sister is ashamed of him, and Ian the sort of token Seth Rogan goofy and friendly chubby fellow, even Amber, the "thinnest girl at fat camp". Amber is actually one of the stand outs of the lovely cast of young actors, played, amazingly, by Hayley Hasselhoff, the daughter of a certain 1980s TV Icon turned joke by the name of David Hasselhoff, seriously, you've no idea how good of a talent Hayley is, i'm kind of surprised she's not in anything new by now. Sadly though, even with its brave and unique take on teenager drama, and the belief that as long as you love yourself, you don't have to be ashamed of what you look like or how big you are, this show, as many before it that didn't fit the generic mold, fell to the wayside, though it, and its poss, and its positive message, deserve to be brought back to television, cuz i'm stick of skinny folk all the time. Plus, they have this hilarious spoof of Twilight in one episode that'll have you rolling on the floor laughing.
5. Reaper
No one that knows me will be surprised to see this on the list anywhere near the number one spot, its one of the many shows that truly wasn't a bad series, so much as a victom of non-logical placement and just not really fitting into the network's demographic of viewers they try to aim at. See, Reaper aired on a network here called The CW, which was a unification of two smaller networks The WB and UPN, for some reason they felt when merging into this new form, they would try and corner the market on the younger demographics; teenagers, 20somethings, ect, and though they were, and still are, mostly successful with that aiming, in doing so, they actually purged their entire comedy line up from the network, Reaper being the last one standing, mostly people assuming because of its connection to nerd-god Kevin Smith, who was one of the show's producers. For those not aware of the show or its premise, its simple, its the story of Sam Oliver, his girlfriend Andi, and his life long friends Ben and Sock, and how on Sam's 21st birthday, he discovers that he is, infact, the son of the devil, who is played brilliantly by the great Ray Wise, Sam also discovers that though he is the son of the devil, he has a very special job to do, he is to become a Reaper, which means he is to capture souls that escape out of hell, a job he enlists his friends, and eventually his girlfriend, to help him with. As the series goes on, they all become more and more entangled in a deeper darker world of angels, demons, reapers and souls of all sorts, they befriend demons, get involved in a plot to take over Hell, and discover that The Devil hates Halloween, simply because its the one day he's not feared by mankind. The series ends on a cliffhanger, that was a clear set up for a third season, and though there were hints of what was to come, and word they were going to continue to continue the series as a comic book that never really panned out, the series deserves atleast one more year to atleast give a final ending to the series, and if for nothing else then to see Ray Wise play The Devil, a role he was born to play once again.
4. Suburban ShootOut
I first mentioned this quirky little show about a year ago when I was finally able to track down and view the entire series, and boy was I glad i had finally taken the time to do so, I love an offbeat british dark comedy as much as the next man, but this series took the concept to a whole new level, something that I just loved beyond what words can express, it was totally fresh and totally out of its mind, and it was just utterly brilliant for that.Suburban Shootout is the story of Joyce Hazeldeen, who just wanted to move to the country with her cop husband, and enjoy starting life after her son had left for college, but it doesn't seem to end up that way, she happens to get sucked into what is best described as a territory war between two rival gangs made up of the housewives and middle aged women of the small town of Little Stempinton, The series tells the tale of Joyce not only being forced into the middle of all of this, but her attempt after attempt after attempt to free herself from all of this with out letting her husband know, for fear of what he might say if he discovers that she's been unwillingly involved in all sorts of organized crime. The show at times borders between completely hilarious and absurd to out of its damn mind, something that is great in a surrealest comedy played off as a mock drama, something that we don't really do here in america for some reason, we werelly should try a mock drama, we might actually like it. Still, the series ends on a stinger that could honestly keep the show going longer, with out giving away to much of it, Joyce could easily spend a whole season fighting in her mind about what he wants vs. what she's doing, and it would still make for awesome dark comedy. And if you haven't seen this show, well, go give it a watch, if you need more endorsement, Oprah was a huge fan of this series as well, and if she can get 2 million housewives and spinsters to read War and Peace, anything is possible I think.
3. The Boys From The Black Stuff
Alot of times I argue that a television show couldn't have been made at any other time in history, then when it was made, for whatever reason the world and entertainment tastes would merge in a perfect storm of the perfect television program for the world at that given time. I always use All In The Family for an example of this, but for the British, a better reference point would be this short lived cult classic The Boys From The Black Stuff, a social and political commentary on life in the early 1980s in England, under the reign of Margot Thatcher, who we were in america were lead to believe was a great leader, but only after she was out of power we were able to discover the monster she truly was, The Boys From the Black Stuff defines that time period as best as anyone ever could with out making it a documentary, the series, first seeing air as a television movie called "The Black Stuff" and expanded into a series after popular demand, the series continues where the television movie left off, its five main characters are still an out of work street tarring crew, now all off to look for their own forms of work, only to find corruption and trickery everywhere, it truly is a commentary on life in the united kingdom at that time. I've often wondered if a simular idea would work here at the current time in the US, but then I realize it'd be lazy reality and dismiss it. The thing with this series was, it was sort of perfect, it was true to the world it was living in, it didn't try and make the world a better place or downplay anything, if bad things happened in the world, they happened there as well, it makes it feel like you're watching something that could be happening to a group of guys that go to the same pub as you, or something like that, and also, the show, though very open with its distrust and dislike for the highest tip of the upper high class, it didn't give you it heavy handed, like many shows at the time would have gone just for effect. The Boys From The Black Stuff never did say it was sorry for what it was, and you would be amazed at just how great this show is if you haven't seen it, but check it out, it will open your eyes to a period in history that needs to be remembered, specially because it was ended because of political pressure.
2. The Yard
At first look The Yard looks kind of like a show about how children are always in a constant struggle over who it is that runs the playground come lunch time or after school, and though on the surface they could be considered right, the show really goes more then that, it takes the concept of grade schoolers and their playground life and uses it for an allegory for all that happens in adulthood, in a way of showing that no matter how old you grow, life is pretty much the same as it always has been, just the playground we all fight over controlling changes. They even go one step farther by sort of also making it a cop show or sorts, with clearly defined good guys and bad guys and in between characters, this element is what lead most reviews of the show to lovingly and jokingly call it such things as "The Wire Babies" and "The Soprano Kids", the show even tosses in a homage to the cult classic Trailer Park Boys by having the series filmed as a documentary, even though unlike TPB there is a voice over narrator. I know that some people out there might not really get this one, or wonder why it needs to be brought back, and thats fine, see, its the originality of it, its the fact there really is no show like it, before for after, and is basically a completely blank slate that could, if you are clever enough, use to sound off on any number of things in the world, just through the eyes of a child who sees it as just another day doing what they do in the schoolyard.
1. Fallen
Now we come to the show I feel is most deserving, the final show on this list canceled by ABC Family after they got too scared to lose their core middle america religious fanatic viewers, I am talking ofcourse of the short lived, and always buzzed about when they do air the 6 parts of it, normally as some sort of marathon on the weekends when they aren't airing Harry Potter movies back to back back. Fallen was original created as a series of books aimed at teenagers, much like such juggernauts as Twilight, The Hunger Games and even from this very list, Huge, it was originally believed that the 4 books in the series would be crafted into six episodes to form as the first season, a mini-series that would be used as either a launching pad or a stand alone if the series didn't do well ratings wise. Now, sadly, the series did amazingly well, but, the only problem is, the network caved in to pressure and complaints from religious groups who found the show's concept blasphemous, thats a thing one should learn about American TV actually, alot of things get canceled because of pressure from one group or another, all you need to do is say "boycott" and unless you're nerds, the networks shit their pants to solve your problem. The plot they find so offensive? Well thats simple, Fallen is the story of a boy, Aaron Corbett who is infact a Nephilim, a human-angel hybrid, it is said that from the Nephilim, there would be born a child who could send the fallen angels of earth back to heaven against the will of god. Aaron learns of this when he turns of age and starts to discover he has special powers, and he is attacked by a group of angels called "The Powers", a violent group of hunters who hunt the young nephilim and kill them, Aaron eventually meets others of his kind and some fallen angels, and together they all go about helping Aaron send the fallen to heaven where they feel they belong, as well as fighting off the powers. Its seriously a great show, with some very high brow concepts and some very dark but very good storylines and scenes, the scene where on of the powers loses his wings for not killing Aaron is shockingly dark for a teenage aimed tv series, but thats one of the things that make it great, that they aren't scared to go where they had to go to get things as true to the story as possible. Sadly, I doubt this show and its controversial concept will ever see more episodes, but, a guy can dream right?
Honorable Mentions:
The Alice: An aussie series about people all drawn to Alice Springs for a mystical event
This Is Not My Life: New Zealand super spy series about a man who wakes up with another man's life
Durham County: Canadian murder/mystery series about a serial killer in a small town outside Toronto
Pan Am: American period drama set in the 1960s covering early days of Pam Am Airlines
Rabbit Falls: Canadian series set in rural western canada, and is basically canadian twin peaks
Death Valley: American dark comedy about police officers in a town over run with zombies
So thats my list of 15 programs that I felt should have been given longer time to shine then they were, be they ended because of low ratings to do time slot or lack of promotion, or being unable to fine a core audience, or just being ahead of its time, or whatever the case may be, either way, I feel i've given some of these redemption or sorts.
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BC
