Top 5 Episode I: Cancelled Too Soon

Let’s face it.  Sometimes (READ: all the goddamn time) people with no creative talent whatsoever make bad decisions about creative ventures based solely on how much money they are making/losing.  It’s not their fault that they are ruining our fun.  That is what they get paid to do (Make those decisions, not ruin our fun).  Sometimes, they do a good job, i.e.  Pan Am was terrible, it got cancelled mid season.  Sometimes, they do a terrible job, i.e. Whitney has been renewed for another season.  Some TV shows need a few seasons to grow organically, but if they are not pulling in ratings, the network gives ‘em the axe.  If you don’t give a show the room it needs to grow an audience, it never will.  Every now and then, shows with a great premise and a promising audience get cancelled anyway.  Here are my top 5 TV shows that were cancelled waaaaaaaay to soon. (Sorry Pat. Pushing Daises didn't make the cut)

Number 5: Reaper

Reaper was a comedy/fantasy/action show on the CW.  The show followed the exploits of Sam, a college dropout working a dead end job who lives with his parents.  Also, he is a bounty hunter who works for the devil, chasing and capturing souls who have escaped from hell.  This show was fun for so many reasons.  The premise itself was original and the cast was great (quite a few people told me that I reminded them of a character from Reaper named Sock.  I don’t know if that is a compliment or not).  

I don't see a resemblance at all.

There were small elements of horror and action, lots of comedy, and Michael Ian Black and Ken Marino as a couple of rebellious demons who lived on earth in human form.  Did I mention they were gay demons?  Ray Wise was a great choice to play the devil.  Always in a nice suit, always tan, always smiling.  So what happened to Reaper?  Ratings dropped about halfway through the second season, so they cancelled it.  What’s worse is that they cancelled it after the second season was done filming, so the last episode of the show ends with a giant cliffhanger that will never be resolved.  There was talk of selling the rights of the show to the Sci-Fi channel, but the two main characters decided to move on after the show was canceled so the sale fizzled.

Number 4: Dead Like Me

Oddly enough, this show is about a reaper as well.  Well, a sort of reaper.  Dead Like me is about a group of reapers who reap the souls of people who are about to die, and escort them to the afterlife.  Being a reaper has its advantages though.  You don’t age, you don’t get sick, and you heal extremely fast.  The downside is that no one can see what you really look like.  The reapers appear as different people so their loved ones don’t see them walking around.  Another downside to consider is that you have to keep reaping souls until you meet an unknown quota.  This could take a very long time, but once you reap your last soul, that person takes your place as a reaper and you move on.  The main character becomes a reaper in the first episode when a toilet seat from the Mir space station falls from the sky and hits her on the head. 

George gets hit by a space toilet.

Right off the bat, I was hooked.  I love black comedy, I love original sci-fi fantasy ideas, and I love the idea of someone being squashed by space debris and waking up to find out she is a reaper.  Unfortunately, this show was in trouble from the beginning.  The creator of the show left after only 5 episodes due to disagreements with MGM television over storyline cuts and script revisions.  The show had a descent following, but eventually ended after only 2 seasons.  They made a follow up movie to tie up loose ends, but I would have liked to see the show stick around for a while longer. 

Number 3: Clone High

MTV had a run of really good animated shows for a while: Liquid Television, Aeon Flux, Bevis and Butthead, Daria, The Maxx, Celebrity Deathmatch... They even reran episodes of Rocko's Modern Life.  In 2002, they began showing a Canadian Cartoon called Clone High that centered around a high school for... you guessed it, clones.  The clones were teenage versions of historical figures and pop culture icons i.e. Abraham Lincoln, JFK, Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, Gandhi and many others. 
The shows humor was built around historical facts, outrageous premises, and spoofs based on other teenage dramas.  Every episode of this show is comedy gold.  I am not sure why the show was canceled after only one season, but do yourself a favor and watch it.  It is always good a laugh.  Did I mention that there was a robot butler named Mr. Butlertron that called everyone Wesley?

Number 2: Firefly

I will only write a small piece on Firefly because there is nothing that I can say here that the Internet has not already said hundreds of times.  Firefly was a pseudo western set in space created by Joss Whedon.  Think of it as the ongoing adventures of Han Solo, if Han Solo was somehow cooler and swore in Cantonese.  

Just a few of Captain Mal's greatest moments.

Firefly has an excellent cast of characters, and a surprisingly deep back-story.  Firefly only ran for 14 episodes, and in that time, it gained enough attention and praise to warrant a follow up movie after the show was canceled.  This is one of the many shows that FOX has cancelled far too soon.  Of course, the greatest example of FOX cock blocking a show into the abyss will always be...

Number 1 (with a bullet): Arrested Development

As with Firefly, there is not much left to say on this show.  It was well written, beautifully brought to life by a wonderful ensemble cast, and was very well received by critics.  Here is what I think went down in the meeting where they decided to cancel Arrested Development:

DUMBASS FOX EXECUTIVE: Hey.  How is that arrested something show doing?

UNWILLING EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT: It’s doing well.  Good ratings, good reviews.  It seems like it could be a hit, sir.

DFA: What?!?  Really?  But it has nothing to do with bachelors, bachelorettes or Extreme Makeovers!  Those are the shows that seem to be making money right now!  Make that show more like those!

UEA: We can’t. It’s an intelligent, scripted comedy.  It is literally the exact opposite of those shows. 

DFA: Well fine.  Just cancel it then.  Order more episodes of The Simple Life and The Swan.  I’m going to lunch.

UEA: *Facepalm*

Seriously, this show was heralded as one of the best comedies of the 2000s. I offer for you the chicken dance compilation.  No one in the Bluth Family knows how to properly imitate a chicken...

  It was canceled due to low ratings.  The problems with securing an audience were completely FOX’s fault.  They kept changing the day and time that the show was on, making it hard for people watch the show even when they wanted to. They also kept putting it up against things like Monday Night football, or the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics.  But fear not.  Sometimes these stories have happy endings.  If you are one to believe Hollywood rumors, Arrested Development is slated for one more season and a movie.  Since no real information is available as of yet, I am not sure of any details, but most of the rumors sound like this: “All of the cast is coming back to film a 10 episode season that would lead into a movie, written by Mitchell Hurwitz (series creator and writer) and directed by Ron Howard (Opie).” 

Some of the best moments from Arrested Development

Some honorable Mentions:

Futurama/Family guy- I was sad about these shows being canceled.  If they had stayed canceled, futurama would have made it into the top 5.  Since both shows have been revived, I decided not to include them in the real list).

Lie to Me- way to go fox.  Just keep canceling all the good shows and keep beating your dead American idol horse.

Michael and Michael have issues- Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter’s short lived shows on Comedy Central left us too early, and Comedy Central is almost as bad as FOX when it comes to canceling shows. 

IN Conclusion:  I can’t think of one person who would enjoy having something they like taken away from them.  It is even tougher to say goodbye to shows that you connect with.  It can be tough to find shows that really make you laugh or think or cry or all of those at the same time.  The good news?  We are entering a new era of entertainment.  Niche programming is becoming readily available through specialized channels and Internet entertainment sites like youtube.  Maybe some of the network executives will start realizing that even if a show has slow ratings at first, it may grow to be something great, or they might find a new outlet to showcase the show. 

Either way, Firefly deserved more that one season you stupid assholes.