Five Totally Awesome Shows That Were Cancelled TOO SOON!

Five Totally Awesome Shows That Were Cancelled TOO SOON!

Oh, television. Why do you do this to me? I like a show, start investing in characters, getting into the plot and BOOM! Gone! It happens all too often. However, below are Five Totally Awesome Shows you should watch, even though they didn’t get their due. Also, most of the shows listed below have a healthy resource of supporting media such as legends, comic books, previous movies and even, gasp, a reunion movie!

A quick note: Firefly is my all-time Totally Awesome Thing That Was Cancelled Too Soon but I’ve already talked about Firefly in a previous article and I thought I would allow some other shows to get some air time . . . since they obviously didn’t get it the first time around.

Arrested Development:

Stats: Three seasons for a total of 53 episodes that aired on Fox from 2003 — 2006.

Starring: Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter

Why you might have missed it: The time slot was continuously moved in an effort to increase ratings.

Summary: The Bluth family puts the fun in dysfunctional. Really. They are an oddball group of individuals who just can’t function. Michael, played by Jason Bateman, is really the only responsible one of the bunch and is trying to keep the family together despite impending financial ruin, scandal and the utter recklessness of the rest of the family. Michael’s siblings, Gob (pronounced Job), Lindsay and Buster, are all maladjusted thanks to their manipulative and overbearing parents. Lindsay is married to Tobias, a never-nude, (played hysterically by David Cross) and has a daughter Maeby who is a young con-artist. Michael’s son, George Michael, is naïve, often manipulated by his cousin, but tries hard to live up to his father’s values. There is a host of recurring characters that are portrayed by well-known actors such as Liza Minnelli and Henry Winkler.

The show garnered critical acclaim but the ratings were never very high. Fox did it no favors. The time slot was constantly moved. The second season was cut from 22 to 18 episodes in order for the return of Family Guy. The third season aired against Monday Night Football and the finale was aired against the Olympics opening ceremony. No show, no matter how many Emmy nods, could withstand that treatment.

Why it is AWESOME: It is absolutely hilarious. Everything about it. The awkward interactions between the family members, the whole family’s world view that is so tilted. Everything is so funny. This show can be credited for launching the careers of Michael Cera and Will Arnett and for the revitalization of Jason Bateman.

How can you see it?: Now for the good news. The first three seasons are available on Netflix, and the show will return in 2013, produced by Netflix, for an as of yet undetermined number of episodes which will lead into a movie! The whole cast is slated to return.

FlashForward:

Stats: One season of 22 episodes that aired on ABC in 2009-2010

Starring: Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Dominic Monaghan

Why you might have missed it: Despite the pilot airing to great reviews and big viewing numbers, it had a three month hiatus that killed it.

Summary: On October 6, 2009, a world-wide phenomenon caused the entire population to blackout for two minutes and seventeen seconds. During that time, everyone sees visions of their future that take place on April 29, 2010. A team of FBI agents work together to figure out what the heck happened. The show revolves around the event, termed the flashforward, and the consequences of seeing into the future.

The ratings started off fairly high but quickly dwindled, which pretty much meant death for the show–especially with the level of talent ABC had to have been paying. This did free up Fiennes, however, to go onto Camelot . . . oh, wait.

Why it is AWESOME: The concept was sooo good and so original and it had Joseph Fiennes and John Cho! It was engaging and had surprises and suspense and . . . damn you, ABC!

How can you see it?:  And now, for the good news. It is streaming on Netflix. Also, the show is based on a book! The novel is also titled FlashForward and is by Robert J. Sawyer, so you can get your fix via words as well.