ha-ha! -------------- Original message -------------- From: Martin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> (sighing in relief as I pull out the earplugs)
I've been waiting all day for that scream to come across the aether... [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: nooooooooooooooooooo! Not "Flash Gordon", "The Flash": the great one-season series on the DC superhero. It reportedly cost one million bucks an episdoe (putting it up there with The Next Generation's budget). it was fun, the Flash's running was well done, and it was on the way to developing a kooky rogue's gallery of villains. -------------- Original message -------------- From: "Tracey de Morsella" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Keith... You are kidding right? The Flash from last season? You liked that? -----Original Message----- From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2008 11:16 PM To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] The Most Unjustly Cancelled Series This Decade Oh, add "The Flash" to my list too! -------------- Original message -------------- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] I yelled for *weeks* when "Tru Calling" was cancelled. Glad to see it. I'd add "Space: Above and Beyond" to this list, along with "G vs. E", and "The Chronicle". -------------- Original message -------------- From: "Tracey de Morsella" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> By ROBIN BROWNFIELD <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Source: SyFy Portal <http://www.syfyportal.com> May-20-2008 There have been a lot of them, and much discussion of this issue and most of these series, but the painful cancellation of "Moonlight" just opens up old wounds from previously unjustly cancelled series. I think science-fiction and fantasy genre fans must have their hearts broken more often than fans of any other genre or forms of entertainment <http://www.syfyportal.com/news425057.html> . Time and time again, we invest ourselves in a new series that hooks us, and has a lot of promise - only to have those promises broken by greedy, gutless network executives. (I have other words for them, but I'm being charitable today.) I also wonder if the frequent abortion of the shows we come to love leads to any psychological disorders in viewers that network executives could be liable for creating. Is there room in the DSM-V for Post Traumatic Series Cancellation Stress Disorder (with separation and abandonment Issues)? This list will only contain 10 such criminally maltreated shows. I am aware that there are a lot more, and I'm sure you'll remind me of them! Still, since this is my column, I am going to list 10 shows that were cancelled that resulted in my own heart being broken in the past 10 years. I'm not including "Veronica Mars" in the list, because it was not sci-fi, but I consider the show to be an honorary member, since it is the red-headed step-sibling of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Moonlight." 1. "Firefly" was possibly the best series of all time ever to be cancelled. It had horses and space ships and people-eating Reavers, and, as we learned in the movie "Serenity," it had a slayer, too. No TV series ever quite looked like this, or so successfully mixed genres that nobody could ever see mixing together. 2. "Angel" is a close contender for the best series ever to be cancelled. It was the rare show that saw its ratings increase in its fifth year, largely as people grieving the end of its parent show, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" finally decided to check out this gem. "Angel," like "Buffy" and "Firefly," could make you laugh and then cry within the uttering of one sentence. Nobody does emotional rollercoasters like Joss Whedon and his Mutant Enemy writing staff. At least now we have more to look forward to with "Dollhouse" premiering in January. 3. "Jericho" built an avid following, all of whom went nuts when it was nuked by CBS. After the valiant effort of fans to save the show by sending more than 40,000 pounds of nuts to CBS headquarters. It worked, briefly, as "Jericho" was resurrected for a shortened season that again was nuked by CBS. The result may be radioactive fallout, CBS guys! Maybe the fans weren't as plentiful as the peanuts you waded through, but they might exemplify the half-life of viewers everywhere who are increasingly turning to other places for their entertainment <http://www.syfyportal.com/pagetogether.php?id=5057&page=2> . With the track record of great shows like this being pulled out from under increasingly disenchanted (and disenfranchised) fans, it's no wonder ratings are falling everywhere. 4. "Farscape" This show was abruptly canceled after it had completed production of its fourth season, even though it was contracted for a fifth season. The cancellation ended the series on a cliffhanger, which infuriated legions of fans, who campaigned for its return, and sought backers in Europe to try to revive it. The result was a four-hour mini-series which aired in 2004, and wrapped up some of the show's hanging plot threads. Now a new 10-part "Farscape" Webisode series is in the works to be presented on SciFi.com. <http://n4403ad.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh=v8/36ca/3/0/%2a/f%3B202878733%3B0- 0%3B0%3B16054493%3B4307-300/250%3B26561425/26579282/1%3B%3B~okv%3D%3Bsect%3D ros%3Bsz%3D300x250%2C250x250%3Btile%3D2%3B~aopt%3D2/1/2c/0%3B~sscs%3D%3fhttp :/www.amazon.com/Stargate-Infinity-Complete-Mark-Hildreth/dp/B0015LPS1Y> http://m1.2mdn.net/1399502/StargateInfinity_img_300x250.gif 5. "The 4400." While I'm not really heartbroken about the cancellation of this series, it is frustrating to follow a story for four years and never know how it was intended to end. We needed things explained that just never were, thanks to the fickleness of NBC. It's a good thing "Lost" wasn't an NBC series! 6. "Moonlight." This one was just heartbreaking. While it hadn't achieved the greatness of "Angel," this series showed a lot of promise, and could have been damned great if given the chance to build upon the mythology and the romance that was laid out in its 15 episodes. And now we won't have the mesmerizing Alex O'Loughlin to ogle every Friday at 9 p.m. 7. "Wonderfalls" was another great show that had its knees bashed in by Fox network executives' baseball bats. It was poorly advertised, put in an awful time slot, then abruptly moved to an even worse time slot before it was cancelled after just four episodes. This was one of the few partially unaired series I was so captivated by, I had to buy the DVDs <http://www.syfyportal.com/pagetogether.php?id=5057&page=2> to see what happened next. After viewing the 13 episodes, I was depressed. This could have been the show that took the crown from "Buffy." It was funny. It was sad. It was like a slightly more perverse "Eli Stone" without the saccharine preachiness about having faith. At the helm was Bryan Fuller - he of "Dead Like Me," "Heroes," and "Pushing Daisies." Sigh. 8. "Dead Like Me." Come on, guys! This was on Showtime! People had to pay to see it, so why the cancellation? This show was awesome! It was funny and sad and philosophical, and had great characters played by a top-notch cast. I did not subscribe to Showtime until this series aired. When it was cancelled, I cancelled my sub to Showtime, and didn't come back till "Dexter" aired. DLM had Mandy Patinkin, who, primadonna as he is reputed to be, is willing to go back to doing this series if it were ever to be revived. There is a slight glimmer of hope, because this summer, the new, straight to DVD movie <http://www.syfyportal.com/pagetogether.php?id=5057&page=3> is slated to be released. Patinkin isn't in it, but Ellen Muth (George), Jasmine Guy (Roxy), and the hilarious Mason (Callum Blue) will be back. The movie <http://www.syfyportal.com/pagetogether.php?id=5057&page=3> also features the magnificent Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond on "Lost"), who I want to have my babies. The glimmer part is that if the DVD <http://www.syfyportal.com/pagetogether.php?id=5057&page=3> movie does significantly well, we could see a revival of the series. I don't believe in fairies or wishing on stars, but if this series returned, I would be happier than a pig in. well, you know! 9. "The Lone Gunmen." This was a hilarious series, and ironically a bit too prophetic. The pilot episode had a plot about terrorists flying an airplane into the World Trade Center. It aired six months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the WTC. Still, many sociologists, historians, and political scientists were well aware of the possibility of that scenario occurring in real life. What made this series - cancelled after just six episodes - work, was the humor. The plots were often bizarre and entertaining <http://www.syfyportal.com/pagetogether.php?id=5057&page=3> , and while our heroes were the biggest nerds of the century, they were good at what they did! And who could forget Jimmy Bond, Kimmy the Geek, and Yves Adele Harlow? This series was cancelled on a cliffhanger. (Why do networks do this to us?) Fortunately, its parent series, "The X-Files," was still on the air, so the cliffhanger was able to be resolved on that series. Then they killed the Lone Gunmen. 10. "Surface." Yet another series ended on a cliffhanger. To this day, Dr. Laura Daughtry, her knee-jerk companion Rich, teenager Miles, and his girlfriend, are stuck in a steeple in South Carolina, surrounded by electrically-enhanced giant hungry sea creatures swimming in the floods caused by a mysterious tsunami. My kids and I loved this series, despite the bashing it got from critics, who favored the slower-moving and lackluster "Invasion" over "Surface." We liked the latter much better, from the charming and increasingly creepy story of the bond between Miles and the baby sea creature Nimrod; to the oddball mismatch between Dr. Laura, and her troglodytic partner in obsession, Rich; to the creepy genetic-hybrid experiments with an alien flower that allowed unethical scientists to create a girly monkey man. A year after it premiered, "Heroes" took its place on Monday night NBC. While I'm thrilled that "Heroes" has succeeded (and I liked the series even when other people didn't), I still wish there was room for "Surface" somewhere on their schedule. Honorable Mention: "Invasion," "Tru Calling," "The Dresden Files," "Millennium," and "Star Trek: Enterprise" minus most of the first three seasons and the crappy finale. Now let's hear from you. What shows that aired between 1998 and 2008 were unjustly cancelled. I'm not interested in a discussion about ratings, because that's always the justification used for canceling great shows. Let's talk about shows that moved you. Think in terms of shows of quality, or shows that involved you that should have been allowed to continue. http://www.syfyportal.com/pagetogether.php?id=5057&page=4 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] "There is no reason Good can't triumph over Evil, if only angels will get organized along the lines of the Mafia." -Kurt Vonnegut, "A Man Without A Country" [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
