This is topic They cancelled it?! in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by Sugar+Spice (Member # 5874) on :
 
They cancelled Boomtown!
Why?
That was coming close to being my favouritest show after ER. I really hate how American networks do this all the time. In England we seem to get endless new seasons of low budget TV shows that everyone hates and no-one watches, so we rely on American shows for quality TV. And then they cancel your favourite show. AAARRRGH.

Sorry, I'm ranting. But really, if they cancel ER or CSI, I'm throwing my TV out of the window and giving up.

What was your favourite show ever that got cancelled before the evil networks gave it a chance to shine?
 

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Posted by Black Mage (Member # 5800) on :
 
Friends
 

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Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
 
Heh - unless they cancel CSI, I'm throwing my TV out the window and giving up.
 

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Posted by Megachirops (Member # 4325) on :
 
Automan with Desi Arnaz, Jr.

Police Squad

There was a sitcom that focused on a mexican family in LA or someplace like that, that lasted for like six episodes that I really enjoyed, but I can't remember the title.
 

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Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
 
Family Guy!!!
 

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Posted by Ethics Gradient (Member # 878) on :
 
X-Files...

Wait, I thought you said "Favourite TV show that should have got cancelled after it stopped shining".

I'll try again...

Northern Exposure... Damn. Wrong again...
 

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Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
 
Alright, this is going to date me as well as Carbon 14 would, but when I was growing up, and at a particularly impressionable phase of adolescence, NBC was causing havoc with my young psycheng by putti hour long dramas on friday nights that were incredibly 80's, and incredibly cool, and then they would pull them, put on another show that I desperately wanted to hate, but ended up loving, and which they would in turn then cancel.

As I recall, it started with "The Master," a show about a ninja who was being trained by an old ninja guy. So they cancelled that, and put on what ended up being my favorite show ever, "Misfits of Science," which featured a pre-hyphenated Courtney Cox as the cutest telekinetic in the entire world, and some guy as "Johnny B," who could shoot lightning bolts out of his hands and run real fast. And this other guy who could shrink by pushing on the back of his neck. And of course, the Dad from Alf.

So of course, to ruin that weekly evening of nirvana, they cancelled it. They went though a bunch of stuff--"V" the television series, and this show I can't remember the name of but that involved pyramids and time travel (I remember the pyramid had something to do with the pyramid with the eye on it on the one dollar bill).

Eventually, ABC put "Sledge Hammer" on friday nights, and kept it on for two years, and I managed to find enough continuity in my young life to eventually develop a life and find other things to do than watch TV.
 

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Posted by Megachirops (Member # 4325) on :
 

quote:

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and this show I can't remember the name of but that involved pyramids and time travel (I remember the pyramid had something to do with the pyramid with the eye on it on the one dollar bill).

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Otherworld . . . not time travel, but alternate Earths.

One of Cor's favorite premature cancellations.

So this dates you, eh? Great. Guess we must be antedeluvian.



[ November 09, 2003, 08:35 PM: Message edited by: Megachirops ]
 

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Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
 
hey, i remember 'v'. i remember that it was much cooler when i was too young to notice how dreadful it really was.
 

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Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
 
You rely on America for quality television?

And yes, Family Guy was one of the very few gems to emerge from this entertainment industry. It was, naturally, destroyed asap by Fox. Only their news gets to be offensive and make people laugh.
 

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Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
 

quote:

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As I recall, it started with "The Master," a show about a ninja who was being trained by an old ninja guy. So they cancelled that, and put on what ended up being my favorite show ever, "Misfits of Science," which featured a pre-hyphenated Courtney Cox as the cutest telekinetic in the entire world

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Two things: First, I liked "The Master" also when it came on. But I was much more impressed by the two episodes of MST3K that mocked a total of four episodes of The Master. Those were some of my favorite episodes. I can't believe Lee Van Cleef was cast as a ninja. Second, I love that you used the word "pre-hyphenated". What a great word.

Speaking of MST3K and the '80s... Did anyone see the first Mike Nelson episode of MST3K when the robots were running Mike through bad movie drills.

Crow: What do you say when you see Marc Singer in a loincloth?
Mike: Now I know why the show was called "V".

again.

(in case any of you are uneducated in the ways of '80s culture, Marc Singer was the main character in both "V" and the "Beastmaster" movies. Now that I've sucked all the humor from the joke by explaining it...)

[ November 10, 2003, 12:16 AM: Message edited by: Speed ]
 

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Posted by Sugar+Spice (Member # 5874) on :
 
Yup, America is where it's at TV wise, especially for comedy these days. Do you get 'Monarch of the Glen' over there? It's mind numbingly awful, and it's just an example of the awfulness of practically everything. There's just not the budget to make good shows. The only half decent show BBC make (decent stories anyway) is this one about MI5, and it's like a low budget 24. The walls on the set wobble. British TV is officially dead
 

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Posted by Trogdor the Burninator (Member # 4894) on :
 

quote:

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Crow: What do you say when you see Marc Singer in a loincloth?
Mike: Now I know why the show was called "V".

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I caught the reference . . .

. . . but I don't get it.



::burninates Speed for making me feel dumb::
 

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Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
 
Megachirops, I wish to make it official: You rock. Do you know how long I've been looking for something like this?
 

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Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
 
And Speed, I actually did not know that they had MST3K'd The Master. I had seen the episode you refer to, though, and at it as well.

I hope that before I die, I will be wise enough to obscure refrences to get every joke on that show.

Or maybe I don't.
 

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Posted by Taberah (Member # 4014) on :
 
The thing is, the Brits probably only see American television that is at least marginally successful. This may lead to a mistaken impression that American TV is generally very good, while British TV is generally inferior. The thing is, American TV has some real stinkers as well. It's just that these shows (mercifully) don't make it beyond our shores. It's almost a quantity vs. quality issue--given that we have such a massive volume of money and attention devoted to television, decent programs are bound to come out every now and then.

Also, keep in mind that shows occasionally cross the pond in the other direction, with varying levels of success. I seem to recall that many of our reality shows are based on British ideas, and some of the older comedies get airtime on public television. (I watch Are You Being Served? on PBS fairly often . . .) Shows like Absolutely Fabulous and Monty Python's Flying Circus also have brisk DVD sales here in the states.

I think where America really comes ahead are with some of the cable dramas, particularly on HBO. A few years back HBO decided that they were going to come out with original programming that might not even be directly profitable, but would establish HBO as the channel that viewers cannot be without. I think this strategy has worked very well, because their shows are widely viewed as some of the best on television. The fact that they were willing to make the superb series Band of Brothers is very telling. Where but the United States could a series like that be made for television?
 

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Posted by sndrake (Member # 4941) on :
 
This one will date me:

Star Trek - the original series.

Since then, most of the shows I've liked a lot (or I thought showed promise) that have gotten cancelled have been in the past few years:

The Invisible Man
Farscape
Miracles
Veritas
Firefly
John Doe
The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne

See a pattern here?
 

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Posted by Da_Goat (Member # 5529) on :
 
Futurama did get a chance to shine...but it did shine! And they still cancelled it!

And yeah, Family Guy too.

And The PJs too.

And Invader Zim.

[ November 09, 2003, 11:48 PM: Message edited by: Da_Goat ]
 

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Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
 
I was sad when Firefly was cancelled.
 

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Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
 

quote:

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I caught the reference . . .

. . . but I don't get it.

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Trogdor:

Picture yourself wandering the desert in the summer of 1984. Suddenly a portal opens to a strange and distand land. You step through. On the other side is The Beastmaster and all of his beast friends. He beckons you to follow him, and you willingly oblige. As the miles wear on, you cannot help noticing his spectacularly tan and muscular body, glistening with sweat. Even you, heterosexual though you may be, find your eyes drifting down to rest upon the gluteal region. There you see his one scrap of clothing, a leopard skin loincloth. It's riding up ever so slightly. Close your eyes, find that image in your mind, and see if you can find a connection to a certain letter of the alphabet.

Hope that helps.
 

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Posted by Jill (Member # 3376) on :
 
Definitely Firefly. But the DVD is coming out soon!
 

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Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
 
Sports Night and undergrads

Oh and since its been mentioned. MST3K

[ November 10, 2003, 06:49 AM: Message edited by: prolixshore ]
 

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Posted by beatnix19 (Member # 5836) on :
 
I didn't see anyone list Dark Angel. Was I alone in loving that series? Was I the only who who was angry when I realized it had just up and disapeared?
 

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Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
 
In defence of British Television, if American TV is so great, how come we keep stealing British shows and putting our names on them.

What shows?

Trading Spaces
Who's Line Is It Anyway.
Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
The Weakest Link
Junkyard Wars
Robot Wars
Coupling
and that little show that almost killed all good US T.V.--Survivor
 

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Posted by Megachirops (Member # 4325) on :
 

quote:

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Coupling

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