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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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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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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.
Posts: 1894 | Registered: Aug 2000
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quote: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).
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.
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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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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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quote: 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
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...)
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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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Megachirops, I wish to make it official: You rock. Do you know how long I've been looking for something like this?Posts: 1894 | Registered: Aug 2000
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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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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.
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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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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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Dude, I remember watching Otherworld, but I'm only 23. Don't think you're that old... or I am. <sighs>
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Over the past year, three shows that I've thought were very good have been cancelled:
Hidden Hills: A little repetitive, perhaps, but it made me laugh, and I liked the format.
Dragnet: The only cop show that I've ever been interested in watching on a weekly basis.
The Brotherhood of Poland, NH: What really irritated me about this was that it was a quality show and I strongly believe that the only reason it didn't get ratings is because its target audience was already asleep by the time it came on.
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Second, I love that you used the word "pre-hyphenated". What a great word.![[Frown]](frown.gif)
