Brilliant But Cancelled

[auntiehill]

I was thinking back to when the Trio Network (remember them?) aired their programming block called, Brilliant But Cancelled, and thought, "Man, that would be great, to program cancelled shows I'd like people to see."

So, if you had a chance to program Brilliant But Cancelled on your own network, what would be the first shows you'd grab?

For me, the list is pretty long but I focused on ones that I felt didn't get a fair shake, or showed great promise right as they were given the axe. The first ones that came to mind are:

Firefly -- Yeah, I know, duh.
Pushing Daisies
Boomtown
Wonderfalls
Dead Like Me
Deadwood
Freaks and Geeks
Sports Night
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
Awake
Star Trek

Part of me also wants to say "Star Trek: Enterprise," but then I remember that series finale and, well....the less said about that, the better.

So, what would be in your Top Ten (or so)?

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

I like a lot of yours, auntiehill.

My own picks:

Miracles
Carnivale
Line of Fire
The Others
Rubicon
Pirates of Dark Water
The Event
Veronica Mars
Legend of Korra
Tower Prep

 

[Dr. Funkenstein]

Pushing Daisies
Wonderfalls
Dead Like Me
Deadwood
Freaks and Geeks
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.

You nailed some of my all-time favorites. The only ones you really missed were Arrested Development, Farscape, G vs. E, and Leverage. Sure, Arrested Development had a revival, but it's just not the same as it used to be.

Jericho gets an honorable mention as well, though I don't know if I'd call it "brilliant" so much as intriguing.

 

[Mr Light]

Nobody mentioned The Neighbors yet. I really loved that show.

Also Better Off Ted.

 

[USS Triumphant]

First, my picks that concur with yours:

Firefly
Pushing Daisies
Wonderfalls (even though Minear DID at least wrap the single season it got very well)

Then, to round out my 10:
Otherworld
Journeyman
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
V (the original)
Dweebs (yes, I know it's a sitcom, but I quite liked it - kind of a Big Bang Theory before it was cool)
Breaking In (another sitcom, but a really nice high geek factor)
Samurai Jack
John Doe

 

[auntiehill]

I like a lot of yours, auntiehill.

My own picks:

Miracles
Carnivale
Line of Fire
The Others
Rubicon....

YES! I loved Rubicon, although it moved at glacial speed, which is probably what kept many people away. It was a brilliantly written (and acted!) show.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Rubicon was the first show to jump to mind. Star Trek TOS certainly deserves mention.

 

[USS Triumphant]

Freaks and Geeks

I loved this show, but didn't it END (as opposed to just being cancelled)? That last episode felt like an end. Not necessarily a happy one, but maybe an appropriate one. Plus, while obviously it doesn't quite work because the names are wrong, I like to imagine that this is why Sweets joined the FBI (on Bones) - he started out looking for his missing sister, Lindsay.

Also Better Off Ted.

YES. How did I not think of this one? It goes above half of my list!

Star Trek TOS certainly deserves mention.

I understand why some might feel this way, but I can't say that I do. That third season was underfunded and very hit or miss, script-wise, as it was - continuing the show would have been kicking a dead horse. And of course being born in 1975, to me the series is "complete" (pending the movies) as it is.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Star Trek TOS certainly deserves mention.

I understand why some might feel this way, but I can't say that I do. That third season was underfunded and very hit or miss, script-wise, as it was - continuing the show would have been kicking a dead horse. And of course being born in 1975, to me the series is "complete" (pending the movies) as it is.

The OP didn't mention any criteria regarding continuation that I saw (e.g., that continuation would have been a good idea), only about being 1) brilliant and 2) canceled. If anything, there is to the contrary acknowledgment in the musing about programming a retrospective lineup that what was was all that ever will be. TOS was brilliant and canceled, not to mention worthy of being seen.

"Man, that would be great, to program cancelled shows I'd like people to see."

 

[Avro Arrow]

I don't know if all my picks are strictly "brilliant", but I enjoyed them, and really would have liked for them to continue. A number of mine have already been mentioned. In no particular order...

Firefly -- Yeah, I know, duh.
...
Star Trek

Part of me also wants to say "Star Trek: Enterprise," but then I remember that series finale and, well....the less said about that, the better.

I'll say it. With very few exceptions, that final season *was* brilliant, and I would have loved to see what came next. (TATV was just one of the very, very big exceptions! )

Farscape
...
Jericho

Journeyman

I didn't expect anyone else to mention this one! (Why, oh why, has it never come out on DVD... )

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

And rounding out my top, um, ten-ish:

Dark Skies
Odyssey 5
Threshold
The Middleman
Earth 2

I also have a number of honourable mentions, many of which are also listed upthread, but I won't bore you with them here.

I like a lot of yours, auntiehill.

My own picks:

Miracles
Carnivale
Line of Fire
The Others
Rubicon....

YES! I loved Rubicon, although it moved at glacial speed, which is probably what kept many people away. It was a brilliantly written (and acted!) show.

I have never even heard of this one before now. Will have to investigate...

 

[USS Triumphant]

The OP didn't mention any criteria regarding continuation that I saw (e.g., that continuation would have been a good idea), only about being 1) brilliant and 2) canceled. If anything, there is to the contrary acknowledgment in the musing about programming a retrospective lineup that what was was all that ever will be. TOS was brilliant and canceled, not to mention worthy of being seen.

Okay, fair point. I'll plead to being tired and bleary eyed.

 

[the G-man]

Seinfeld.
The sopranos.
The Wire
Six Feet Under
Breaking Bad.
The Shield.

All brilliant. All eventually canceled.

 

[Avro Arrow]

^ Didn't most of those just come to a planned end?

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Twin Peaks, most prematurely cancelled show of all time.

If you include series that came to a planned end exactly when the creators wanted to then this topic is just "Favorite series that are no longer producing new episodes".

Probably nobody will agree with me on this one, but I would have liked Flashforward to last longer.

And of course, Community, Community and Community.

Also, wasn't that great a show but I would have liked to see The Nine played out to find out how that character died.

I would also add, The (Actually Trying To Find A Person To Hire) Apprentice was a rather good show. Too bad it was cancelled after the second or third season and replaced with The (Stupid Catfight Donald Trump Yelling and Firing Arbitrarily) Apprentice.

 

[1001001]

Firefly, for sure.

Threshold, The Event, Enterprise, Drive, Jericho...

 

[Gary Mitchell]

Some of these may not be brilliant but I enjoyed them:

Space Above and Beyond
Last Resort
Now and Again
Revolution
Wiseguy (with Ken Wahl, not Steven Bauer)
EZ Streets
Brooklyn South

 

[auntiehill]

^I'm in agreement over Now and Again. That got really, really good right before it got the axe. Very disappointing.

 

[Orac Zen]

Now and Again was the show that came instantly to mind when I saw the thread title. Absolutely brilliant. Interesting premise, great cast, sharp writing... It was no surprise when it was canned, really.

Brooklyn South was highly promising, too. The first 10 or so minutes of the pilot was some of the most spellbinding TV I've ever seen.

It wasn't as good as those two, but Mr and Mrs Smith was fun while it lasted. It was the only Scott Bakula role I've ever liked, anyway.

Dark Skies wasn't bad, either, and what I saw of Pushing Daisies I really liked.

 

[tomswift2002]

Crusade would be a good one, if only the network would fund more episodes to help wrap up its storylines, since just like Babylon 5, you could tell it was turning into a good show, but the first 13 episodes in this complex series kind of hinders it as it's mostly setup (and re-writing history) for payoffs that we never saw.

And "SeaQuest DSV/2032" was a great show that was cancelled.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Firefly, for sure.

Threshold, The Event, Enterprise, Drive, Jericho...

You're the first person I've ever met who liked The Event.