Unfairly Cancelled Shows.

[TedShatner10]

While now again we've had shows that got deservedly axed, like Bonekickers, more often than not we get decent shows that get kicked to the curb through a mixture of bad luck and incompetence.

Firefly is a prime example and arguably Farscape (though it had a lengthy run and S4 wasn't so hot), but a good recent example is CBS' Shark starring James Woods, a show that was helped into the grave by an inopportune writer's strike and somebody sprinkling something into the CBS executive board's cocaine. A worse error than Moonlight getting iced and an indictment of American network TV declining.

What other shows do you think have been killed by ignorance and rotten luck?

 

[paudemge]

I'm not sure i would say Firefly was unfairly canceled, it just didn't bring in the numbers fox was looking for. You can say they unfairly treated it but i doubt it would have ever pulled in enough viewers to continue. And even though the dvd sales have been good, they haven't been enough to green light any kind of continuation.

Shows fail simply because not enough people watch them, what is 'enough people' depends on a lot of different things and each show is different.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Shows get axed for having ratings that don't meet the networks expectations which will vary by many factors: the timeslot, the lead-in, the cost of the show, how well its predecessor was doing in that timeslot, whether its attracting the right audience (18-49 demo, and sometimes factors like income or gender could play a strong role), whether its attracting product placements, how well the network is doing overall, the likelihood of anything coming along that would do better in that timeslot and even, yes, being critically acclaimed can be a small factor as well.

And that being the real-world way to assess "fair" vs. "unfair," I can't think of a single example of a show that was obviously getting good enough ratings to survive but was axed regardless. And even if the ratings did seem "good enough," so many of the factors I've just listed are not divulged to the public that we'll never have a really good way of making this assessment.

 

[HighteeHeller]

Season 4 of Farscape is just under appreciated.

I would have liked to have seen a few more seasons of Dead Like Me.

 

[Neroon]

Top of my list:

Crusade - was aborted, not really canceled. It was aired with the knowledge that those few episodes were all that would ever be.

Firefly - did not seem to be given what I'd say was a reasonable amount of time to garner ratings on a network not known for science fiction in the first place.

Each seemed to have tremendous potential, the interruption of which is saddening.

 

[Aragorn]

The popular story going around is that Blade: The Series was canned because TOO MANY women were watching and that wasn't Spike's target demo.

With Moonlight, you can see how well CBS fared by replacing it with the now-canceled The Ex-List.

 

[Trekker4747]

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Just another thread to complain about FIREFLY getting canned.

I heard that The Beverly Hillbillies was still getting good ratings when it was canned by CBS, because the network wanted to dump rural themed shows, also canned were Green Acres, Mayberry RFD and Hee Haw (later returned as syndicated show).

 

[Lindley]

And that being the real-world way to assess "fair" vs. "unfair," I can't think of a single example of a show that was obviously getting good enough ratings to survive but was axed regardless.

Actually I believe Angel qualifies. Word is that WB wanted to try another vampire show and decided to pull the plug on the one that had just aired its 100th episode, despite decent (but not outstanding) numbers. Of course, I don't think this other show ever got off the ground......

There was also something about Joss requesting to know the show's fate earlier than usual either way so he could wrap it up. That may have contributed to the decision going the way it did.

Shame; the rumors about season 6 (apocalyptic LA, return of Seth Green, etc) were awesome.

 

[stj]

Notorious examples are The Smothers Brothers Show and Lou Grant. They were dumped for political reasons. On the flip side, it's hard to imagine anything other than noneconomic reasons for the survival of a few shows, such as Arrested Development or BattleStar Galactica.

The Firefly fans suffer the insuperable difficulty of not being able to offer a reason for the network to undermine the show.

Threshold, on the other hand, as I remember never placed last in its time slot, and often won the magic 18-49 demographic. It still got little PR, preempted, postponed and relocated, all hard on a serialized show. I suspect that Peter Dinklage was too big a pill for CBS to swallow, and the show's treatment of religion didn't help either I expect.

 

[Rhody the Ram]

Las Vegas got axed during the writers' strike, which left the show with an unresolved cliffhanger. (Those NBC bastards...) I also with the short-lived CBS sitcom The Class had a bit more of a chance. It may have been meritorious of cancellation in the end, but I think it got a premature cancellation (and another unresolved cliffhanger.)

 

[Reverend]

Don't we already have a thread about this?

 

[DWF]

The Wild Wild West, it was cancelled because it was considered too violent.

Quark, the blizzard of 1978 took care of that show.

 

[paudemge]

The popular story going around is that Blade: The Series was canned because TOO MANY women were watching and that wasn't Spike's target demo.

With Moonlight, you can see how well CBS fared by replacing it with the now-canceled The Ex-List.

I doubt any show got canceled for having too many viewers.

 

[Neroon]

Just another thread to complain about FIREFLY getting canned.

Nahh.... doesn't look like that. Sure Firefly has been mentioned a few times, but then at least half a dozen other shows have also been mentioned. Even the OP mentions a couple.

 

[Thrall]

Marred...with Children. After running for more then 13 years Fox doesn't even give them a fricking finale!

 

[Sephiroth]

Greg the Bunny : canceled because it was made of win

Space: Above and Beyond other than the Pilot and the Finale, VERY exellent series, canned cause it was eclipseing the x-files

 

[Gary Mitchell]

I believe that the original Battlestar Galactica was still getting good ratings when it was canned. It was just too expensive.

 

[bigdaddy]

Actually the first BSG had a HUGE ratings drop from the first few episodes to the end. Maybe massive word be the word. With the ratings crashing and the cost throw the roof the show was canceled.


I would say Boston Legal, ABC has nothing better to show.

 

[TGTheodore]

Just another thread to complain about FIREFLY getting canned.

I heard that The Beverly Hillbillies was still getting good ratings when it was canned by CBS, because the network wanted to dump rural themed shows

It was canned because a VP's wife liked Gunsmoke and the only way to make room for it on the fall schedule was to kill two sitcoms.

--Ted