Best cancelled series?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

One from me in the UK (and I guess not many people will agree with me) - 'Eldorado'.

It was supposed to be the BBC's new flagship soap opera but it was so truly, madly awful that it actually lasted only about a year or so. I seem to recall that, alongside 'real' actors, they used novices to give the series a new fresh look. Unfortunately, they didn't bother to check whether or not these people could act - most couldn't. I think that most people, like me, only tuned in to stare slack-jawed at the real awfulness of the acting!

"El Dorado" made "Neighbours" look like the pinnacle of good acting. Our British and Australian friends will understand what I mean by that... .

[warrend405]

Firefly and Dresden files

[Moejoe]

Vengeance Unlimited

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

One from me in the UK (and I guess not many people will agree with me) - 'Eldorado'.

I agree with you about not agreeing with you.

I want 'The Master Game' back - it was a televised chess tournament.
Britain's first grandmaster, Tony Miles, beat world champion (at the time) Anatoly Karpov in the final one year - but it was never broadcast because BBC technicians were out on strike at the time.

[KarenH]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I miss that one, too. I was really getting into Journeyman when they pulled the plug.


Here's one that--from all the blank stares I get when I mention it--I may have been the only person in the continental U.S. who ever saw an episode.

Strange Luck was a show that starred D.B. Sweeney as Chance Harper, a fellow whose life was in constant turmoil because of the bizarre and inexplicable luck that follows him; sometimes good, sometimes bad, always extraordinary.

I fell in love with Chance Harper seven minutes into the first episode, when he raised his camera and started taking pictures as he was falling off the top of a 13 story building. As he explained to the police later, “I was already falling. I figured, what the hell?”

Some months before that, I was joy riding in a Cessna with an inexperienced pilot and we lost contact with the tower. Not having learned yet to watch the windsocks when the radio is out, the pilot approached the runway from the wrong direction. It was a very rocky landing, and we almost ran off the asphalt. Nearly certain that a crash was imminent, I grabbed my camera and began taking pictures, thinking, “I may die, but at least I’ll get some great shots on the way out!”

Well, we neither died nor crashed that day, but when I later saw Chance Harper on Strange Luck having virtually the same response to danger that I had, I had to love the guy.

You weren't quite the ONLY person to watch Strange Luck - I really liked it too, although I didn't have quite the same connection to it that you did!

[Fledchen]

Brimstone
Firefly

[Javed]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

"The Prisoner" with Patrick McGoohan

I'm not sure if The Prisoner was actually canceled, but I still have no idea what happened and I saw all the episodes....


Stitchawl

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

The Prisoner wasn't canceled... but they had intended to do more episodes, and were told by the studio that they'd have to end it earlier than planned. I understand the "essential" episodes, those that were needed to explain the show, were all aired.

For my list: Firefly, The 4400, Defying Gravity.

There seems to be some debate if The Prisoner (1967 series) was cancelled or not. Quoted information below is from Wikipedia.

There is debate as to whether the series ended by mutual agreement or cancellation. In a 1977 interview McGoohan said: "I thought the concept of the thing would sustain for only seven, but then Lew Grade wanted to make his sale to CBS, I believe, and he said he couldn't make a deal unless he had more, and he wanted 26, and I couldn't conceive of 26 stories, because it would be spreading it very thin, but we did manage, over a weekend, with my writers, to cook up ten more outlines, and eventually we did 17, but it should be seven…" According to The Prisoner: The Official Companion to the Classic TV Series by Robert Fairclough, the series was indeed cancelled, forcing McGoohan to write the concluding episode, "Fall Out", in only a few days. In the 1977 interview McGoohan contradicts this: "…it got very close to the last episode and I hadn't written it yet. And I had to sit down this terrible day and write the last episode…"

Either way, I'm glad Stitchawl mentioned this one. I hadn't heard of it before and looked up more about it. It seems like it will be the type of show that I would like to watch.

Steve, great list there you have. The only one I haven't seen is Defying Gravity. After looking this one up, this is definitely another one I want to watch. Thanks for mentioning this one.

[Squirsier]

Dark Angel (which was terminated because of Firefly, which also got canned, man Fox is difficult to deal with).

Space : Above and Beyond (another Fox cancellation)

Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Okay, it took me a while to get into it in the first place, but with the second season, it started getting more interesting and thought it might head somewhere interesting ; straight to cancellation!

All Fox.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by Squirsier

Dark Angel (which was terminated because of Firefly, which also got canned, man Fox is difficult to deal with).

Space : Above and Beyond (another Fox cancellation)

I'm glad Dark Angel was canceled (the lead actress couldn't act).

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by Javed

There seems to be some debate if The Prisoner (1967 series) was cancelled or not. Quoted information below is from Wikipedia.

Either way, I'm glad Stitchawl mentioned this one. I hadn't heard of it before and looked up more about it. It seems like it will be the type of show that I would like to watch.

"I am number 2."
"Who is number 1?"

A fantastic concept, brilliantly executed, and played to perfection by McGoohan!

"I am not a number!"

I have the entire series on a hard drive somewhere. I've watched it through twice (besides seeing it when it was televised) and still don't know who, what, where, or why.

THAT is what made it such a great series!

"Be seeing you!"

Stitchawl

[Squirsier]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I'm glad Dark Angel was canceled (the lead actress couldn't act).

That's a matter of personal preference (like this whole thread's idea really) but more than the acting, I enjoyed the premise. Heck, Alba's not bad to look at and I know people who watched Buffy mostly because of Sarah Michelle Gelar, so a little eye candy (again personal preference ) ain't a bad thing :P

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I'm glad Dark Angel was canceled (the lead actress couldn't act).

But she made my eyes happy! That Jessica Alba is one scrumptious looking lady!

[mores]

Dirty Sexy Money.
It's actually still on TV, here in Austria, but I read it's been cancelled. Cracks me up, that show

[dreams]

Firefly and Dark Angel (I have the DVDs)

[Crusader]

Firefly
The Inside
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Jericho
Defying Gravity (had loads of promise!)