Wired lists their Top Ten Brilliant but Canceled SF TV Series (though their “SF” seems to include heavy dollops of Fantasy, too):
- Firefly: Well, duh. Aside from the brilliantly flexible premise, rarely has a show come along with more character hooks, plot hooks, and just damned fun dialog and protagonists than this Joss Whedon creation.
- Wonderfalls: I came to this quirkly little show late. Fun to watch, but so offbeat that it might be just as well it was sunk quickly (by Fox again), since I’m not sure how it could have been sustained.
- Now and Again: Never saw it.
- Alien Nation: I wasn’t a huge fan of this series, but enjoyed it well enough. Certainly one of the better SF series of the 80s.
- Space: Above and Beyond: I started watching it, got turned off, got turned back on in reruns (far too late). In many ways what a space war saga — a la Starship Troopers — should be.
- The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.: Never jumped on the bandwagon, but I know plenty of Bruce Campbell fans who loved it.
- American Gothic: Never watched it.
- Jake 2.0: Never watched it.
- Nowhere Man: Never watched it (though it sounds good).
- Eerie, Indiana: Never watched it (though it sounds fun).
So, what would I add to the list? Gah — I’m terrible at remembering these things, and I’m sure I’ll kick myself as soon as someone mentions That Incredible Show I Talked About So Highly After Doyce Finally Talked Me Into Watching It Two Episodes Before It Was Canceled.
Hmmmm. The Dresden Files, anyone? Roughnecks? I think the B5 sequel Crusade could have hit its stride if it had had a longer run.
And Ginny reminds me of both Max Headroom and UFO. And there was that vampire-clans-as-crime-families one that was on few years back whose name I can never remember …
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American Gothic was brilliant. Truly creepy to the point where “someone’s knocking at the door” still gives me shivers.
One of my wife’s co-workers just got the DVD set, so we’re going to borrow it and hopefully not ruin the memory.
Many good choices, however as aliens meet humans series go, I liked both Threshold and Invasion (both a bit too smart for regular viewers to go for, it totally different ways), and with time travel, I liked Journeyman. I’m not sure it would have held up for more than two seasons, but I loved the problems he encountered by traveling and being missing. Also, Kevin McKidd is really good – someone put him back on TV!
I really loved “Earth 2″…I think it only lasted a season. Tim Curry was brilliant in his too few episodes.
And then there’s Quark, which, coincidentally, is about to be released on DVD … (http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Quark-The-Complete-Series/10240)
Loved Firefly…..so much good there.
Same with Wonderfalls, a ton of potential.
Never even heard of Now and Again.
Alien Nation: The movie was much better than the Show.
Space: Above and Beyond: It started well and I enjoyed it, then it went off the rails so I stopped watching it, Later talking to friends it sounded like it had become good again and then it was cancelled.
Loved Brisco County Jr. 🙂
Never saw American Gothic.
Jake 2.0: Never watched it.
Nowhere Man: Never watched it.
Eerie, Indiana: Never watched it.
Ohhhhhhh…..Quark, bizarre and funny, Yeah I liked that one, it was almost as funny as Red Dwarf, but way ahead of it’s time. I think it was becuase SciFi was not supposed to be “funny” (Purposely so, not funny like the original Cattlecar Galactica was), and just did not ring with viewers at the time….but then again I was 11/12 at the time so it might of just been my age.
I guess I look at shows as if they could be RPG’d and most of the ones (with the exception of Wonderfalls) could easily be RPG’d and with much fun to boot.
Earth 2 went for almost two full Seasons, and yes Tim Curry was the best part of that show. He makes evil Squeee worthy!
Max Headroom rocked!
UFO was the hide behind the couch show as a child…and I loved it (Night Stalker being the other hide behind the couch show I loved…and for some reason I have a memory of Dinosaurs in the basement in regards to that show).
There was a Vampire show on Fox that was based on the Whitewolf Masquerade RPG, it was pretty good, is that the one you were thinking of? Or Dark Shadows? Loved the original, disliked the remake.
how ’bout Dead Like Me? Great show, great writing, great cast….gone too soon.
Kolchak should definitely be here (I think it ran but a single season). Definitely ahead of its (X-Files) time.
That could be the vampire show I’m thinking of. Mary told me the name the last time the subject came up, but I don’t recall it.
Never much cared for Dark Shadows.
Thanks to the wonders of Wikipedia, the reason I associate Night Stalker with Dinosaurs in the basement is because the last Episode “The Sentry” is about a giant subterranean lizard attacking people.
“Kindred: The Embraced” was the one I was think of.
OMG, Night Stalker was the scariest. show. ever.
After “Bad Medicine” aired in 1974, I was always able to freak my friend out by imitating the eerie chant Richard Kiel’s Diablero used. Drove him crazy.
🙂
I still whistle the Kolchak main titles tune in scary circumstances …