10 TV Shows I Would Resurrect

I know what you’re thinking, “Is she ever going to run out of lists???”....no, I’m not. o_O

Due to a question that’s featured on our 20th episode I was compelled to make this list.  We’ve all had it happen to us, that one show that comes into your life...it’s there every week, same night, same channel, same time.  Then one week...it’s not there, the network has canceled your beloved, or they’ve moved it to Friday nights at 9:00...dear God, NOT FRIDAY NIGHT....*gasp* and it’s on FOX!!!???? %#@!  >_<  This is a top ten list dedicated to the TV shows that I feel were cut too short.

10.) Sports Night

Leave it to the mind of Aaron Sorkin to make me interested in a show about a sports news show struggling with the pressure of a network while trying to produce a good program.  This is one of the older TV shows on my list and I frankly don’t remember much about it, except for the fact that I enjoyed the hell out of it.  Despite the incredible writing and stealer cast this show only lasted two seasons because it struggled to find an audience.  Sorkin had the opportunity to move the show to other networks, HBO, Showtime and USA but he decided to let go and continue on with his next project, The West Wing...and well, we all know how well that one turned out!

9.) Stargate Universe

There have been many Stargate shows that have come and gone and most would place SGU (the most recent) in the pile of failed ones.  With only two seasons the show barely had time to find it’s footing.  With an ensemble cast and a story that leaves them stranded in space for an undetermined amount of time, SGU seemed to be a promising change to the Stargate formula.  I think the main problem with this particular show is that it took it’s time in the first season to set up relationships and plot points that were probably going to be fleshed out in time...basically, it was too slow for the general population.  Unfortunately we learned mid way through season 2 that it would be it’s last...and my sci-fi heart broke a little.

8.) Dead Like Me

This quirky Showtime show was created by the incredible Bryan Fuller and is about Grimm reapers who live and work in Seattle, Washington.  I was introduced to Dead Like Me after it had been canceled and I couldn’t get enough of it.  Once again it only lasted two seasons (2003-2004)...seems to be the magic number.  The show featured actors such as Ellen Muth and Mandy (Youkilledmyfatherpreparetodie) Patinkin.  Fuller left after only five episodes due to creative differences :( but the main idea was still there and it was a breath of fresh air to my nerdy lungs.  There was a direct to DVD movie in 2009 that left it open to revisit the series..but alas this has not happened.

7.) My So Called Life

Ahhhh high school never looked so pretty. ^__^  My So Called Life originally aired on ABC in 1994 and although it was critically acclaimed it was canceled only after one season.   The show tackled issues that most shows of the mid-nineties didn’t touch  including child abuse, homophobia, teenage alcoholism, homelessness, adultery, school violence, censorship, and drug use.  It wasn’t the typical teen drama at the time and kids like me ate it up...not to mention that I desperately wanted to be Claire Danes.  My So Called Life paved the way for deeper teen dramas and it helped to shape the minds of the children of the 80’s.

6.) Dollhouse

Sigh....well we all know what’s inevitable when Joss Whedon creates a show and allows it to air on FOX.  Dollhouse is Whedon’s latest original TV series creation and it struggled from day one to find it’s audience...there are only so many Whedon worshipers...we can’t save them all on our own!!! >_<  The first episode aired in February of 2009 and the series barely lastest for two seasons.  It had a stealer cast chocked full of familiar faces from shows like Buffy, Firefly, and Battlestar Galactica but the wonderfulness that is Alan Tudyk couldn’t even save the Dollhouse.  You’ll see a pattern on this list...and that’s that if it’s not House or Bones, FOX blows at keeping incredible shows afloat.

5.) Breaking In

Speaking of FOX.... >:(  Breaking In is the most recent show on my list and it makes me just as mad as the others.  This little gem didn’t even get to finish one season ONE EFFIN SEASON!!!!!!.....breath...5, 4, 3, 2, 1,.....and I’m better.  Not only does this show have a great cast but it’s flippin’ hilarious and it speaks to my geeky soul.  All may...MAY not be lost for Breaking In though.  After announcing that they would not be renewing the show for a second season FOX (*grumble grumble*) on July 5, 2011, FOX and Sony Pictures Television announced they have picked up the options on the cast's contracts, keeping the door open for the show to return for a second season, despite being left off FOX’s 2011-2012 schedule...so who knows what the HELL THAT MEANS!!!....5, 4, 3, 2, 1.......

4.) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Oh look another pattern!!!  Yet another AMAZING Aaron Sorkin show that got booted off way too early.  Studio 60 first aired in 2006 and it had the dynamic cast of Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Steven Weber, and Nate Corddry...and that’s just to name a few.  The show only ran for 22 episodes and I think one of the main factors to the lack of audience was that another very well known show (30 Rock) started airing around the same time.  That’s two shows about a group of people running a variety sketch show, which can be referred to as a “show with-in a show”.  Naturally the comedy was winning in the ratings.  Not a lot of people remember this show like they should...Kerry is one of the only other people I know that’s seen it.  I know it’s not much, but you guys would benefit by giving it a try.

3.) Invader Zim

Invader Zim has the pleasure of being the only cartoon on my list!  Created by the wonderfully twisted mind of Jhonen Vasquez, Zim invaded our homes in March of 2001.  I had been a huge fan of Vasquez through his work on the comic book Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and Zim was just a perfect slice of what I needed in cartoon form.  Meant for kids and young teens, it was a tale of tiny alien and his robot sidekick hell bent on taking over Earth...too bad he sucks at it.  I think maybe this show would have fared better on more of an adult swim time slot because I’m not sure what parents and kids knew what to make of it.  It only aired for one season, but luckily all 44 episodes have been released on DVD.  It’s developed a HUGE cult following, and by that I mean the goth and hipsters can’t get enough of it... >.>  At least they know what’s good every now and then!

2.) Firefly

I know what you’re thinking, “WHAT!?  IT’S NOT NUMBER ONE ON THIS LIST!!!???”...calm down my people...I SAID CALM DOWN!!!  I’d like to make a confession...I did not watch Firefly when it first aired... I’M SORRY!!! gahhhhh....no one told me about it!!!.... Although it’s now one of my all time favorite TV shows, I never felt that sting you get when you hear a show you love has been canceled.  For those of you who for some reason don’t know, Firefly first aired in September of 2002 and only got to air 11 episodes out of the 14 that were produced...it was painfully short and painfully sweet.  The show even won an Emmy in 2003 for Outstanding Visual Effects.  Because of the success outside of the shows airing, we were lucky enough to get the film Serinity, in which Joss Whedon made sure critical characters that everyone (ME) loved meet their maker. :’(  It’s one of those shows that will forever ring true to geeks, nerds, and sci-fi lovers everywhere...and to this day I gage whether or not I can trust someone by their like or dislike of the show...oh and also this is yet another prime example of how much FOX can take a nose dive off the nearest cliff.

1.) Pushing Daisies

Two Joss Whedon shows, two Aaron Sorkin shows and now yet another Bryan Fuller creation.  This is a show that I felt the deep sting with when I found out it was being canceled.  Pushing Daisies was one of those beautiful (literally) TV shows that seemed too good to be true, and I suppose it was in the end.  The show first aired in October of 2007 and it stared Lee Pace who played a pie maker with the ability to bring people back to life with one touch, unfortunately one more touch and they go “bye bye” again.  The rest of the cast included Anna Friel, Chi McBride, Kristen Chenowith, Ellen Greene, and Swoosie Kurtz.  Although it received 17 Emmy nominations....17, the show hardly had the chance to go past a second season due to the writers strike at the time, and I really think it would have survived if it weren’t for that.  It was a fairy tale, a musical, a quiky face-paced comedy and everything my heart desired in a TV show.

So, there you have it, 10 shows that if I had the almighty power I would resurrect.  I know there’s many missing from my list,...so here’s just a few that I know of and from friend’s gushing that were canceled too soon: Freaks and Geeks, Wonderfalls (Bryan Fuller AGAIN!!!  wtf...),  Twin Peaks, Veronica Mars, Arrested Development, and Human Target.  Oh and I would like to give one final "EFF YOU!!!!" to FOX.


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