10 TV Shows That Should Have Run Forever

WebAddict1

Heroes was ruined the second the first episode of season 2 aired and it was discovered that thousands of people had powers.

Train wreck.

AdamWL

Well thousands of people would have powers, Duh, The whole scientific explanation of powers in Heroes would be evolution. The world has 6.5 billion people so its not surprising that around a 1000 people have evolved.
- WebAddict1
  
  Yeah, but as was painfully evident, it’s a little hard to find these people special when thousands are equally special.
  
  The word special sort of loses its significance.
  - Devin_MacGregor
    
    6.5 billion and that is with a b is a hell of a lot more than 1000. Special in no way loses its significance.
    - WebAddict1
      
      Dude, shut up. It’s a television show. They can’t feature 1,000 characters. People are crying that there are too many characters on Game of Thrones. Yeah, let’s have a tv show with 80 meta humans.
      
      Stupid.
    - Devin_MacGregor
      
      WOW, I always love jackasses online. What is stupid is to hide behind a computer and be rude to people. Now since the gloves are off suck a bag of dicks. We can also meet and discuss this in person.
      
      Of course it is a television show, AND? With a 1000 potential villains and heroes over a TEN YEAR period of TWENTY PLUS episodes PER season that is a lot of story line with major and minor villains/heroes of which some will die. This is WHY Lost had such an appeal was a wider range of characters but by season 4 and on they fucked it all up with going with a half season.
      
      What people are crying about Games of Thrones? It’s issue is more like Lost from seasons 4-6. GoT needs to do more episodes than its current 10. If they upped it to 13 like the author wanted there could be more meat to each story arc.
    - CorrectionPlease
      
      Just pay attention:
      balanced by number of characters also killed off in
      Game of Thrones
    - John Doe
      
      So instead of featuring new characters for the second season they decided to rehash the Peter/Sylar plot.
    - $2704453
      
      The second season was an unadulterated, hot mess.
IntelligenceisAVirtue

That show had much bigger problems than that. More people with powers meant more story-lines instead of the same characters and the same story-lines repeated.
https://www.facebook.com/Selene1212 Stacey L Toth

No, it was ruined the moment they took Peter’s powers away.
- WebAddict1
  
  Why? Because Milo is hot?

Data1001

Wish we’d seen a lot more seasons of Better Off Ted, for one.

rogerbinion

I agree so much. ABC screwed up killing this super witty and great show.

rara

The word is ‘season’… not ‘series’…

IntelligenceisAVirtue

Not in England.
- Devin_MacGregor
  
  So these were all British shows? And none of them premiered on US television? Why are we talking about them then? Who was the intended target audience?
  
  British “series” are also really short compared to US “season”. A typical US “season” is roughly three times that of a British “series”.
  - IntelligenceisAVirtue
    
    I can’t find a name, but I’m pretty sure the author of the article is British.

Sandra

Farscape

Doug Underwood

Farscape should’ve gone for at least ten seasons. Stupidity killed it. The Sci Fi network never could get things right.
- Teleri
  
  Unfortunately, it was funding (lack of it) that killed FarScape. The German firm that underwrote the show went bankrupt suddenly & although the producers put forth a mighty effort to get replacement funding it all fell thru last moment (hence the HORRIBLE cliffhanger & huge fan movement to get Peacekeeper Wars made)
  - imsmi
    
    I absolutely love the cliffhanger and resolution in Peacekeeper Wars. While I would have loved to see the series continue, I really feel that the show was perfect beginning to end. I’ll always want more but at the same time I think it’s already perfect. Now, Jericho and Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, those I need resolutions for (and not in comic form).
- Scott Walsh
  
  Farscape was terrible, how anyone could make it past the poor acting and terrible plot of the first episode is beyond me
- Heathen Samm
  
  It’s going to be back!!!! Rockne S. O’Bannon said there will be more Farscape! He’s a busy man, so of course this will take awhile.
IntelligenceisAVirtue

Easily one of the best Space Operas ever made, the aliens were done by the Jim Henson company for crying out loud.
http://astronerdboy.blogspot.com/ AstroNerdBoy

Farscape was best when it went into story arcs, but I didn’t enjoy it as much when it did stand alone “monster of the week” stories.

William Mayfield

Human Target and The Firm

rogerbinion

Human Target was killed by overly feminizing the show. And I love female centric shows so it’s not sexism on my part.

The introduction of the girl computer nerd and the rich woman running the show ruined it. It was a dark manly show before and then it wasn’t. Had Fox kept the original dark edgy stuff, I would agree. But honestly, I was not surprised it got the ax after the bad second season.

jrumor

too many heartbreaks… other than a few sitcams, i now mostly watch shows on netflix, after they are already over. no commercials, no cliff-hangers, no surprise cancellations.

Teleri

I have moved on to KDramas – no cancellations of shows mid season cause you always know they only run 16-25 episodes (& finish the story) – a lot like the old BBC shows used to be.

jrumor

Strange Luck

Maria Ross

I wish there was a second season of Moonlight. Just one more; for some closure. XD
Also, I heard Fox was going to cancel Almost Human, which would be a horrible, horrible mistake; it’s one of the best most entertaining shows I’ve ever seen (plus Karl Urban guys!!!).

rogerbinion

Almost Human has been cancelled. Bums me out as I really liked that show.
Kirk Tuttle

Yes I heard this as well. I was really enjoying the show.
Darrell Pierce

Yes, Moonlight was one show that I would have added, along with Firefly and Deadwood. The other being The Dresdan Files.

Brandon Roberts

warehouse 13. it was way too soon to cancel it still had tons of potential.

Twiztid617

When did they cancel Warehouse 13?
- Brandon Roberts
  
  it was earlier this year. but the finale was a perfect finale
  - Twiztid617
    
    how many seasons did it run? cause i know netflix has 3 of them
    - Brandon Roberts
      
      for 5 seasons though the last season had only 6 episodes
    - wtf0804hydroponics
      
      The seasons are to short along with the last season.
    - Brandon Roberts
      
      agreed. and it def deserved a few more seasons. though the final episode was perfect
walter hanson

Well we just have to wait for Warehouse 14. After all there is a Warehouse 14.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
- Brandon Roberts
  
  true. at least hopefully that’ll get made
knarf714

I liked Warehouse 13, but they ran out of good stories.
- Brandon Roberts
  
  fair enough. and it’s season finale was absoloutely perfect in my opinion
marxwj

It did have lots of potential, but you could tell toward the end, especially in the finals series, they were running out of steam. It was getting silly and a bit cartoonish.
- Brandon Roberts
  
  i liked the final episodes but i can get where your coming from
- Brandon Roberts
  
  fair enough
- Brandon Roberts
  
  fair enough. but i do think the final episodes were perfect

Kirk Tuttle

There have been many Sci-fi shows run longer than Firefly that were not half as good. Sometimes I think Fox just randomly cancels shows for no reason.

IntelligenceisAVirtue

It’s not random, if it’s good and sci-fi Fox will give it one season and then cancel it if it doesn’t make them an unreasonable amount of money.
- https://www.facebook.com/Selene1212 Stacey L Toth
  
  *cough* Almost Human *cough*
  - IntelligenceisAVirtue
    
    That was the BBC, and then the SyFy channel, not Fox.
    - https://www.facebook.com/Selene1212 Stacey L Toth
      
      ALMOST Human, not BEING Human
  - Heathen Samm
    
    absolutely! They winged about the cost of the sets as the reason for the cancellation, said it would have had to have drawn huge #’s. Almost human’s cancellation is just another reason why any genre show which doesn’t have a Heathcliff-like leading man (like Sleepy Hollow), should shop their show to a cable network. Torchwood got another season due to a partnership between the BBC & STARZ. Maybe a revival for Almost Human on STARZ? Being as I kept my subscription, yet Russell T. Davies has more important matters than writing going on.
- LibertyDwells
  
  They let Fringe get in season 5 and wrap it all up. Would have preferred more but any other network would have slaughtered it after season 3.
- John Doe
  
  But Firefly wasn’t good, so why keep a clunker on the air?
  - IntelligenceisAVirtue
    
    I will simply say that I thought Firefly was a great show, and if you disagree, that’s fine.
Teleri

OK you get the Firefly rant. FOX had a contract w/Whedon which by the time Firefly came up the network did NOT want to honor (FOX being the thing it is – rabid pseudo news & anti all sorts of stuff except money) – think Buffy & some of those episodes w/Willow & Tara for the reason the top brass at FOX hated Whedon despite the $$$. So, Firefly. 1st, FOX refused to air it in the proper order, so instead of the pilot (which set up the story) viewers got the Train Job episode. Leaving much unexplained. THEN, they kept moving it all over the schedule. I was actively LOOKING for Firefly & never managed to find it during the actual airing, and I’m not alone. Then, as the audience started to gather despite the network’s best efforts, & the ratings started going up, they quickly had a meeting to cancel it after only half a season, while there was still a tiny bit of an excuse for those shareholders who might question this insanity. Whedon sued, BTW. That’s why Dollhouse happened. Plus, he gave all the rabid furious fans Serenity. My hatred of FOX is not just their political propaganda disguised as news. It’s what they did to one of the best & brightest SF shows out there ever.
- Justin Meier
  
  I get depressed every time Fox renews “Raising Hope”…
  - Mike Phillips
    
    So do the stars of that monstrosity
    - Dorothwa
      
      Raising Hope was fun, and all the actors said they loved working on it…..
      However, it never would have happened if they hadn’t cancelled My Name is Earl for no good reason and with no story resolution. That show had excellent off beat humor and the very premise was one of the most heart-warming things ever created. It should be on this list, too.
    - Teacher_in_Tejas
      
      My Name is Earl ran on NBC
    - Lamdog
      
      The threader is referring to the producer Greg Garcia. If NBC had not cancelled My Name Is Earl for the prime time Tonight Show, Raising Hope may not have existed, especially since one major character and practically every supporting character appeared on or starred in My Name Is Earl.
- LibertyDwells
  
  Wow, you fringe lefty nuts can stick your extremist politics into anything. it’s amazing. Too bad none of it ever connects to reality. In this case: FOX studios and FOX news are totally separate financial entities.
  - Teleri
    
    So you believe not being a homophobe is now an extremist political stance, OMG. What an idiot you really are. I’m hardly a fringe lefty nut – I’m retired US Navy, dirtbag. What I said above about Firefly came out in court when Whedon sued. Fox executives are on record as being very upset about the Willow/Tara liaison. And FOX TV is separate from FOX ‘news’. If you are one of the wingnuts who falls for the easily debunked propaganda over at the FOX ‘news’ desk, that’s just sad.
    - knarf714
      
      Retired USNavy…what does you first sentence have to do with anything. More leftist nonsense.
    - Frank Smith
      
      Wow…PMS much?

Doug Underwood

Firefly sucked from top to bottom and that’s why it was cancelled. I stuck with it and watched every episode and was sorry I did afterwards. The Serenity movie was not quite as bad, but had the stupidest villain of all time….a 98 pound weakling douchebag with an accent that thinks he’s a Ninja. Good Riddance!

IntelligenceisAVirtue

Why, exactly did it suck? Or are you just deliberatly trying to make the entire internet hate you?
Fo Real

You so full of crap I can smell it from here .
Fo Real

And by the way , that “98 pound weakling” would have whipped your punk ass in real life . So just stfu.

rayzee

Amazing! I’ve never watched a single episode of ANY of these shows. I guess I won’t miss them. And, by the way, who writes this stuf?

Fo Real

Been living under a rock all your life , I see .
- rayzee
  
  Yeah, I’ve been to 34 countries, earned 4 degrees, wrote nine books, earned 3 patents, became a millionaire, while you were watching second rate TV. I sure envy you.
  - Fo Real
    
    Nice story, bro.

Teleri

Firefly – an INCREDIBLY good show that FOX deliberately sabotaged & scuttled. Doug, you give NO reasons for disliking this wonderful show & in fact I can’t actually picture the so-called villain you refer to (even tho I’ve seen all episodes of the show about 5 times & Serenity more than that – & own the DVDs of course). So that marks YOUR post as not relevant. Firefly had witty, clever, intelligent dialogue – engaging characters – fun universe. Serenity had River Tan on top of all that (not that she wasn’t in the show as well – but, you know if you’ve seen it)

Justin Meier

Call yourself a fan and don’t know that Simon and River’s last name is TAM?
- Teleri
  
  Idiot. Just a typo. Certainly doesn’t change the irrelevancy of dear Doug’s comments.
John Doe

Firefly-the show that appropriated Chinese culture and (poorly-spoken) language but couldn’t be bothered to show any actual Chinese characters? That’s a good reason to dislike it right there.
- Larry Yeadeke
  
  Chinese culture? Awesome show, not sure what your babbling about.
VVV

Firefly…… Best show EVER!!! The idiot that cancelled Firefly should be fed to the Reavers.

rogerbinion

Eureka on SciFi could have run a few more seasons. But, at least it did get a good send off.

Someone else mentioned Warehouse 13 and I’ll agree with that as well.

And to this very day I still miss Gilmore Girls. It could have run until they were both old and gray and sitting in a nursing home being snarky and I’d be happy.

cattyface

That show was an escape for me.Who didn’t want to live in Star’s Hollow?
Sascha Meyer

Oh Gilmore Girls! I just started watching from the beginning yesterday. That show was everything I wanted, I completely agree with you!

freddawes

Being human Firefly farscape

freddawes

SGU

IndyGirl

I will miss Breaking Bad soooo much!

tonton

Absolutely Trophy Wife. The most intelligent, feminist leaning and hilarious family comedy I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, it was saddled with the most counterproductive name imaginable (someone thought it would be ironic), so people who would have loved it refused to watch it on principle. Doh!

EMily Melanephy AdaMs-Melaneph

I agree; I was saying to my friend just this week, “Man, Trophy Wife is a great show. I can’t believe it got cancelled.” It’s witty with great characters.

Twiztid617

I really wish they would have finished TerraNova. Great show. Great story. ended on a cliff hanger

Sam Mills

Great show! I’m glad you mentioned it. It wasn’t a lack of ratings that killed it, but a ridiculously high budget. They could have kept going with a more plot-based series. The special effects were good, but it’s the story and characters that made this show good.
- Sorceress
  
  TerraNova was just getting its feet. I thought that the show was finally settling down and finding a base when it got the ax.

Semprasectum

You listed 10 shows, 9 were cancelled because they SUCKED. . .Mars was cancelled because it was on one of the networks. ….

Old_angel

Let’s see your list. I’ll bet its full of incredibly sterling shows.

Lacey W

Some of these are spot on, others know you have to mention to keep getting those “arty invitations” you desire. For example, Studio 60 was great acting and great writing that never went anywhere. You had five seasons worth of plot development in the first 10 episodes. Charterers walked in and out of the show like a badly edited mini-series. You never had time to care about anyone or anything. It was vintage Sorkin alright. And that is no complement. You also forgot “Wonderfalls.” One of the original ideas we so desperately want form television that was pulled after three or four episodes. It deserved a five year run.

James Rawlins

I agree with you partly on Studio 60. I actually liked the storylines and the acting and writing was terrific. The biggest problem was the show within a show – most of the sketches were worst than what we saw on SNL.

lakawak

Wow…a whole bunch of crappy, overrated shows that got cancelled early for good reason.

Old_angel

The best way to judge your perspective would be to show up with your list so we can see the level of intelligence behind your assessment of this list. You’re on!
- Fo Real
  
  The fool is just trolling . He ain’t got enough brain matter to come up with his own list .

mystik1

Out of all those, Carnivale was my favorite. Really great show. I wish it had lasted much longer.

biohelixx

THE UNUSUALS – sooo under-appreciated!

amorelle

Coimpletely agreel, This show barely had a chance to get out of the starting gate.

John Taylor

Yeah, a couple I might have agreed with, but not after the first season. The few I did watch just lost my attention after the first season. That’s if I watched them at all.

mampdx

This was undoubtedly long before your time, but another show that should have run forever is “Frank’s Place,” with Tim Reid and Daphne Maxwell Reid as, respectively, a professor who reluctantly inherits his father’s NOLA restaurant and the hot local mortician. It also featured a great supporting cast, plus an unforgettable guest shot (in the episode, “The Bridge”) by the brilliant, and criminally under-utilized, Conchata Ferrell as an attorney who alternated between sweet Southern magnolia and cold-eyed shark — one of the best roles of her career (the other being opposite Rip Torn in the 1979 indie film, “Heartland”). Unfortunately, “Frank’s Place” aired before most audiences, and especially CBS execs, quite grasped the concept of dramedy (this was 10 years before “Ally McBeal”) or of an African American cast who weren’t caricatures and non-stop joke machines. I understand that production of a DVD has been stymied by issues of music rights, but the show is still fondly remembered, and its demise sadly lamented, by we happy few who had the chance to see its one season, especially folks in NOLA: http://www.nola.com/tv/index.ssf/2011/10/we_still_know_what_it_means_to.html

P.S. If you are going to write as a profession, please pound it into your brain that the possessive “its,” as in “its future potential,” does *not* have an apostrophe; it’s not a contraction.

MarMac2768

I feel this way about Star Trek, TOS. It NEVER should have ended. It would have been interesting to see Kirk (Shatner) still hopping around the universe in his 80′s!

ChesterDouglas

The correct answer here is clearly Deadwood.

bannie2

Clearly! I can’t understand how it is not on this list.
YerDum

I was expecting it to be on the last page. Kind of ruins the whole list for me. >:O
Teacher_in_Tejas

Sorry Deadwood sucked! I watched it for two years on “HBO Intertia” and then suddenly had an epiphany. This show was totally ludicrous! The dialog was nothing but vulgar faux Shakespeare and the characterizations and plot lines were utterly ludicrous! Real human beings do not speak or act like that!
- i_blame_n_lanza_4_sandy_hook
  
  Incorrect.
LibertyDwells

Deadwood was horrible. I’d heard the endless hype and so got together with some friends who were going to tune into it. We watched the first ep and were all basically “Eh?” So we watched a couple more episodes…and that was that. While it does seem to have a loyal niche audience the fact is the show was dreck. Unwatchable dreck.
frogmouth

Deadwood had a great first season and then tanked.
- Bob Skilnik
  
  Deadwood was pure genius.
bcmugger

Deadwood sucked, who wants to listen to the F word 400 times per show.

Jolie Mann

Pushing Daisies and Heroes aren’t the only Bryan Fuller shows that got the axe way too early. Wonderfalls (cancelled by Fox after 4 episodes), Dead Like Me (2 seasons and a god-awful straight to video movie), and dare I say Mokingbird Lane (pilot aired as a Halloween special) all should have lasted longer than they got. At least I have Hannibal (for now) with Ellen Muth, Caroline Dhavernas, and Eddie Izzard all making appearances.

Laura

Deadwood

Kelvin Reid

So where is “Fringe”

Dorothwa

YES that show was wonderful! But at least they got a little half season to wrap things up.

Scott Walsh

Why do you keep saying series? Are you a demented retard? It’s seasons, not series. A show has seasons.

Scott Walsh

Actually by the third season of Veronica mars it had been on for 2 seasons too many.

Scott Walsh

Heroes had one good season and last three more longer than it should have.

Dan Luedke

Completely agreed. I was surprised to see Heroes on this list at all. The first season was awesome. Everything after that was beyond lame.
- Ronin A
  
  The 2nd season started out well, but the writer’s strike was the downfall of Heroes. It split the season in half, and when all was said and done, several shows followed the same fate of losing steam (and the creativity of the writing team) because of said strike.
LibertyDwells

Absolutely. Heroes had one of the most perfect seasons of any show ever. And that should have been it. There was no place left to go with those characters. of course I read somewhere that it was supposed to go to other characters with each season and then those plans were changed.
- Teleri
  
  And that illustrates the reason I love Korean dramas (& BBC ones before they decided to follow the American pattern of producing until it flops). A certain number of episodes & then it is DONE. No worrying about cancellations or unresolved plot threads.

Scott Walsh

They missed the obvious Star Trek The Next Generation. That show could have gone on forever.

http://astronerdboy.blogspot.com/ AstroNerdBoy

That wasn’t canceled though, and I don’t know that it could go on forever. As much as I like TNG, to me it was seeming a bit tired by S7, but then again, by that time, I was enjoying DS9 a lot more.
LibertyDwells

TOS was killed too soon and so was Enterprise, but TNG more than outlived what it should have.
- Scott Walsh
  
  Wrong, TOS and Enterprise were garbage, TNG had only just hit a good stride.
  - John Doe
    
    Oh yes, shows like Masks and Sub Rosa were great, right up there with the first season high points.
    - Scott Walsh
      
      Whatever, overall TNG and Ds9 had far superior episodes to TOS and Enterprise, both of which comprise every episode they made as pure garbage,
    - John Doe
      
      What great episodes? Q playing with the captains out of boredom? The Squire of Gothos did it 20 years earlier. The Borg plotline? Only because they castrated the Klingons and needed a new bad guy. A logical robot trying to be human? In other words a reverse Spock. TNG was TOS with more preaching. As for DS9, too dull to watch. Who cared about Bajorans, Cardassians, or shapeshifting jello?
    - Scott Walsh
      
      Obviously you lack the mental capacity to understand how awesome DS9 was and how much better TNG was than TOS.
      
      It’s ok, we can’t all be smart, keep studying, one day you never know.
    - John Doe
      
      Oh yes, crying whining picard and war criminal sisko are so awesome. Someday you’ll grow up and see that TOS is why the franchise has survived almost 50 years, not the limp-wristed pretenders.
    - Scott Walsh
      
      You wouldn’t know good story telling if it slapped you. You can’t even bother to make a good point. You are obviously a bitter old man who still lives in his mom’s basement. When you learn to comprehend good story telling come back and talk. Until then, dont bother tryong to post anything witty, you came to the battle unarmed
    - Scott Walsh
      
      LOL, you really are fucking delusional aren’t you? That must be why TNG and DS9 were MASSIVELY more popular than TOS could have ever hoped to be.
      
      DS9 alone destroys ever other Trek franchise in writing alone. You clearly have no mental capacity to grasp the writing.
      
      Picard never whined and Sisko wasn’t a war criminal, but you wouldn’t understand that given your limited intelligence level.
      
      Please go back to living in your mom’s basement and wearing your adult diapers.

Lisa Bedford Carter

The only show I recognized was Heroes and oh how I miss it. I’m looking forward to Reborn.

StormeeATL

Chicago Code, why that got pulled after 1 season I do not know

Justin Meier

Freaks and Geeks before Undeclared…

http://www.dilbert.com scook84

My choices:

1. No Ordinary Family

2. Almost Human

3. Fringe

4. The Finder

5. Life on Mars

<3 Muah!

Heather Atkinson

The Finder kinda had to end because one of leading actors died.
- http://www.dilbert.com scook84
  
  True, but he died after the series had ended.
  
  <3 Muah!

Shawn Whalen

QUANTUM LEAP!!!

walter hanson

Yes. We have to see how they save project Quantum Leap after Sam might have destroyed it at the end of the last episode they aired by his act to save Al’s marriage.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN

blanc

no tv show should run forever

Dave Chubb

Dead Like Me was another that should have made this list. And don’t bring up the travesty that was the movie-thing.

Kyle Stein

Sports Night, ended after only 3 seasons but was on the verge of great things. Murderers row of a cast as well, great scripts.

Daniel E. Vaughn

I definitely miss : Pushing Daisies, Human Target, Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., Chicago Code, Detroit 187, Journeyman

ACMECorporations

Rome and Deadwood.
Both cancelled because they were too expensive to make, not because they weren’t good or didn’t have ratings.

Emily Ruch

Seaquest

Farscape

Firefly

are my main three.

http://astronerdboy.blogspot.com/ AstroNerdBoy

Seaquest was a series I liked in its first season, but then it fell apart for me after that.

Sam Mills

Legend of the Seeker should be on this list as well! There are many books in the series this show is based on, and much more story to tell. The show deserved better and has a strong cult following.

Dan Luedke

Yeah, but the show was written to be family friendly and the books are anything but.

Paulette Andria Hamilton

i agree with list and Carnivale and twin peaks were spot on , hence stations like HBO/showtime/FX/AMC and etc were born and everyone now watches those channels instead of the Big 4 ..

Dorothwa

The Secret Circle should be on this list. It was canceled for no reason, I’m assuming, since the network refused to give an actual reason. The drop in ratings in the middle of the season was considered normal for a new show and was not sighted as the reason for cancellation. There must have been some network politics BS they didn’t want to tell us about.

Also, Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apart 23 should have had WAY more than two seasons. They didn’t even air the second season in the correct order. The critics loved it, but the network aired it on friday nights, killing it before it could get enough fans. Now that it is on netflix everyone loves it, but it’s too late.

Also Fringe, but at least they got a little half season to wrap things up.
My Name is Earl should have has like 5 more seasons.
I haven’t watched much but I’m sure my husband would put Deadwood on this list, he says it’s wonderful.

SnugglyJeff

1. Dresden Files
2. Firefly
3. Dead Like Me (I don’t count the movie as part of that show)
4. Alcatraz
5. The Finder
6. Better off Ted
7. Deadwood
That is all I have

walter hanson

Lets see you can ad Quantum Leap to your list. some people have suggested Farscape and Warehouse 13 (though we should be get a sequel series Warehouse 14 since it has now replaced Warehouse 13)
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
djklek

The only reason I’ve hung in here was my pleasant surprise to see Firefly and Jericho being discussed. As this is TV, I am aware that it is not real ( as in fiction ), but many choose to accept the many failings and find the offerings entertaining. I, for one, will on occasion spend a free evening watching classic Star Trek. I smile at comments of fans re-watching there favorites, I’m 69, but on occasion will be guilty of uttering some long forgotten Trecky dialogue. Only recently, being able to access Netflix, I am exploring this very entertaining venue. I would like to comment on the absence of any mention of Earth II, ? I choose to see as much of the good in these offerings, rather than the bad. Sometimes it is difficult, but that’s fine by me. I’ll still be watching.

1nameme

Dead Like Me

bob mcbob

Blue Mountain State
Dresden Files
The Unusuals
Copper

Heather Atkinson

Dresden Files, for sure.

I was put off, initially, by how the worked Bob into the show, I came to love the actor who portrayed him and, let’s be honest, a pervy talking skull with glowing orange eyes really wouldn’t have worked on TV.

James Rollings

Buffy, Caprica, and Life were some series that should have never died! As for Seth Rogen, fuck him!!! He is a great director who constantly fucks up his own movies by acting in them. Director Rogen , yes please. Actor Rogen, please die! Finally, i was a teenager who watched the Original run of My So-Called Life and i will always miss that show!. It will always have a special place in my heart and should have never died.

P.s. Fans need to collaborate and develop and company that is solely dedicated to promoting shows that should be kept and dissolving shows that are wastes of film , strictly by popular votes that everyone can track in real time. But , heaven forbid anyone take any real action, that would cut down on arbitrary bitching!

Jackie Nichols

Heroes? Really? Heroes was great for the first season, but after that it was pure crap. Four seasons was generous. It should have been canceled halfway through season 2.

Ronin A

As I said above, the writer’s strike played heavily into Heroes’ demise. I think a lot of people forgot what happened that year.
- Jackie Nichols
  
  The writer’s strike effected many shows, not just Heroes. The good shows were able to bounce back. I don’t think the strike had much to do with the crap that was seasons 2 thru 4. I think the show may have been better off had its writers stayed on strike and replacement writers been hired. It certainly couldn’t have been any worse.

http://ianbrettcooper.blogspot.com/ Ian Brett Cooper

I’d have added “Profit” to the list, but probably no one even knows it existed.

bannie2

D E A D W O O D !

bannie2

If British shows count, “Beautiful People.”

Guy

Enlightened and The L.A. Complex!

Jon

I still miss Carnivale. I’d still have HBO if they didn’t cancel that. Carnivale, Rome, Deadwood??? What the heck were they thinking when they cancelled any of them?

Heather Atkinson

I’ve been watching Space: Above and Beyond on youtube and THAT show is even better now than it was in 1994. How many shows can say they age so well?

Sean R.

Young Justice deserved at least one more season, it could have devoted itself to fighting Darkseid – just like JLU.

http://astronerdboy.blogspot.com/ AstroNerdBoy

Heroes lost me after S2, which was a victim of a writers strike or actors strike or some other strike. After that, it just was “meh” to me.

Firefly, on the other hand, was killed by Fox from its first airing. After all, why air the pilot episode when you can just skip it and air the episodes in any bloody order you please?

“Earth 2″ was a series cut off before its time. I think the show got a little too metaphysical, but the cliffhanger we were left with sucked.

Ronin A

Writer’s strike halfway through, yup. Wind in the sails was gone after the strike ended, and the writers got stupid with the show.

Bad Horse Chorus

American Gothic

Bob D.

Heroes?! What were you smoking?

jaun

what about invasion

Mikasta Clemons

Leverage. Loved the way it ended but it needed at least one more season. Clean, fun, and witty.

Ronin A

I enjoyed this show, as well…call it a guilty pleasure. There was a lot of quirkiness with the cast, but that’s what made it enjoyable.

http://chuckbrown.com Chuck Brown

Dumb title for an article. Should have been 10 TV Shows That Deserved A Better Run Than They Got. Who wants ANY series to run forever? I agree that Deadwood should have been on this list. And The Unit. And there were quite a few more. But a lot of series die because the people running them lose their way…not for any other reason.

Matthew Andras

Pushing Dasies………………… and Dead Like Me, two shows that have been given a second chance.

SmilingAtheist

I loved “Pushing Daisies” I bought the ‘collection’ when it came out in Blue-ray….

Rogue Cheddar

Yep ‘Firefly’, nuff said.

George

Yeah Deadwood should definitely have made the list.

Wolfsbane

Couldn’t help noticing all the shows mentioned were 1990s and 2000s shows. There were certainly shows before them that shouldn’t have been axed so I’m included to declare this a list one shouldn’t take seriously.

Just Me

Firefly is the only one I’d come close to agreeing with. There are far better shows that are not on this list.

Another commenter

Starved

cece

Life on Mars, Journeyman, Studio 60 and Bunheads

Ronin A

Journeyman was excellent….I was happy to see the lead character end up with a role on Grey’s. I was hoping he’d find a home.

Steve O’Rourke

Three more: Farscape, Brimstone (John Glover, best Devil ever), and Cupid, with Jeremy Piven.

Avery Herring

Firefly was the best Sci Fi show ever miss it a lot.

Taurnil Oronar

Dead Like Me should have been on the list.

scarhill

Of course, we do get the Katrashians

Lt_Scrounge

The TV execs did their level best to kill Jericho before it even started. They had LOUSY advertising for it, then they put it up against the most popular show on TV (Lost) without any form of popular lead in. Then after being essentially forced to bring it back, they brought it back as a mid season replacement and AGAIN failed to advertise it and put it up against the second most popular show of the day (IIRC) “Dancing With The Stars” again with no lead in. THAT is how you kill off a series. If they had wanted the series to be a hit, they would’ve put it on Thursday night following CSI or Tuesday night following NCIS until it had a solid following. THEN they may have been able to put it up against “Lost”. As it was, they scheduled it to fail.

walter hanson

Um who made this joke list. Twin Peaks died for example just because they lost their ability to be quirky. F – to whoever made this list.
Where is Quantum Leap which is far better than any of these ten shows?
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN

Pax Humana

You are really saying that Quantum Leap is better than Warehouse 13, Babylon 5, Farscape and Firefly? Sir, what kind of drugs are you on, anyway? Yes, it was a great show and yes, it should have lasted longer, but in reality, it was not nearly as well done as the four other shows that I had mentioned and yes, all of the people that were on there did a good job with their roles and Scott Bakula also did the equally underrated Star Trek: Enterprise, which is actually the best out of ALL of the Star Trek franchises, yes, even better than Star Trek: The Next Generation and the original Star Trek. You have earned this as a result of your stupidity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNooFSsyEP4
- Guest
  
  Seriously?
- walter hanson
  
  Pax:
  Keep in mind a key criteria for a show that should’ve run forever is does it still have a story to tell? A very important story to tell?
  Quantum Leap definitely meets that criteria because at the end of the last episode that was aired Sam had done an act that could endanger the future of Project Quantum Leap! Sam hadn’t had for real that hug with Donna and getting back together with her. Sam could meet Sammy Jo knowing that she is his daughter.
  That is why I was asking where was Quantum Leap!
  Warehouse 13 (not on the list I was asked to read) I would’ve liked to see more episodes which could’ve easily had it make a list if I took the time to try to create a top ten list. Keep in mind in one sense they said there is now a Warehouse 14 and we should follow the stories of the agents of Warehouse 14.
  Babylon 5 (not on the list I was asked to read) had officially told it’s story so it’s kind of hard to keep running it forever.
  I think posting a video for me asking where was a series that deserved to make the top ten was wrong! After all I was airing my opinion on a series that deserved to be in the top 10. I wasn’t trying to say what series was the best of all time. Quantum Leap jumped to my mind immediately when I saw this list because they had a bunch of important stories still to tell!
  Didn’t you figure that out before you went and posted a video just because I was defending a series that should be on this list?
  Walter Hanson
  Minneapolis, MN

Teacher_in_Tejas

1. Agree with most on the list, although I don’t think Twin Peaks could have kept up the weirdness for weirdness sake for very long. The second season, after both Lynch and Frost left, was total crap and a big middle finger to its fan base.
2. Carnivale is, to this day, the only series I have bought on DVD! Television’s great unfinished symphony. The original story arc was to go five years and over a decade of time. HBO offered Daniel Knauf a “two hour movie” to wrap it up and he told them to get bent.
3. ‘Better off Ted” was just amazing. It’s too bad it aired a few years before ABC hit sitcom gold with “Modern Family” and The Middle. Can you just imagine that lineup? It would rival NBC’s 80s Thursday comedy block.

Amabel

I haven’t watched many of these shows, and loved Twin Peaks. But it needed to end as it seemed to have jumped the shark. But poor Pushing Daisys should have been extended. The concept, the actors and everything else were amazing.

Larry Smith

Agree with all except…my so called life = dumb and undeclared = dumber

KeenInsight

I’ve always loved Joss Whedon’s work, so I was disappointed when Firefly wasn’t given more of a chance…

Computer_Expert

These IMHO these shows should have made the list.

Irwin Allen’s The Time Tunnel (1966)
Sliders (1995)
Quantum Leap (1989)
City of Angels (1976)
Crime Story (1986)
Wiseguy (1987)

sgb1

I am only aware of one. The rest I never bothered to watch.

MisterChris

Well, if the shows would have run longer maybe I would have had a chance – to at least SEE one of them. So many good shows die off before they are given a chance. I’ll never know if any of these were good or not. The TV geniuses that make these might also consider making shows that actually stand on their own, so the viewer does not have to ‘invest’ in watching them as a series from Day One. With most shows, if you miss 2-3 episodes you are done and most people just give up. Then, viewership dies, the shoe gets cancelled and the TV moguls look at each other and wonder what happened.

GiantClam

While I agree with 2 or 3 of these selections, the list is rendered invalid by not including the greatest show in the history of television…..LOST.

ReggieA

“Survivor: Twin Peaks” ?
I beg to differ. When a show makes sense, even if only within its own mythology, that’s good. When a show just becomes free-form fantasy, nyope.

duxfrancorum

Joan of Arcadia, Once and Again

todd

stargate atlantis should also be on this list

My3kGT

Wow, the only thing I ever saw on this list was the first episode oh Heroes. Hopefully Keeping up with the Kardasians never appears on a future list.

Julie Cepeda

My biggest problem is NBC – shows that get my attention, Revolution, The Event the ones that are different just stop with no real ending – and yet we get another season of SUV – soon these people will be using wheelchairs and scooters to catch basically the same criminals every week – the same with House – after a couple years just got tired of listening to him – I miss Jericho, Twin Peaks and Firefly – was really happy the Killing was picked up and wrapped up – very sad about Almost Human – great show with new ideas -

icknortonmountain

Proud to say I never watched one of them, and all the smut that is associated with this site is even more reason to stay clear of todays rotten stuff.

guest9999

Rotten stuff? Smut? How about having actually watched one of them before declaring how proud you are. All it seems like it that you are proud to declare to the world your utter ignorance.

R Benson

Heros was the only one of these I ever watched. Most I never heard of. None do I miss. I even ended up trashing my TV altogether. If the Romans had had television, historians now would have more clues about what caused the decline of morals, ethics, and will.

Bradley Lincoln

The picture with Veronica Mars (#9) is from Pushing Daisies. (That’s an FYI, not a WTF. It’s always nice to see more Pushing Daisies. The scene of Kristin Chenoweth singing “Hopelessly Devoted to You” while she sweeps up the pie shop still haunts my dreams.)

LVTaxman

So you listed television shows that ended just in time. Great premise to start, good ideas presented well, many on cable networks out of the view of most people still stuck on the big 4. Within a year or two, morphing to the same formulaic plot lines as the newness wears off. If the creators could keep the freshness going great. But these shows are cult classics because they ended at about the right time.

gphx

Sarah Connor Chronicles

Ronin A

I don’t disagree with this, either. I love Joss, but renewing Dollhouse over TSCC was a mistake (then again, Dollhouse came into its own the 2nd half of season 2. IMO, the show really started to come alive).
- guest9999
  
  Yeah, what a mess first they cancel TSCC (after it first got hit by the writer’s strike and then, of all things, they toss it head on against MNF and then Friday nights, silly and unfair. And they left it hanging with one of the biggest cliffhangers ever and the third season outline was said to have been unreal. argggggggggggggg. I’ve heard it said that they look back on that at their worst mistake ever.
  And yeah then with Dollhouse, it finally, finally starts turning into something for the last few episodes and then that is when they cancel it, when it finally found it self (or was allowed to, whatever the case may have been).

ragnarb

Must be something wrong with me. The only show I have ever watched,w as an occasional Firefly; and that was on re-runs!!! In fact most of the others I have never heard of,

woodrowfan

Brimstone.

Dan Stark

This statement re. “My So-Called Life” is : “A tragic loss at only two series [seasons] in, …” is inaccurate. MSCL ran for ONE season. The pilot aired on 8/25/94, the 19th and final episode on 1/26/95.

Dan Stark

The omission of “Freak and Geeks” from this list is unpardonable.

robb32

and of course the numbers 1, 2, and 3….Star trek; next Gen, Star trek : Enterprise, and Law and order(the original series)

evian257 .

Yeah, I’m just irritated by the consistent use of the wrong form of the word “its”. Throughout the entire article, the author used an apostrophe in the possessive, when the apostrophe only belongs in the contraction of “it is”.

ra44mr2

I have to agree with Firefly that was such a great show i miss it all the time. Enterprise i think should have been given the 7 seasons and from all i saw they were really starting to be a very good series in season 3 and 4 both were very exciting to me and engaging.

http://j.mp/1rGn9bs Truth Happens

#1 is dead-on.

wtf0804hydroponics

How can you forget Chuck?
It could of lasted at least 7 seasons.

Pax Humana

My So-Called Life was an overrated piece of crap.

Matthew Weflen

Its. Its. Its.
Do you have editors?

aunt negrem

the sopranos of course ,,these others all suck

Maya Debourguignon

Heroes was the one that broke my heart when it didn’t come back. I don’t even know why they didn’t bring it back but I have high hopes for the re-boot.

Cheystar22

Stargate.

chuck_in_st_paul

I’d say ten seasons for Stargate SG-1 and five for Atlantis is a LONG run. I do miss them though.

Mario Orlando Calvo

A few shows I would have loved to have seen run for a few more seasons would be New Amsterdam, Detroit 187, Young Justice, Quantum Leap, Enterprise and Rome. New Amsterdam had it’s charm, the flashback to the 17th century etc, plus the story was pretty good and had lots of room to grow. Detroit 187 had that feel of a 90′s crime show with the diversity of present day Detroit, again another show that had room to grow story wise. Young Justice was a series that got no love from Cartoon Network at all. Changing the schedule around, long delays etc. Way better than most of the crappy cartoons that are on there and have been running for many many years. Quantum Leap needed one more season to tidy up things nuff said. Enterprise was getting good yet the rating where not there and killed it. Paramount (CBS) should have left it on the UPN (it’s own network) and let it run it’s course. For the love of Jeebus the ratings on the UPN where so low that it should not have mattered. And Rome, too expensive to make, too many other companies involved etc. First season was great second season was so rushed that if you went to take a crap during any episode and came back months had passed in the timeline hehehe. Anyway those or my 5. Feel free to like, hate, curse at me, call me a genius etc. Enjoy

Michael McFarland

So has anyone noticed that they put the pushing up Dasies picture with the veronica mars description? just thought that was interesting.. LOL.. I miss firefly and for all those heroes fans out there it’s coming back in 2015 but probably not with the original cast ..rumors are that a few have signed on but many have very good shows on right now

laker12

How about “Star Trek” cancelled after three seasons forty four years ago and people still miss it, despite sequences of programs and movies afterwards. The most missed of all “Twilight Zone” never equaled.

carmen webster buxton

No love for WONDERFALLS? Talk about quirky!

RICHARD WROBO

What do all of these shows have in common? I never watched any of them – at least not that I recall. Either they did not present themselves in a way that made me want to watch or they were on obscure channels or bad time slots (i worked nights). Actually Firefly was a show I probably would have watched if I knew about it.

Lance Sjogren

They could have titled this “10 TV shows you never heard of”.

Lee

Totally agree on the under-appreciated Studio 60, which I always thought was better than 30 Rock. I know – different genres – 1 hour dramedy vs. traditional sitcom (an overrated one at that, which I never thought was very funny).

Duodecal

I was one of those that was shocked when Carnivàle disappeared into to the ether (GD HBO) – that show was hypnotic with it’s bizarre character developments and ramping up to something so sinister it was terrifying – even though they had only hinted what it might be – and CLICK – gone – very disappointing – and the cast was outstanding…

Benjamin Edward Bradley

What about Alphas? I loved that show.

chuck_in_st_paul

yeah, but it really ran out of story line

spawn44

They left off QUICK DRAW McGRAW. I’ll do the thinning around here Baba boy

djklek

Question.. Are you that old or are they actually re-running that show? Yea;I saw the originals. I’m 69 ….
- spawn44
  
  I haven’t seen the re-runs. But they should show them I’d like to see how Quicks Draw, as baba louie calls him, manages to shoot a pistol with his horse hoof. May be the most under rated cartoon of all time.

Karen Knoles

only agree and watched 2 of these shows! Never heard of some.

Billy Littlefield

Terra Nova

Ted Moore

Please read a basic grammar guide.

Howie Alford

Where did you go to “school?” You need puntuation lessons.

Alice

I think MASH should of been here.

NeylandSmyth

Clearly intellectual and spiritual diarrhea were the main criteria for this list. Anyone who religiously watched even one of these shows has an IQ that is — at best — 70% of what it could have been had they read a classic book instead. Anyone who loved all of these shows is now a mental and emotional dwarf.

Aaron L.

I never watched any of these shows…..

Underdog_Lefty

Amazing, I’ve never seen any of these 10 shows. Here’s my top 3, in no particular order:
West Wing, 24, LIe to Me, CSI NY

Jlynn

3 of my top 4 made the list. The only one missing was Joan of Arcadia.

Rick Lutes

That you listed Firefly at all, let alone first. shows how wrong this list is.

mdp6725

Firefly was a great show
- betyangelo
  
  Firefly was sexy, brutal, and sarcastic. It was better than itself: fans saw so very much, and the love the actors admit in the making – it should never have stopped. Firefly spoke to freedom loving souls everywhere, plus unrequited love, sexual frustration, battle ready veterans and soulful embrace of the spiritual; plus don’t forget the need to make a dime, right now, and so then we have pirates! They were fools to snuff Joss Whedon’s vision It worked. It’s still working. Bring back Firefly.

Ban

You missed on: NORTHERN EXPOSURE…one of THE best shows ever.

Chicago60609

Reaper.

jesseg46

I never saw any of these programs and half of them I never heard of.

frogmouth

I can’t believe Dead Like Me didn’t make this list. With Reapers easily replaced by having them meet their quotas, the show could have gone on indefinitely.

frogmouth

Viva Laughlin. It got canceled during a commercial break, so we’ll never know how great it might have been.

Oh. And did anyone else catch the picture mix-up? A scene from Pushing Daisies used on the Veronica Mars blurb?

WillieWildkat

Homicide. The fleshed-out, character driven sister show to Law and Order. Shame it got pulled, while Law and Order, as solid as it is, continued to mutate, and was allowed to go on and on

Bocanot

The 4400. One of the few series that got better as it went along. Hint: This is a “Heroes” and “X-men” should have been. Too bad it was cancelled in the 4th season before it could deal with the interesting premise(s) that it had developed. If you do not know about this series, do yourself a favor and see all 4 seasons currently showing on Netflix (there are some low points in seasons 2 and 3 but you get over them quickly.

Garison Fitch

Number one on this list (for me, anyway) would have go be “The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.” I’m still mad at Fox for cancelling the best show they ever had (IMHO).

olmert2

never saw any of them and never even heard of half of them. Nowadays my tv is tuned to stations like Me, Cozi, Get — all the good old shows from the good old days. It’s amazing how much of a story they could tell in a half hour.

knarf714

The only one I agree with is Firefly…the rest are tripe.

Steven Alexander

Firefly? Definitely. Loved it. Love Summer Glau.
Heroes. Liked it. But grew old on me.
I don’t think I could have stood another season of Farscape but I endured it to the end.
Terminator: The Sarah Conor Chronicles. Loved it. Especially season 2. Again, love Summer Glau but also Shirley Manson. Shirley, Summer, and Lena really made that show for me.

CommonGuy12

Studio 60 lost out because it became another politically charged show where you felt like you were being lectured to. Plus the skits they brought out weren’t funny.

Waltzin Matilda

I never saw any of these…

I think I heard the name of one.

Waltzin Matilda

ginger303

a show has not been made that “should have run forever” nor will there ever be. 30 rock was still very sharp when it left the air but was showing signs of age. the simpsons which appears to be going to run forever is about 7 years beyond it’s expiration date. closest we have to “forever shows” are the soaps and now they are running out of gas, thankfully

guest9999

Good list, but how could Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles have been left off? Especially with the insane cliff hanger and fantastic outline for the third season left hanging???

Michu1945

Desperate Housewives.

betyangelo

And Firefly. Firefly. Firefly!!!

Dave Smith

My So-Called Life and Undeclared couldn’t have lasted forever for the same reason Glee can’t last forever, despite creator Ryan Murphy’s protests in the face of the obvious.

Jerry Schulz

This was a waste of time. These shows were all chasing the cw demographic and it’s no surprise that the whole menu can’t be such. Twin Peaks was the only of these 10 that was really catching on. This guy picks shows that couldn’t make it an average length and wants to elevate them to an elite status. Come on and get real.

April

Jericho, My So-Called Life, and Heroes definitely. Stargate Atlantis should be added to this list. And a few others.

GhostFlame

Thirtysomething? Relativity? Gilligan’s Island? Ran only three years, but is still in reruns. Northern Exposure? Did not finish properly either. Though the shot of Joel arriving in New York harbor was memorable. For that matter, as I recall, The Sopranos did not follow its intended plan either. On the other hand, The X Files had a long run, but never really went anywhere. Even with movies added. And neither did Lost. The best shows are often defined by a definitive ending. Breaking Bad and The Wire come to mind. MASH over stayed its welcome, and so did ER. Not to mention Happy Days. The Fonz a teacher? Vinnie Barbarino working in a hospital? The Odd Couple lasted five seasons, a favorite while growing up. But Jack Klugman once called it a five year flop. Though it had a no-brainer concept at the ready no matter how long it may have run; Felix remarried his ex-wife. And The Simpsons has not been funny in over a decade. The movie wasn’t funny either. And reading now, it seems my comment has gone on too long too. Wait, wait, wait. Not so fast. What about Lost In Space? Lasted only three seasons. Time Tunnel, only one season. And only two for Land Of The Giants. None of the characters ever got back like they wanted! And who could ever forget Branded with only two? One of the most dramatic theme songs ever. And in a related matter, Joan Jett once pointed out, once the Runaways hit 18, their name would no longer make any sense. But fortunately, she made up for their break up with one of coolest covers ever; The Mary Tyler Moore Show theme song.

Heathen Samm

Eureka! Not even found in syndication. It found an audience across a wide age range. People commented that it was the one show that they could watch with their kids, which didn’t leave anyone white-knuckling their way through family-bonding viewing. Witty writing, well-developed characters, and real heart left people wanting more. Ratings had actually been fairly good when the SyFy network was forced (by new corporate overlords Comcast) to give the shows’ creaters the option of making the show on a pittance or cancellation. With the promised second half season 5 down the tubes, they managed to write and film an ending in a matter of days. Reboot anyone?

Sorceress

My So-Called Life was just the Wonder Years of the 90s. Every generation has a certain feel to its young teen angst. MSCL filled in its niche. Still, I wonder if the mysterious Tino would ever have been shown. I hope not.

DChrls

I agree with Firefly although I never knew about it, or the majority of shows on this list, when it was on. Only found out about Firefly from the movie.
Two show’s that died too early, IMO, are Breakout Kings and Alpha’s.

terrythecork

Just a bunch of suck-ass Soap Operas. I had better things to do than watch this shit. Like have a Life…

Hydrahead

I would like to add “Freaks and Geeks” and the hilarious, over the top, Hollywood parody “Action” with Jay Mohr. One of your picks, “Studio 60″, spent way too much time on a show-killing, interminably boring romantic plot between Matthew Perry and Sarah Paulson.

Ritzcraka

I’m proud to say I have never seen one second of any of this trash.

betyangelo

OMG. You put Firefly first. I love you. I wear a Firefly tee shirt in public, and people stop me to ask, “Where did you get that! I love Firefly!” It’s crazy how we love Firefly. The movie Serenity was not the show – you have to watch the show. My goodness, they just waffled this one every way you look at it

TangentToWhat

I’m proud to say I’ve never viewed a single second of these “productions”.

GTTman

Loved studio 60, the christmas episode is one of the best tv episodes ever aired of any series.

GTTman

Journeyman was great, and could have gone on forever.

scott seibert

Agreed on Firefly. It ended just when it was getting good. Heroes on the other hand started out gangbusters then went downhill fast. The last season was so full of incongruities it was ridiculous.

TRex:ex

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is the only one on the list that should have had a longer run. Extraordinarily good writing and acting, plus a unique insight into the writing and production of an SNL type show. I never watched 7 of his picks.

Trendy Hipster

Dude, this article and list suck. Are you kidding me??? I can pick some classics that should have kept on going: CHIPS, Threes company, Family Matters, Seinfeld, Brady Bunch…. Did this author just discover TV 5 years ago?

lbf1

“Trendy Hipster” indeed. You are betraying your age.
- djklek
  
  Heck I go back to only three channels, and they came on around 4 or 5 PM, then ended at 11 PM with the news and then the everloven test pattern. Anybody have a Winky Dink plastic TV screen overlay ? . You were able to draw objects on it that became part of the story.

John Fox

Only saw two of these. I agree 100% with firefly. Heroes went downhill in it’s third season and I stopped watching it. Terra Nova should have been on the list, both my wife and I were quite disappointed when it was cancelled.

alabubba

I vote for “Cavemen”

George Alexander Louis Windsor

FYI…”it’s” always means “it is”…”its” is the spelling for the possessive pronoun…mmmkay?

WatchingFromOverThere

Carnivale was bizarre but strangely absorbing, and a lot of us were frustrated when it was cancelled with several plot lines unresolved.

Donald Armstead

Heroes? Those are some rose colored glasses you’re wearing. That show had exactly one good season.

Frank Smith

WOW, just WOW. Of all those listed, I have seen two episodes of Heroes. Three of them I’ve never even heard of.

I really don’t feel as if I’ve missed much.

zoeUNltd

Defying Gravity, wow, how soon people forget. Cool story and wonderful actors left hanging….

bcmugger

Firefly was lucky to even play as much as it did, given its anti-God themes and whore worship. Having the theme song sung by a lisping queer didnt help either.

Bruce Mendel

There are nearly two dozen uses of the word “it’s” in this article that should have been “its”. Doesn’t anyone proofread or grammar check any more? Sad.

tony

without Arrested Development, this list is a joke

Commonsense

Firefly was Awesome, it was funny and had action. I wish they made more but I’m glad they made a movie at the end to finish it off.

Sean McCray

I loved the show – Dead Like Me. A good follow-up movie.

Philip Peterson

What, no “Better off Ted?”

dredzo

Hidden Hills from 2002 was hilarious, but NBC pulled it after 1/2 a season. They won’t even release a DVD set, which could include the 4 unaired episodes. My Name Is Earl, Raising Hope, Battlestar Galactica, The Finder, The Glades, Life, Copper, Nikita, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Heroes SUCKED after the first season or two. NO WAY should it ever be listed, let alone #1.

Daniel Giles

Just came to make sure Firefly and Freaks and Geeks were on the list. At least Firefly was. Also, Heroes went on WAY too long. Only the first season was any good.

Daniel Giles

Also, Stargate Universe.

Thom Graney

Deadwood, Freaks and Geeks, and The 4400 are a few glaring omissions.

Filmexec

“Longmire” should be on the List!

readingyou

Tenspeed and Brown Shoe. Really adorable show. Got cancelled because it was up against Dallas. It never had a chance to get going and it was so good.

Flori-Duh

Dead Like Me should have made the list.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0348913/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Ant The West Wing probably could have been good for at least another season, maybe two.
Action! With Jay Mohr, Illeanna Douglas and Buddy Hackett was great!
Agree with some, especially Carnivale!!

JohnB

A couple off the top of my head that wernt mentioned:
shows that ended: Lost, The Wire, Sopranos
shows still going : Game of Thrones, Walking Dead
Any of those you could focus more on the situation than the characters and you can have any of them run forever.

Mark T. DeNucci Sr.

The only shows that should be on this list is Pushing Daisies and Twin Peaks. The rest were nothing special.

8. Pushing Daisies

ADVERTISEMENT

PEOPLE ALSO READ

ADVERTISEMENT

Popular

ADVERTISEMENT

WHAT OTHERS ARE READING