New Poll - Prematurely Cancelled TV Series

The Calgary Sun, a newspaper that I normally don't give a first thought about let alone a second, recently came out with a list of the 25 Best Series That Were Cancelled Before Their Time. It's a rather good list even if it does seem to be predicated on the assumption that the only show cancelled before its time that predates 1985 was the original Star Trek. I choose to disagree, although at this time I choose not to offer citations for pre-1980 shows that were prematurely dumped. Well okay, Gilligan's Island, dumped because William Paley didn't like the show that was supposed to come after it in the Fall lineup and did love Gunsmoke enough to replace that show and Gilligan's Island.

You can see the complete list and explanation at the Calgary Sun website, but since I want to make a poll out of this I need to make some cuts. Out are:

• Star Trek - Because even with the cancellation it carried on like an inconvenient rash.


• Angel - Because I can't justify saying that a series that ran five years was cancelled prematurely even if I do believe it.


• Homicide: Life On The Streets - Because I can't justify saying that a series that ran seven years was cancelled prematurely even if I do believe it passionately.


• Once And Again - Because I can't justify saying that a series that ran three years was cancelled prematurely.


• Freaks & Geeks/Undeclared - Because I don't do twofers.


• The Tick - Because I really don't see what's so great about Patrick Warburton, and besides the cartoon was better.


• Family Guy - Because it was uncancelled.


• Reunion - Because no one - not even the writers knew how the damned thing was going to end.


• Boomtown - Because the producers let the weasels at the network ruin it by the second season.


• Now And Again - Because even though it had Dennis Haysbert singing people were always confusing it with Once And Again and we can't have that.


• Twin Peaks - Because even though the Sun writer put it at the top of his list, I always thought the show was close to unwatchable in the second season and I had the headaches to prove it.


• Robbery Homicide Division - Because I didn't really like it, or its star.


• The Job - Because I don't like Dennis Leary at the best of times.


• Greg The Bunny - Because I don't get it.


• EZ Streets, Andy Richter Controls The Universe, The Critic, and Cupid - Because I had to get this list down to seven entries and I either didn't watch or didn't care much for the snippets that I saw of these shows.

So here are you choices for the poll: Arrested Development, Firefly, Action, Crime Story, Sports Night, The Adventures Of Brisco County Jr., and Wonderfalls. Should I be surprised that five of these seven (and 12 of the original 26) were all on Fox? (For the record, of the rest five were on NBC, five on ABC, three on CBS, one on The WB, and none on UPN - how quickly people forget Nowhere Man.)

Please please please feel free to list your own choices for prematurely cancelled shows, either here in the comments section, or better yet email me.