The 10 Sci-Fi Shows That Were Canceled Way Too Soon
Posted at 5:04 AM Jul 10, 2008
By Chris Cummins
Simple geek math will tell you that for every Battlestar Galactica there are thousand Harsh Realms. Most new sci-fi shows are either a) derivative rip-offs of superior shows, b) ratings deprived or c) ahead of their time. Sci-fi is a tricky genre that, when done right, challenges viewers and pushes the limits of television as a medium. But mainly, these shows are still TV’s red-headed stepchildren. (Even a mainstream success like Lost didn’t reveal itself as balls-out sci-fi until after it was a critical and ratings success). There’s always a number of complex reasons why any show is cancelled, and all the letter-writing campaigns in the world can’t change that, Jericho fans. Fortunately, we are live in a magical time where nothing ever dies on the Internet. With that in mind, let’s celebrate ten shows that were just too intelligent, esoteric or downright culty to please the masses during their initial airings.
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10) Dead At 21
MTV’s first—and so far only—stab at genre television, 1994's Dead at 21 followed 20-year-old genius Ed Bellamy (Jack Noseworthy) as he attempted to prevent the microchips implanted in his brain from going boom upon the arrival of his next birthday. Why did he have microchips in his noggin? He was part of a secret government experiment in enhancing mental abilities. The chips gave him the smarts of Einstein but a short shelf life. Mmm chips. Anyways, as the test subjects grow up, the implants break down, resulting in maddening dreams and death at, you guessed it, age 21. In an effort to silence him, Ed is framed for murder by smarmy government agent Winston (Whip Hubley) and is forced to go on-the-run while still trying to track down a shadowy doctor who can help fix his potentially explosive predicament. Joining him is Maria Cavalos (a post-Doogie Howser, M.D. Lisa Dean Ryan), a beautiful party crasher who witnesses the killing for which Ed is blamed. Part The Fugitive, part Reality Bites, the show melded serialized storytelling with an oh-so-1990s dose of grunge-infused nihilism over the course of 13 half-hour episodes before it was canceled following an unresolved cliffhanger in which the three main characters seemingly bit the dust. While the show has never been officially released on DVD, torrents are freely available for you to relive all of the flannel-infused drama.
No YouTube clip is available. But look, here’s Jack Noseworthy in a production of Pippin!
9) Galaxy High School
The only cartoon on this list (sorry Clone High enthusiasts), Galaxy High School was Chris Columbus’ attempt at creating a Saturday morning sci-fi toon for kids of the Star Wars generation. It worked beautifully. The show’s simple premise—a popular jock and a bookworm beauty from Earth are chosen to attend an intergalactic high school whereupon they switch social roles—is perfectly summed up during the show’s theme song.
Playing fantastical concepts for laughs—a student with a transparent brain, a professor made of ice, etc.—Galaxy High School’s lasting legacy is that is was a smart, merchandise-free show in an era when most other kids programs were all about the big sell. Of course, the lack of swag available likely contributed to its downfall. Come to think of it, I still wouldn’t say no to an action figure line...
8) Millennium
The only genre show to feature a main character named after a cherubic indie rocker, Chris Carter’s Millennium offered up compelling, if uneven, viewing on Fox from 1996-1999. During it’s three seasons, it was a show about serial killers, a head-scratching mindfuck and a bloodless X-Files clone. After the third year, the various cast and crew shakeups that plagued the series’s production took their toll, and the once-hyped jewel in Fox’s crown was unceremoniously dumped. Despite the numerous behind-the-scenes changes, friend-of-Bigfoot Lance Henriksen managed to keep viewers interested through his haunted and haunting portrayal of quasi-psychic/FBI profiler Frank Black, a man who wanted nothing more than a peaceful life with his family in a yellow house in Seattle. Of course, this plan went to shit fairly quickly, and Black found himself dealing with everything from a Polaroid-snapping psychopath to some diner-loving demons. In the second season, Space: Above and Beyond (itself canceled before its time) creators Glen Morgan and James Wong took over show-running duties and promptly created an intense mythology about the show’s mysterious Millennium Group that culminated in the world seemingly ending to the sounds of Patti Smith.
By the time the series returned from hiatus for what would be its last season, Morgan and Wong were out/Chris Carter was back at the reins, the virus that supposedly decimated humanity was lazily written off and Frank Black had rejoined the FBI and been given a cute new partner. Oh yeah, he got to meet Kiss too. Um, okay, ignore that. By the end of the season, elements of the mythology began to slowly reappear, and things were getting interesting again. Then the show was canceled and Black’s story was sorta wrapped up on a 1999 episode of The X-Files. Although rumors of a Millennium feature abound, one can’t help but wonder why Frank Black isn’t joining Mulder and Scully in their upcoming film.
7) Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Has there ever been a sexier couple than Buck Rogers and Col. Wilma Deering? As portrayed by Gil Gerard and Erin Gray, these sensual space cadets infused the cosmos with intergalactic hotness throughout the show’s two seasons. How many of you had your first sexual thoughts upon watching Wilma getting attacked by the Vorvon? Did the way Buck always strutted around in his form-fitting space duds get you off? Maybe Twiki’s penis-shaped head did it for you. Hey, whatever. We don’t judge here at Topless Robot.
Sure, the second year of the show sucked, Hawk was lame and Dr. Goodfellow was clearly a pedophile, but sometimes sci-fi can be all about the eye-candy too. For that reason alone it should have stayed on forever.
6) Starman
Set 15 years after the events of John Carpenter’s film, this TV series starred Robert Hays as an alien who returned to Earth and took the form of dead photojournalist Paul Forrester. Together with his teenage son Scott Hayden (Christopher Daniel Barnes), he attempted to track down old love Jenny Hayden (Erin Gray, making her second of two appearances on this list) and avoid being captured by asshole government agent George Fox (Michael Cavanaugh). What followed was a series of heart-warming adventures in which father and son traveled around the United States, learning how great mankind can be along the way. Awww. It was the sci-fi equivalent of comfort food, and my prepubescent self ate it up.
Bummer for Christopher Daniel Barnes fans: this, along with the 1988 sitcom Day by Day and the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon, is not available on DVD.
Comments
One of the best lists I've read here. Bravo. Would have loved more info about why Kolchak was so great, though. I've never seen an episode. (Although I tried to watch the new one. Boring.)
Posted 07/10/2008 at 06:00:28 AMFirefly.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 06:38:32 AMThe way Fox abused the fans with the scheduling of that show was a crime.
Nice list but I second Firefly. Fox really dropped the ball with that show.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 06:47:03 AM3rd on Firefly. And dont forget futurama. The total awesomeness of the movies show why it should return as a TV show.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 07:11:41 AMFourth on Firefly - best series EVER from Fox to be cancelled way too soon.
Also - Nowhere Man from UPN was fantastic - at least that's out on DVD.
Also, HHGTTG really doesn't belong on the list because it was only ever planned to be six episodes, and at the time there WERE no other books besides the first two.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 07:18:23 AMFirefly.
One of the best shows ever, imho, Sci-Fi or otherwise. Fox really did screw the pooch on that one, and Joss Whedon should still be up in arms.
*sigh*
Can't stop the signal.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 07:19:55 AMDead at 21! Thank you. I am happy to see that show on this list. I really loved that show when it originally aired (Mind you I was in my teens and was seriously into grunge, how could I not like it). The fact that the show ends with a cliffhanger that never gets resolved bugs me still. Did the characters actually get shot, or did the agent choose to miss or something?
I'm also happy to see this show on the list because now I know I'm not the only person who remembers it. I've tried explaining the show to my friends, but no one I know ever heard of it.
Also, it was nice to see the reference to Space: Above and Beyond. Even though it's CG is incredibly dated now, for its time the show was cool. I deserved a full place on this list too.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 07:21:41 AMThere was gonna be more TV Hitchhiker's, during the Mostly Harmless book tour, Adams regularly discussed how plans were made and fell apart, his differences with the director, and his interest to continue the story in book and radio form (though radio never happened until after his death).
From wiki: A second series was at one point planned, with a storyline, according to Alan Bell and Mark Wing-Davey, that would have come from Adams' abandoned Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen project (instead of a TV version of the second radio series). However, Adams got into disputes with the BBC (accounts differ: problems with budget, scripts, and having Alan Bell and/or Geoffrey Perkins involved are all offered as causes), and the second series was never made.[8][9] The elements of the Doctor Who and the Krikketmen project instead became the third novel, Life, the Universe and Everything.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 07:25:39 AMFifth on Firefly . . . nice catch on Max Headroom though . . . waaaaay ahead of its time.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 07:49:11 AMI'm glad to see you put Galaxy High on the list. I bought the DVDs as soon as they came out. I didn't know they were out, I just found them by accident. At $7/pop brand new they were a bargain. I barely remembered the show, just that I liked it.
It wasn't spectacular, but there was something sparkly about it. It really pulled you into a different world, like you wanted to actually see Galaxy High. It had an atmosphere that was really fun and welcoming. The writing actually wasn't bad, and I actually wanted to know more about the 2 main characters. It just seemed less flat than most other original cartoons of the time. In fact it was one of the big influence on me to create cartoons of my own.
Finally, add Nancy Cartwright's Bart Simpson voice as one of the her pre-Simpson roles and you've got a collector's item.
As for Firefly.. hey, everyone knows. I was kinda hoping that wouldn't be on this list because that is WAY too obvious. Everyone and their brother knows that show is the golden egg of 'canceled too soon' SF shows and deserves several movies made in its honor.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 07:56:02 AMFirefly. Futurama.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 08:22:10 AMDude... Firefly.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 08:27:55 AMTurning into a Firefly tribute page. Checked the list and was sure Firefly was number 1.
Sorry but I have the original episodes of Star Trek and by season 3, it was getting painful to watch- Space Hippies?
Posted 07/10/2008 at 09:01:23 AMWhere's Firefly on this list? I thought it'd be #1!
Posted 07/10/2008 at 09:05:21 AMFirefly is #1 on the Top Ten Sci-Fi Shows That Were Canceled Way WAY Too Soon.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 09:19:15 AMI would have put VR5 on that list.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 09:29:09 AMWow. Reason why this is on the controversial page on Reddit = NO FIREFLY!? How can you even mention sci-fi that was canceled too soon without Firefly? Fool of a Took!
Posted 07/10/2008 at 09:33:29 AMI'm pretty sure Firefly was deliberately left off this list, with the exception of Star Trek, most of these shows are really culty and under-the-radar.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 09:35:28 AMI'm going to second the guy that said Nowhere Man. That show was great and cancelled way too soon.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 09:57:38 AMFirefly, Space: Above and Beyond, Farscape, Alien Nation... most of my true favorite sci-fi shows. Apparently my love is a death knell for good sci-fi shows.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 10:05:11 AMUm .. WTF is that "Star Trekkin'" video??!
And it is a mortal sin that there is no DVD collection of "Max Headroom." That show was goddamn genius.
Though "Dead at 21" starred Noseworthy, and that guy looks just like this guy I didn't like very much in high school, so I've always hated Noseworthy ever since.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 10:15:36 AMThis list lacks seaQuest DSV/2032.
It lacks HARD.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 10:58:09 AMCan't believe Firefly was left off the list. The. Best. Ever.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 11:10:06 AMFIREFLY!!!
And I damn well know you've seen them, as I drunkenly demanded we watch the first episode back at my old place.
Is Firefly perhaps *beyond* all of these on this list? That I could believe -- you were saving it for it own entire column. Perhaps an entire days worth of blogging devoted to its perfect awesomeness? A column on each character, maybe?
Posted 07/10/2008 at 12:05:25 PMFirefly wasn't that good anyways. Make your own lists if you want to see it on there so bad!
Posted 07/10/2008 at 12:09:04 PMI have to agree on 'Firefly' needing to not only be on the list, but topping it. Ah, Journeyman. THAT show was truly going to be incredible.... I sometimes wonder what schooling you need to become a big wig executive - a class in "who's your daddy?" is probably what gets that position.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 12:51:38 PMAnother not so sci-fi, but still.... Early Edition. Great show.
Firefly was alright, but yeah, it would be kind of a cop out to put it on this list.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 12:55:43 PMYeah, SeaQuest! Roy Scheider is the shit!
You are leaving out Firefly, Dead Like Me, Brimstone and ExoSquad? I respect the right for everyone to have an opinion, but leaving those out is just sad.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 01:05:31 PMMan, Chris, you reached deeeep into the archives of obscurity for some of these, eh?
The Top 10 Most Tragic Geek TV Show Cancellations:
Posted 07/10/2008 at 01:09:26 PMhttp://www.greatwhitesnark.com/2007/05/17/top-10-most-tragic-geek-tv-show-cancellations/
galaxy high! Thanks, I've had that title on the tip of my toungue for years. I remember when max headroom came on as a kid. The channel that showed it screwed everyone around like 'millenium' sometimes it was a saturday, then a wednesday night, then another saturday before throwing a curve ball with a tuesday only showing. and if you could keep up with the schedule changes, they showed them out of order. but it was the coolest show out at the time. I agree with everyone with futurama and firefly, and I know this isn't a sci-fi classed show, but what about the tick?
Posted 07/10/2008 at 01:19:40 PMI'm glad to see at least a couple mentions of Nowhere Man. That shows conclusion is severely lacking and was cancelled just as it was becoming impossible to look away.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 01:40:27 PMFireflywut? I'm sad now.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 01:52:22 PMFirefly at #1.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 02:02:35 PMFirefly... and I'll also put Invasion and Surface (Both Cancelled in the same Year).
Posted 07/10/2008 at 02:13:37 PMNow And Again.
Awesome scifi serious with heart and thrills, and it gets cancelled after a first season cliffhanger! Bastards.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 02:50:26 PMHa, meant to say SERIES in that last post, not SERIOUS. This is why I shouldn't try to think before 10am.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 02:53:21 PMHow can Firefly not be on this list? What the hell?
Posted 07/10/2008 at 02:53:56 PMHa, meant to say SERIES in that last post, not SERIOUS. This is why I shouldn't try to think before 10am.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 02:55:49 PMWhat about Project UFO? X-Files ripped it off...
Posted 07/10/2008 at 03:14:55 PMYes, Now and Again. Definitely.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 03:20:58 PMOkay, since you have 38 comments thus far and 36 of them are "Firefly" I will hope you take the hint and I won't mention it beyond this.
But what about 4400? Carnivale? Invasion? Dead Like Me?
You have some mighty fine pieces of work up there and I agree with most of them, but you have also forgot some of the best shows of the last decade. This is the current Golden Age of Television and so many things are being put up to the viewers that we now have entire networks that want to cater to the niche groups. This allows us to have many, many more shows that are under the radar and truly spectacular but lack the ratings to continue living beyond the 2 month scope of vision a suit says it does.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 03:32:31 PMThanks for mentioning Journeyman,
Posted 07/10/2008 at 03:44:03 PMone of the very best time travel
shows ever aired. I wish it had
lasted, but most intelligent SF
never lasts long on TV. Journeyman
dared to break out of the space
opera mold and delve into how time
travel affects a family's life,
considering the fact that the guy
never knows when he's going to
be "called." Add Gretchen Egolf's
hotness and you have one smokin'
show. Wish folks had given it more
of a chance.
FIREFLY, whaa whaa, FIREFLY. Warmed over, middle-brow Whedon CRAP. Like all of that arch hack's stuff, just more predictable adolescent "sci-fi" for those weaned on Dungeons & Dragons and Sweet Valley High.Thank you for leaving it off the list. I agree that BRIMSTONE probably deserved a place, though! A brilliant & truly obscure one-season classic! Also, mayhap you didn't wanna be too 10.13 heavy, but SPACE: ABOVE & BEYOND was, if not blazingly original in concept, very well-made, written & acted. &, similar to the Morgan & Wong season of MILLENNIUM, featured 90s porn queen Ashlyn Gere in a recurring role, here as a model of killer android (shades of Six!)
Posted 07/10/2008 at 04:30:24 PMNice inclusion with HGTTG!!!
Posted 07/10/2008 at 04:51:36 PMalthough, as I'm sure you know, the film pissing in the face of the fans is actually Douglas Adams' urine soaking your nubile youg facades. He wrote the screenplay to that atrocity. Way to fuck us in the butt from beyond the grave, Doug...
I think that Firefly was left off this one just to stir us up.. It's just too obvious right? He couldn't believe that it doesn't DESERVE to be on this list... or could he..
Posted 07/10/2008 at 06:08:57 PMActually, Karey Kirkpatrick rewrote the script, because he wanted it to be, in his words, more like "Monty Python in Space."
In a strange coincidence, one of the numerous reasons that Adams didn't get the film off the ground in the early 80s when Ivan Reitman was going to direct (possibly with Bill Murray and Dan Akyroyd as Ford and Arthur) was because Adams didn't want to make the script more like, wait for it, "Monty Python in Space." Adams was friends and briefly a co-worker of the Pythons and he didn't want anyone to feel he was aping their style.
For more on Douglas Adams read MJ Simpson's amazing biography "Hitchhiker." Simpson also used to head up the Planet Magrathea website, which is a great source of additional information on what a travesty the film was.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 06:17:06 PMActually, Karey Kirkpatrick rewrote the script, because he wanted it to be, in his words, more like "Monty Python in Space."
In a strange coincidence, one of the numerous reasons that Adams didn't get the film off the ground in the early 80s when Ivan Reitman was going to direct (possibly with Bill Murray and Dan Akyroyd as Ford and Arthur) was because Adams didn't want to make the script more like, wait for it, "Monty Python in Space." Adams was friends and briefly a co-worker of the Pythons and he didn't want anyone to feel he was aping their style.
For more on Douglas Adams read MJ Simpson's amazing biography "Hitchhiker." Simpson also used to head up the Planet Magrathea website, which is a great source of additional information on what a travesty the film was.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 06:17:15 PMFIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY FIREFLY
How you could make this list without FIREFLY is utterly beyond me, and probably any sci-fi fan.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 06:59:26 PMOH MY GOD PEOPLE STOP SAYING FIREFLY ALREADY. I loved the show to death (...sorry about that) and it's still incredibly annoying. I think we get the point now, yes?
Posted 07/10/2008 at 08:54:27 PMWell, they did have Journeymen on the list, but no Firefly. I think it only goes to show how good of a show Firefly was, and how many of us wanted more than the 14 episodes we had.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 09:38:06 PMI'm going to second 'Invasion' actually. It had it's problems, definitely, but I think it had some serious potential.
Posted 07/10/2008 at 10:09:11 PMCant believe Farscape was not on the list.Best SCi Fi series ever made. They kind of screwed it like firefly with the scheduling.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 12:59:07 AMHey People...
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I still would have loved to have seen Crusade finished off...
Posted 07/11/2008 at 02:10:06 AMWar of the Worlds series FTW
Posted 07/11/2008 at 02:12:39 AMGlad to see UPN's NowhereMan. It was ahead of it's time with the weekly serial format ala "24" and LOST.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 02:14:46 AMGlad to see UPN's NowhereMan. It was ahead of it's time with the weekly serial format ala "24" and LOST.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 02:14:59 AMFirefly
Posted 07/11/2008 at 02:15:54 AMfuturama. end of list.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 02:22:37 AMWithout Firefly on this list - it is worthless! Firefly rules!
Posted 07/11/2008 at 02:24:07 AMFirefly
Posted 07/11/2008 at 03:01:01 AMThis list sucks.
Firefly? No. That show wasn't cancelled fast enough. Now Earth 2 on the other hand, that was good sci-fi.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 03:21:23 AMI was a huge fan of John Doe on Fox. In the first season cliffhanger ending, you find out that the masked man behind all of John Doe's problems is his best/only friend the bartender! I was screaming my lungs out at that mindf*** of an ending when he turned around on the ladder.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 06:03:24 AMOh yeah, almost forgot, there is a Dead Like Me movie in production right now. Same cast members, including the anorexic lead.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 06:06:04 AMLogan's Run.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 06:08:55 AMLogan's Run
Posted 07/11/2008 at 06:10:10 AMFIREFLY! How could that not be #1, let alone not even on this list?!?
Posted 07/11/2008 at 06:36:22 AMDon't forget, the Fox TV Movie of Doctor Who was supposed to be a pilot for a new series. Despite the poor script, the production values were wonderful and I was made for a whole decade that Fox didn't greenlight a series.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 06:57:30 AMtwin peaks?
Posted 07/11/2008 at 07:07:36 AMSeconding Brimstone, also The Invisible Man, Harsh Realm (because who doesn't love some sarcastic D.B. Sweeney?), definitely Farscape though at least we got four kick-ass seasons and it didn't get the chance to start sucking. Dead Like Me was great but the downhill slide was starting in season 2. And yes, Now and Again, horrible way to end it.
How about the top ten could've-been-great shows that became utter crap due to meddling? I got your number one right here: Andromeda. I will never, ever forgive Sorbo for breathing air and taking up space on this planet.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 07:48:10 AMSorry, but without Firefly on the list, it's just a waste of blogspace.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 08:01:13 AMOh, I see what you did there. Firefly is #0 on the list, but your blogging software accidentally cut it off because its default is to terminate countdown-oriented lists at 1. Not your fault, man. Maybe someone should report that bug.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 08:22:58 AMWhat about Harsh Realm? That was a great show but didn't last long. I remember watching an x-files episode where one of the characters is watching an episode of harsh realm. Mulder asks him what he is watching and the character replies that he doesn't know but it is damn good. That cracked me up. Harsh Realm was written by Chris Carter.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 08:25:09 AMFirefly, awesome awesome show. I have sworn off FOX for canceling it forever.
Crusade, kinda sucks that the B5 universe is largely forgotten about. Story doesn't really have an ending >.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 09:23:52 AMFarscape, Farscape, Farscape!!!!!!!
Posted 07/11/2008 at 11:03:16 AMThe 3 F's futurama, firefly and farscape.
Period.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 11:32:44 AMUm...no worries about the Barnes Spidey not being on DVD.
The show tried very hard but never quite got it right. (When you have to randomly choose times for Spidey to not be as fast/strong/smart as he normally is, in order to make a plot work, then you're not doing something right.)
And Barnes' VO work was awful. As much as I thought he was a riot in Day by Day.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 11:43:34 AMYet another Firefly lover here.
I would add Blakes 7 to the list. It got 4 seasons.
How about "Now and Again"? Leaving us at a cliffhanger.
And I loved SAAB too.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 02:05:28 PM
Posted 07/11/2008 at 02:23:27 PMSpace: Above and Beyond
Are you effin kidding me? No Firefly? One incomplete season, should be at the top of the list. Serenity now!
Posted 07/11/2008 at 02:42:14 PMDoes anyone think that Odyssey 5 should have made the list?
Posted 07/11/2008 at 02:43:42 PMWhy no Firefly.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 02:51:44 PMFIREFLY is a must, of course.
Am I the only person who loved ANDROMEDA?
And a cute show (I'm a guy, after all) that I enjoyed was CLEOPATRA 2525.
What I really want to see discussed is all the SF shows that should have been cancelled sooner! Like LEXX!
Posted 07/11/2008 at 03:12:36 PMNo Quantum Leap? No Sliders?
Who wrote this? A 12 yr old angry he has to wait for transformers 2?
Seriously, lame list.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 03:14:14 PMfarscape, now and again, miracles, futurama....
i thought firefly sucked, though.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 05:41:43 PMFirefly just worked, don't know why but it did. It was one of the best Sci Fi shows and honestly deserved a spinoff of it's own.
Journeyman really surprised me as it did alot of people. I was expecting a Quantum Leap ripoff but it managed to original and interesting every time.
But if I had a winning vote to place on anything...Lexx! Lexx was like the anti star trek. It was punk, campy, sexy, cool, and generally messed up. Lexx also managed to pull off the fan campaign and win a last season.
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Posted 07/11/2008 at 05:45:48 PMhttp://www.sffix.com
I have to disagree with star trek.
After a while it was reverse the polarity and put all power to the forward deflectors to fix every problem. And the characters where whiny.
Space: Above and Beyond should have made the list. If that had been done recently, it would have been real popular. I liken it to a cross between Starship Troopers and Battlestar Galactica.
(Someone should do a remake)
Does anyone remember the early 80's program Automan?
Posted 07/11/2008 at 05:46:21 PMHomeboys in Outer Space!
Now the list is complete.
Posted 07/11/2008 at 11:22:09 PMBlake's 7 > Firefly...nuff said.
Posted 07/12/2008 at 03:21:21 AMLee: Really, you think Sliders was cancelled too soon?
Posted 07/12/2008 at 08:54:34 AMYou left out the show that should have been #1 on your list.. FARSCAPE!
Posted 07/12/2008 at 10:55:47 AMI'm a lifelong Trekkie. Grew up watching TOS when it first hit syndication in the early 70s. It's the grand-daddy SciFi show of the prime time TV era. But it should absolutely not be #1 on this list.
F I R E F L Y ! ! !
star trek had two pilots and three seasons. It had 79 episodes to gain a following thru syndication.
In contrast, Firefly was totally abused by Fox, it's pilot almost didn't air, and only 14 episodes did. Yeah, the fact it even got a feature film is a miracle, and thought it was a good wrap up to the core of the series, it's just devastating how much potential greatness was trashed by it's cancellation. The chemestry of the cast alone, not to mention the sharp witted dialog, ingenious storytelling and it's high regard for continuity--something most other SciFi shows just disregard, puts this clearly on the top of my All time Sci-Fi shows cancelled to early shows.
All I can figure is that you guys never watched it.
Max Headroom is seconds, and I'd definitely put the original Battlestar Galactica way ahead of Buck Rogers!
Posted 07/12/2008 at 09:37:25 PMI've got to agree with the majority of the posters on here, Firefly was the best TV show ever in my opinion, no question.
Tho I am disappointed to not see Space: Above & Beyond, Crusade, Brimstone, American Gothic or Early Edition. Alas, all great shows that went before their time...
Posted 07/13/2008 at 12:04:35 AMHow can you not put Space:Above and Beyond on the list. This was an awesome show that BSG is now proving could have been a sucess.
Posted 07/13/2008 at 01:01:53 PMWithout Firefly this list is utter shit. Though I have fond memories of many of these shows, I couldn't imagine sitting through an entire episode of Buck Rodgers any more than I could imagine sitting through Knight Rider or the A-team because I was 10 when I thought they were awesome and on further review they are absolute shit.
Posted 07/13/2008 at 09:19:12 PMFor the millionth time Firefly!
Decent list, but it needs Firefly. Futurama is debatably sci-fi, but would definitely deserve a place if it counts.
Top 11.5 anyone?
Posted 07/14/2008 at 09:55:43 PMWheres Firefly?
That really needs to be on there.
You missed the king of all cancelled Sci-Fi
Posted 07/15/2008 at 08:32:11 PMI skimmed the list initially to see if Firefly was represented, just to see if it had legitimacy. I was disappointed not to find it.
Posted 07/16/2008 at 06:39:23 AMOK, this business about Firefly and how it "must" be on this list, it "needs" to be on this list, this list is shit without it makes you people sound like whiny little kids. You are all proceeding from an assumption that every sci-fi fan loves the show and it is some sort of universally accepted truth that it was cancelled too soon. Not everyone feels that way. There's plenty of sci-fi out there for all of us and I personally don't consider Firefly a benchmark of greatness. I'm not debating its quality and I'm not telling anyone not to like it but just because you may put it on your list doesn't mean it belongs on everyone's. And if everybody worships the show so much, why didn't Serenity destroy the box office. I'm sorry but that franchise had two chances and it couldn't deliver. What happened, could you guys not get your moms to drive you to the movies?
Posted 07/16/2008 at 07:20:53 AMFIREFLY!!!!!
Posted 07/21/2008 at 10:46:34 AMWhat about Invader Zim?
Posted 07/22/2008 at 03:40:15 PMoh dear, most of those did not even make it over here to Germany. Anyway, there are a couple more that were canned too soon. Space Rangers, to name just one. (I think it was Canadian) With that extremely trashy, darkish look it was just too much fun to watch. Does anyone know this one but me?
Posted 08/07/2008 at 03:49:01 PMBut of course the greatest mistake ever made in entertainment TV was cancelling Star Trek. How many people these days would pay millions for an unknown and recently discovered extra episode? Me certainly, if I had the millions.
how could you forget Prey? That was an awesome show. 1.2%. Great stuff.
Posted 10/01/2008 at 09:42:45 AMI don't even have to say it by now, but yes, Firefly.
Also: Day Break, the GroundhogDayesque series with Taye Diggs running round the same day over and over again, untangling a conspiracy. That was a show with bags of potential and a lot of creative ideas (finding more economical ways to save particular people's lives, for example, so he could free up more time to do other investigating). What doomed that show wasn't quality, which seemed generally good - but continuity. It was all plot arc - so if you hadn't watched all the preceding episodes, it would look chaotic and impenetrable.
Oh, and it had Adam Baldwin in it. (Ah, the curse of Firefly strikes again - doomed to work on shows that get cancelled before they even get bedded in. See: Nathan Fillion, 'Drive'.)
Posted 10/21/2008 at 07:21:47 AMWho can ever forget LOST IN SPACE i mean it was campy but it came on before STAR TREK and stated out in BLACK and WHITE it was fun none the less
Posted 10/26/2008 at 08:00:07 PMHey with all the comments I have read regarding Firefly can we organise a world wide petition to Fox just a thought but there are many fans worldwide and seems to be more comming on stream since the release of serenity
Posted 01/03/2009 at 01:11:21 AMHey with all the comments I have read regarding Firefly can we organise a world wide petition to Fox just a thought but there are many fans worldwide and seems to be more comming on stream since the release of serenity
Posted 01/03/2009 at 01:15:58 AMFIREFLY!!!!!!!
Posted 03/29/2009 at 05:46:53 PMFIREFLY needs to be top 5
BRIMSTONE !!!! and all the other early Sci Fi shows on FOX that were cancelled before their time the list is huge.
Posted 04/09/2009 at 06:35:34 PMWhile i agree with some of this list, heres mine in no particular order:
Journeyman
Posted 04/18/2009 at 12:52:50 AMBrimstone
Space: Above and Beyond
Firefly
B5: Crusade
Jeremiah
Firefly then Farscape then Futurerama! In that order!
Posted 05/03/2009 at 07:03:23 AM