Everyone has their favorites that got cancelled to early but I wanted to break them up between the series that didn’t last enough seasons and then the poor shows that died in their first season that should have had another chance. So here is part one of a two-part blog post that has taken me down a more crazy memory lane than my favorite commercial post.

Part two is online now. Amazing shows that were cancelled in their first season…

I got thinking about all the shows that are coming out next year that look absolutely amazing.  How many are going to be the next Stargate SG-1, Friends and CSI, and how many are going to be relegated to a list like this? There are a great number of shows that I couldn’t handle watching a full episode of but these shows were downright amazing…

Jericho CBS (2006)

Jericho actually got a second season but only because of public outrage and it was only 7 episodes. This show had character, cast, plot, deep thematic twists, and unfortunately, low ratings.  It has a huge cult following though and this led to a season 3 & 4 comic book series and there is always hope that Netflix will pony up a budget to continue the series.

Veronica Mars UPN (2004 – 2007)

Yes, Veronica Mars lasted 3 seasons and spawned a movie funded on the internet but I thought the show had amazing potential. I figured 8-10 seasons for sure.  I didn’t call that very well.

Fairly Legal USA (2011 – 2012)

I really do love a snappy legal drama… and this one had some twists… and MacGyver was in it so what wasn’t to love?  Two seasons was simply not enough.

Joey NBC (2004 – 2006)

Everyone knows how amazing Friends (1994) was and how it lasted dacade but why on earth didn’t anyone watch Matt LeBlanc’s spin-off simply called Joey?  The show gave me as many gut-wrenching laughs as Friends ever did and was much faster paced.  I really hoped it would surpass a decade and still look for a comedy that was that well written.

About a Boy NBC (2014 – 2015)

I have to admit that I only ever saw a couple episodes of this show when I was travelling and sitting in hotels with nothing else to do but I have been thoroughly enjoying watching it on Netflix. It’s a little deep and could use a few more laughs for my liking but I loved the Hugh Grant movie by the same name from 2002. I think before I finish these two seasons I am going to have a new found love for this show. I know that I already wish there were more than 2 seasons.

Human Target FOX (2010 – 2011)

Once again, this show was truly too amazing to only have one season. The show was simply addicting. If I didn’t love Mark Valley enough to make me want to watch this show, falling in love with Jackie Earle Haley surely did.  The character he played, Guerrero, was one of the most fascinating characters on TV.

Shark CBS (2006 – 2008)

Probably the best two seasons of legal drama ever aired with James Woods, one of the most talented actors I have ever seen, in Shark. Over the two years it played, it got moved around in the schedule but the show was pure legal adrenaline. It made me smile and cringe and for 40 minutes a week, I got to enjoy lawyers. I would have loved to have bought an 8-season box set but alas, some putz at CBS didn’t get fired fast enough and cancelled another great show in its prime!

Star Trek Enterprise UPN (2001-2005)

Voyager (1995) was amazing, The Next Generation (1987) was pretty impressive, and even Deep Space Nine (1993) was a decent show (I am going to rile up some trekkies with this)… I don’t believe that any of them held a candle to Star Trek Enterprise (2001). The other three all hit their 7th season but Enterprise only lasted 4. Still, one more season than the 1966 original Star Trek series which was way way way ahead of its time, but in my mind, Enterprise’s run was far too short. 2016 marked the first time in 30 years that we had gone a full decade without Star Trek on TV (the 1966 series ended in 1969 and TNG didn’t air until 1987) but thankfully 2017 will hopefully have a new Star Trek series to wet our appetites and end this dry spell.

SGU Stargate Universe SyFy (2009-2011)

Here is another science fiction show that I truly loved. I enjoyed the 1994 movie with Kurt Russel as well as the original Stargate SG-1 (1997) series which ran a decade. Stargate Atlantis (2005) ran another 5 years and was followed up by a couple TV movies: Continuum and Ark Of Truth (both in 2008). The Stargate franchise is by far my favorite SciFi show and the best it has ever delivered in my opinion, was Stargate Universe (2009) but for some crazy reason it only ran 2 seasons.  Stargate had such a rocky road that it is hard to believe someone would dare cancel a series after only 2 seasons (like they did with the original in 2007), but they did and Stargate has been off the air for 5 long years.

SGU had a phenomenal cast, a great story, enemies and potential enemies that were truly out of this world. It easily could have had a 10-year run. The Stargate writers and story line made for some of the best TV I have ever seen, hands down, and I look forward to the reboot to hit the big screen in the near future.

There are too many honorable mentions to even get into… so let’s delve into those poor shows that never survived season one tomorrow…

If you have a favorite show that you wish were back, the days of only having so many time slots due to three networks are so far behind us that most kids wouldn’t even understand.