Sudden Stop:The Best Cancelled TV Shows

BY JEREMY HAAS

Watching TV is how a lot of people spend most of their time, in fact, according to the New York Times, the average American watches around 34 hours of TV per week.  Whether these hours are wasted on some dumb competition like Dancing with The Stars, or completely engaged in a strong storyline like Breaking Bad, most of these shows are much more interesting than our mundane realities.  Yet, despite having hundreds of channels to flip through, our favorite shows continue to be cut short, only to be replaced by crummy attempts at “reality” and stupid plots revolving around vampire love affairs.   So, in honor of all the time spent watching abbreviated seasons that ended too soon, here are three of the greatest shows ever to be cancelled.

Freaks and Geeks

Judd Apatow is widely known for his involvement in movies like Superbad, Talladega Nights and Knocked Up, but before this, he worked as an executive producer for one of the most iconic, and unnoticed high school shows of all time.  Taking place in the 1980’s, Freaks and Geeks documented the lives of two social groups at the fictional, McKinley high school, the “freaks” and the “geeks.”  Freaks and Geeks took a fairly realistic approach to high school problems; however, it was never really given much of a chance.  Before the first season could even finish airing, NBC cancelled it, because of Freaks and Geeks’ low viewership.  It was only years after the cancellation that it gained a cult following and critical acclaim.

A lot of what makes Freaks and Geeks great is its cast.  Before they were widely recognized super stars, James Franco, Jason Segel, and Seth Rogen starred as the “freaks” of McKinley High School.  Seeing these guys as teenage burnouts is not only hilarious but also strangely fitting.  Hearing Jason Segel sing awful love songs and go on about John Bonham’s drumming makes for some classic scenes, and the dumbed-down drummer role really worked for him.  Martin Starr played the perfect geek as Bill Haverchuck, a goofy, but witty freshman, who often served as the moral compass for other characters on the show.  Besides the great casting, Freaks and Geeks has superb scripting.  It captured the true essence of high school really well, including just the right amount of drama, but enough comedy to keep it from getting too emotional.  Freaks and Geeks did a nice job with being relatable to teenagers, but its near-perfect balance allows it to be enjoyed by all.  Still, after one season, cancellation struck.  It’s depressing to see a show like Degrassi continue to flood our TVs with cheesy themes and overly dramatic characters, when the ingenious, Freaks and Geeks, never even got a chance.

Dead Like Me

The idea of death is one that scares a lot of people, but it’s also one that makes for some great dark humor.  Dead Like Me took the fear of death, and crossbred it with the mediocre life of an office worker for the perfect balance.  Bryan Fuller created this two-season Showtime series; however, due to “creative differences” he ditched the show after its first five episodes, leaving Dead Like Me in the hands of many.  Fortunately, it was salvaged; but no matter how amazing Dead Like Me was, there was no escaping the dreaded cancellation.  This undeserved death could be blamed on a lot of things; maybe people became less interested in a show revolving around death, maybe it got boring, or maybe it just freaked them out.  It isn’t outlandish to see viewers shy away from a series about the day-to-day life of a grim reaper.  Regardless, Dead Like Me died before its time, and no amount of devoted cult-fans can change that.

Specifically, Dead Like Me revolved around the after-life of Georgia Lass, an 18-year-old college dropout whose existence was cut short in a freak accident.  Rather than moving on to a “heaven” of sorts, she was forced to become a grim reaper; helping to lead deceased folks to the afterlife.  Dead Like Me focuses on the struggles Georgia and her reaper friends face while guiding these souls, as well as the problems Georgia’s family faces due to her sudden death.  This show really has something for everyone; to start with, it has an amazing concept, but it also features abundant comedy, twisted and complex “accidental” deaths, amazing character development, strong themes for every episode, and thought-provoking insight to what death really is.  Sure, Dead Like Me is just an old, cancelled, TV show, but if death really did work like the series makes it out to, well, that’d be really comforting.

Arrested Development

Okay, so Arrested Development is coming back for another season, and a movie after that, complete with the entire original cast, but that still doesn’t mean it wasn’t cancelled at one point in time.  Created by the brilliant Mitchell Hurwitz, Arrested Development is often regarded one of the funniest shows of all time.  Most “comedy” TV shows that are still airing just don’t seem to have the hilarity Arrested Development had, and that’s a sad thing.  Its dry humor is unmatched by any, and nobody really seems to know why FOX cancelled this show in the first place.

Arrested Development follows the Bluth family business; one that designs and sells luxury homes in California.  As they face numerous lawsuits regarding building overseas, the only “normal” member of the family, Michael Bluth, has to keep everything together. However, it isn’t really plot that drives this show, but more so its characters, each one possessing a unique quirk.  Whether it’s Lucille’s alcoholism, GOB’s self-confidence issues, Lindsay’s shallow tendencies, or Buster’s mamma’s boy complex, every character has hilarious traits.  All of the actors in Arrested Development have superb chemistry with each other, as there is never a dull moment in the show.  Running gags like the Bluths’ inability to accurately mimic a chicken, or Tobias Fünke’s up-in-the-air sexuality make for instant laughs; I guess none of this would make much sense to somebody who hasn’t seen Arrested Development, but trust the ever-multiplying fans, this series is beyond hilarious.

Whether or not these series had the biggest audience, it’s a shame to have seen them taken off the air.  Flipping through channels often brings disappointment at cringe-worthy shows like Keeping Up with The Kardashians. Sadly, with more great television being ignored and cancelled, our entertainment-oriented culture seems to be circling the drain faster than ever.