Great Shows That Were Cancelled Too Soon (and movies that never got sequels you wanted) - RIP

[Dr.Research]

There are awesome shows out there that get canned way too soon for whatever reason. Sometimes they end up with a cult following, sometimes they vanish from the collective memory. Basically, if the show only has a few episodes or a season or two, it counts.

My favorites are:
Mission Hill
Mary Shelley's Frankenhole
Metalocalypse
Korgoth of Barbaria

Honorable mention goes to God, The Devil and Bob which went over better in other countries.

I'm cheating a bit with Metaloclypse since it had 4 seasons plus a TV movie, but the way the show was canned and the way Adult Swim seemed to toy with the audience and Brendan Small regarding a 5th season is pretty shitty and the end was abrupt. Korgoth only had 1 episode but it looked very promising.

So what are some favs of yours?

 

[Trombonista]

Undeclared and Greg the Bunny.

 

[Another Fellow]

The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.
I'll be brief and just say that it's easily one of my favorite series out there. Great cast, great execution, great...everything.

Spoiler: let's not forget its bitchin' theme music

 

[Daughter of Cernunnos]

Metalocalypse. Witches of East End.

 

[FuckYou]

Mission Hill
/thread


Creds to Xavier Renegade Angel. that shit was insane while high

 

[Hypodermic Johnny]

Mary Shelley's Frankenhole
Metalocalypse

Will also drink to those two, especially re: Metalocalypse. There's still a modicum of hope that Brendan might be able to broker a deal with Netflix/Hulu or the like, but as it is, Adult Swim won't let him have the rights so it won't be for a long time yet.

For me, I'd have to say Pushing Daisies. There were a lot of victims of the writer's strike of 2007/8, and this whimsical little necromancer show was the one that hurt me most.

 

[R.A.E.L.]

I, too, miss Metalocalypse. A few months ago an Adult Swim staff member actually signed the petition to turn the show over to Hulu, but no news has surfaced since. So technically it's not in the ground yet, but the fandom has pretty much given up hope and died.

 

[Dr.Research]

I, too, miss Metalocalypse. A few months ago an Adult Swim staff member actually signed the petition to turn the show over to Hulu, but no news has surfaced since. So technically it's not in the ground yet, but the fandom has pretty much given up hope and died.

Will also drink to those two, especially re: Metalocalypse. There's still a modicum of hope that Brendan might be able to broker a deal with Netflix/Hulu or the like, but as it is, Adult Swim won't let him have the rights so it won't be for a long time yet.

I follow a fanpage for Metalocalypse that keeps up with Brendan and any goings ons. Apparently he said something in an interview about trying to give the fans closure. It probably won't be a season or movie or anything, but something. Personally, I'm hoping he just writes out a story or maybe even a few graphic novel pages. At this point even a paragraph summarizing how the band ends up is better than nothing.

 

[Spudnik]

Mission Hill
Mary Shelley's Frankenhole
Korgoth of Barbaria

Those are some top-tier picks. From Adult swim i'd also add "Welcome to eltingville"

my other picks:
"Sam and max" (really only had 12 episodes)
"Megas XLR", which the complete erasement of is near criminal.

I'm sure there's more but that's all that come to my mind.

 

[Dr.Research]

Those are some top-tier picks. From Adult swim i'd also add "Welcome to eltingville"

my other picks:
"Sam and max" (really only had 12 episodes)
"Megas XLR", which the complete erasement of is near criminal.

I'm sure there's more but that's all that come to my mind.

I've actually heard of Megas XLR. Some guy on YouTube called The DVD Grouch does a series called 'Late to the Party' where he does a brief series overview of shows that are either typically well over with or never really got any hype. He looked at Megas.

 

[PS1gamenwatch]

I've actually heard of Megas XLR. Some guy on YouTube called The DVD Grouch does a series called 'Late to the Party' where he does a brief series overview of shows that are either typically well over with or never really got any hype. He looked at Megas.

I remember Megas. Fun show, but for some reason that show seems to hate MTV, which is hilarious.

 

[cioro]

I thought Freaks and Geeks was right up my ally, shame it was cancelled.

There are a lot more shows I can think of that should've been cancelled, but weren't.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Megas XLR was taken too soon - that show was a mile-a-minute parody of Japanese super robot shows (+ Power Rangers in the best way possible) and reveled in the absurdity of it all.

Almost Human was also a great show - FOX just ensured it would die by showing the one season out of order because the earlier episodes were not as 'action-packed' because they were instead trying to set up the plot without heavy one-episode exposition. Seriously, it was basically Blade Runner x Robocop with less over-the-top bloody dismemberment. But 'I'm sorry for scanning your balls' will never not make me chuckle.

 

[Chicken Nugget Scoon]

Clone High, absolutely.

 

[RJ MacReady]

Clone High, absolutely.

Clone High was too good, but I think its destiny never lied in TV. It was a cult hit and never brought in mainstream ratings.

Fun fact: I used to live around a lot of Indian immigrants and some Indian parents I knew hated it because they had friends and family in India where its goofy depiction of Gandhi invoked a lot of anger. That it aired on MTV didn't help.

 

[Hypodermic Johnny]

Clone High was too good, but I think its destiny never lied in TV. It was a cult hit and never brought in mainstream ratings.

Fun fact: I used to live around a lot of Indian immigrants and some Indian parents I knew hated it because they had friends and family in India where its goofy depiction of Gandhi invoked a lot of anger. That it aired on MTV didn't help.

Wasn't Clone Gandhi part of the reason it unfortunately got cancelled? Something about hunger strikes? Or was that just a myth?

...hm. Clone High. Frankenhole.

...I think I see a pattern here.

 

[RJ MacReady]

Wasn't Clone Gandhi part of the reason it unfortunately got cancelled? Something about hunger strikes? Or was that just a myth?

No, it got cancelled due to poor ratings. That's all.

The hunger strikes were real, but it was just a few hundred illiterate dumbshits accepting what they'd heard at face value. That's not going to influence a television network halfway across the planet.

The folks I knew were thoroughbred conservatives (like most older naturalised immigrants from conservative religious nations) who were just swept up in the general moral panic over MTV and similar programming that'd been a regular topic since the 90s. They weren't apeshit, just annoyed.

 

[July_4_1997]

Frisky Dingo (although maybe Adam Reed could return to it for a one-off revival after Archer ends in 2019)
Hannibal
Carnivale
Looking
Firefly
Review
Penny Dreadful

The one that stings more than anything would have to be Angel, though. It was prematurely cancelled after airing its fifth season, which I consider to be the best season of television that has ever been aired.

 

[DumbDosh]

Legit

Moral Orel: Reading the interviews with the show's creator was really depressing, how the studio head wanted it to be more like the first season even though parts of the second season and the third season were some of the greatest moments that have ever been in an adult cartoon.

 

[Quijibo69]

Legit

Moral Orel: Reading the interviews with the show's creator was really depressing, how the studio head wanted it to be more like the first season even though parts of the second season and the third season were some of the greatest moments that have ever been in an adult cartoon.

It's one of those show I want to watch but never get a chance to.