Angel.
Could of gone on for years. The depth to characters and whole Buffyverse made this an absolute winner for me.
Merlin
Final series looked like they rushed it. Spreading such an epic conclusion over another series would be better.
Point Pleasant
Cut short first series due to viewing figures. I enjoyed it and felt it had huge potential.
Firefly.
Same again. Could have been Epic.
Firefly
Carnivale
American Gothic
Angel - it had 5, which was great, but had at least one more in it
Dollhouse - a very weak start but 75% of its run was gob-smackingly good. This is the one I am probably most sad about. When I finished watching I really had that sense of "what could have been" - seasons 3-6 of Dollhouse WOULD have been amazing.
1. Carnivale - This show will always be the first show I say when questions like this get asked. To this day I still think HBO should of gave it more seasons. They also refused to sell to other networks who expressed an interest in the show :mad:
2. Angel - Should of ran for one more season to allow the writers to give the show a proper planned end.
3. Dollhouse - Started off slow, but season 2 was fantastic, and although I was happy with how the show ended, it would of been nice for the show to have had a longer life.
1. Carnivale - This show will always be the first show I say when questions like this get asked. To this day I still think HBO should of gave it more seasons. They also refused to sell to other networks who expressed an interest in the show :mad:
Carnivale looked fantastic. It had a huge production budget to create and maintain the authentic-looking period sets. Ultimately that worked against the show as it cost a fortune to produce. Ultimately it came down to HBO not wanting to fund both Carnivale and Deadwood at the time. They went with Deadwood, which itself was cancelled 12 months afterwards.
TBH, I'm not sure there was anyone else who could have carried Carnivale after HBO. A reduction in production budget and subsequent values would have shown. At the time AMC and Starz weren't really viable homes. Neither was SyFy given the cost. Maybe Showtime but that would have been it.
Couple of slightly older shows, which along with Firefly and 24 are the only shows I really wish had continued:
Nowhere Man - Cancelled after one season. Too intelligent for today's Network channels so would prob have been cancelled after 3 episodes if it had aired today.
Odyssey 5 - Really started to go somewhere and then the axe fell ;(
These series originate from North America and the sad thing is that the US networks and channels are so ratings driven that they will cancel a series despite its dramatic quality which often leaves viewers without a proper ending or plot resolution.
While technically neither show was "cancelled" but rather willingly brought to an end, TNG and DS9 should have continued for a few more seasons.
TNG ended because the producers wanted to move the characters into film. Personally I thought all the TNG movies were disappointing. First Contact was the only decent one. I would have traded all four of those films for two or three more seasons of TNG
DS9 ended because Paramount wanted to devote all attention to the infinitely inferior Voyager.
Yeah, I think Invasion should have been renewed; I'd like to have seen how that panned out. Above and Beyond, I'm not so sure about.
Firefly, I can take or leave.
SGU should have had the first season cancelled so that the second season was first season and then they should have made another season
Flashforward, yes, I'd liked to have seen a proper ending.
Most other things that have been mentioned, I'd watch if they had been but I don't really miss them either.
Except for Enterprise, that abomination should never have existed. full stop. And definately not with Scot "single expression, outacted by a stick" Spatulal, who should never have been allowed airtime in anything. I have a goldfish with more talent than him.
[off topic]
A possibly more interesting question would be, which shows got too many seasons? I'll open with Stargate SG1. None of the stuff with Ori was needed, they were rehashing all that had gone before.
It was a shame that Crusade was cancelled when it was, it was about to get a whole better. There was a 'Bester' episode up next, and the season finale would have blown everything wide open. if you dig around the internet the scripts are (or at least were) available for perusal.
A possibly more interesting question would be, which shows got too many seasons? I'll open with Stargate SG1. None of the stuff with Ori was needed, they were rehashing all that had gone before.
Personally I always preferred the Ori stuff to the Goa'uld. The Goa'uld got old in the second season yet they still dragged their sorry a$$e$ along for another 6/7 seasons!
Shows that went on too long? You could probably say The X Files. That depends on whether you liked Doggett/Reyes I suppose. I thought the show might have worked with that pair had they not been trying to shoehorn Gillian Anderson into season 9 at every opportunity. A clean break would have been better, and then retitle it The X Files: The Next Generation! Anyone tuning in after season 8 and expecting more of the same was in for a disappointing surprise.
Again, might have said Smallville, but I preferred the later seasons to the earlier ones.
Star Trek Voyager - there you go. Should have been killed in its infancy rather than being allowed to start the rot that continued with Enterprise.
As well as the usual ones (Firefly of course, plus also more recent shows like T:TSCC and Journeyman), I'll echo the earlier mention of Nowhere Man, plus add an old fave of mine from the 90s: The Adventures of Brisco County, Junior.
Yeah, I think Invasion should have been renewed; I'd like to have seen how that panned out. Above and Beyond, I'm not so sure about.
Firefly, I can take or leave.
SGU should have had the first season cancelled so that the second season was first season and then they should have made another season
Flashforward, yes, I'd liked to have seen a proper ending.
Most other things that have been mentioned, I'd watch if they had been but I don't really miss them either.
Except for Enterprise, that abomination should never have existed. full stop. And definately not with Scot "single expression, outacted by a stick" Spatulal, who should never have been allowed airtime in anything. I have a goldfish with more talent than him.
[off topic]
A possibly more interesting question would be, which shows got too many seasons? I'll open with Stargate SG1. None of the stuff with Ori was needed, they were rehashing all that had gone before.
That was one of the things that attracted me to the show, as i began watching at the start of season 8. Which subsequently lead me to watching Atalantis.
That was one of the things that attracted me to the show, as i began watching at the start of season 8. Which subsequently lead me to watching Atalantis.
If you only started watching the show at that time then fair enough but having watched since day 1, it really was just rehashing the previous stuff for me; I felt the show had reached a natural end and didn't need to continue.
Comments
Journeyman.
Defying Gravity.
Firefly.
Stargate Universe.
Dark skies
Quantum leap
The 10th kingdom,
American gothic
Could of gone on for years. The depth to characters and whole Buffyverse made this an absolute winner for me.
Merlin
Final series looked like they rushed it. Spreading such an epic conclusion over another series would be better.
Point Pleasant
Cut short first series due to viewing figures. I enjoyed it and felt it had huge potential.
Firefly.
Same again. Could have been Epic.
Totally agree - one of the best things I've watch for years, still shocked they won't renew!
Carnivale
American Gothic
Angel - it had 5, which was great, but had at least one more in it
Dollhouse - a very weak start but 75% of its run was gob-smackingly good. This is the one I am probably most sad about. When I finished watching I really had that sense of "what could have been" - seasons 3-6 of Dollhouse WOULD have been amazing.
2. Angel - Should of ran for one more season to allow the writers to give the show a proper planned end.
3. Dollhouse - Started off slow, but season 2 was fantastic, and although I was happy with how the show ended, it would of been nice for the show to have had a longer life.
Other mentions
The 4400 and Invasion
Carnivale looked fantastic. It had a huge production budget to create and maintain the authentic-looking period sets. Ultimately that worked against the show as it cost a fortune to produce. Ultimately it came down to HBO not wanting to fund both Carnivale and Deadwood at the time. They went with Deadwood, which itself was cancelled 12 months afterwards.
TBH, I'm not sure there was anyone else who could have carried Carnivale after HBO. A reduction in production budget and subsequent values would have shown. At the time AMC and Starz weren't really viable homes. Neither was SyFy given the cost. Maybe Showtime but that would have been it.
Absolutely
It was originally planned for each season to be devoted to a number of years but the early cancellation led to an unsatisfactorally rushed ending
SGU
No Ordinary Family
Nowhere Man - Cancelled after one season. Too intelligent for today's Network channels so would prob have been cancelled after 3 episodes if it had aired today.
Odyssey 5 - Really started to go somewhere and then the axe fell ;(
Stargate Universe at least one more
Alcatraz, would have liked this to go on a little longer as well
Space Above and Beyond
Firefly
Crusade
Stargate Universe was getting good when cancelled during it's 2nd season.
That would depend on which version - the original was cheesy and a creature of it's time - the remake was tedious.
TNG ended because the producers wanted to move the characters into film. Personally I thought all the TNG movies were disappointing. First Contact was the only decent one. I would have traded all four of those films for two or three more seasons of TNG
DS9 ended because Paramount wanted to devote all attention to the infinitely inferior Voyager.
Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Alphas
Flashforward
Dark Skies
Crusade
Terminator TSCC
Dark Angel
Star Trek: Enterprise - At the very least just fix the finale.
Above and Beyond, I'm not so sure about.
Firefly, I can take or leave.
SGU should have had the first season cancelled so that the second season was first season and then they should have made another season
Flashforward, yes, I'd liked to have seen a proper ending.
Most other things that have been mentioned, I'd watch if they had been but I don't really miss them either.
Except for Enterprise, that abomination should never have existed. full stop. And definately not with Scot "single expression, outacted by a stick" Spatulal, who should never have been allowed airtime in anything. I have a goldfish with more talent than him.
[off topic]
A possibly more interesting question would be, which shows got too many seasons? I'll open with Stargate SG1. None of the stuff with Ori was needed, they were rehashing all that had gone before.
It was a shame that Crusade was cancelled when it was, it was about to get a whole better. There was a 'Bester' episode up next, and the season finale would have blown everything wide open. if you dig around the internet the scripts are (or at least were) available for perusal.
Personally I always preferred the Ori stuff to the Goa'uld. The Goa'uld got old in the second season yet they still dragged their sorry a$$e$ along for another 6/7 seasons!
Shows that went on too long? You could probably say The X Files. That depends on whether you liked Doggett/Reyes I suppose. I thought the show might have worked with that pair had they not been trying to shoehorn Gillian Anderson into season 9 at every opportunity. A clean break would have been better, and then retitle it The X Files: The Next Generation!
Again, might have said Smallville, but I preferred the later seasons to the earlier ones.
Star Trek Voyager - there you go. Should have been killed in its infancy rather than being allowed to start the rot that continued with Enterprise.
Defying Gravity.
Star Cops.
Space: Above and Beyond
As well as the usual ones (Firefly of course, plus also more recent shows like T:TSCC and Journeyman), I'll echo the earlier mention of Nowhere Man, plus add an old fave of mine from the 90s: The Adventures of Brisco County, Junior.
That was one of the things that attracted me to the show, as i began watching at the start of season 8. Which subsequently lead me to watching Atalantis.
If you only started watching the show at that time then fair enough but having watched since day 1, it really was just rehashing the previous stuff for me; I felt the show had reached a natural end and didn't need to continue.