So, in honor of the finale of Friday Night Lights, here is my review of some of my favorite cancelled shows, all of which can currently be streamed on Netflix if you have not had the pleasure (and, yes, I realize that in using this blog to talk about TV shows, I have crossed a new threshold of blogging geekiness):
(In order of least to most episodes made)
Pushing Daisies
# of Episodes: 22
Synopsis: This show was swallowed up in a perfect storm of big budget, writer's strike, and too original. On the surface, it could be a crime procedural, and yet it featured a main character named Ned, who baked pies and wakened dead people, the girl he loved (who used to be dead) that he couldn't touch, the wry humor of Chi McBride (the detective who exploited Ned's abilities to wake murder victims and find out who killed them), and Kristin Chenoweth with an occasional song-and-dance number. Not to mention the beautiful and surreal set designs and the fairy-tale-like narrator. It never had a chance, but it was great while it lasted.
Draws for me: pies, musical theater
Sports Night
# of episodes: 45
Synopsis: Before the West Wing (sort of), way before The Social Network, but after A Few Good Men, Aaron Sorkin did a low-rated, much beloved show about a nightly sports show. It featured all of the things that Sorkin would become known (and mocked) for, including quick, somewhat repetitive dialogue, the walk-and-talk, and characters who feel the need to bring their resumes into everyday conversation. Doesn't sound appealing, you say? The cast was stellar, (Robert Guillame, Felicity Huffman, Peter Krause, & Josh Charles, to name a few), the characters were engaging, and the sports talk never became a distraction.
Draws for me: sports, talkiness, grown-up Knox Overstreet
Friday Night Lights
# of episodes: 76
Synopsis: This one, for reasons I can't explain, has stayed on the air for five seasons despite the fact that it doesn't really fit into any genre, and looks like it could only be enjoyed by people who are either football fans or who live in Texas (of course, most Texans assume all people who live in Texas are football fans). It is a TV show based on a movie based on a book, which, by definition, should mean it was really bad. However, the result was incredible. It is the story of a coach, his family, a team, and a town, and while the situations they find themselves in may, from time to time, be somewhat contrived (cougar next-door-neighbors, manslaughter, meth dealers with ferrets, etc.), the characters seem like people you know, and their relationships with each other never feel forced. And if you've ever spent any time in West Texas, it's like coming back for a visit (in a good way).
Draws for me: football, relationships, a non-stereotypical, accurate portrayal of West Texas life, Tim Riggins
There are other shows that were cancelled prematurely that I discovered long after they were cancelled (Freaks and Geeks, My So-Called Life, Arrested Development) but I don't feel as attached to them because I never had that angsty relationship with them where I was worried about whether or not we would ever see each other again. Also, liking them now just makes me feel like a poser.
