TV Shows Done Too Soon
TV shows that were prematurely cancelled that I feel deserved a chance. So much potential never realized. Yes, I still miss them. Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened - I guess.
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- CreatorSteven LilienElizabeth SarnoffBryan WynbrandtStarsSarah JonesJorge GarciaJonny CoyneIn 1963, all the prisoners and guards mysteriously disappear from Alcatraz. In the present day, they resurface and a secret agency are tasked with re-capturing them.Five years on now. I am still 100% gutted this was cancelled untimely. It is painful to even go back and watch past episodes (as good as they are!) because I just can't get over how it was left. Such incredible writing, acting and story telling. The love story between Emerson and Lucy. The mystery of HOW and WHY these 63's were returning. The HUGE cliffhanger at the end of S1 with zero chance of any resolution. Damn you Fox, Damn you all to hell. (goes to sob)
- CreatorKelly MarcelCraig SilversteinStarsJason O'MaraShelley ConnChristine AdamsCenters on the Shannons, an ordinary family from 2149 when the planet is dying, who are transported back 85 million years to prehistoric Earth where they join Terra Nova, a colony of humans with a second chance to build a civilization.
- CreatorDavid MansonStarsTom Everett ScottOmari HardwickElizabeth ReaserA paramedic deals with his gambling addiction and troubled relationship with his girlfriend.
- CreatorOren PeliMichael R. PerryStarsBruce GreenwoodJoe AndersonLeslie HopeThe crew of a research vessel are on a quest to find a missing TV explorer in the Amazon.
- CreatorHoward GordonTim MinearStarsRachel NicholsAdam BaldwinKatie FinneranA rookie FBI agent is recruited as the new violent crimes task force profiler to solve murder cases.This was similar to Criminal Minds but waaay better. Only a handful of episodes aired. Peter Coyote led the profilers.
- CreatorTom FontanaJames YoshimuraBarry LevinsonStarsAdam BuschCote de PabloJeff HephnerA jury of 12 different men and women deliberating various capital crime cases while under the supervision of the courthouse staff ranging from the bailiff, the head clerk, the messenger, and the judge, prosecutor and defense lawyer.No picture IMDB? I love the way the show played out. You started with a jury deliberating. That is how you found out the crime and "procedural" elements. The jury rendered their verdict. Then, at the very end, after the verdict, it showed whether the jury was right or wrong.
- CreatorRobert C. CooperBrad WrightStarsRobert CarlyleLouis FerreiraBrian J. SmithTrapped on an Ancient spaceship billions of light-years from home, a group of soldiers and civilians struggle to survive and find their way back to Earth.The only saving grace here is that Robert Carlyle is in Once Upon A Time.
- CreatorShaun CassidyStarsWilliam FichtnerEddie CibrianKari MatchettA Florida Park Ranger and his family deal with strange occurrences in the aftermath of a hurricane.
- CreatorAllan LoebChristian TaylorStarsNikolaj Coster-WaldauZuleikha RobinsonAlexie GilmoreA New York homicide detective is cursed with immortality.
- CreatorKevin FallsStarsKevin McKiddGretchen EgolfMoon BloodgoodA San Francisco journalist mysteriously travels to the past and alters the path of people's lives. When his travels reunite him with his long-lost fiancée Livia, life with his present-day wife gets very interesting.
- CreatorStephen GallagherJustin BodleRichard MewisStarsSam NeillPhilip WinchesterTongayi ChirisaThe story follows the escapades of Crusoe, who embarks on a high-seas adventure and gets shipwrecked on a remote tropical island.
- CreatorKarl GajdusekShawn RyanStarsAndre BraugherScott SpeedmanDaisy BettsA U.S. sub picks up Navy SEALs and receives an order for a nuke launch. Due to the circumstances of the order, the Captain refuses to fire. After escaping an attack from another U.S. sub, the crew and SEALs take refuge on a small island.Very heartbroken to hear of its cancellation. Deserved a chance. Was just picking up steam. Really interesting plot and incredible cast. Love Andre Braugher.
- CreatorDavid SchulnerStarsSteven PasqualeAlana De La GarzaMichael EsperBrilliant neurosurgeon Jason Cole must battle with his own alter-ego, Ian Price, in order to live a normal life in this modern take on Jekyll and Hyde.The US Version on NBC. Cancelled after only 2 episodes. Ridiculous. Never even given a chance.
- CreatorPaul T. ScheuringStarsAnthony EdwardsCarmen EjogoScott Michael FosterRevolves around a bizarre twist of fate that pulls a man who's spent 20 years as the editor of a skeptics magazine into one of the most compelling conspiracies in human history.
- CreatorMichael KarnowZak PennStarsDavid StrathairnRyan CartwrightWarren ChristieAlphas is a science fiction drama focusing on a team that investigates people with supernatural abilities.Was so good. Can't imagine what SyFy was thinking. Especially with the introduction of Sean Astin as Martin it was setting up for only better things.
- CreatorJonathan E. SteinbergStarsMark ValleyChi McBrideJackie Earle HaleyA unique bodyguard protects his clients by secretly infiltrating their lives in order to draw out and eliminate threats.It was very good the first season. Just the rag tag group of three guys bodyguarding and helping folks in sticky situations. They had little money so had to get very creative and resourceful. A fatal mistake was made bringing in Ms. Pucci as the new super rich owner and of course, she became Chase's love interest, too. That really ruined the entire dynamic of the show in Season 2. However, I think the showrunners COULD have turned it back around if there had been a S3 - either by writing Pucci out of the picture entirely or having her lose all her money - something. Mark Valley was great as Chance as ex assassin turned bodyguard/problem solver supreme. But the REAL love (for me) of the show was the enigmatic Jackie Earle Haley as Guererro - dude! They could've had a spinoff just with him.
- StarsElliot KnightMarama CorlettElliot CowanA Persian prisoner sets out to find his dead brother with help from his misfit group.
- CreatorRand RavichStarsRobert KazinskyDilshad VadsariaAdhir KalyanA billionaire bio-engineer brings a dead police officer back to life.
- CreatorChristopher MarkusStephen McFeelyStarsHayley AtwellJames D'ArcyEnver GjokajIn 1946, Peggy Carter is relegated to secretarial duties in the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR). When Howard Stark is accused of treason, he secretly recruits Peggy to clear his name with the help of his butler, Edwin Jarvis.
- CreatorCameron PorsandehStarsBilly CampbellKyra ZagorskyMark GhaniméA team of scientists are thrust into a potentially life-or-death situation when they arrive in the Arctic to secretly investigate what could be an outbreak of a strange disease in a secluded international research facility.
- CreatorKevin MurphyRockne S. O'BannonMichael TaylorStarsGrant BowlerStephanie LeonidasJulie BenzLife in the city of Defiance, in a near future after the arrival of different alien lifeforms to Earth.
- CreatorJane EspensonZack EstrinAdam HorowitzStarsSophie LoweMichael SochaPeter GadiotIn Victorian England, the young and beautiful Alice tells a tale of a strange new land that exists on the other side of a rabbit hole.It was great! I don't know why it got cancelled. It was less about magic and dark ones (like orig OUAT). It was all about finding your true love/being reunited with your true love. Tons of storyline opportunity there. My dream for S2 would've been that Alice and Cyrus travel to Agrabah and it would all center around getting Aladdin and Jasmine together. I mean come on - S1 already had the genie and Jafar!! This spinoff worked and deserved better IMO. In many ways I feel this was superior to orig OUAT and what it has become now.
- CreatorHoward GordonStarsSean BeanMorris ChestnutAli LarterA deep-cover operative, Martin Odum, has an uncanny ability to transform himself for each job. His own identity is questioned when a stranger suggests he's not who he believes.This was a travesty. Sean Bean was INCREDIBLE (as usual) in both seasons. Don't know if it just didn't find the right audience. There was a pretty big departure btwn S1 (more procedural) and S2 (more the long term story and him mostly on his own.) But they were both outstanding and feel there was much further they could've gone.
- CreatorDaniel CeroneDavid S. GoyerStarsMatt RyanHarold PerrineauCharles HalfordA man struggling with his faith who is haunted by the sins of his past is suddenly thrust into the role of defending humanity from the gathering forces of darkness.
- CreatorVince GilliganDavid ShoreStarsJosh DuhamelDean WintersAubrey DollarTwo detectives with different views on the world team up and using cynicism, guile and deception, they clean up the streets of Battle Creek.