As an avid watcher of primetime television, there have been many shows over the course of the years that I have fallen in love with and that have been pulled off the air despite their positive reviews and popularity. Unfortunately, it all comes down to ratings in the end, which usually means that quality television is usually tossed aside in favor of shows that pull in more viewers, but which are ultimately garbage. These shows are usually canceled at the last minute, which means that most of them lack any sort of closure, and some even end on quasi-cliffhangers because the writers believed that they were going to be going into another season .

The following list is “my” list of shows that I wish had stayed on the air longer. Out of the seven shows, I’ve seen all episodes of Moonlight, Freaks&Geeks, Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies and Veronica Mars. I’ve seen a few episodes here and there of the others, and have heard mostly positive reviews from many other television viewers. Obviously, there are some great shows that I didn’t include on this list, since I have never seen them (such as Firefly), although I’m sure that they were fantastic as well while they were running.

7. Moonlight

Although I’ll admit that it ‘t have one of the most amazing scripts in the world when compared to other really great shows, it was definitely my Friday-night guilty pleasure! Yes, it’s a show about vampires, but I never felt as if it was at all silly while I was watching it. One of my favorite parts of this show was Mick, but also his friend Josef (played Jason Dohring, who I absolutely adored as Logan on Veronica Mars!). The relationship between Beth and Mick was also developing when the show ended. This show was originally renewed for a second season, but CBS cut it just before they were supposed to film the second season, which unfortunately kept the writers from creating any sort of ending to the show. I would have really have loved this show to have at least one more season.

6. My So-Called  Life

This is a show that I haven’t seen much of, but the couple of episodes that I have seen have struck me by just how accurately reflected teenage life, just like I’ll further mention with Freaks&Geeks. There are a lot of moments on this show that have personally happened to me or to one of my friends, which makes the show speak to me on so many different levels, which I believe is what other fans of this felt as well. It’s sad when such a good show gets pulled after one season.

5. Arrested Development

Arrested Development is unfortunately a show which I haven’t really had much of a chance to see. I’ve only seen several episodes here and there, but from those which I have seen it is definitely on my list of top-see shows. It’s quirky and sometimes dry humor had me laughing at my seat. I know that they’re apparently making a movie version, which I plan to see once I make it through the three seasons that were put on the air.

4. Dead Like Me

Dead Like Me was a show about life after death. Out of this list, this was a show that got at least two good seasons worth of episodes, but it was still sad to see it get pulled off the air, since it really didn’t have any sort of conclusion to it (although it wasn’t really a show that ended on any sort of cliffhanger). What I miss the most about this show is George’s sassy attitude, as well as the characters of Mason and Daisy. This show was temporarily revived in a movie version, which I have yet to see, but which I doubt can live up to the brilliance of the television show, especially since two of the main characters are actually not features in the movie (well, technically one, since Daisy is just played by a different actress. Still, there’s no way this new actress can live up to the original performance).

3. Freaks&Geeks

This is another one of those shows that never got past its first season, and which merited a much longer run. It’s a shame sometimes how some of the most realistic high school shows get pulled off the air while shows like Gossip Girl (which I love, don’t get me wrong! – but it definitely does not accurately portray high school life) and 90210 stay on. it’s almost as if people don’t want to see characters go through what high school is really like. Like Veronica Mars (below), this show had absolutely no conclusion to it whatsover, and actually ended on a quasi-cliffhanger. Although it would have been nice to see this show run for a few more seasons, maybe it’s better that it ended quickly because many of the stars (John Francis Daley(Bones), Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother), Seth Rogen and James Franco) went on to have extremely successful careers.

2. Pushing Daisies

I think the best way to describe this show is colorful! This show was pure eye candy – from the sets, to the costumes, to the contrast and cinematography that just made everything pop. That’s not to say that the show itself wasn’t absolutely fantastic. Lee Pace and Anna Friel were absolutely fantastic as forever-estranged Ned and Chuck, long-time childhood sweethearts. Just the plot itself tips you off that this show is unique and fantastically written. I started watching this show from the very first episode, by accident to a certain extent. I had seen many previews, but had not been planning to see it – the only reason I saw it was because it was led in by another one of my favorite shows. I watched almost every single episode after that, and was disgusted at the way it was treated by the network. Pushing Daisies definitely did not run its course, with only around 22 episodes. I don’t feel as if I got enough of this fantastic show, which could have easily gone on for at least a couple of more season! You’re greatly missed, Pushing Daisies!

1. Veronica Mars

Out of all of my favorite shows that have been canceled over the years, Veronica Mars is definitely the one that I miss the most. I didn’t start watching this show until a couple of years after it ended, and I got so hooked on it after the first few episodes that I was upset to hear that there were only three seasons. I agree that the quality of the writing was weaker in the third season, but it was definitely still a good show. I also hate how it ended so open-ended – Logan and Veronica’s relationship is one of my favorites, and even though the writers have confirmed that they did indeed “end up together”, I hate how we LoVe fans were cheated out of so many possible Logan/Veronica moments. Out of all three seasons, they were only together for a few episodes at the end of the first season, and the first 10 or so episodes of the third season. It would have been nice to have at least one more solid season where they were together. Piz was cute and all, but he was no match for Logan!

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 14th, 2010 at 10:57 PM and is filed under Top 7 List. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.