Gone Too Soon... TV Series that were axed too quickly

Of all the "canceled too soon series".. This is the one that hurts the most!! UNBELIEVABLE ACTING on the part of Ian McShane! Great writing!

Would give anything to hear McShane deliver this line once more: "Coffee? Whiskey? ...Snatch?"

LMAO!...

"Deadwood" & "Rome", could have been listed as two of the greatest dramas of all time had they been given more.... time!

This was a brilliantly written series, acted beautifully.. and sometimes superbly! Sooo sad to this canceled!

This is another UNBELIEVABLE HBO SCREW UP!

How do you kill off "Rome" & "Deadwood" in a span of 12 months?!?!

At least "Rome" got to tie up the storyline well. There was more to be told, but the way it ended felt like it could have been the conclusion that was meant from the beginning.

Just Sick, Sick, SICK to see this series canceled! It was smart, well acted and written. The ominous undertone and the constant anticipation of knowing something big was about to happen...

...that is probably what did this series in. It was slow developing. More verbally, instead of action, oriented. You had to follow it... to feel the anticipation... the nuances...

Well, this is it... the very first one!

This is the series cancellation that took my cherry! Until this, I thought all series, that I liked, just went on and on...

This one hurt... and 30+ years later, I still remember this series fondly.

I have to admit.. I never saw an eps of this series when it was airing... not one. The first time I saw an episode was this year (2011), actually just a few weeks ago, and I'm in the middle of season two.

What a funny series! I see now why so many people fought so hard to keep this series airing and were so upset when it ended.

Just at the very moment I'm creating this list, I find out that "Men of a Certain Age" has been canceled!

With all the CRAP that stays on tv for years, I'm pissed but usually not surprised when shows that are meant for people with IQs higher than a grapefruit, get canceled... (must be hundreds of millions of grapefruits out there!).

TNT inexplicably, split its last season into two- 6eps seasons. What a stupid move! They lost half their audience with that stunt.

What an entertaining show. Visually beautiful and funny, with quirky story lines. It was a joy to watch!

Sad that this did not make it. Never found a good rhythm. Anyone who watched Damian Lewis in "Band of Brothers" knows he can act (in an understated tone).

I liked this series at first... couldn't wait for the next eps. But as the season progressed, it became more soap opera-ish than I had expected. Still would've liked for it to get a season or two to see how it developed.

It wasn't great, but the storyline was interesting and it was getting better each week. The last few eps were very good.

This wasn't a great series but it was entertaining and might have survived but... linear story lines can always be a death-nail for a new, struggling series. Miss a few eps and you're lost and the audience will leave in droves if it feels lost.

This has happened to me countless times: "24", "Prison Break", "Lost", etc..

This show had an interesting storyline. It came out the same year all the networks decided to copy "The 4400" and so we ended up with "Invasion" (ABC), "Surface" (NBC), & "Threshold" (CBS).

Of the three, I thought "Threshold" was the best in the initial eps, but it was the first to be canceled. "Invasion" was a good series by the end of the first season and was promptly canceled.

This was just getting really good at the end of its first season and it gets axed!!

This was an interesting and innovative series for its time. A drama set during WWII that tried to show lives of a cross-section of Americans living in a factory town. Could have been good... writing suffered during the season as it went for more soap-opera feel than the "I'll Fly Away" insightfulness that it began with.

The horror genre is sadly neglected in serial tv (finally, one that may last in "Walking Dead"). THIS was a very good horror series.. in the "Night Gallery" mold. Can't believe they didn't give this a permanent slot in the summer season lineup!

Not a huge Danson fan... But this was a really funny series, that could have been one of the best comedies of its era had it been given time.

This may not qualify for this list since it's still airing... but, that almost wasn't the case 'cause....

NBC is run by MORONS!

No wonder they've been in last place for more than a decade!

"Southland" is... -WAS- the best drama on Network TV!

Like many people, I didn't initially watch it when it first aired on NBC... I caught one of the final eps NBC aired and was just blown away! I went back and watched all the previous eps and was completely hooked!

This is a GREAT SERIES!!

Thank goodness for TBS!!

Was really liking this series! REALLY wanted to see where it would go... and I did... right into the recycle bin and onto this list.

The dialog is incredible. Grammar gives one of the best dramatic performances I've seen in a TV series in a long time. One of the "TOP 3" dramas airing on TV during its run. A ridiculously stupid move to take this series off the air after only two seasons!!

"Detroit 187" may not have been another "NYPD Blue" but it was a good, gritty police drama in the "Hill Street Blues"/"NYPD Blue" mold. And look at the success those series had.

Yet another good series that just needed another season (or two) to gain an audience.

Yes, it was on for five seasons. Probably said all that it needed to... but a series that good, with writing that excellent.... they could've kept it on for a decade as far as I'm concerned! The most brilliant drama ever produced for television!

The storyline was so very interesting... and disturbing... and intense in an emotional and dramatic form. The underlying tone and the tragedy that begins the series lead me to care for these characters and what they were going through. The stories were well written and the acting was some of the best I've seen on the "Big 4" networks in awhile... since season one of "Southland".

This series kept me entertained and wanting more. It reminded of "Life On Mars", only a different take.

But an excellent storyline and fine acting couldn't save this series from the hacks at America's Worst Network -- N B C (Nothing But Crap).

----------------- <rant> ------------------- Truthfully... I don't know why I even bother watching NBC. The whole viewer demographic for that network is so far removed from my tastes that I might as well be watching the CW.

In the 80s & early 90s, NBC got most of my network viewing time. Now they have the least of any network I watch. I watch more shows on foreign tv networks than I do on NBC.

The only thing left for me on NBC, currently, are "30 Rock" (one of the best sitcoms currently airing) and "Community" (one of the most innovative and inconsistent series I've ever seen).

Truthfully, I'm surprised this lasted as long as it did.

An excellent character driven series about, mostly, people of color, in the aftermath of one of the worst disasters in American history... 2005's Hurricane Katrina and its impact on the City of New Orleans.

At times, heart-rendering tales of misdeeds, apathy and out-right criminal negligence on the part of govt. workers and institutions. Not to mention the profiteering and systematic fraud that corporations, large and small, engaged in in the wake of this horrific tragedy.

But that is just the back drop to which this set of chars finds their lives have become. Well written and acted.. a unique show in the annals of American tv.

I will miss it much.

It seems you either loved or hated this show...

I thought it was a very good show w/ the chance to become something really special. But coming so quickly on the heels of "Breaking Bad" may have caused a backlash. Would have very much liked to see where it was going to go.

WTF!! This was an excellent series that could've gone on to create some incredible storylines.

BUT... a few things... first, the cost per eps was ridiculous.. but what do you expect when you filming in locations all over the world. Secondly, the writers/producers didn't seem to know what the hell they wanted to do with the story lines. They were painting themselves into a box with the main storyline.

Lastly, and let me preface this with the statement --- I'm no prude. But even I was annoyed with constant explicit sex scenes! And that's the first time I've ever said or even thought that in my life!

But I'm just shocked and pissed that the series was canceled! What a shame.

I tell ya.. horror series just can't catch a break!

Penny Dreadful was just an excellent horror series. This should NOT have been canceled!

Loved the writing, the dialog, the characterizations. This should not have been canceled!

A fun and interesting sci-fi series. Good characters and pace. The first two seasons were very good... but the third season ended up in Netflix hands -- which is usually a good thing -- but it seems that the third season was rushed (maybe not enough time to write it well??) and it felt flat compared with the earlier seasons.

But still would've liked to see it wrap up the story instead of leaving its fateful audience wanting.

I liked this series... it had some issues but it was a good thriller in its geo-political/sci-fi mashup. Really wanted to see where it was going.

It deserved, at the very least, a third season.

This was a very good series, especially the first season. I really couldn't understand why it was canceled considering that Hulu was just beginning to create their own content and this was easily their best and first critically acclaimed series.

True the second season was not as good as the first but new series experiencing "sophomore slumps" is so normal, it's cliched.

A real shame... such a good series cancelled after its second season.