Commentary with a Co-Ed: TV shows prematurely canceled

by Ashley Gouveia

photo credit: Cast of Moonlight

What is more annoying to a TV viewer than getting so invested in a show only to see it ripped from the network without a fair chance or proper ending? I can’t come up with anything at the moment.

It seems like nowadays a television show is barely given a chance to build an audience before it gets the ax and joins the pile of short-lived programs. They all can’t be lucky (or unlucky, depending on your perspective) like ER and 7th Heaven to last on air for longer than a decade. Here are my personal favorites of TV shows that were shut down way before their time.

Tru Calling: The way this show ended is probably the worst scenario of how a show should get cancelled. It only lasted two and a half seasons with no ending or closure of any kind for the audience. We weren’t left with any type of answers to what was going on with Tru’s shady daddy and Jack the Reaper. I always thought there was more to Tru’s brother Harrison, like there was more to his story that had yet to be revealed. That’s right; I have resorted to making up storylines for closure. Don’t judge me. Tru Calling had so much more to resolve, but I feel like it was never given a chance.

Roswell: I absolutely loved this show! It survived the jump from The WB (oh, how I miss you!) to UPN, so we got an extra third season then was expected. At least Roswell ended the series in a way where we saw all the characters we adored for three years at their destinations. I can’t say that about a lot of other shows. But I felt like that kind of show could have lasted a lot longer than it did. Think about it, Katherine Heigl could have been Isabel Evans for a longer period of time. Somehow, I think I’m more broken up about it than she is.

Moonlight: The best new show of this past season and the most recent fatality of cancellation. I’m still hanging on to hope that some other network will realize what a great show this is and give it a chance. One season is just not enough of Mick St. John, private investigator and vampire. We never got to see Coraline again and there was never enough Joseph. A second season would allow some time to expand on these characters we loved. Poor Jason Dohring, this is the second show he was on that was cancelled way before its time. People are still seething over the decision to end Veronica Mars.

Those are my picks that fall under the “Too good so they cancelled it” category. What are some of your favorites that were prematurely put out to pasture? ‘Till next week.

Commentary with a Co-Ed is a weekly column at Tube Talk new every Friday

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