27 episodes in a season? What is this 24?!
It was a different time. That’s the genius of 24. Not that it’s in real time but that they have to pick it up 24 episodes at a time. Otherwise it would have been called CTU and lasted 12 episodes. 
Definitely Space Above and Beyond, that show was great! I also really liked Earth2, which got canned without any closure.
Yes. Yes, it is.
:rolleyes:
I wasn’t gonna say anything, but yeah… d:
BSG: four seasons, in ten parts, over 12 years.
If I recall correctly.
Regardless, that’s how it felt.
Boy, ain’t that the truth!
I just remembered one REALLY short lived series that I really liked: The Unusuals. A quirky little cop show starring Amber Tamblyn and the guy who’ll be playing Hawkeye in The Avengers (I can’t think of his name right now) that was on a couple of seasons ago. That was a pretty goofy, brilliant show playing on cop show conventions for laughs (but still managing to make serious points at times). Alas, it lasted maybe 12 episodes.
in that case Caprica feels like it’s been going on for 3 years…
Sanctuary went on hiatus in January. I had mostly forgotten its plot points when it returned. So, Sanctuary has been airing 3-4 years too?
I really enjoyed Threshold and was glad that they provided some clues about what would have come next.
I thought Flash Forward was a melted hot mess. Where was it even going? What did any of it mean? Why did it spend episode after episode going nowhere, and most importantly, why was Joe Fiennes the lead? They could have gotten more charisma out of an old classroom chalkboard.
I don’t really disagree with any of that. And yet… for some reason, I found the show to be very compelling. I guess I’m a sucker for a show with a good premise.
Sanctuary is about six episodes in to it’s third season on television.
In other news, I was a big fan of John Doe back in the day.
Choice Number One: Dollhouse
Of all the sci-fi stuff recently canceled, Dollhouse had I think the best possible established premise for exploring the depths/abilities of the mind or discussing the relationship between reality and perception. Plus, it was damn entertaining. It did an incredible job of balancing complex metaphysical themes and action, which just plain baffles me. The more I think about what I look for in shows, and what draws me to some things more than others, the more I come to realize how great Dollhouse was. Near the end, it was both about the action-based plot twists and the logical extremes of consciousness-transplantation. But now I’m just plain rambling in a stew of ossim.
Choice Number Two: Firefly
Well, you know, duh. It’s not nearly so mentally lofty as Dollhouse, but what it lacks in that department it more than makes up for inter-personal drama. And again, well-thought out, meaningful action. it really gets a leg up though in terms of framing and cinematics. So many of the scenes from this show were memorable just because of how they were shown.
Choice Number Three: Farscape
Canceled at just the perfectly wrong time. The show had worked so hard to establish a fun-loving, humorous, tongue-in-cheek mood that worked great for the characters and cast; chemistry was chugging along. Meanwhile, the show also had spent so long setting up the dynamic of wormholes and the importance of technology. It started to deal with concepts of bending reality and separate planes of existence contained with in the mind. What an awesome combination! With muppets! And thennnn… canned.
Honorable Mention: Caprica
See Dollhouse, but with less action and more tense, slow drama. Without the action, it was a show that needed to be stewed over and appreciated moreso than just enjoyed.
Exactly! It was just odd how no one watched it since the humor was really accessible. And you’re right, there are some comedic similarities between Bill Lawrence and Victor Fresco.
Though I think I have to edit my list since I was reminded that Andy Richter Controls the Universe actually had ‘2’ seasons with a total of 19 episodes.
Aren’t there 18 episodes of sheer brilliance? (and the DVD commentaries are a riot.) 
I know NBC didn’t air them all, but I think they aired more than 13.
Heh. I have to agree with that sentiment. Joseph Fiennes is a fine theatre and movie actor, as it turned out, he’s not much of a TV actor. But to be fair, there were a lot of good actors/actresses on Flash Forward, but none of them got much to work with.
I love Dollhouse for all the things you mentioned, but I was at least glad the show got a chance to wrap up in the way they wanted to, in a second season they would never have gotten in the first place had it not been made by Joss Whedon for FOX after the Firefly debacle, and FOX couldn’t just axe Whedon again for fear of the uproar, I think? (On the other hand, god knows what kind of a cliffhanger Caprica will leave us on. I know it’s irrational and oh so petty, but I hate you SyFy, and your stupid ‘trying to distance yourself away from awesome geeks’ new name. May you bathe in the wrath of Caprica fans forever.)
I doubt it would have made a difference in ratings or the longevitiy of the show at all, but I still think it was a mistake to cast Dushku as the lead of the show. She’s a great actor, but she isn’t a chameleon and has her limits, and playing as complicated as a character like Echo sort of revealed all her acting weaknesses.
And finally, I’m really terrified that Terriers will join the ranks of this thread to become the latest short-lived show. Fingers crossed that a ton of people will catch the finale tonight. It’s a great show!
18 eps. you are correct. that makes me feel a bit better about it. i mean, 18 is better than 13. mrs. jarathen is the die-hard; she just got me to realize how terrible it is to get invested in a show that just cuts off like that.
I just recently got hip to Freaks & Geeks. I was watching the episodes every Friday night on IFC. I fall in love with the show, and bam! It ends. To me, it feels like the whole gang died in a bus wreck.
I’d been a Martin Starr fan in his more recent work, and I didn’t even realize who he was until toward the end. I kept thinking, “Man, this kid is good. I wonder if he ever worked again.”
yeah, he was real good in Starz’ cult series Party Down, which ran for two short seasons, but he’s generally a funny presence anywhere you find him.
I’m just thinking… they should do a remake of “Misfits of Science” and throw Courtney Cox back in it.
I think she is doing ok in Cougar Town. Isn’t she? I like the thought though. (:
Ok, I got a series for yall…
The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. d: Can’t get much ended before it’s time than that. (:
My favorite short-lived ser…