Stay with me if you've been through this: You find a new show at the beginning of the season that you absolutely love - and then it unceremoniously is canceled at the end of the season. In honor of such demises, I present the four least-deserved TV cancellations of the past few years.
Firefly: It is an absolute travesty that Fox would even think of canceling this show, but Firefly received the ax after less than a full season. Little did Fox know, the show had attracted a passionate cult following. Fans protested the cancellation so vehemently that creator Joss Whedon then made a feature film, Serenity, that tied up the loose ends in the show's plot. For those who have never seen it, Firefly is a futuristic science-fiction series reminiscent of a western that follows the crew of Captain Malcolm Reynolds of the spacecraft Serenity, who fought up on the losing side of a war and since has had to make his living day-to-day on the frontiers of civilization. The show's unmatched character development, intriguing plot and superior writing makes it appealing to fans across genres.
Joan of Arcadia: Imagine you're walking to school one day after just moving to a new town. Someone you've never met before walks up to you, knows everything about you and tells you he's God. What would you do? This is the dilemma faced by main character Joan Girardi in this CBS family drama. The show revolves around the "assignments" that God gives to Joan. Although they often are difficult at the time, these assignments end up having unintended consequences that help everyone. Joan's growth throughout the series combined with a unique perspective taken on religion make this show especially compelling. Though it did jump the shark somewhat during the second season, becoming a little too reminiscent of a psycho-thriller, this show still never deserved cancellation after such a short time.
Clone High: Most people rarely associate MTV with high-quality TV - or at least, I don't - but the network scored a hit with this cartoon. The show is set at Clone High, a fictional high school attended by the teenage clones of famous historical figures such as Gandhi, JFK and Abraham Lincoln, who end up experiencing the same awkward adolecent challenges we all face. Surprisingly enough, the show's biggest strength is its quick, intelligent wit. Creators Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Bill Lawrence often sneak in a lot of jokes that any viewer not paying close attention can miss. Moreover, the show includes a plethora of quips made especially for history geeks like myself.
Whoopi: Speaking of good comedies, this one starring Whoopi Goldberg as fictional one-hit-wonder singer Mavis Rae also was top-notch. As the show opens, Mavis has retired from singing and owns a hotel. The writing of Whoopi was tailor-made for Goldberg's dry sense of humor and featured many hilarious running gags, such as Mavis's "terrorist handyman" Nasim. Mavis's brother and his girlfriend also poke fun at stereotypes about black and white people. The show's comedic value extended to some great satire of the Bush administration, as well, that unfortunately angered political conservatives, and backlash from that group played a significant role in the show's ultimate fate, which was canceled after only 22 episodes.
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