My Top Cancelled TV Shows ~Honorable Mentions

I have always loved movies... I love to spend an evening relaxing on the couch, wrapped in a fleece blanket and watching a good movie.  But as much as I love them, I can't always enjoy movies.  After film classes in college I notice little details here and there that take away from movies I could enjoy.  Camera angles, costuming, color schemes, and other things that take me out of the story.

In my first film class, the professor said we would never see films the same way again.  Now if I want mindless entertainment, I watch TV.  I don't like to talk about shows that are on the air, especially since most TV shows are inconsistent between seasons.  For that reason, I am counting down my favorite TV shows that are no longer producing new seasons.  These are the shows I turn to when I have free time... they are the characters I love and the shows I quote endlessly.

_____________________________________________________________________

Honorable Mentions
As you can imagine, it was hard to narrow down the field... I got the list down to 11, but then thought of a few more.  These are shows I love, but not necessarily my first choices... but for sentimental reasons they appear here.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

"Look, I hate Los Angeles just like everybody else, but I have to work here because in any other part of the country I'm unemployable."

When the Executive Producer of popular sketch comedy Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip has an on-air meltdown, the future of the show and the network, the National Broadcasting Systems (NBS), is in jeopardy.  The new President of Entertainment Programming, Jordan McDeere (Peet) takes a chance and hires the best producer and writer in the business: Danny Tripp (Whitford) and Matt Albie (Perry).  Danny and Matt worked for the show years ago, but left over creative differences.

Ratings are down, despite the star power of the Big Three: Simon Stiles (Hughley), Tom Jeter (Corddry), and Matt's ex Harriet Hayes (Paulson).  With their old nemesis, Programming Chairman Jack Rudolph (Weber), still in running things at the network it won't be easy.  Can they make the show funny and commercial?


This show had so much potential.... a smart, fast paced show that managed to reflect and subvert popular culture and sketch comedy shows.  Critically praised, with a strong and intriguing pilot, boasting a great cast, and created by Aaron Sorkin (creator of The West Wing), it seemed like a sure thing.  But audiences didn't love it, or didn't understand it... and somehow this show was canceled.

All of my film major friends loved this show and raved about it, so this past summer I watched it on Netflix.  I planned to watch an episode here and there, maybe one a day if it was really good... From the opening sequence of the pilot I was hooked and watched the entire series in a matter of days (I didn't do much else during that time, but it was worth it in the end).  The cast has great chemistry, especially Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford, and command the screen.  The plots are interesting, and the writers are able to juggle the task of writing for the show and still making a funny show-within-a-show.

I hate that it's over, but I'm glad it ended where it did.  The final episode tied up the loose ends and gave each character a happy ending... had the show lived on, I'm certain there would be new conflicts... but the writers gave us closure, and that's all I ask.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006-2007)
Creator: Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Matthew Perry as Matt Albie
Bradley Whitford as Danny Tripp
Amanda Peet as Jordan McDeere
Steven Weber as Jack Rudolph
D.L. Hughley as Simon Stiles
Sarah Paulson as Harriet Hayes
Nathan Corddry as Tom Jeter
Timothy Busfield as Cal Shanley

_____________________________________________________________________

Saved by the Bell

 "I like school.  It's just too bad classes get in the way."

Bayside High School will never be the same, especially if schemer Zach Morris (Gosselaar) has anything to say about it.  With a little help from his friends: his lifelong best friend, eccentric nerd Screech Powers (Diamond)... brainy feminist Jessie Spano (Berkley)... spoiled fashionista Lisa Turtle (Voorhies)... the girl of his dreams, popular cheerleader Kelly Kapowski (Thiessen)... and the newest member of their group, jock A.C. Slater (Lopez); he pulls off elaborate schemes and torment / outsmart the principal, Mr. Belding (Haskins).


This show appears for nostalgic reasons.  As a child of the 90's, I grew up watching this show... tuning in for the chance to see what crazy scheme Zach and the gang would get into next.  And ever after seeing every episode many times, I would still watch the reruns on Saturday mornings.  And now the theme song is stuck in my head...

This show made it's cast stars... although most have yet to find a decent followup.  Mario Lopez is the most recognizable cast member, and has gone on to appear in films and Broadway ("A Chorus Line").  Mark Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen are back on TV.  Gosselaar was on TNT's Raising the Bar and has a new show in the works.  Thiessen is a regular on USA's White Collar.  The rest have been in a few things here and there, but have yet to break away from their Saved by the Bell alter egos.

This was the coolest show, and I still have fond memories of watching it.  Yes, it is cheesy and outdated.  Yes, the acting and writing is not great, but I still love it.

Saved by the Bell (1989-1993)
Creator: Sam Bobrick
Starring: Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zach Morris
Mario Lopez as A.C. Slater
Dustin Diamond as Screech Powers
Lark Voorhies as Lisa Turtle
Tiffani Thiessen as Kelly Kapowski
Elizabeth Berkley as Jessie Spano
Dennis Haskins as Mr. Belding