3 TV Shows That Ended Too Soon (That Aren’t FIREFLY)
We all know those TV shows that end after one or two seasons and you’re left wondering what was going to happen, or you feel unsatisfied with the ending. A lot of people feel that way about Joss Whedon’s Firefly and are wanting it to be brought back. While I love Firefly, I don’t want it to come back. I feel like Serenity did a decent job of providing closure. In fact, I don’t know that I necessarily want any of these shows to come back. After all, it would be weird to try to start them up again years later. As with all of my lists, these are in no particular order.
3 – The Cape
The Cape was a superhero show on NBC in 2011. It was given 13 episodes, but after poor ratings, it only got 10 episodes. This lead to the main story not finishing. The story revolves around a cop named Vince Faraday (played by David Lyons) who switches over to working for a private security firm. Faraday is then framed for being the evil mastermind Chess and is “killed”. Faraday must then clear his name and defeat the real Chess as the superhero The Cape! As The Cape, Faraday has a special cape that he gets from the ringleader (Keith David) of a traveling circus/bank robbery ring known as The Carnival of Crime.
I know this sounds pretty cheesy, and believe me it is, but once they get the story going it starts to pull you in. I think that’s the problem the show had with getting good ratings; the first several episodes weren’t really progressing the plot very far if at all. Towards the end, we start learning more about Orwell (played by Summer Glau) and that story gets extremely intriguing. Unfortunately, we don’t find out what happens with it. I can understand why it was cut, but I wish they could have had at least one more season to actually give us a satisfying ending. Maybe they could bring this one back as a graphic novel?
2 – Better Off Ted
Better Off Ted was a hilarious workplace comedy that was on ABC for 2 seasons. While I’m a fan of the idea of ending a show before it gets ruined, I feel like this show had about one or two good seasons left in it. It would have been nice to have the romance between Ted and Linda actually end up happening, or have a resolution at all. Maybe have them try it and find out they don’t work well together as more than just friends. If you haven’t seen the show (it was on Netflix for a while) the premise is that Ted (Jay Harrington) works as head of a Research and Development team for Veridian Dynamics which is an evil corporation (watch one of their “commercials” and you’ll understand). His boss is Veronica (Portia de Rossi) who very much embodies the company but you see that hard exterior crack every now and then to reveal that sometimes she can have a heart. Then you have Phil (Jonathan Slavin) and Lem (Malcolm Barrett) who are the socially inept scientists who are potentially the best characters in the show. Linda (Andrea Anders) is one of the workers under Ted and the obligatory romantic interest. The show was solid, but just kind of vanished. It didn’t have a real end to it which just felt like they left the book open and the fans are just waiting for the final page or two. This one they could maybe bring back, but I’d be worried that it would just ruin the show.
1 – Jericho
I wouldn’t be surprised if you had never heard of Jericho; it’s the oldest entry on this list, first airing in 2006. Here’s a synopsis before I go into it:
“A nuclear mushroom cloud appears on the horizon — and for the residents of Jericho, a small Kansas town, it could mean they’re the only Americans left alive. Fear of the unknown propels Jericho into mayhem, causing the town to come apart at the seams. Secrets are revealed, personal agendas take over and even the most sensible people become paranoid. But even in a time of crisis, some folks will find an inner strength they never knew existed, causing them to emerge as the most unlikeliest of heroes. As the citizens slowly rebuild Jericho, however, they also find themselves in a bitter turf war with the residents of another town, New Bern.”
This show is one of my three favorite shows of all time. The first season is a masterpiece. Unfortunately, they were only given 7 episodes from CBS for the second season. This lead to a rushed story that could’ve been fleshed out for a much better ending. The show was given was given a third season in book form, but I haven’t read it so I can’t confirm how well done it is. The cast for the show was fantastic, and it really makes you think. You can currently stream it on Netflix. I recommend you choose this as your next show. I’ll shut up now before I ruin anything about the series.