First off, it seems like Fox just won't let Joss Whedon's shows survive for long. Poor marketing, bad timeslots, and being too eager to pull the plug on shows that hadn't found themselves led to two of his shows meeting an unfortunate end. Any show with the gorgeous Eliza Dushku gets the same fate. What earns these titles a place on my list is that there is no good reason their stories didn't continue even after the TV show was killed off. So, here we are, in no particular order, the Top 10 shows that should have survived cancellation.
FireFly: Oh, Firefly, you appear on everyone's list. Sure, you got a deeply depressing movie as a special favor to the fans, and a few comics that amounted to very little. The downside is that your creator was so saddened by how little money you earned production companies, that he's sworn off your universe forever. While a network revival is out of the cards, like Buffy and Angel before you, a full comic book continuation would have been divine.
Dollhouse: Dollhouse, another entry in the Whedonverse which was actually given 2 chances by Fox to survive the axe. Originally going to be pulled midseason, and again after the first season concluded, fans got loud enough to give the show a shot. However, the writers were trying to not leave loose ends so they could leave the show at a satisfactory point whenever the hammer fell, that the overall story suffered. I loved the first season a lot, and the second season wasn't too bad, but the cloud of doom hanging over the show made the viewership dwindle and Fox pulled the plug. However, why in the hell wasn't this turned into a series of 10-15 minute webisodes? Comics don't seem like the proper medium for a show as surreal as this, but some shorter webisodes a la Mortal Kombat Legacy would have been a good move for Dolllhouse.
Reaper: Reaper is the best show that never was. It had an excellent cast, excellent story, and was so ridiculously honest, that it could have lived on for another 4 seasons past the two we got. This was a show with an expiration date from the start. Like a book series, there was no way to carry this story on and on, but rather I see it as a six year narration of a young adult's life with the Devil. Plans for a comic or animated series were mentioned once, and then never again. Unfortunately, the demographic for this show was so limited, the CW really wasn't the right place for this show to begin with. It just had the wrong kind of drama. ABC or SyFy would have been much better suited for this chessgame's moving pieces. Instead, all we have are a dustbuster and a pile of ashes from the dove who thought it was a phoenix. While an cartoon show would have been cool, I doubt it would have lasted long, but Dark Horse and/or IDW execs, if you're reading this post, I only have this to say. "TAKE MY MONEY AND MAKE THIS HAPPEN!"
Freaks and Geeks: Like the title, this show was just awkward. It's cult-status worthy dialogue-heavy episodes doomed it from the start, and network television was never a good home for this show, but I do honestly believe a revival as a cartoon (released on Netflix or Hulu) would be absolutely perfect.
FlashForward: This show was another one with a short shelf-life, and the writers should have known that. Unfortunately, this show really should have been one or two movies, or a series of novels, or even a radio play. While I enjoyed watching this show, I kept telling myself at the end of each episode, "This show is never gonna last". Sadly, I was right. I would love to read a novelization of it though.
Heroes: Simply put, if this show was too expensive, but still had a relatively high viewership, WHY DID THE COMICS HAVE TO END WITH THE SHOW!? Not much else to say. The 2008 writer's strike, and the removal of Peter's powers (while Sylar still remained all-powerful, though for a short while was reset to zero) ruined the dynamic of the show, made for sloppy writing, and left some pretty big plot holes that now will never be filled. Seriously, who decided to end the companion comic series when the show was cancelled? It could have became a staple of any comic reader's subscription list!
Kyle XY: This show just got so weird towards the end with the inclusion of Jessie XX, that fans were turned off and tuning out by the hundreds. However, in the grand scheme of things, the character was really quite good, though only in hindsight. This teen drama could have grown up with the characters, but you could tell that the cast was becomming less enthusiastic about coming to work with each episode of the final season. This show really should have continued in novel format. Hey, Animorphs survived it's show (granted it was a book series first), why not Kyle XY?
My Own Worst Enemy: Christian Slater's psychological drama just didn't meet its audience, which is a shame. I rather enjoyed it. Since TV didn't seem like a right fit, I think a FireFly-eque movie wrap-up or a handful of webisodes would have nicely concluded this story. It deserved at least that much.
The Unit: This military action/drama/thriller show delivered such a mishmash of emotions, that the clusterfuck of season 4 was inevitable. I'm not at all surprised this show eventually failed, but I still enjoyed the first few seasons immensly. However, the turn the show took in the final season opened up a possibility that was never explored. A whole film franchise. Seriesly, if the Bourne book series made it past one movie, there is no way this couldn't be successful.
Tru Calling: Okay, this show should never have been cancelled to start with. But it was...which was stupid. This story was SO brilliant, it should have crossed mediums. We should have gotten games, book, movies, comics, a web series, the whole nine yards. It's well suited for all of them. Well, maybe the movies are a bit of a stretch, but I'd still like to see it happen. Tru Davies' story should have continued past the show just like Star Trek. While, I make no comparison between the two shows, both have tales to tell inbetween the episodes, both have the possibility for silver screen greatness, and while video game adaptations usually suck, it's always worth a shot.
