January 2009 Archives
Yesterday we announced our favorite dramas that had been ripped from the airwaves in the prime. Today we look back and fondly remember the comedies and dramedies that made us laugh over the years, until they were unjustly taken away from us. Just thinking about how amazing Freaks & Geeks was makes us upset all over again. So look over the list, let us know if you think we missed anything, and then come back next week for the best sci-fi and supernatural shows that the networks decided to can.
So many quality shows get cut by the networks (for a various assortment of reasons) before they really hit their stride, which leaves us fans hanging and wondering what happened to our favorite characters and shows. There's not much worse in the TV universe than an unresolved cliffhanger. We look back at the dramas that really touched our hearts, or minds, before the networks saw fit to pull their plugs. Don't worry all you Dead Like Me and Freaks and Geeks fanatics, those dramedies will be featured along with comedies in our forthcoming gallery. And for all you sci-fi/supernatural junkies who are upset that Firefly isn't on the list, have patience, there were so many great series that fit the bill that they are getting their own separate list. So stay tuned.
In the meantime, check out our list of the dramas, and let us know your thoughts.
For two weeks back in the pre-DVR days of 2000, anyone flipping the channel to ABC during an ER commercial break might've been shocked by what they saw on a new show misleadingly entitled Wonderland: no cute doctors in love; no furrowed-browed surgeons trading jargon in an operating theater; no easy solutions to the medical emergency of the week. Instead, what they saw was one of the most uncompromising depictions of the brutal realities of the health-care system, specifically mental health, ever seen on broadcast television - not to mention powerful, nuanced performances from actors like Ted Levine, Michelle Forbes and Martin Donovan. In retrospect, it's less of a mystery why the show was yanked prematurely than it is how it made it on air in the first place.
Now audiences have a chance to see what they missed out on as all eight completed episodes of Wonderland air each Wednesday at 10PM ET on DirectTV's The 101 Network (with the big final episode premiering March 4). To mark the occasion, the show's creator, Peter Berg, chatted with us about the origins of the series, the real story about its abrupt end and more.
Buzz has been building about a possible Moonlighting movie starring Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis. It seems the two former co-stars ran in to each other at a deli in Encino -- where all important Hollywood decisions are made, obviously -- and got misty talking about the good old days. Timely enough, since the '80s mystery-comedy-romance went off the air exactly twenty years ago this year. High time to capitalize on nostalgia.
There have been comparisons to Liz Lemon's character and Mary Richards from The Mary Tyler Moore Show before, but last night's plot seemed to be plucked straight from the annals of MTM. Liz Lemon encounters a little person and covers for her embarrassment by trying to date the guy. It instantly reminded me of a modern twist on the "Toulousse Lautrec is One of My Favorite Artists" episode, where Mary has a nice chat with a guy, only to find out that he's a foot shorter than she is. Awkwardness ensues.