ONE AND DONE: THE BEST SHOWS
CANCELED IN THEIR FIRST YEAR

July 7, 2006

A few weeks back, Entertainment Weekly writer Dalton Ross got the Joss Whedon fans all riled up when he ranked the "Top Five TV Shows to Never Make It Past Season One" at his blog without including Joss' failed space western "Firefly" on that list. The ensuing Internet debate proved quite enlightening, so since it's summer (and there's not a lot of new TV worth writing about currently) I thought I'd offer my own list on the same topic.

One note before we start. You'll notice these shows are all fairly recent. There are two reasons for that. One, I wasn't born until the mid-'70s. And, two, TV networks don't give new shows much of a chance to find an audience anymore - an unfortunate practice that's turned particularly harsh in the last few years. (If "Seinfeld" premiered in 2005, it would have been canceled after six episodes.) With that said, here are my "Top Five Shows to Never Make It Past Season One":

1. "Firefly" (2002) - Guess what? The Browncoats, as "Firefly" fans like to call themselves, are right! Whedon's epic (yet also very intimate) vision of the future not only belongs on this list but placed at the very top. Like Joss' other shows ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel"), "Firefly" - a story about a crew of space smugglers just trying to survive on the fringes of civilization - was at times thrilling, scary, hilarious, and moving, and it's insane how quickly the texture of the show and relationships between the characters became as focused as any good series already on the air for a few years. Unfortunately, Fox promoted it all wrong, aired the episodes out of order, and dumped it on Friday night. The show was axed midway through the season, but the "Firefly" faithful were rewarded with the wonderful theatrical spinoff "Serenity" last fall.

2. "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr." (1993) - Something about those western/sci-fi hybrids must just tickle my brain in all the right places. Like "Firefly," "County" was both of those things, but ramped up the funny even more. B-movie icon Bruce Campbell ("The Evil Dead") played a Harvard Law graduate who gave up his cushy lifestyle to hunt down the outlaws who killed his father, a famous Wild West marshal. Sounds standard enough for a western, at least until you get to the parts concerning a mysterious orb with supernatural abilities and all the brain-twisting time travel. Campbell made his name acting in schlocky horror movies, but "Brisco" is the best starring role he ever had. His sly charm and cheeky bravado were perfect for this Fox series, which ran 27 episodes and will finally come out on DVD later this summer.

3. "Invasion" (2005) - Yeah, it was only just canceled two months ago, but I'm still reeling from ABC's decision not to continue the spooky tale of a small Florida town where most of the citizens aren't quite themselves after a hurricane devastates the area. The entire cast was good, but William Fichtner's turn as the leader of a new breed of human-alien hybrids just trying to do right by his people was brilliant on a weekly basis. Unfortunately, I think most potential viewers lumped "Invasion" in with all the bad sci-fi series that also debuted last fall ("Threshold," "Surface," etc.) when they decided not to watch this unique and compelling twist on the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" formula.

4. "Freaks and Geeks" (1999) - The most realistic look at high-school life ever captured in any medium. The movies of John Hughes? Please. "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Forget about it. How about another much beloved one-year-and-out series -- "My So-Called Life"? Not even close. The episode of this short-lived NBC classic where "freak" James Franco is forced into A/V club duty and joins the "geek" contingent for a night of Dungeons and Dragons is one of the very best hours of TV ever produced.

5. "Karen Sisco" (2003) - ABC's adaptation of the Elmore Leonard book "Out of Sight" was just as entertaining as the movie version, plus I'd take the ridiculous hot and talented Carla Gugino over Jennifer Lopez any day. Gugino sizzled as a kick-butt U.S. Marshal who not only had to deal with her tough private-eye father but also a never-ending string of colorful bad guys and would-be lovers. Light and breezy and compulsively watchable, until ABC killed the fun after only seven episodes.