Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Dissed TV Part ONE

PLEASE bear with me and read the whole thing, I think I did really GOOD!! And I think it is NOT boring so go on READ ME!!

You know, you would think, as much TV as I inhale per week, that the tv executives would get, hey Wendy knows which shows are good and worth watching. She is SO loyal, we should really listen to viewers like HER! Do they? No they like to slap me in the face and take away SO many shows that I fall in love with. I am dead serious, if I love a show, I have to tread very VERY lightly, or it will get cancelled!

DO I have proof? Hmmmm, let me think...oh just like 40 shows at least!! They are usually either pulled off after like 8 epsiodes, or they give me a few seasons, only to yank it after a HUGE cliffhanger!! And so I will discuss with you these treasures that died too soon of deaths. I mentioned I am a TV lover so I thought, why not discuss the shows that were put down before their time!

Today we will discuss the first ones that popped into my head. Today we will discuss 10 and then so on...and these 45 are just the ones I can find/remember right now! LOL! We will discuss what their premise was, who starred in them of note, how they ended, things like that. Many of these are so far lost forever, not on dvd (yeah they put ALF on dvd but not some of these true treasures), but some are on dvd, I own them probably and are so good, so go and watch them!!

Okay todays will be Tru Calling, Miracles, Jericho, Wolf Lake, Veritas:The Quest, Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me, Point Pleasant, Glory Days and Pushing Daisies.

The Second post will discuss Freaky Links, Thieves, Reunion, Roswell, Veronica Mars, Joan of Arcadia, Pasadena, Traveler, The Ex-List and The Pretender.

The third post will discuss Men In Trees, Dark Angel, Miss Match, Cupid, Nightstalker (new one), Stand Off, John Doe, Vanished, Close to Home and Jake 2.0.

The fourth post will discuss Dirty Sexy Money, Kyle XY, Moonlight, Popular, Women's Murder Club, Birds of Prey, Bionic Woman, Medical Investigation, The Evidence, Threshold and Haunted.

This way when I am about to say what I am going to say, you don't have to include the ones I WILL talk about, SO if you have any to add, ones you thought were good, some even though they were so lame I knew they'd be cancelled *cough* journeyman *cough*, you can add them to the list of dissed shows.


1)Tru Calling - Eliza Dushku played Tru, a medical student working at a morgue, who begins being asked by the dead, for help. As soon as they ask, she goes back in time, waking to the beginning of that day. So she has until the time the deceased died to try and fix their murder/death/suicide. And the supporting cast was stellar! And it was getting really good, Jason Priestley came aboard as her polar opposite. He did the same thing, but his mission was to do everything he could to STOP Tru and keep these people dead. And we find out Tru's mom was just like her and her Dad is like Jason, which she does not know....and like that they pulled it, no resolution of ANY kind. This show was SO good, it was getting more and more interesting, they were giving Tru more problems as the series went along, more secrets. ON dvd.


2)Miracles - Skeet Ulrich and Angus Macfadyen played investigators, part of a group called Sodalitas Quaerito, that investigates miracles, trying to determine their authenticity. Skeet plays Paul, who did this work for the Vatican, as he was almost a priest, but gave it up when he found they were not interested in confirming any miracles. SO, after witnessing a miracle where his own blood formed the sentence "God is Now Here", he goes to work for Angus and an ex-cop, who lives with a bullet in the center of her brain. They are almost like detectives, and the cases they worked on were so cool, one inspired by a circus fire HERE in CT. Over their investigating Paul also sees "God in NoWhere" and they find 11 other people who witnessed miracles who have seen one or the other. But Paul is the only one to have seen BOTH. It had really good ratings but due to being pre-empted weeks at a time, it was pulled before all of it's epsiodes aired. ON dvd.


3)Jericho - Also starring Skeet Ulrich as Jake Green, the most pivotal character in the series. He hadn't been home in 5 years and returns and that is when the residents of the Kansas town Jericho, see the nuclear bomb attacks. Unwillingly at first, Jake steps up to become a leader in Jericho, fighting to protect the town and its citizens. As the people of Jericho struggle to survive in a changed world, most remain unaware that one of the newest residents, Robert Hawkins, knows more about the attacks than anyone could imagine. They yanked the series but there was such an outcry, and TONS of peanuts sent to CBS (pivotal final line of Season 1), that they brought it back...only to give a 8 episode final season, where too much info was crammed into these episodes. And we are left hanging as to what happens to the citizens of Jericho. The cast also included Gerald McRaney and Ashley Scott. For being a show about a post-nuclear US, it wasn't depressing, it was uplifting, showing what one small town could do if they worked together. ON dvd.


4)Wolf Lake - Seattle policeman John Kanin, Lou Diamond Philips, proposes to his girlfriend and she accepts. However, as she gets into her car, she is attacked and all Kanin finds is a severed hand. He travels to her hometown of Wolf Lake to find some answers. However, his experiences there raise even more questions. What John doesn't know is that some of the inhabitants of Wolf Lake are actually werewolves, including Kanin's girlfriend Ruby. You see these werewolves have rules, such as who marries whom, etc, and Ruby stepped out of line and is a prisoner in Wolf Lake...and one wolf is making a play to be head on the pack! Others in town know the secret and keep it, but try to help Kanin in their own "ways". This cast was amazing! You had Graham Greene, Tim Matheson, Sharon Laurence, Scott Bairstow and many more well known actors. And boy did they leave it cliff hanger style. Ruby was caught in a trap in wolf form and without knowing this, the new pack leader sends out a kill or cature order! NOT on dvd.


5)Veritas:The Quest - This was also cancelled as a result of pre-emption....grrr. It followed teenager, Nikko Zond, discovering that his father, Solomon's, profession is much more mystical and adventurous than he thought. Solomon and his team dubbed "Veritas" search for the answers to some of the world's mysteries, a quest began because of the mysterious disappearance of Nikko's mother during an archaeological dig. This begins Nikko's fantastical journey into an adventure with his father and Veritas, in trying to follow his mother's footsteps to discover what strange secrets she was uncovering. In the final episode, Nikko suffered from hallucinations that lead him to find a fragment of an artifact called the "Ring of Truth". Before the episode ends, he has another hallucination that reveals that the fragment of the "Ring" also joins together with another fragment that his father had acquired earlier in the series. The episode ends with Nikko displaying telekinetic powers: when he reaches for his soda, it slides across the table into his hand. Agghh and that was how it was left! It starred Alex Carter, Arnold Vosloo (the Mummy from the 2 Mummy movies), Ryan Merriman and Eric Balfour. It had such promise! NOT on dvd.


6)Wonderfalls - The show is centered around Jaye, a recent Brown graduate who works at a gift shop selling Nigara Falls merchandise. She lives in a trailer and avoids her family, which includes Lee Pace!! Despite being extremely caustic and a deliberate underachiever, Jaye's life takes an odd turn when various muses, in the form of animals (like stuffed and plastic, etc), begin talking to her and delivering cryptic instructions. At first uncooperative, Jaye breaks down after they inflict on her various forms of passive coercion, such as keeping her awake all night by singing, and harassing her with their messages when she is around others, forcing her to accede in order to avoid appearing crazy! Attempts to ignore or go against the messages often result in unexpected misfortunes. As the series progresses, Jaye becomes more willing to follow the inanimate object's instructions, although she fights them when they make her do things she doesn't like. Through the course of the series, Jaye undergoes a subtle, yet discernible personality shift, as the good deeds she unwillingly performs begins to affect the way she perceives the world around her. Acceptable end. This was from the guys that brought us Dead Like Me and Pushing Daisies, it is charming and pure fun! Also starred William Sadler and Caroline Dhavernas. ON dvd.


7)Dead Like Me - 18-year-old George Lass (Ellen Muth) dies when a toilet seat from the MIR space station falls from the sky and hits her. You'd think she was done now. But she is informed that she is now a reaper. The main reaper is Rube (Mandy Patinkin), then there is Roxy (Jasmine Guy), Mason (Callum Blue), and Daisy (Laura Harris). We also see the way George's family tries to deal with her death. Rube and his little merry band of reapers are in charge of, well, the really messy murders and deaths. But their job is to pop the soul JUST before the person dies so they feel no pain. Then they watch as that person moves on, and the reapers habve no idea when their time to go into the light will be. Rube has been around for more than 100 years! Now that she has a new "life", George tries to deal with her new "job" and the fact that she is dead, which does not sit well. And that fact that even being dead, reapers need money, etc to live, means George has to put more effort in her after-life, than she did in her real life. It doesn't really have an ending but the way it stopped, was acceptable. But I miss it more than you could believe! ON dvd!


8)Point Pleasant - "Something wicked this way comes to Point Pleasant, a usually quiet New Jersey beach town, when a sudden, violent storm washes in more than the tide." Lifeguard Jesse sees a beautiful girl, Christina floating in the ocean, he saved her life. But by doing this, it "heralds the beginning of a battle between good and evil." The Kramer family takes her in, when their daugher Judy, takes a shine to Christina, even though they are still mourning the death of their other daughter. Christina's presence affects different people in town, in different ways. A man (Grant Show), with ties to Christina’s father, moves into town and begins to insinuate himself into Christina’s new life. Christina searches for info on the mother she never knew, but begins having to suppress an evil inside of her. It seems her father is not her real father. She is the daughter of the Devil, and the battle for her soul has jsut begun. And everyone in this town seems to have secrets, some don't even know it. This series was full of people we now know much better: Aubrey Dollar, Sam Page, Elisabeth Harnois, Susan Walters and about 15 more. It was just getting really good when it stopped dead in it's tracks! Judy and Christina have Boyd tied up, answering questions, admitting Christina's mother is alive, but they have no idea where she is, he claims Christina will kill this family she loves, and as she gets angry Boyd's belt cuts off his circulation. Judy stops her from killing him, but then Boyd is free and he says Christina can only save one. SHe chooses Judy and later finds the priest who is helping her dead. Agghhh! ON dvd.
9)Glory Days - Seven years ago, Mike Dolan (Eddie Cahill) wrote a novel, with characters he decided to base on people from his home town of Lake Glory. Without their permission. The novel was a huge success; it made the bestseller list and was even turned into a movie. When Mike gets an extreme case of writer's block, he decides to return to Lake Glory, where he runs into the angry townspeople he left behind. He decides to stay to try and mend fences, and solve the odd and unpleasant occurrences that begin happening. Murders, possessions, abductions, everything starts happening, and Mike starts working with his ex BFF and ex GF to try and save their hometown. It also starred Poppy Montgomery and Emily VanCamp. The show just ended with an episode about a killer clown. And Glory Days was gone. It was so fun and filled with mystery, so it was such a shame! NOT on dvd.


10)Pushing Daisies - Ughh I know many of you feel this pain as it just happened this season. This show was beautiful in every way and SO cool, I think the exec's are MORONS for taking it away from us! I KNOW Julie will agree with me! This romantic comedy showed us the fairy tale like world of Ned, a man who can bring dead people back to life through the power of his touch. The same touch he must use to 'kill' them after no more than a minute or another person will die in their place. With the help of Emerson, a local PI, Ned uses his ability to solve murder cases and cash in on any rewards. But things get complicated when a murder victim turns out to be Ned's long lost childhood crush, Chuck, and he decides to break the rules and let her live. Oh...but they can never touch, so man, that makes this relationship, a difficult one! Starring Lee Pace, Kristen Chenoweth and Chi McBride, and an entire cast full of colorful, oddball characters you love! While we will get to see a mid-season cliffhanger when what there WAS of the 2nd season is on dvd, we will always be left wondering if Chuck and Ned ever found a way to be together, and if Emerson ever finds his daughter, and so many other wonderful mysteries!!

How was part one? I did most of the descriptions myself, but I did get some help for some of their "stories". Hope you are looking forward to 10 more in the next installment!! There will be 3 more.

11 meaningful meanderings:

Jules AF said...

I DO AGREE!!!! Come back, Pushing Daisies! I miiiiiisssss you!!!! I still haven't seen the finale! argh

Sarah said...

Tru and Men in Trees are the only two I ever watched (not a huge sci-fi fan). Both very good! I'm not sure about Lipstick Jungle, heard rumors it was going to be gone...we'll see, but I love that one! Also, Friday Night Lights was almost canceled a couple of times until Direct TV saved it! That one is good too although I don't think Taylor Kitsch will be back due to his rising stardom with Gambit...

Anonymous said...

Ugh! That's a lot of television.

Mama-Face said...

I haven't even heard of some of those shows and I watch too much T.V. myself. Many of them I would love to see...netflix?

I guess 35 versions of CSI and Law and Order are what T.V. execs think we want...and reality shows, ugh, and Two and 1/2 men. double ugh.

How do you keep track of all this? You have a powerful memory!

in time out said...

This is better than the TV guide for sure. Just checking in on you. Hope you are doing well.

love, stacie

LadyStyx said...

Hubby liked Jericho and Pushing Daisies. I never watched any of these. They never grabbed my attention.

Sheri, RN said...

I agree! I loved Jericho and Pushing Daisys..... why get rid of those?!?

Lee said...

When they canceled pushing daisies, my mom and I were furious.
I always feel so upset about it.
I loved that show, and the sets were beautiful. They acted so well.
:( Execs are stupid.

Anonymous said...

The Jericho story continues! Jericho graphic novel will be avialable in October and a Jericho movie is in development.

Gwen
www.Jericho-Kansas.com

fan of the skeetster said...

I LOVED Miracles. The Chemistry between Skeet and Angus was super and the writing was better than ANYTHING on tv today. I watched Jericho because of Skeet and the writing improved dramatically as that series went on. I sent nuts and am proud to say this!

Rowboat said...

i never really get into tv shows because i don't have a tv so i only watch stuff on my laptop. gabriel got me into pushing daisies though and i was completely charmed. i loved it! i loved kristin chenoweth! she was so adorable in it. so was everyone though. sad it's gone now!

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