BlackGeekdom Science-Fiction from a Different Perspective

First posted 10-25-2007

I thought we should revisit the list.  If the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles or Dollhouse bites the dust, where would they  fit on this list?  What about Journeyman?  Life on Mars?  Eli Stone?  Pushing Daisies?  My Own Worst Enemy?  Stargate Atlantis?  Anyone else have any suggestions?

Let’s face it, we’ve all had television shows that we wish weren’t canceled. But for some reason, science fiction fans have been denied quality shows. Actually, we do know the reason: ratings. You can go to any science fiction convention and still find people getting together and having panel discussions about shows that have been long gone. It isn’t like these shows don’t have fans or even in some instances started out with good ratings. Many times the shows were killed when the network got greedy and wanted to move a show to take advantage of high ratings only to lose the audience, or moving a show to get higher ratings, and the low ratings the show had disappeared. Sometimes, budget, production problems, or conflicts between producers and studios sent shows to an early death. Here is a list of shows that we thought were pretty good and were canceled before their time. Be wary, there are spoilers ahead.

10. Batman Beyond

Even though it was on for three seasons, we should have been given more of this very well written animated series. Set forty years in the future, Bruce Wayne has retired from being Batman and has forbidden his proteges, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Robin, from continuing their alter egos. Terry McGinnis, an athletic bad seed, and Bruce Wayne fend off the Jokerz at Wayne Manor. Wayne’s heart condition gets agitated and Terry helps him back into the house. Inside, McGinnis comes across the entrance to the bat cave and decides to come back later to borrow the bat-suit so he can seek revenge for his father’s death. Bruce Wayne eventually relented when he realized that Gotham needed the Bat and that Terry would be perfect.

The series is built on the relationship between McGinnis and Wayne, who guides Terry by communicating with him through the bat-suit, and serves as a father figure in Terry’s personal life. Which is ironic, because we later learn that Terry is genetically Bruce Wayne’s son. The show was so well received that it had cross-overs with Static Shock and Justice League Unlimited, and spawned a spin-off, The Zeta Project. Technically, the show wasn’t canceled; it was placed on hiatus to make way for the new Justice League series, though there hasn’t been any talk of bringing it back.

9. John Doe

“I woke up in an island off the coast of Seattle. I didn’t know how I got there … or who I was. But I did seem to know everything else. There were things about me I didn’t understand … the brand, being colorblind, extreme claustrophobia. And while my gifts provided answers for others, I still search for my own. My name is John Doe.”

The intro sums up the whole series. In the one and only season, we see John use his gift of knowing everything to help solve crimes. We also learn, though very little, about a secret organization called the Phoenix Organization. Aside from the rather mundane mix of CSI and Sherlock Holmes, the long story arc provided enough mystery to keep us entertained from week to week. The writers knew how to give us just a little bit of John’s story and purpose to get us to suffer through the crime solving. Whether this series would have made it past year 3 or 4 is a question we can’t really answer. But after finding out his best friend is the leader of the Phoenix Organization, season 2 would have been very interesting. Bouncing time slots and never gathering enough viewers brought this show to an end.

8. Millennium

Frank Black moved his wife a daughter to Seattle to get them away from the evil he saw everyday in his job as a profiler for the FBI. Frank wasn’t a psychic, but he did have the gift of viewing crimes through the minds of the killers. His visions allowed him to hunt down some of the worst serial killers TV writers could conjure up. Recognizing his talent, the Millennium Group recruited him. The organization was made up of former law enforcement individuals who consulted with law enforcement in criminal investigations.

The show started out as a straight crime drama but later evolved into the paranormal. (To be expected of something created by the man who brought us X-Files.) The show was well written. It gave a weekly serial feeling along with not one, but two long story arcs. The first story dealt with the serial killer sending Frank photos of Frank’s wife and daughter and Franks attempt to use his gift to find the killer, and the second story thread dealt with the true machinations of the Millennium Group. The show ended after three seasons and was wrapped up clumsily with a one shot episode cross-over with the X-Files that was supposed to wrap up a rather complicated storyline with the help of Mulder and Scully. Persistently low Friday night ratings brought this show to an end.

7. Miracles

Miracles followed a man who had been a priest who investigated reports of miracles for the Vatican. When he found out that the Vatican wasn’t interested in proving the truth of these miracles, he left to find his faith. Now, as a member of a group of people investigate miracles, Paul Callan becomes a miracle himself after being saved from death by a boy named Tommy. Paul sees the phrase “God is now here” in the boy’s blood. He’s informed that only six other people have seen this phrase, sometimes interpreted as “God is nowhere.” ABC only aired 6 episodes, so unless you have the complete 13 episodes on DVD, you’re not going to catch this one in syndication. I thought the show was well written, and if you watch the first episode you will be hooked. Despite the fact that 10 million people watched the premiere, ABC decided to change its time slot, not once, not twice, not three times, but four times, even sending it back to the original slot once. Let’s face it, humans are creatures of habit, and unfortunately 9 of those 10 million viewers never could find the show again. I even missed an episode because I couldn’t find it.

6. Dresden Files

Based on the popular novel series of the same name, Dresden Files was an original Sci-Fi channel show that lasted one 12-episode season. It was about a private detective who happens to be a wizard and uses magic to help solve crimes, usually of a paranormal kind. I really liked this show. It was a good companion show to Eureka. It was kind of cool seeing magic being used as an investigatory tool. (Charmed doesn’t count.) The stories were pretty good. The long story thread dealt with Harry Dresden’s culpability in his uncle’s death, and also his uncle’s role in the death of his parents. The minimalist effects were good. It didn’t take a lot of magic to move the stories along, and most of the magic use was practical. There was also hints of the politics of the Wizards Council which only added to the depth of the story. Don’t really know why Sci-Fi canceled this show. It had decent ratings for the network and a pretty good following (click here for the Drumstick campaign.) All is not lost however, it has been reported that the Dresden Files have been optioned as a graphic novel, for those of us who miss the TV show but don’t really want to read the novels.

5. Dark Angel

Dark Angel is the creation of film director James Cameron. It tells the story of Max (Jessica Alba) who is a genetically-enhanced human prototype hunted by her former military handlers through the edgy, underground street life version of 21st century America. Max is aided in her quest – both to avoid capture and reunite with her “siblings” scattered in the aftermath of their escape – by Logan Cale, an idealistic cyber-journalist battling repression and corruption in post-apocalypse. The show was a ratings hit for FOX on Tuesdays in its first season. For its second season it was moved to the graveyard called Fridays where shows seem to die very quickly. Fox justified this move saying that they wanted to improve the Friday night ratings and to open up Tuesday for the series “24″. Dark Angel’s ratings suffered to the point where its budget could longer be justified and it was replaced by another show on this list, Firefly. It would have been nice to see what the show would have become if it remained in its original time slot. Fox did a poll where viewers were asked what show would they like to see returned. Apparently, Dark Angel won beating out Tru Calling, Angel, Buffy and Futurama. However, Fox has not said whether or not the series will return.

4. Threshold

Threshold is about a secret government organization designed to not only hide possible alien invasions but to also stop them. The name comes from a plan design by Dr. Molly Caffrey, a high-level government crisis management consultant who creates contingency plans for emergency use. She never thought that her “just in case” idea of an alien invasion would ever come to fruition. Her plan called for putting together an elite diverse team capable of managing the situation. The appeal of the show lies more in the moral ambiguities of the main character and the rest of her team. In every episode they are faced with life or death decisions and are almost always making morally questionable judgments for the benefit of the majority.

The show was produced by Brannon Braga (Star Trek), David S. Goyer (Blade) and David Heyman (Harry Potter). The writing was good and the chemistry between the main characters was better than your average ensemble cast. Each episode was like a puzzle piece in a larger picture. Though the stories seemed to be self-contained, they almost always moved the long story thread. The show was canceled before the last four episodes of season one aired; however, you can get the complete series on DVD. The show had low ratings in its Friday night slot before the hit show Numb3rs, but rather than wait it out, CBS moved the show to Tuesday to boost ratings, a move that actually created even lower ratings. (Probably because people who were watching it couldn’t find it, or were already committed to a show on that night.)

3. Firefly

The show is set in the year 2517 A.D., following the depletion of Earth’s resources and an expansion of the human race into the frontier of outer space. The show takes its name from the “Firefly-class” star ship operated by the central characters; the ship’s class name is itself a reference to the appearance of the ship, whose tail section blinks during acceleration. Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds is the veteran of a war of resistance against “The Alliance”—an organization that attempted to achieve the unification of all mankind under a single imperial government. A central “core” of planetary systems have fallen under Alliance control, while settlers and refugees in the farther reaches of space enjoy relative freedom from the long arm of the government but lack many of the amenities of a high-tech civilization. Mal now owns a small Firefly-class star ship called Serenity, making cargo runs and performing various other tasks—legal or otherwise—to scrape together a living for himself and his crew.

Sounds good doesn’t it? So, what happened? Fox handicapped this show from the start. IT marketed the show as drama/comedy instead of the drama that it was. The network also broadcast the show out order. What would have been the second episode became the premiere episode. Fox aired 10 episodes before it broadcast the two hour premiere episode (which gave the back-story of the characters and laid the foundation for the whole series). What should have been the premiere episode ended up being the series finale because FOX canceled the show after airing only 11 of the 14 filmed episodes. Firefly wouldn’t go away after cancellation. Its creator, Joss Whedon (of Buffy and Angel), managed to make a feature film called “Serenity” that was fairly successful.

2. Space: Above and Beyond

Space: Above and Beyond chronicled the ongoing war between the Humans and a mysterious alien race known as the Chigs. The war is the main arc and back drop for a plethora of smaller story arcs. One arc following the trials and tribulations of the United States Marine Corps Space Aviator Cavalry, 58th Squadron, or the “Wildcards.” Another arc followed the plight of the Invitros, the artificially created humans, also called “tanks,” as well as the Silicates, androids that rebelled against the humans and are now Chig mercenaries. We could also follow the political machinations of the new U.N. and the new united Earth forces. These are just a few of the story lines that demonstrate the depth of the story writing on the show. The strength of this show was its underlying motifs. The show encompassed subjects such as racism, prejudice, loyalty, sacrifice, revenge, and many other humanistic subjects and ideas, and they weren’t always related to war.

The military structure was much more rigid than in other shows such as Star Trek or Babylon 5. Considered one of the great science fiction shows of its time, Fox never gave the series a chance. The show had reached cult status and its popularity are evidenced by the fact that the second run on Sci-Fi had much higher ratings than the original run on Fox. Originally planned for a five season run, Space: Above and Beyond was canceled at the end of the first run. Fox killed this show by frequent time slot changes, preemption by sports broadcast, non-existent marketing, and just all around bad network management.

1. Babylon 5: The Crusade

This Babylon 5 spin-off starts just after the events of A Call to Arms, in which the Drakh infected Earth with a Nanovirus that will wipe out all life inside of five years. Captain Matthew Gideon is summoned to Mars, where he is to take command of the IAS Excalibur to begin a mission to find a cure for the Drakh Plague somewhere in the depths of space. Captain Gideon was handpicked to command the IAS Excalibur by ISA President John Sheridan, due to the fact that Gideon has proved that he is willing to take chances and would not let diplomacy interfere with completing his mission. The first challenge Gideon faced was assembling his crew; there was some reluctance about bringing Dureena Nafeel onto the crew as she was a member of the Thieves Guild; however, Gideon was able to get her on board. She then informed him of Galen. Galen met with Gideon on a planet, and after questioning Gideon, he agreed to join the crew. With his crew assembled, Gideon left in search of a cure.

This show had a lot of potential but never got a chance to live up to it. The show was going to follow a 5 year arc like Babylon 5. The series only lasted 13 episode before creative differences between its creator J. Michael Straczynski and the network TNT resulted in cancellation. The Sci-FI channel made attempted to pick the show up but couldn’t due to budget restraints. (Which is why all you people who bitch about wrestling on Sci-Fi need to get over it. Rasslin’, as we say in the South, brings in enough revenue to pay for other shows like Flash Gordon. OK, maybe that’s a bad example, but you get the point.) I really wanted to learn more about Galen and rest of the Technomages and to see the how they dealt with the Nanovirus. It’s a shame that TNT and JMS couldn’t find a way to make it work. I think we all missed out.

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