Top 10 Cancelled TV Shows
- The Top1029
- Caroline Westbrook’s version
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×Seinfeld
Quite possibly one of the most successful TV shows ever, Seinfeld is smart, witty, has some of the funniest characters in small screen history and really does stand the test of time. It's a pity it had to go but all the best things come to an end at some point and Jerry Seinfeld and the gang did it in style when the show bowed out in 1998. But it left us a legacy in the shape of Curb Your Enthusiasm, possibly the best spin off series ever created.
×Friends
We had a whole decade of Friends before it finally went off the air in 2004 and it has earned its place as one of the biggest sitcoms of all time - everything from the haircuts to the theme tune is instantly recognisable. And to this day there is still talk of a movie version. But of course the fact it still shows up on TV almost every night of the week could lead you to believe it was never cancelled in the first place.
×The X-Files
90s telly wouldn't have been the same without Agents Mulder and Scully, whose adventures expertly tapped into the public fascination with extra-terrestrial life and the 'we're all going to die' mentality of the approaching new millennium. It was cancelled in 2002 but has spawned spin-off films (and one of the best episodes of The Simpsons ever) and is still compulsive viewing. Even if the big twist always seemed to be something to do with aliens.
×Sex and the City
Sex And The City was of course brilliant because it featured women doing all those things that you only ever thought you'd see men doing on screen - namely drinking, talking about sex and having sex - and lots of it - with unsuitable partners. The fact it was clever and funny and had characters you cared about helped too. It was consigned to TV history in 2004 but lives on in film form.
×Ashes to Ashes
It isn't just American shows that are fondly remembered after they're cancelled. The spin-off of the BBC hit Life On Mars attracted a huge fan base with its 80s soundtrack, dodgy fashions, cracking storylines and unfathomable plot. And I'm sure I wasn't the only one who shed a tear at the very end when Gene Hunt finally explained what was going on and all those loose ends were neatly tied up. Or were they.....?
×Cheers
This classic comedy ran for a whopping 11 years and as was much a part of the 1980s as Duran Duran and legwarmers. While it's starting to look a bit dated now it still has its fair share of classic episodes - and of course if you're ever in Boston you can visit the bar itself.L
×Lost
Personally, I didn't understand a word of Lost. But that was clearly part of the appeal as this, the most recently cancelled show on the list, was one that really had people talking. Mainly about what was really going on on that desert island, of course, but when the ending finally came it divided audiences - some loved it, others weren't so sure. Still, a good TV show will always get you talking and this one will doubtless continue to baffle people for years to come.
×Buffy the Vampire Slayer
It's a shame really that this show isn't being made any more (it ended in 2003), given that vampires - especially those appealing to teen audiences - are big business thanks to the likes of Twilight. But Sarah Michelle Gellar's Buffy and her vampire hunting pals are still popular and the show is as entertaining as ever. And who could forget the 'musical' episode?
×Six Feet Under
A bit of a cult favourite, Six Feet Under is about as far removed from all of those classic defunct sitcoms as it's possible to get. It's a brilliant show though, and even if the theme (death and funerals, basically) might have put some people off, personally I loved it. What a shame it's gone.
×Police Squad
While most of the shows on this list had long runs and were hugely successful, here's an example of one that was cancelled after just one series - and should really have gone on for longer. Happily Police Squad - featuring Leslie Nielsen as inept cop Frank Drebin - found new life on the big screen in the Naked Gun trilogy of movies - although this was such a great show on the small screen it's hard to understand why it was so short-lived.
