In memoriam

Late last week, NBC stupidly canceled WEEKEND favorite Southland. After we wiped our eyes, we figured now was as good as time as any to reflect on some of our other favorite programs that have been unfairly disposed of through the years. Read our tear-filled thoughts below.

Firefly (2002) -- Joss Whedon’s geek-cult following inspires mainstream skepticism, but this series (consisting of 14 episodes in total, though many were not aired or aired out of order) was a breath of something truly original. While fans got some love with the “Serenity” movie, the show still died an early, unworthy death.

Arrested Development (2003-2006) -- Arguably the best comedy of all-time, Arrested Development is probably more popular today than it was when it was canceled -- which is probably why it was canceled. Super-intelligent, offbeat and full of intertexuality, it was the perfect comedy. Here’s hoping the movie actually comes to fruition -- and is just as good.

Freaks and Geeks (1999) -- What Arrested Development was to comedy, Freaks and Geeks was to high school dramas. Powered by Judd Apatow before he was Judd Apatow and starring a slew of actors who would eventually become a part of his theatrical posse that have invaded the screens for the last five years -- Seth Rogen, James Franco and Jason Segal most notably -- no program has ever hit all the beats of being an outcast so well.

Twin Peaks (1990-1991) -- The precursor to all creepy, slow-building programs that followed it so many years later, the two Davids (Lynch and Frost) crafted the weirdest first season of television that ever became a pop culture powerhouse. Though ABC’s meddling and various internal creative struggles led to a weaker second season, those first eight hours are of television legend.

Pushing Daisies (2007-2009) -- Another one of Bryan Fuller’s creative leaps that failed (Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me are his others), Daisies was certainly the best. A victim of the Writer’s Strike that shortened its first season and the general stupidity of television audiences, this is one of the most vibrant programs in the history of the medium.

Carnivale (2003-2005) -- Though HBO is willing to take risks on programming that is difficult to follow and has dark subject matter, Carnivale pushed the cable nets limits it seems. This one is particularly tragic because creator Daniel Knauf told HBO that he was going to need many seasons to finish the story he had in mind, and the cable giant agreed to said plan when picking it up.

Dark Angel (2000-2002) -- This James Cameron-created show about a secret genetic-engineered super-soldier project, was canceled by FOX after two intriguing seasons. Sure, the second season was pretty sloppy and had waaaaay to many mutants cluttering up Seattle, but we would’ve liked to have seen it get a chance to redeem itself.

The Nine (2006) -- One of the victims of the post-Lost “let’s make everything a mythological-based, secret-fueled drama” hoopla, this story about the survivors of a bank robbery started off with one of the best Pilots in recent memory. Then it kind of all fell a part, the ratings bottomed out, the glacier-like storytelling technique backlash started (remember this is when people started hating Lost, too) and then we were given things like Heroes the following year. But we still want to know what the hell happened in that bank!

Kitchen Confidential (2005) -- We imagine now that Bradley Cooper is uber-famous, that FOX is kicking themselves for canceling Kitchen Confidential after thirteen episodes. It was a witty comedy set behind the scenes at a famous restaurant (it was based on a book by celebrity chef/professional jerk Anthony Bourdain) with touches of absurdist humor and featured an embarrassment of casting riches (Cooper, John Cho, John Francis Daley, the dude who played Xander on Buffy and FRANK LANGELLA). 13 episodes is just not enough.

Reunion (2005) -- This one started with a group of high school friends the year they graduated and each episode was a flashback to a subsequent year after that, while a detective investigated the brutal murder of one of the friends at their 20 year high school reunion at the same time! So each episode you have to think about who the victim would be and and who would do it and why! Brilliant mind games! Except it was canceled after nine epiodes.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008-2009) -- More complicated, dense and intelligent than the film series it was based on, Sarah Connor slowly unraveled one of the best seasons of science fiction television during season two -- and then FOX canned it. Who expected a program about terminators to focus on serious identity questions while weaving a complicated alternate universe-centric time travel storyline?

The OC (2003-2007) -- To go from a cultural phenomenon to barely watched in less than three years was nearly unprecedented at the time of The OC’s demise (Heroes as since bested them in that department), but how quickly everyone forgot how good this show was. Better than all the soapy teenybopper dramas that came both before and after, we still blame the death of The OC on Mischa Barton’s acting and the constant need to put someone between her Marissa and Ben McKenzie’s Ryan Atwood. Oh, and season three -- Seth doing pot and Sandy becoming Caleb -- no thanks.

There you have it folks, some of our favorites passed -- what are yours?