TV shows that deserve a second chance.

[rosac]

Some TV shows start out great, and are great throughout

Some are bad from start to (potentially early) end

some are good then become bad

But some rare breeds of TV show start out bad and then redeem themselves later in the series, and I think a few of them deserve recognition.

The three shows that come to mind for me are:

Ultimate spider man- Season 3 removed most of the cutaway gags and actually focused on Spidey being a leader, which works really really well. Worth a watch, compared to the first 2 seasons.

Agents of shield- the first part is dire, but then there's a HUGE twist and it gets awesome, shame you do need some of the start episodes to understand what's crackalacking (watch the first few episodes to get to know the characters, read a synopsis then start a few episodes before the twist)

Arrow- not as extreme as the rest, but the second season improves on the first quite a lot. jesus christ.

what come to mind for you? Which shows should we, denizens of the escapist, give a second chance?

 

[DefunctTheory]

Why do those shows need a second chance when they're still trucking around, still on their first chance?

 

[rosac]

Because a lot of people may have given up on them due to their weak start? I know some shows that actually drive people away, especially when compared to previous iterations (i.e. ultimate spiderman compared to spectacular spiderman)

 

[x EvilErmine x]

In before the inevitable Firefly nomination. Yeah it was a good show, not the best thing everz like some people claim but it did get axed before it's time IMO, and I think it deserves a second shot.

Terminator : The Sarah Conner Chronicles - It's really a shame that this one got the boot because it was really getting interesting and the show was on the verge of showing the future war, something that has always been fascinating to me ever since we got those brief glimpses of it in the films. I loved the way that it had it's own identity and took the universe in a new direction.

 

[PapaGreg096]

Gotta agree with Ultimate Spiderman, even though I flat out hated seasons 1 and 2 season 3 finally feels like a Spiderman show that I can accept an successor to Spectacular

 

[Dwarfman]

Obviously Firefly and Dollhouse should get mentioned. And I understand that the Terminator TV series was cut short too soon as well. However here are some shows I think deserve a chance.

- 'The Survivors'. This was a successful show created by Terry Nation in 1975(One of those responsible for Doctor Who specifically The Daleks) And is about a genetically modified virus that is accidently unleashed, wiping out 95% of the worlds population. The story is about the survivors and how they cope in this post apocalyptic world. There was a remake in 2008 but it was canned after two seasons because...well...the BBC are arseholes. Basically they didn't want to spend money on a drama that was only doing 'okay' in the ratings, but all they needed was one more season to round things off.

- 'UFO'. You want to know where the developers of X-Com got their ideas from? Look no further than UFO. Created by the Andersons, the guys who gave us Thunderbirds, UFO was their first live action series. The premise is the organisation SHADO -Supreme Headquarters, Alien Defence Organisation - have been put together by anonymous backers to prevent alien attack - sounds familiar?. These aliens have been coming to Earth and abducting humans and with the use of various vehicles SHADO foils the alien's nefarious plots. Unfortunately the series lasted only one season due to production costs. As a fan of both X-Com and UFO I would love to see a remake.

- 'Young Justice'. This show was great. The animation looked top notch and the story lines were good. I was impressed by the way the developers managed to merge the whole teenage angst thing in with the action expected from a super hero show. It was like 'Degrassi Junior Super Heroes' or something. Anyways it lasted for two seasons with a little movie to round off whatever needed rounding off before it got replaced by Teen Titans GO! A bit of a shame really.

 

[CommanderL]

Obviously Firefly and Dollhouse should get mentioned. And I understand that the Terminator TV series was cut short too soon as well. However here are some shows I think deserve a chance.

- 'The Survivors'. This was a successful show created by Terry Nation in 1975(One of those responsible for Doctor Who specifically The Daleks) And is about a genetically modified virus that is accidently unleashed, wiping out 95% of the worlds population. The story is about the survivors and how they cope in this post apocalyptic world. There was a remake in 2008 but it was canned after two seasons because...well...the BBC are arseholes. Basically they didn't want to spend money on a drama that was only doing 'okay' in the ratings, but all they needed was one more season to round things off.

- 'UFO'. You want to know where the developers of X-Com got their ideas from? Look no further than UFO. Created by the Andersons, the guys who gave us Thunderbirds, UFO was their first live action series. The premise is the organisation SHADO -Supreme Headquarters, Alien Defence Organisation - have been put together by anonymous backers to prevent alien attack - sounds familiar?. These aliens have been coming to Earth and abducting humans and with the use of various vehicles SHADO foils the alien's nefarious plots. Unfortunately the series lasted only one season due to production costs. As a fan of both X-Com and UFO I would love to see a remake.

- 'Young Justice'. This show was great. The animation looked top notch and the story lines were good. I was impressed by the way the developers managed to merge the whole teenage angst thing in with the action expected from a super hero show. It was like 'Degrassi Junior Super Heroes' or something. Anyways it lasted for two seasons with a little movie to round off whatever needed rounding off before it got replaced by Teen Titans GO! A bit of a shame really.

there was a young justice movie ?

arrow doesnt need a second change as its still on tv and is awesome as hell and keeps getting better

the green latern animated show

and sanctuatry

 

[Ten Foot Bunny]

Dead Like Me is my top pick by a long shot. That show was SO good! It only got canned because Showtime got a new program director who didn't like it and he wanted to do a police/terrorist show. Worst of all, Dead Like Me was the network's top-rated show at the time it was axed. Talk about a stupid move...

 

[Avaholic03]

Farscape. Don't let the animatronics and weird characters fool you, this isn't some kid-friendly sci-fi show. They get into some seriously dark psychological shit. Yes, the tone is kind of all over the place, and some parts are just lame. But there are some hidden gems in there. It's worth the watch.

 

[Lilani]

Sonic SatAM. Best Sonic TV series to date, with so much potential and a great teaser at the end of the last season. I bet crowdfunding could revive it, the head writer fought for quite a while to try and get it revived and only recently gave up. But I bet he'd be willing to go forward with it if somebody would just give him the money and means to do so.

 

[JayRPG]

Dead Like Me is my top pick by a long shot. That show was SO good! It only got canned because Showtime got a new program director who didn't like it and he wanted to do a police/terrorist show. Worst of all, Dead Like Me was the network's top-rated show at the time it was axed. Talk about a stupid move...

I always wondered why that got cancelled, that was such a good show. It had funny AND feels.

I'll vote for Dead Like Me and/or Lie to Me.

I really liked Lie to Me, I'm not sure why it's ratings kept dropping (which lead to it's cancellation), I didn't think the show was getting bad, or even worse, I felt it stayed at a pretty steady "pretty good" throughout the whole series, but shit happens I guess.

 

[Something Amyss]

If we're not just talking current shows, I thought Stargate Atlantis did a good job of salvaging a bad premise. Seriously, I went from not being able to bear season 1 to having the collection on Blu-Ray. It's not, like, SUPER AWESOME, but it did good with what it had.

I'm going with the theme of "it got better and you should give it a second chance," mind, not "they should revive the show." Though I would rather see more Atlantis than Universe or the Emmerich reboots. Can't we just get Emmerich and Michael Bay in a single project and create a black hole of explosion porn?

Dead Like Me is my top pick by a long shot. That show was SO good! It only got canned because Showtime got a new program director who didn't like it and he wanted to do a police/terrorist show. Worst of all, Dead Like Me was the network's top-rated show at the time it was axed. Talk about a stupid move...

Oh god, I loooooved that show. I was a latecomer, though, so I didn't know why it got canned. Only that my usual luck of enjoying shows that are about to be canceled held true.

I really must use this power for good one of these days.

and sanctuatry

I was really the opposite with Sanctuary. I started off interested, but my interest petered out quick.

 

[Strelok]

Dead Like Me is my top pick by a long shot. That show was SO good! It only got canned because Showtime got a new program director who didn't like it and he wanted to do a police/terrorist show. Worst of all, Dead Like Me was the network's top-rated show at the time it was axed. Talk about a stupid move...

At least we got to see an ending to it with the movie, I still miss that show, had great stories.

Farscape. Don't let the animatronics and weird characters fool you, this isn't some kid-friendly sci-fi show. They get into some seriously dark psychological shit. Yes, the tone is kind of all over the place, and some parts are just lame. But there are some hidden gems in there. It's worth the watch.

This is so true, for me the journey of Captain Bialar Crais (Played by Lani John Tupu) from vicious villain, to ally and finally to a sacrifice to save everyone was one of the most compelling and interesting stories in sci-fi TV history. His speech to Scorpius and the final "Talyn... Starburst..." wow, still moving, loved that character.

Some I would love to at least see an ending to, Carnivale, creepy and disturbing, still one of my top favorite shows even though there was no ending. The reboot of V, loved it. It's not needed and already said, but Firefly I don't care if they made a movie... more please. The River, another gone just as it was getting interesting. That is all I can think of for now.

 

[lechat]

Dead Like Me is my top pick by a long shot. That show was SO good! It only got canned because Showtime got a new program director who didn't like it and he wanted to do a police/terrorist show. Worst of all, Dead Like Me was the network's top-rated show at the time it was axed. Talk about a stupid move...

he axed something like the top 5 shows on the network if i remember right and the bad part was he replaced them with other shows which he had a hand in creating (executive producer/writer or something)
good news is DLM had a movie released which followed up the series so you do get at least abit more reaper goodness.

OT Angel
can't help feeling the show would be a hit today if it was marketed as "vampire detective with a soul solves demon crime in L.A" and didn't have to sponge off the depleting buffy fan group.... also acker.... seriously amy acker.

 

[Autumnflame]

Flash forwards and the cape. two shows that showed promise but cancelled before their time

 

[Ravesy]

Terminator : The Sarah Conner Chronicles and the 4400 for me.

Was so gutted when the Sarah Conner Chronicles were cancelled, loved the series all the way through. The 4400 was killed off by Heroes which I think is a shame given how that ran itself in the ground.

Those are the two that stand out in my mind. Lie to me was good, but I think there's only so much you can have of "I'm going to win in the end because I'm just so much smarter than everyone else" every episode. I think they timed that one right.

 

[Suhi89]

Dead Like Me is my top pick by a long shot. That show was SO good! It only got canned because Showtime got a new program director who didn't like it and he wanted to do a police/terrorist show. Worst of all, Dead Like Me was the network's top-rated show at the time it was axed. Talk about a stupid move...

I always wondered why that got cancelled, that was such a good show. It had funny AND feels.

I'll vote for Dead Like Me and/or Lie to Me.

I really liked Lie to Me, I'm not sure why it's ratings kept dropping (which lead to it's cancellation), I didn't think the show was getting bad, or even worse, I felt it stayed at a pretty steady "pretty good" throughout the whole series, but shit happens I guess.

I watched the first couple of seasons of Lie to Me on Netflix and, whilst I enjoyed them, I got bored with the formula. I started to watch the first ep of season 3, realised I wasn't enjoying it and stopped. Maybe others agreed.

 

[Summerstorm]

Let's make it not so obvious (Anything Joss Whedon did after Buffy, Young Justice):

"The Cape"... yeah seriously - Worst pilot episode(s) ever. But it's just so cheesy, simple and fun after that. It's like (Arrow+60ies Batman-camp)/2 playing it straight or maybe more like the 90ies-Mid-Budget Superhero-shows (Flash for example). Also original superhero, refreshing.

But it was gone too soon.

 

[Lilikins]

I really would absolutely adore to see some new episodes of Invader Zim.

Sure it was a bit..messed up and probably scared the crap out of some kids (seeing as it..is supposed to be for younger audiences I guess?) but I have rarely laughed that gleefully at a show.

Added bonus: Gir... I want him as a pet...