10 Best Episodes Of Prematurely Cancelled TV Shows
9. The Most Horrible Xmas Ever - Invader ZIM
Invader Zim’s cancellation was as unfortunate as it was unsurprising. The show had a very dedicated cult following, but not many viewers overall. Given the creative animation - the show was as inventive as SpongeBob but much darker - it was very expensive to make.
How dark was Invader Zim, exactly? Well, turns out it was murder dark; real life murder dark. During the trial of Scott Dyleski, who was convicted for the murder of his neighbour Pamela Vitale, it became apparent Dyleski was a Zim fan. So much so that after the episode Dark Harvest aired, Dyleski spoke of wanting to act it out.
In the episode, Zim harvests body parts from living children in order to appear more human.
Dyleski’s trial was well after the cancellation, but feeds into Nickelodeon’s perception that the show was always too dark for its intended audience.
The Most Horrible Xmas Ever is no exception, with Zim disguising himself as Santa to lure unsuspecting victims to the North Pole. It plays off classic holiday tropes with typical Zim humour and while it’s not their absolute darkest episode, it might just be their best.
The talking snowman and robotic elves just push it ahead of the chasing pack.