10 Best Episodes Of Prematurely Cancelled TV Shows

Cowboy Bebop only ran for 26 episodes, but it made a massive impact in that time, becoming one of the most celebrated animes the West has ever seen. Hugely popular in its native Japan too, it’s recently been commissioned for a live action remake on Netflix.

The show revolves around two penniless bounty hunters, Spike and Jet, who along the way pick up two drifters, Faye and Ed. Having the lead characters being so poor and struggling to get by struck a chord with viewers, marking a big contrast between other fantastical animes which avoided grittier, mature themes.

There’s a temptation to suggest the more substantial episodes of Cowboy Bebob were its best offering, ahead of Mushroom Samba. Ballad Of Fallen Angels, Waltz For Venus, Jupiter Jazz and The Real Folk Blues all deal with more complex and compelling themes.

However, Mushroom Samba, a Blaxploitation styled offering where the crew gets high on psychedelic mushrooms is their best animated and most memorable.

The episode begins with the crew completely out of gas, money and food, and is essentially a series of jokes revolving around their desperation to eat while a mushroom smuggling plot whirs around them in the background.