2. Firefly
Network Fox,
Run 2002,
Starring Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, Morena Baccarin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Ron Glass. Widely considered to be one of the best shows of all time, Firefly was one of the many creations of Joss Whedon, a man more recently known for his directing of The Avengers. This was his third TV show, and aired at the same time as two of his other shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off, Angel. Unlike those two shows, however, it was completely mishandled by the executives in charge of it episodes were aired out of order and frequently rescheduled without notice, giving the show no real continuity during its brief time on air. This is widely considered to be the primary contributor to its cancellation, which occurred in December 2002 after just eleven of fourteen episodes had aired. The show focused on the adventures of a group of spaceship inhabitants in the world that whilst futuristic, had a western vibe to it. With quirky characters, witty dialogue and interesting storylines, it ticked all of the usual Whedon checkboxes, attracting a dedicated fanbase in the process. A number of campaigns by these individuals were powerless in bringing the show back to television, but a series of activities, ranging from large volume DVD purchases to charity donations, enabled it to continue in the form of a film. This was Serenity, released in 2005, which wrapped up a number of plot threads and gave the series a fitting end, though one cannot help but wonder what wouldve happened had the show been allowed to flourish perhaps by now it would be held in a similar regard to something like Star Trek.