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30 Days of TV meme...
May. 17th, 2010 12:40 amGacked from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hestia8
Day 01 - A show that should never have been cancelled
Last night I wrote a really thorough response to this question and LJ decided to eat half of it. I was so annoyed that I decided to delete the lot and start again. Here we go...
I'm going to suggest two shows in answer to this question. My first choice will be well known to pretty much everyone reading this entry. Seminal 1990s US teen drama 'My So-Called Life' was first shown in the USA in 1994 and was cancelled at the end of the first series due to low ratings. It finished with a cliffhanger leaving many questions unanswered: Would Angela get together with Brian? Would Rayanne be a success in her stage debut? Would Angela's dad have an affair? MSCL was totally unique. I truly believe that it's the only TV show ever to have realistically tackled the issues of being a teenager. The school corridors were dark, grey and dirty, the girls' bathroom was dirty and covered in graffiti and the school students didn't look like they'd been dressed by a stylist. It looked at the complex nature of teenage friendships in a way I've never seen before on TV and big problems, such as Rayanne's alcoholism, weren't neatly dealt with in one episode as they so often are in 'teen' TV. The characters were wonderful - flawed, confused and often selfish and spiteful, just like real teenagers. I really wish it had got another series so I could have carried on following Angela's story however I also wonder whether the fact it had such a short run made it such a huge cult success. Maybe if the series had continued the storylines wouldn't have retained the high quality and key actors may have left upsetting the chemistry.
The second show I feel should never have been cancelled is the little known BBC2 political drama 'Party Animals' which wasn't picked up for a second series after it's initial 2007 run. 'Party Animals' followed the lives of a small group of people working at the heart of British politics in 'Westminster Village'. It was produced by the team behind mega-successful shows 'This Life' and 'No Angels' and had a great cast including the gorgeous Andrew Buchan, Patrick Baladi, Raquel Cassidy and Dr Who-in-waiting Matt Smith. The characters were great and the storylines were engaging and different. I guess the political setting deterred viewers from watching - fewer than 1 million people tuned in to each episode. In my opinion it would have been great if the series had continued. 'New Labour' was already in crisis in 2007 and it would have been interesting to see the characters react to the expenses crisis and events of recent weeks. Maybe it was just too subtle for the sort of viewer who likes watching fictional representations of British politics. 'The Thick of It', which I find too confrontational, seems to be riding high after three series.
( The whole list )
hestia8 Day 01 - A show that should never have been cancelled
Last night I wrote a really thorough response to this question and LJ decided to eat half of it. I was so annoyed that I decided to delete the lot and start again. Here we go...
I'm going to suggest two shows in answer to this question. My first choice will be well known to pretty much everyone reading this entry. Seminal 1990s US teen drama 'My So-Called Life' was first shown in the USA in 1994 and was cancelled at the end of the first series due to low ratings. It finished with a cliffhanger leaving many questions unanswered: Would Angela get together with Brian? Would Rayanne be a success in her stage debut? Would Angela's dad have an affair? MSCL was totally unique. I truly believe that it's the only TV show ever to have realistically tackled the issues of being a teenager. The school corridors were dark, grey and dirty, the girls' bathroom was dirty and covered in graffiti and the school students didn't look like they'd been dressed by a stylist. It looked at the complex nature of teenage friendships in a way I've never seen before on TV and big problems, such as Rayanne's alcoholism, weren't neatly dealt with in one episode as they so often are in 'teen' TV. The characters were wonderful - flawed, confused and often selfish and spiteful, just like real teenagers. I really wish it had got another series so I could have carried on following Angela's story however I also wonder whether the fact it had such a short run made it such a huge cult success. Maybe if the series had continued the storylines wouldn't have retained the high quality and key actors may have left upsetting the chemistry.
The second show I feel should never have been cancelled is the little known BBC2 political drama 'Party Animals' which wasn't picked up for a second series after it's initial 2007 run. 'Party Animals' followed the lives of a small group of people working at the heart of British politics in 'Westminster Village'. It was produced by the team behind mega-successful shows 'This Life' and 'No Angels' and had a great cast including the gorgeous Andrew Buchan, Patrick Baladi, Raquel Cassidy and Dr Who-in-waiting Matt Smith. The characters were great and the storylines were engaging and different. I guess the political setting deterred viewers from watching - fewer than 1 million people tuned in to each episode. In my opinion it would have been great if the series had continued. 'New Labour' was already in crisis in 2007 and it would have been interesting to see the characters react to the expenses crisis and events of recent weeks. Maybe it was just too subtle for the sort of viewer who likes watching fictional representations of British politics. 'The Thick of It', which I find too confrontational, seems to be riding high after three series.
( The whole list )
