Why do broadcasters always can the good shows, here are my pick of shows that were to good to be canned, but were anyway.

Journeyman

Never heard of it, well I’m not surprised. Back in early 2007 this show was launched with the main actor Kevin McKidd playing Dan Vasser, a journalist in San Francisco. The basic plot was that Dan Vasser was unwillingly travelling back in time for undetermined durations, always to an event he could change for the good. It was a new take on the cult classic Quantum Leap, but in a more serious light. It was recently ripped off by the film The Time Travelers Wife, but the film was an epic failure as they missed the point; drama.

What made the series (well one season) shine is that the character development was deep and made you really root for Dan’s struggle as he was trying to come to terms with what was happening. His relationship with his wife broke down, his work fell apart and his friends and family try to commit him to a psychiatric ward.

Unfortunately you never found out what caused him to time travel and the series was left on a cliff hanger.

Dollhouse

For a change we got two seasons of this, one of the most innovative shows in many years. Launched in 2009 with the star being the very foxy Eliza Dushku I really thought this show would stick around for a while.

The premise for this series was rather ingenious. People who were willing for money (or sometimes not) had there brains wiped by sophisticated new technology and made into dolls. These dolls were basically children in adult bodies and lived within the self sufficient spa like facility underground until they were required.

The dolls were hired out and had there brains reprogrammed to what ever was required. The dolls believed they were the person they were programmed to be and were given the knowledge, skills and traits that were required to complete the ‘engagement’. The dolls were hired out for anything from sexual liaisons, specialist serial killer hunters, undercover agents, replacement mothers or even negotiators.

The show therefore had very little limitations and interesting plot elements were introduced. One such element was ‘Alpha’ the very first doll. It is revealed that he escaped after becoming psychotic and killing everybody around him, furthermore he has developed the ability to ‘remote wipe’ active dolls in the field, rendering them useless.

Another interesting twist is that ‘Echo’ the main doll played by Eliza starts to remember each engagement and details about her self, but unfortunately this wasn’t developed further as the series was canned soon after this plot point.

The best bit about this was of course seeing Eliza is various outfits from school girl to secret agent Eliza was truly the biggest doll of the doll house.

Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles

A spin-off from the Terminator movies, the series takes place directly where the second movie left off. Following Sarah Conner played by LenaHeadey as she tries to protect John Conner (played by Thomas Dekker) and prevent SkyNet from ever being created, the series includes a lot of special effects and drama as the two struggle to stay alive and stop the plans created by the machines.

Things get more interesting when Derek Reese, Johns uncle (played byBrain Austin Green) arrives from the future to help them out and to escape the misery of the future. However when a terminator commissioned by the humans is sent back to further protect John, Derek isn’t convinced as the two have a somewhat uneasy history.

This is further emphasised when Cameron (the good terminator played by the sexy Summer Glau) turns bad after getting damaged and reverts back to her original programming and tries to kill John.

The trust seems to run deep between Cameron and John however, and after she is fixed he lets her back in (after fitting her with a remote charge) and their relationships seems to continue to develop to the dismay of everybody else.

With the sexy Summer Glau in top form, well animated terminators and dramatic action scenes the series could have developed to become something very special. The two seasons at least came to a conclusion, but it would be nice to see the story develop deeper.

So what do you think? Do you agree? Can you think of more TV series that should never have been cancelled, well let us know in the comments section below.