Is there a list of TV Shows that were never finished? (1 Viewer)

[Angela_K]

Yeah Gunsmoke, I thought that at first, but then thought that was wrong, that maybe it was an older show, shows what I know :b

 

[andrew markworthy]

Other series that are bereft of proper endings:

The Tripods - adaptation of the (excellent) sci-fi trilogy by John Christopher. Two series made, covering books one and two. Series 2 ended with a huge cliffhanger. Series 3 never made because of withdrawl of funding from some of the partners.

Dr Who - a couple of stories had to be abandoned because of a protracted strike.

 

[Stan Rozenfeld]

Reading some of the answers to my original post, it became obvious to me that I made a very bad job of explaining myself. So I am going to try again.

When I said that it would be useful for TV shows that never had a 'proper' ending, I meant that

1) a show was such that it's basic premise demanded some sort of resolution (space 1999, Battlestar Galactica, The Fugitive)

2) and that the people who ran the show were given a chance to do some sore of finale. It doesn't mean necessarily that you or I were happy with that finale. So, in my view at least, as distasteful as the finales to Star Trek Voyager or the Prisoner might have been to some people, they still had their finales.

The reason I think such a list would be useful is because a lot of shows are now being released on DVD, and I for one, am not really interested in investing time and money into what amounts to reading an unfinished novel.

Now, there are a lot of shows that were sufficiently open-ended in their conception, that while it would have been great to have the grand finale, it wasn't absolutely essential to the enjoyment of the show. I think original Star Trek fits that description. It's really a bunch of stand-alone episodes. But of course, that can be open to interpretation.

In addition, some shows that were cancelled, had life after the show, so I wouldn't count them as not having proper finale. A perfect example of that is Firefly, which is going to be released as a film, Serenity, this fall. So I wouldn't put it on that 'unresolved' list either.

Anyway, does anybody agree with me that there is a demand for such a list? That way people could check to see if the show they are interested in had a proper ending, before they spend their hard-earned money.

Thanks for all your input,
Stan

 

[Paul Sandhu]

Star Trek: Enterprise definetly falls into #3.

 

[Wayne Klein]

"The Prisoner" was originally designed to be roughly 7 episodes. The term Mini-series didn't exist in 1967 per se what you're thinking of is a limited series like "The Quatermass" ones produced for the BBC. That phenomenon of the mini-series came about in the 70's with "Roots". You'll notice (as I recall) that there are many stand alone episodes such as "Living in Harmony" (which exists solely because Patrick McGoohan had always wanted to do a western and they needed enough episodes to sell to US TV).


Although "Enterprise" didn't have a satisfactory final episode, I really considered the second part of the two parter with Peter Weller to be the conclusion of the series (as did the cast). The lousy final episode penned by Brannon Braga was just one step above a clip show as far as I was concerned.

"Space 1999" certainly didn't have a final episode. I've never seen the fan produced conclusion that was included in some boxed sets and so can't speak to that.

 

[Dane Marvin]

Sadly, "American Dreams" will not be returning for a 4th season next year. I have only seen the first season on DVD and was waiting for future seasons before resuming with it. So I couldn't possibly say whether or not they were able to film an appropriate series finale for it. DOES ANYONE KNOW? I hope so.

The other problem is, the 2nd season has yet to be announced for DVD. The music rights for the 1st set had to be alarmingly high. I cannot believe how much music they packed into that show (including 4 or 5 Bob Dylan songs from beginning to end).

---

"Sports Night" is about midway between 2 and 3. The reason is this:

There is a happy ending, as the network is bought by someone who wishes to continue producing "Sports Night". So they will all get to keep their jobs and no one will be leaving. But you still can't be 100% sure that Dan Rydell was able to piece Rebecca's torn up phone number back together and get a hold of her before she left town.

Plus, you get the feeling that Sorkin, Schlamme, and the crew had so many more stories to tell.

--

"Freaks & Geeks" is a #2. They knew in advance they would not return for a second season and tailored the final episode to be an appropriate series finale.

Still, this is another show that could have (and should have) gone on until all the principal characters had graduated (ie: another 3 seasons).

 

[Cees Alons]

Sorry, I'm not too familiar with many US series, so I can't help the original poster.

What I wanted to say here is in reply to andrew markworthy's post about the Prisoner. It was one of my very favourites back then, and although I own the VHS version as well as the DVD release, I realize I didn't watch it for many years. Very interesting view in your "spoiler"! I'll have to think it over and certainly watch it again.
The reference to "Everyman" (Elckerlyc) is tempting indeed!


Cees

 

[Terry H]

They may have filmed it but it never aired. So the answer is NO.

Great idea for a thread, good info, thanks.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

It's possible that, since it's a fairly new show, the music rights for DVD release were negotiated at the same time as the rights for original broadcast. (I'd bet that many, if not all, new shows are negotiated that way -- I'd be surprised if the last season, at least, wasn't.)

 

[Abby_B]

I believe that they filmed an alternate ending for the episode that was the season turned series finale that did not air, hoping that they'd know if the series was ending before the episode's air date. I hope that viewers are able to see this episode some day, as I wasn't thrilled with how it ended.

My So-Called Life is a #3...

 

[Craig Sherman]

Taxi never got a proper finale. Danny Devito, when hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live that year, called up his fellow castmates for a proper curtain call. One of the classiest bits of television I've ever seen.

Oh, and that Prisoner finale reminds me of the film Jacob's Ladder
(which is only a spoiler if you haven't seen the film, but have read the spoiler description for the finale above.)

BOMM,

CS