Of Selfie and other shows that died too soon...
Not just Firefly! But yes, also Firefly!
So, every nerd (at least those who were old enough in the early 2000s, or have loved ones who were old enough in the early 2000s) knows and mourns the loss of Firefly (even though I personally think that the movie is a great ending to the story, I wouldn’t say no to more…but the comics sadly do not count as more, because they don’t have the patois or the plotting of the show…and let’s not even get into the dreadfully disappointing Shepherd’s Tale). There was also a time when many fans might consider Veronica Mars belonging on this list…but after a crowdfunded film and a fourth season on Hulu, I think it doesn’t quite qualify anymore.
Having recently been notified through my AO3 subscriptions of a beautiful fanfic of the show Selfie, starring Karen Gillan and John Cho in a modern retelling of My Fair Lady/Pygmalion (think Clueless but more Bernard Shaw-y than Jane Austen-y), I was inspired not only to watch all 13 episodes last night, but also to review other shows that I think were gone too soon, even if I still adore them. Here’s that list, with brief annotations on why I think you should check them out. Let me know if you think I missed any! (Also, yes, this list dates me very intensely - but I’ve embraced that I’m old at this point, since my favorite current shows are The Crown and Superman and Lois, and I’m rewatching Elementary with one of my best friends.)
Selfie (2014) - (and yes, I did spend 10 minutes tracking down the correct promo with the G.R.L. song Ugly Heart - something that a lot of shows did for me is introduce me to pop songs that still connect to me because of the way the shows or promotional material connected them to the characters I fell in love with) - as previously mentioned, a Clueless-ized My Fair Lady/Pygmalion, with very strong character development, romantic connection between the leads, and a lot of things to say about social media and society that I think are a step above a lot of its sitcom competitors which survived a lot longer than 13 episodes (certainly a lot more than the few episodes of “God Friended Me” that I tried and then dropped despite an excellent cast - such shallow writing!) Though very difficult to find these days, as you can’t even purchase it on Amazon, and it’s not streaming on any of the major sites, it’s well worth tracking down. And hopefully it’ll drop somewhere easy to find soon!
Terriers (2010) - a show with the WORST title (and there’s a lot of bad titles in this list! Including Selfie!) - it has absolutely nothing to do with dogs, though the creators have tried over and over again to think of better titles (Southern California Noir But Good?) - but it’s fundamentally an incredibly well written buddy mystery show with a very, very well done over-arching case plus really brilliantly varied case-of-the-weeks, with truly remarkable casting and character work. When people ask me “Have you watched Breaking Bad”, I tell them I watched this instead - because of the few pieces of Breaking Bad I’ve seen, this gives me extremely similar vibes (Rian Johnson directed an episode of this show, as well as a few from Breaking Bad - both in the vein of his best film Brick). Though I would really, really love to see where these characters went next (and showrunner Tim Minear, who I followed from Firefly and Drive to this show, has given some hints of at least a few of the character’s fates), this show does somewhat function as a complete miniseries. Really worthwhile!
Bionic Woman (2007) - this show isn’t nearly as well written or acted as Terriers or Selfie - lead Michelle Ryan isn’t half the actress of her guest star rival Katee Sackoff (probably the reason I tried the show, despite not being a BSG fan), but she’s a decent transplant from the UK (and provided many amusing moments when she popped up in Mansfield Park in a minor role later that year). Fundamentally, the show starts out as a pitch black, cynical, and somewhat clumsily written conspiracy spy thriller, and halfway through it’s 8 episodes (cut short by the writer’s strike that year, never to return), turns into basically a lighter version of Alias, or another version of Covert Affairs which would come later. I preferred the former, but would have been interested to see more of either, as long as Katee Sackoff’s character and her connection to the larger story returned.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008) - though this show did get two seasons, it ended just as it started really exploring the ideas of machines and humans working together against other humans and machines, instead of the rather played out man vs. machine that the movies have been stuck in since the third sequel came out (and to prove my bad taste, that third sequel, Rise of the Machines, remains my favorite of the series :) ). I would definitely recommend this show, especially the second season, over Salvation, Genisys, and Dark Fate in a heartbeat. It definitely has its weaknesses in acting and writing, but on the whole, it’s incredibly compelling.
Trophy Wife (2013) - Malin Ackerman’s relationship with her newfound family is very sweet. The show isn’t the most fantastic title in this list (though I’d definitely put it above Bionic Woman), but it’s certainly a lot better than the title implies - and leads to amazing moments like Ackerman, Bradley Whitford, and his two ex-wives dancing together. (Now that I think about it, I might have followed Whitford from the last two seasons of West Wing, the only ones I’ve watched fully). Generally, another sitcom that does characters I really like much, much better than most.
The Middleman (2008) - a really offbeat superhero show with a wonderful deadpan sense of humor and warmth. I followed one of its writers backwards from the Youtube show Lizzie Bennet Diaries (a retelling of Pride and Prejudice) to this show, and found it utterly delightful, and sadly cut too short (though cast readings of two additional episode do exist!) It’s a superhero show that isn’t too high budget, has really likeable leads with well written relationships, a deep sense of worldbuilding still connected to character, and something very, very different than the CW, Disney Plus, HBO Max, or other superhero shows that dominate the tube for 12 years that followed. I proudly own the DVDs, and encourage others to try it out too!
The Good Guys (2010) - created by Matt Nix, most famous for Burn Notice, a really delightful parody/reconstruction of 80s cop shows and movies, with an amazing odd couple dynamic between Bradley Whitford (again!) and Colin Hanks, with the luminous Jenny Wade and many more great cast members. One full season, but sadly, no more - I could have watched it’s hilarious but smartly written cases of the week for many more years.
Almost Human (2013) and Minority Report (2015) - both watched because they were either basically or actually sequels to movies I really liked - I, Robot (with Will Smith) and Minority Report, of course. Both felt very similar in tone, aesthetic, and worldbuilding (they were both relatively near future scifi shows on Fox, so it makes sense), both had excellent casts (Almost Human in particular introduced me to Minka Kelly, who I later quite enjoyed on Titans).
Awake (2012) - I tried this show out because of lead Jason Isaacs and also, interestingly, Karen Allen, who I followed from Terriers. The idea of the parallel worlds following an accident - one where the son survived, one where the wife did - and which one we (and the main character) wanted to be real, the stylistic flourishes of the color coded worlds - those were all incredibly compelling, as were the amazing acting of the three leads. The procedural element of the show is very weak, though - the mysteries and other cop characters are pretty poorly written, and one scene in particular where Jason Isaac’s boss interrogates an abused child was so painfully cliched. That being said, I’d definitely put this show above Bionic Woman, and probably about equal to Trophy Wife.
I keep thinking of more shows - Black Box with the amazing Kelly Reilly (now stunningly cruel on Yellowstone) as a House ripoff, but it’s time to go to sleep. I also realized that I watched an awful lot of tv shows from 2006-2018. Oof. I don’t really miss it…but I do still miss these shows, or mostly the wonderful characters I would have gladly spent just a bit more time in their world.