Our writers nominated My So-Called Life and Utopia as the best shows killed before their time . Now, our readers share theirs

Firefly to Futurama: the cancelled TV shows you are still angry about

After our writers listed the best TV programmes cut down in their prime by foolish and short-sighted network bosses, our readers responded in kind.

Some of these shows lasted a few years, only to be cancelled just as they were beginning to make sense of their various narrative strands.



Others were cancelled quicker than the Tory manifesto.



Below, we list some of the most popular suggestions.



1) Firefly

Cancelling Joss Whedon’s adored sci-fi extravaganza was “the single most gormless TV executive decision making in the last 20 years,” according to one of the many people angry that we left this out of the original article.



So here it is. Happy now?



2) Police Squad!

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Frank Drebin finally got the audience he deserved in the Naked Gun … from the files of Police Squad (1988). Photograph: Allstar/Paramount

Police Squad was a poor cousin to Sledgehammer ahead of its time, according to no less a source than Matt Groening. But at least we still have six perfect episodes to enjoy, as well as the later, Godfather-esque Naked Gun trilogy.



3) The Fades



A complex, witty horror that lasted just one season on BBC3. Think Being Human but with its own, entirely new mythology to fall back on.



Great premise. Angels, flesh-eating ghosts and teenage shit. Dark, unsettling and beautifully comic. Leads all excellent and there was something special and sparkly about Daniel Kaluuya from the off.

4) Carnivàle

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A cult hit … Carnivàle. Photograph: Hyun/Hbo/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

The mystical, American depression-era set Carnivàle was intended by its creator to run for six seasons, but was cancelled after two. Perhaps too strange for some, but it maintains a huge cult following to this day.



5) Trevor’s World of Sport



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fabulously witty … Scott (Joe Absolom), Trevor (Neil Pearson) and Pat Cash in the BBC’s Trevor’s World of Sport. Photograph: BBC/Hat Trick

This witty, well-observed and sometimes sinister comedy could have been modern sport PR’s answer to Drop the Dead Donkey. But only one series was ever made – and even that moved around the schedules somewhat.



6) Outcasts

Stephen Hawking reckons we’ve only got 100 years to settle on a new planet if the human race is to survive. Outcasts took this dark premise and ran with it, before being unceremoniously dumped by the Beeb after only one outing.



7) Almost Human



Facebook Twitter Pinterest The future is bright and clean, but strangely soulless … Almost Human. Photograph: 20thC.Fox/Everett/REX

A cop show set in 2048, Almost Human starred Karl Urban – complete with synthetic leg – paired up with a ruthless android partner. Many of you would be desperate to watch more of this strange, cold depiction of our dystopian future.



8) Farscape

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Oh hey there ... Farscape. Photograph: BBC2

Farscape had an epic premise fans of Buck Rogers may remember, but quickly became a very strange, complex and subversive show. Axed a year short of its planned five-season run, fans had to be satisfied with a miniseries that was “a bit crap”, according to one reader.



9) The Hour



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Outstanding, thoughtful television … The Hour. Photograph: Laurence Cendrowicz/BBC/Kudos

BBC2’s stylish 1950s newsroom drama was lavish both in terms of its look and its surfeit of acting talent, from Romola Garai to Ben Whishaw and Dominic West. Its early Cold War machinations could have been Britain’s answer to Mad Men if only it had been allowed a full run. We demand to know whether Freddie would have survived!



10) Futurama

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The show The Simpsons could have been … Futurama. Photograph: 20th Century Fox

The show The Simpsons could have been “came back from death numerous times”, as one reader put it, so it might be unfair to put this alongside the shows above. But for it to be canned just as it was starting to fly still feels like a lingering lost opportunity. Still, at least the writers got to parody their own cancellation with Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television.

