What are YOUR favorite shows that never were? Here's the original post from the newsletter in case you missed it

To make me feel old, The Simpsons just entered the 21st season. It is, without a doubt, one of the greatest shows of all time. Though the recent seasons lack the brilliant writing of some of the earlier works, it is still an enjoyable look at everyday American life.

For every Simpsons out there exist a multitude of other shows that make it 1-2 seasons before being replaced by the next 1-2 season bomb. Occasionally out of these train wreck shows come real gems that, for one reason or another, also die a horrible death.

In my life there have been three shows canned prematurely. Most people agree with the first two and the third is a lost gem that you probably never even heard of, let alone saw or would recommend to others. So here's my list of the top 3 shows that should have gone on for 20 years (or at least 5).

#1: Firefly: Fox's bad airing of this show (They didn't even show the episodes in the right order) and a bad time slot killed this now cult sci-fi classic. The fan outcry was so great over its cancellation that a movie, Serenity, was released soon after. Both movie and show continue to get rave reviews and attention for mixing the cowboy feel with sci-fi action drama comedy. Sadly, many questions will have to be left unanswered as despite great reviews and DVD sales the TV Show will not make it back to the airwaves.

#2: Dead Like Me: Though there was never a great consensus over this show's cancellation, most people point to political reasons for Showtime to cancel this could-be classic. The story of life after death as told by a young girl who ends up a grim reaper could be considered sacrilegious. However, anyone who would argue religion against this show clearly never watched it. The show is cynical, poking fun at our lives and deaths, but is always respectful of those that pass on and usually themed by hope that there is something better on the other side of the curtain. Once again, fan outcries lead to a movie Dead Like Me: Life after Death in 2009. It at least gave closure to many parts of the series and is worth watching, though was not as good as the Firefly movie.

#3: Legend: A brief 12 episode series on UPN loosely based on the earlier TV series Wild Wild West (Not the movie with Will Smith, which came out after Legend). Featuring two of my favorite actors, Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver & Stargate SG-1) and John de Lancie (Q in Star Trek Next Gen), Legend was an excellent comedy with great acting talent that disappeared with the change in management after UPNs first year of operation (Along with every other show except Star Trek Voyager). Anderson plays a dime novel author who writes about a hero and ends up getting mistaken as the hero he portrays in his books, while de Lancie is an eccentric inventor who's life work is to invent the contraptions used by Legend in the book series - which he then lends to Anderson's character to turn our cowardly author into the hero he never wanted to be!

A side note on Anderson and de Lancie: de Lancie was a character in season 1 of MacGyver and was a recurring character in SG-1.

And so there you have it readers. 3 TV shows that should have gone the distance and never had the chance. If you haven't seen any of them, go find it! Good luck finding Legend though, I had to find a girl in Brazil who happened to have recorded them all to get a copy. Either way you won't regret the time you spend watching these classics.

What are YOUR favorite shows that never were?

I can only think of two at the moment.

-- My Own Worst Enemy -- this one was on NBC and it didn't even make it through the first season but it was an absolutely amazing show. This was last year a believe.

-- Related -- all I can remember is that it was on WB and it was about four sisters. Can't remember when this was on.

Nikki and Nora: UPN didn't even show the PILOT back in 2004. But since the pilot somehow leaked on the net...