These are the top 10 shows that you’ve probably never seen. You’ve ignored them and because of that they’ve either went to cancellation heaven or will be unless you correct your sinful, wicked ways.
1. Firefly
It seems with all the aftermath love given to Firefly this shouldn’t top the list but I was surprised to find there are people who still haven’t seen this show. I was told the tale of a newbie who fell in love with Joss Whedon’s recent genius,amazing, fantastic, I’ll cut you if you complain about the third act, musical Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along blog then was interested to find out what else the man behind Dr. Horrible had produced. He decided to check out Firefly and , of course, he loved it. As will you if you’re one of those people who’ve yet to see Firefly. I know a space western doesn’t sound great but it truly, truly is. I challenge you to watch just one episode and not want to purchase the dvd.
The show explores the lives of people who fought on the losing side of a civil war and now make a living on the outskirts of the society that exists on the fringes of their star system.
2. Veronica Mars
A show that admittedly turned quite “not good” in the third season was still better than most shows on Television. A noir mystery show staring a girl people quickly dubbed a darker Nancy Drew didn’t interest many. Critics found this show and applauded it rightfully so. It grew a great cult following including the likes of Kevin Smith, Joss Whedon, and Stephen King. It was interesting, fresh, smart and perfectly dialogued. Most importantly it had mysteries that were so intricately woven including payoffs so satisfying that even the most adept mystery writer would say “damn that blew me away”. Veronica Mars remains a show that went away far too soon. It is available on DVD which is where you should find it and love it. Add it to your netflix queue or hit up your dvd store and add this very worthy addition to your shelves.
The show starred Kristen Bell as the title character: a student who progressed from high school to college private investigator under the wing of her detective father. Said to be “a little bit during the series while moonlighting as a Buffy and a little bit Bogart”, the show balanced murder mystery, high school and college drama, and social commentary with sarcasm and off-beat humor in a style often compared to neo-noir films.
3. Andy Richter Projects (Andy Richter controls the unverse, Andy Barker P.I.,etc)
Andy Richter is funny. I don’t know how people keep missing this fact. He was funny on Conan O’Brien and he’s still funny. From Andy Richter Controls the Universe to Quintuplets, each show had his same brand of hapless humor. If you’ve never seen Andy Barker P.I then you’ve missed something great. When I first saw the show, I just knew America was going to realize that Andy Richter was hilarious and this show would be around for a while. It wasn’t. It was promptly ignored and sent off to the cancelled far too soon heaven in the sky. The next time Andy Richter has a project on air take the time to watch it. In the interim watch what your ignoring missed with Andy Barker, P.I.
Richter plays Andy Barker, a certified public accountant who reluctantly becomes a private investigator after he is mistaken for the former office tenant, a private eye, now retired. Andy develops a taste for solving cases, assisted by the former P.I, a film buff owner of the downstairs video store, a surveillance-expert restaurateur and, as time goes on, his wife.
4. Chuck
Many people have heard about Chuck but nowhere near enough are watching this struggling show. Of course a writers strike didn’t help but even before ratings weren’t great. Chuck is action packed and funny. It’s Alias meets Clerks. Also it stars the perfectly cast Adam Baldwin– I can’t say that enough. The show is coming back this fall and when it does set your vcr’s, dvr’s, and mental alarm clocks to not pass it show up. In the interim watch what you missed at nbc.com.
The series is about an “average computer-whiz-next-door” who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working in the CIA; the message embeds the only remaining copy of the world’s greatest spy secrets into Chuck’s brain.
5. Back to You
This show which starred Kelsy Grammar and Patricia Heaton was one of the best sitcoms on air in years. People complain about the death of the situation comedy and the insane amount of Reality TV yet they ignored this gem. With few missteps Back To You actually made you laugh which rarely happens with a non-animated Fox show. The back and forth between main characters Chuck and Kelly is amusing yet also a great cast of supporting characters brought their own humor. A show directed by the great James Burrows should not have failed. Shame on you for ignoring it.
The series is directed by James Burrows,and stars Emmy Award-winners Kelsey Grammer (Cheers, Frasier) and Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond) as squabbling anchors of a news program.
6. How I met your Mother
The hope is that with cameos from Britney spears and people now realizing that NPH (Thanks to Dr. Horrible) is awesome will encourage more to watch this show. Despite it being one of the best shows on air, How I Met your Mother has been close to cancellation too many times to count. We find a sitcom that is actually funny, telling a serialized story, and allowing you to connect with its characters. If you will watch this show you will realize why its legen-wait for it.
The series is based around the main character, Ted Mosby, telling his son and daughter about the events that led to his meeting their mother. How I Met Your Mother’s other main characters are Marshall Eriksen, Robin Scherbatsky, Barney Stinson, and Lily Aldrin. Also stars Bob Saget as the narrator.
7. Eli Stone
Eli Stone is an attorney who has visions because of a brain aneurysm. Although we went down a similar path a few years ago with Ally McBeal’s Billy, this is entirely different. First off Eli Stone wont be dying his hair any time soon and the cast of characters here are not shall we saying….annoying. After having visions Eli is lead to cases that change lives as well as make the world a better place. Okay that seems sappy but theres a few elements here that make the show well worth watching. As stated before I feel this show is Six Feet Under lite and I think you will too….. if you watch it. Eli Stone is well worth your time. It will return this fall to abc but in the mean time watch it for free at abc.com to see what you’ve missed
The show stars Jonny Lee Miller in the title role of attorney Eli Stone. In the first episode, Stone is discovered to have an inoperable brain aneurysm which is causing hallucinations. His acupuncturist, Dr. Chen, suggests that his hallucinations are actually divinely inspired visions of the future. These visions often predict future cases and events, including an impending earthquake.
8. Clerks:the Animated Series
Many said this show came a little too late to find an audience. Okay, I am part of those people and yes I will but I didn’t ignore the show. I promptly watched the two whole episodes that aired. The series tamed down for television somehow didn’t find its audience in two weeks. Even if you don’t like Kevin Smiths humor then you have to respect that Clerks gave us one of the funniest moments ever.
“Who is driving?
Oh My God Bear is driving. How can that be?
Car full of midgets!”
Which is a moment that should be on the list of all time funniest moments on television. Clerks came back with a sequel to the movie but the animated series will never come again. Check it out on DVD and you will regret not watching it.
The main characters, Dante Hicks, Randal Graves, Jay and Silent Bob, as well as the setting and basic premise, are taken directly from the movie and retold here in animated form.
9. Dollhouse
What? a show that hasn’t been aired yet? Yes. I place this here in the hopes that you realize this show is good enough to NOT become a show you ignore. The premise sounds….not so good but early leaked footage and great trailer makes Dollhouse a show well worth your time and most importantly It’s helmed by Joss Whedon. He has yet to let the public down and I have no doubt that he won’t let us down here.
In Dollhouse, Dushku plays a young woman named Echo, a member of a group of people known as “Actives” or “Dolls.” The Dolls have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas, including memory, muscle memory, skills, and language, for different assignments. They’re then hired out for particular jobs, crimes, fantasies, and occasional good deeds. On missions, Actives are monitored internally (and remotely) by Handlers. In between tasks, they are mind-wiped into a child-like state and live in a futuristic dormitory/laboratory, a hidden facility nicknamed “The Dollhouse”. The story follows Echo, who begins, in her mind-wiped state, to become self-aware.
10. Aliens in America
I get why you ignored it. First off this show aired on the CW which makes you think its ignore-worthy. Second the premise sounds like a one-note joke not even worthy of a sketch on Mad TV. Finally it mostly starred unknowns. However the show worked because it wasn’t just a fish out of water and a geek trying to find their way through high school. It worked because it was heart-felt at times, thought provoking at others, and outright funny the rest of the time. The mother meticulously played by Amy Pieta could give Wisteria Lane’s Katherine Mayfair a run for her money. Scott Patterson’s portrayal of Justin’s father is what all TV dads should be and were before the “lazy fat guy marries good” days. The show won’t make it to the next season because you ignored it and there’s no current way to view it. Le sigh.
The show is about a Wisconsin teenager and the foreign exchange student his mother arranges to host, believing the visitor will help her socially awkward son become more popular. The student turns out to be a Muslim teenager from Pakistan.
dary.
At the end of the day there is no way to watch all the good television but these are some egregious errors in judgment on the viewing public’s part. Did I miss something important? The Family Guy issue has been resolved. The Tick probably would have gotten old fairly quick. My So-Called Life is probably best as a one season epic. If I’ve left something out then let me know in the comments.
Ever so often you think about an old TV show and search your mind for how it all ended. Although I had some memories about the series finale of The X-Files, I couldn’t remember many details. I knew the last episode found Mulder on trial for something. I also remembered the moment when Scully and Mulder were reunited while he was held captive. That kiss! That kiss! I had waited years for THAT KISS. But how did it all end? And more importantly what did the last episode tell me that I need to know about the movie? So I hit the magic google button of knowledge (Yes I am feeling lucky!) and now I know.
Ever so often one wonders if they are wrong about a certain television show. After all 
