Top five cancelled shows
author: elisabeth sahlmueller | staff writer
The glowing box knows all / Jeremy Davis
Is good T.V. going down the drain?
One of my favourite ways to unwind at the end of the day is to watch some T.V. with my brother. Luckily, we have similar interests, so what show to watch is something we never fight over. While many great shows are no longer being produced or shown on T.V., they are still worth watching because they don’t have predictable plot lines and are not superficial reality garbage. Here are five shows worth checking out, which I can guarantee will pull you in after just one episode.
The O.C (four seasons 2003-2007)
Welcome to New Port Beach, California, where the weather is warm and no one is as perfect as they appear. This American drama series created by John Schwartz follows the lives of four teenagers: Marissa Cooper, Summer Roberts, Seth Cohen and Ryan Atwood, who are brought together after Ryan’s arrival in New Port. Marissa is the sweet and popular, but troubled girl next door, whom Ryan can’t help but fall for. Summer is Marissa’s best friend who is smarter than she looks and the girl Seth has loved forever and can never get out of his head, no matter how hard he tries. Seth is the nerdy, self-absorbed, but sweet and humorous guy, and Ryan is the guy with the rough past who always seems to find himself mixed up in some trouble, usually while trying to help someone else. As Marissa, Summer, Seth, and Ryan try to get through high school, they experience life, love, relationships, family issues, secrets and, of course, Christmakuh. Although the O.C deals with multiple serious issues, it is still a highly entertaining, humorous and light-hearted TV show that successfully pulls viewers.
Gilmore Girls (seven seasons, 2000-2007)
This American drama created by Amy Sherman-Palladino is a show unlike any other with its numerous pop-culture references, fast-paced conversations, unique characters, and engaging plot line. It centers around single mom Lorelai Gilmore and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Rory, and their life in the small town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Although Lorelai and Rory are mother-daughter, because of their close age, they are actually more like sisters or best friends. Over the course of seven years, Lorelai works toward achieving her ultimate goal of hotel ownership and Rory attempts to survive first her high school at the prestigious Chilton a d then college at Yale. Along the way, they experience love, success, heartbreak, disappointment, eccentric town traditions and intense family issues after Lorelai’s parents, Emily and Richard, become integrated into their lives after agreeing to cover Rory’s high tuition cost for Chilton. Despite the various challenges both Lorelai and Rory encounter and the rough fights they have, they are always there for each other.
How I Met your Mother (9 seasons 2005-2014)
Sit back and get comfortable because you are in the for the longest love story of your life; I am not kidding. This American sitcom created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas is based on Ted Mosby telling his children the story of how he met and fell in love with their mother. It centres around Ted as he searches for love and experiences the highs and lows of life and relationships along with his four best friends Marshall, Lily, Robin, and Barney. Despite Ted’s multiple failed romantic relationships, he remains committed to finding his one true love, because he wants to get married and settle down. Along the way to achieving this goal, there are multiple memorable moments including the discovery of their doppelgangers, Ted’s architectural success, Robin’s embarrassing pop-star videos, and the painful slap bet. Although this story takes 208 episodes to tell, it is “wait for it…legendary,” as it shows that sometimes the journey, one takes is just as valuable as the outcome.
Once Upon a Time (seven seasons, 2011-2018)
Ever wonder why the evil queen hates Snow White so much, or what would happen if the fairy tale world somehow collided with the real word? These questions and much more are explored in this drama series created by Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis. In this show, all of our favourite fairy-tale characters come to life as residents in the quiet town of Story Brooke. However, all is not as it seems, as all of these individuals are actually frozen in time and stuck living in this town because of a curse the evil queen cast in order to get revenge on Snow
White and Prince Charming. Despite this unfortunate predicament, there is a way this can be solved, which involves the help of the long-lost daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. As the members of the town attempt to deal with their new lives and recover what they lost, they are forced to make some difficult decisions, and learn that “magic always comes with a price.”
The Rick Mercer Report (fifteen seasons, 2004- 2017)
This was a show I grew up watching, and I always hated missing an episode because it was not only entertaining, but also brought public attention to the hundreds of individuals who make our country great. During the fifteen years of this show, host Rick Mercer visited 500 different locations in all of Canada’s provinces and territories and walked about 42km through the graffiti-covered alley background while ranting about the important issues affecting our country. He highlighted multiple events throughout our country, interviewed a great deal of iconic Canadian musicians, actors, Paralympians and Olympians, politicians, and writers, such as Jann Arden, Rick Hansen, Alex Lifeson, Jack Layton, and Margaret Atwood. He showed important Canadian companies such as Chapmans, Sabien Symbols and Ben and Jerry’s. Mercer also got students interested in fundraising with the Spread the Net Student Challenge, which works toward preventing the spread of Malaria in Africa. The Rick Mercer Report highlighted the best of this country and showed the world what being Canadian is all about.
