Sometimes its hard to believe that good television even gets produced, when so much of it cancelled because of an ancient ratings system that in no-way reflects what the public is actually watching. (Nielsen’s I’m looking at you). Sometimes a Network just doesn’t give a show enough time, sometimes they just don’t understand what they have until its too late, and sometimes the people that handle scheduling are just plain idiots.

Below, we have a list of 5 TV Shows that never should have been cancelled - and each of them was for one of the reasons listed above.

5. The Screen Savers

When TechTV was merged with G4 - every fan of TechTV knew that the glory days were over. Bizarre changes started immediately, and Leo Laporte left the show, and things looked really bad. The new co-host, however, was an aspiring actor named Alex Albriecht. He, along with Kevin Rose, managed to usher in a new era for The Screen Savers. The show was reborn, but after a few months Alex was fired, and the format was changed over an over again until they finally cancelled the show all together, and moved the staff to a new program called Attack of the Show!.

The Screen Savers should have never been cancelled, and the hosting team of Alex Albriecht and Kevin Rose would later re-team for an online show called Diggnation that has officially made them tech-rock stars.

4. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Studio 60, much like Bionic Woman, had great ratings the first night, but most viewers didn’t make it back for a second glance. It’s a shame too, because the engaging drama was well written, well acted, and a joy to watch. The first episode did seem to drag a bit to me, but the show really improved from there on out, and had the fickle audience given it another chance, I think it would still be on today.

3. Clerks the Animated Series

ABC was originally so supportive of Clerks that they planned to air it after the Superbowl. It was going to be BIG. ABC’s version of The Simpsons - but what series creator Kevin Smith soon learned, is that its much better to be “a big fish in a small pond, than a small fish, in the giant [exploitive deleted] that is ABC”. Executives didn’t understand the show, and it was quickly buried and cancelled. Had it found a proper home on a smaller network, or even somewhere in Fox’s animated line-up, the show would probably still be on today.

2. Arrested Development

Never has there been a show quite like Arrested Development. It’s irreverent style and sense of humor have influenced some of the biggest comedy hits today including The Office, and feature films like Superbad. The show did catch on with audiences, and its my firm belief that if a realistic ratings system was in place, the show would still be on the air.

Firefly

Joss Whedon’s space western masterpiece has sparked a fan base all over the world, and was so successful on DVD that it launched a feature film version of the show. Fox never even went so far as to air the show in order when it first appeared on their network - making it almost impossible to really “get into” the show. It lives on it merchandise, conventions, DVDs, comics, and possibly more in the future…but if Fox had had any sense at all and given it a chance, it would be on the air right now.

(Note - Family Guy and Futurama are not on the list because they were effectively “uncanceled” - feel free leave your selections for uncancelation in the comments below)