Canceled Too Soon

Everybody knows L.A. CONFIDENTIAL is one of the best movies of the 1990s, and maybe even one of the best movies ever made. But not everybody remembers that just a few years after James Ellroy's classic novel became a classic movie, it almost became a television series, written by Walon Green (THE WILD BUNCH) and starring Kiefer Sutherland (24), Anna Gunn (BREAKING BAD), Eric Roberts (A TALKING CAT?!) and Pruitt Taylor Vince (DEADWOOD). The L.A. CONFIDENTIAL television series never made it past the pilot episode, but did it really deserve to get abandoned, or was it... CANCELED TOO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold take a look back at one of the most ambitious pilots they've ever encountered, revisit the classic movie, analyze the differences between the film and the pilot and the book, and much, much more!  Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani, follow Witney at @WitneySeibold, and follow Alonso D

The time has finally come to review one of the most notorious television series in history: MY MOTHER THE CAR, a 1960s sitcom with the stupidest premise imaginable, and a Freudian nightmare that could only happen in the deepest, darkest subconscious of the typical suburban male. Yes, Jerry Van Dyke's mother is a car... and she will spank him. It's been called the worst tv show in history, but is it possible that MY MOTHER THE CAR was... CANCELED TOO SOON? Join film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold - and special guest Alonso Duralde (Linoleum Knife) - as they drink deeply of all 30 ill-conceived episodes of MY MOTHER THE CAR, the series they call "The HEAVEN'S GATE of Television." How bad could it possibly be? Guess what: it's worse. Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani, follow Witney at @WitneySeibold, and follow Alonso Duralde at @ADuralde. Subscribe to The B-Movies Podcast for Bibbs and W

We've been sifting through television's biggest failures for one whole year, and it's time to pit all of these amazing/amazingly bad TV shows against one another in horrifying death match!  As film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold prepare another whole year of bizarre discoveries and notorious pop culture punchlines, join them as they look back at the first 43 shows and reveal the best tv shows, the worst tv shows, the weirdest tv shows, the small actors who unexpectedly got big, the big actors who tragically got small, their favorite tv theme songs and the winner of our first-ever audience award for the best episode of CANCELED TOO SOON! Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold. And if you like what you hear, subscribe to The B-Movies Podcast for Bibbs and Witney's weekly movie news, reviews and in-depth celebrity interviews!  Do you have a suggestion for a TV show

The 1990s were full of failed sci-fi television series, but few ever reached the heights of EARTH 2, an expensive show about colonizing an alien planet that lasted one whole season on NBC. EARTH 2 won an Emmy Award and debuted as one of the highest rated series of television, and somehow it concluded as one of the lowest.  What the heck happened to EARTH 2, and was it... CANCELED TOO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold trek all the way to the farthest reaches of the galaxy to bring back the answers. Listen up as they guide you through the whole series of EARTH 2, pondering the show's many mysteries, studying its many stupidities, and considering the deeper ramifications of teleport love spiders, alien cannibalization and much, much more. Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold. And if you like what you hear, subscribe to The B-Movies Podcast for Bibbs and Witney's w

After Joel Hodgson left MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000, but before he rebooted MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000, he invented a new form of television called THE TV WHEEL. This complicated sketch comedy show rotated a set in front of a stationary camera, challenging the limits of the medium and testing the comedic talents of future superstars like Judd Apatow (KNOCKED UP), Paul Feig (BRIDESMAIDS), David Cross (MR. SHOW), Doug Benson (DOUG LOVES MOVIES) and more. The pilot for THE TV WHEEL was rejected by HBO and only aired once on Comedy Central. But was it... CANCELED TOO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold look back at the ambitious sketch comedy series, walk you through every single joke, and help analyze this show's place in Joel Hodgson's fascinating career. How does it compare to MST3K? What was the value of this technology, and where did THE TV WHEEL go wrong? Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani a

Fans of MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 know all about MASTER NINJA, a series of "movies" starring Lee Van Cleef as an old white ninja and Timothy Van Patten as his hunky hamster-enthusiast sidekick. But before MASTER NINJA got riffed on by MST3K it ran for an entire season on NBC in 1984, under the title of THE MASTER, and featured guest stars like Demi Moore (GHOST), Crystal Bernard (WINGS), George Lazenby (ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE) and several future stars of STAR TREK. But was THE MASTER... CANCELED TOO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold guide you through all 13 episodes of the notorious television series, including nine shows that MST3K never got to, and guide you through the weird wide world of 1980s fetishes - like aerobics classes, trucker lingo, ninjas - via this one strange action-adventure series where they all (briefly) collided. Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow

There are more tv shows about lawyers than we could possibly care to count, but almost all of them lasted longer than DOUBT, a courtroom dramedy starring Katherine Heigl (GREY'S ANATOMY), Laverne Cox (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK) and Elliott Gould (MASH), which was canceled last February after airing only two episodes. Katherine Heigl plays a lawyer who's in love with her murder suspect client, and nobody seemed to care. How bad could DOUBT possibly be? And was it... CANCELED TOO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are on the case, dissecting both episodes of DOUBT to find out why nobody tuned in, what could have saved the series, and figuring out how this rapidly-canceled series would have ended.  Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold. And if you like what you hear, subscribe to The B-Movies Podcast for Bibbs and Witney's weekly movie news, reviews and in-depth c

The year was 1993, and STAR TREK ruled the airwaves. That was good news for Trekkies but bad news for SPACE RANGERS. When this blue collar sci-fi series debuted, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION was still on the air and STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE had only premiered three days earlier. Audiences just weren't interested in watching SPACE RANGERS, a lower budgeted series that was aired out of order, so it was hard to even tell what was going on. SPACE RANGERS lasted only six episodes, but was it... canceled too soon? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are here to walk you through the intergalactic adventures of this ragtag band of misfits, who fight aliens, defend aliens, annoy aliens and are annoyed by aliens in a television series created by Pen Densham (ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES). How cheap was this cheap, cheap show? And was it really as bad as it looked? Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow W

In the history of television, there are few shows that have a more embarrassing reputation than MANIMAL, an NBC series that ran for eight short episodes in 1983, and starred Simon MacCorkindale as a crimefighter who turns into a panther, a hawk, and any other animal the situation requires. Audiences balked, critics laughed, and MANIMAL became a pop culture punchline that endures to this very day. But was MANIMAL... CANCELED TOO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are on the case! They're breaking down every absurd episode of MANIMAL and giving this infamous dud the critical attention it was always denied, asking the important questions about animal transformations that nobody ever asked (probably). Plus, they've also tracked down the episode of the long-forgotten superhero series NIGHTMAN which - fifteen years after the cancelation of MANIMAL - finally wrapped up the superhero's story... badly. Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooS

The cult comedies BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE and BILL AND TED'S BOGUS JOURNEY got turned into a short-lived live-action sitcom in the early 1990s! The pilot was written by the creators of BETTER OFF DEAD and SEX AND THE CITY, and the series found the lovable goofballs traveling back in time to learn how to rock from Elvis Presley, how to woo ladies from Casanova, and how to do math from Albert Einstein. BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURES only lasted seven episodes on Fox in 1992, but was it... CANCELED TOO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold delve into this forgotten television series to figure out what went wrong, what went right, and why one of these episodes is hopelessly and offensively ignorant. If you ever wondered how excellent BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURES were, this is the podcast for you! Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold. And

Fifty years ago, hundreds of Alcatraz inmates disappeared. Now, the most notorious criminals in American history are loose in San Francisco, where a tough cop and a comic book nerd team up to find them and discover the real story behind their magic silver blood and super-duper mystery keys. ALCATRAZ was a weird, weird, weird show from Bad Robot, the makers of LOST, that was canceled after only one short season. But was ALCATRAZ... CANCELED TOO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are on the case! They'll track down every awesome ALCATRAZ guest star - like MR. ROBOT's Rami Malek, MOONLIGHT's Mahershala Ali and LUKE CAGE's Theo Rossi - and delve into every one of this series' lingering mysteries. Was ALCATRAZ a good cop show that suffered from too many prison drama flashbacks? Was it a good prison drama that suffered from too many cop show flashforwards? We're about to find out. Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, fo

David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker took the comedy world by storm with AIRPLANE! in 1980, and two years later they brought their rapid-fire signature schtick to ABC with POLICE SQUAD!, a parody of self-serious cop shows starring Leslie Nielsen as Lt. Frank Drebin, a cop who lives in a wacky world where nobody knows how silly they are. POLICE SQUAD! became a cult favorite and eventually spawned three blockbuster spin-off movies called THE NAKED GUN, but was it... CANCELED TOO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold have invited 80s All Over co-host Drew McWeeny to help explain the history of POLICE SQUAD!, why it's better than THE NAKED GUN and why Drew McWeeny picked a fight with William Bibbiani on the Movie Trivia Schmoedown. Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold. If you like what you hear, subscribe to The B-Movies Podcast for Bibbs and Witney's weekly mov

They're some of the most popular superheroes ever created, but before a hit animated series and blockbuster film franchise turned the X-Men into a household name, they were featured in PRYDE OF THE X-MEN, a pilot episode for a different animated series that failed to take off. Back in the late 1980s/early 1990s, X-MEN was one of the most legendary failed pilots ever, even though it got a lot of things wrong, like making Logan (a.k.a. Wolverine) really, really, REALLY... Australian? But was X-MEN... canceled too soon? Join film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold as they take you back in time to when Saturday morning cartoons ruled the landscape, when Marvel made MUPPET BABIES and when an impressively animated show like PRYDE OF THE X-MEN just wasn't good enough (apparently). Weird details, unexpected trivia and lots of overthinking it abound in this all new episode of CANCELED TOO SOON! Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @W

After BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER got canceled, fans found a new destination for teen supernatural horror: POINT PLEASANT, a soap opera about the antichrist, co-created by Marti Noxon (BUFFY) and John J. McLaughlin (BLACK SWAN), starring Elizabeth Harnois, Grant Show, Dina Meyer and - before they got really famous - Aaron Paul and Jon Hamm. It's a strange series, full of teen angst and religious anxiety, and nowadays it's got quite a cult following. POINT PLEASANT was originally canceled after only eight episodes, but was it... CANCELED TOO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are here to analyze all the sexy subplots, ponder the significance of apocalyptic imagery, complain about the stupid dance competition episode, and debate whether POINT PLEASANT was a soap opera that got hijacked by horror storylines, or a horror show that spent too much time trying to be a soap opera. Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @Willia

You know SAILOR MOON, COWBOY BEBOP and NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, but do you recall the most culty anime series of all? It was called DRAGON HALF, its four episode OVA release was canceled after just two episodes, and it's developed an enormous reputation for being funny as hell thanks to anime fans around the world. But was this satirical saga about a half-girl, half-dragon on a quest to romance a singing dragon slayer... CANCELED TOO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are joined this week by author and artist Michelle Lopes to explain what the heck this wacky anime series was, how the anime medium works, and why DRAGON HALF is still remembered to this day. It's a weird and wild show packed with pop culture jokes and naughty fan service, and we think you're going to be fascinated by it. Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold. Follow our special guest Michelle L

You must remember this: a kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh, and nothing is sacred in Hollywood. Even the classic drama CASABLANCA became a short-lived television series (for the second time) courtesy of NBC and the producer of WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY in 1983, starring David Soul (STARSKY AND HUTCH), Hector Elizondo (PRETTY WOMAN) and a young Ray Liotta (GOODFELLAS).  Maybe a television prequel to CASABLANCA was a good idea, maybe it wasn't, but was it... CANCELED TOO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold take you on a trip back to the 1980s (and the 1940s) to relive the wonders of the original CASABLANCA and not-so-wonders of the tv series, which only lasted five episodes. Was it because they kept remaking the same episode over and over and over and over again? Maybe. Was it because this series makes more sense as a sequel than a prequel? Maybe... Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbi

It's one of the weirdest shows in the history of television, about a hero based explicitly on Donald Trump, who buys a haunted mansion in the Caribbean and teams up with the ghost of a black pirate who was lynched for freeing slaves. Together they jump in their high-tech superboat and solve crimes in THE 100 LIVES OF BLACK JACK SAVAGE, a series brought to you by Walt Disney, super-producer Stephen J. Cannell (creator of THE A-TEAM and 21 JUMP STREET), and writers Glen Morgan and James Wong (THE X-FILES, FINAL DESTINATION). It's one of the most confusing, bizarre, and at least arguably racist and sexist television shows we've ever seen. But was THE 100 LIVES OF BLACK JACK SAVAGE... canceled too soon? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are here to guide you through all seven episodes of this forgotten curiosity, point out all the incredible ways this series presaged the rise of Donald Trump, and wonder aloud at how a show with monsters that look like the back half of a rat with chicken

What happens when you get the director of GREMLINS and the author of THE ALIENIST together? You get a STAR TREK knockoff called THE OSIRIS CHRONICLES, about a band of rebels trying to fight off an invading army of enlightened philosophers who just want everyone to be nice to each other. It's an outer space series that never got off the ground, but which was eventually released as a Made-For-TV movie called THE WARLORD: BATTLE FOR THE GALAXY. But was Joe Dante's and Caleb Carr's subversive STAR TREK riff... CANCELED TOO SOON? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are here to analyze this television oddity and determine once and for all whether THE WARLORD: BATTLE FOR THE GALAXY (a.k.a. THE OSIRIS CHRONICLES) deserved a bigger audience, and wonder why the warlord of an entire planet always hangs out on a staircase instead of getting himself an office. Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witne

Not every AMC series is as successful as MAD MEN, BREAKING BAD and THE WALKING DEAD. Case in point: RUBICON, an ambitious espionage series starring James Badge Dale (IRON MAN THREE) that only lasted one short season in 2010, and which completely switched gears after the pilot episode, transforming from a conspiracy thriller into a workplace drama that occasionally remembered it used to be a conspiracy thriller. Critics loved it, audiences ignored it, and now the time has to come to ask if RUBICON really was CANCELED TOO SOON. Join film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold as they unravel RUBICON's mysteries, bicker about the characters, grouse about the show's anticlimactic "conclusion" and, finally, read and respond to more of your letters. Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold. If you like what you hear, subscribe to The B-Movies Podcast for Bibbs and Witney's w

The success of HBO's GAME OF THRONES has led to a lot of expensive, epic, violent and sex-filled television shows, but none were less successful than OF KINGS AND PROPHETs, the ABC series that told the story of King Saul (Ray Winstone) and David (Olly Rix), was expected to be a huge audience draw, and which only lasted two episodes. Who could have foreseen the failure of OF KINGS AND PROPHETS? Film critics William Bibbiani and Witney Seibold are here to take a close look at this biblical misfire, to analyze its place in religious cinema, and to consider OF KINGS AND PROPHETS deserved to last more than two measly episodes. Follow us on Twitter at @CanceledCast, "Like" us at Facebook.com/CanceledTooSoon, follow Bibbs at @WilliamBibbiani and follow Witney at @WitneySeibold. If you like what you hear, subscribe to The B-Movies Podcast for Bibbs and Witney's weekly movie news, reviews and in-depth celebrity interviews! Do you have a suggestion for a TV show that was "canceled too soon" (i.e