Shows i miss to the point of it almost hurting...
You Can't do That on Television...totally groundbreaking and most importantly funny! This was a true rarity - a show with kids that kids and adults could enjoy...multilevel humor, kids and situations that the audience could relate to...this was the show that put Nickelodeon on the map (even though they acquired it from a Canadian station) and sadly Nick has never come close to finding anything that captured that glory so well.
Laugh-in - now of course YCDTOTV was in many ways a descendant of Laugh In, so to say i wish YCDTOTV was back on the air, i'd also have to say that the tv landscape is not the same without Laugh-In itself either. Yes, there were incredible talents on the show but the cool thing is the format was such that it's one of the few shows you could put back on the air with a totally different cast and as long as the writing and acting talent was there, it would work. This was the ultimate show for everyone in the family - sight gags mixed with slapstick mixed with innocence mixed with naughtiness mixed with sly political commentary...and lest the show be accused of having a particular slant in its politcal humor, there were both right-wing and left-wing influenced writers on the show that balanced each other out. Every now and then there will be some tribute to Laugh In via an anniversary special or awards show tribute...why can't anyone realize that this is a show we need back on our screens? Of course, these days we're in "reality show" land since they're "cheaper to produce" and with all the quick cuts and bits that last for a few seconds that means multiple sets, costumes...the kind of stuff that might make a network penny-pincher cringe.
The Hot Fudge Show - the world's coolest ever kids show that wasn't Henson/Muppet related. The fact that you had to work to get up super early to watch it made it seem all the more special! DVD RELEASES NEEDED STAT!
Twin Peaks - not only did it change the television landscape, but showed that cinema style production values could be done on television...most primetime dramas have TP to thank in one way or another...but beside the way it revived the format and twisted it into new directions and subgenres, the story has far from over and so much potential for further greatness was wasted with its cancellation. A lot of television critics (and general pop culture concensus) will tend to argue that the first season was the best thing to ever hit television while the second season was a total waste. I totally disagree...yes, there were weak spots in the second season...the few episodes between the wrap up of the Laura Palmer murder mystery and the next major storylines felt like the transitional episodes they were and whenever the show was off the air due to some kind of break, it often seemed like the first episode to air after a wait was not as good as the episode or two that followed that particular one. But by and large i would say that season two was the better of the two and that season three would have totally rocked. Or for that matter a movie that would have forwarded the story instead of the prequel movie that happened instead (not saying the Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me wasn't all sorts of awesomeness in itself)
Melrose Place - yes i know there's a new version of the show coming back...which is why i specifically am mentioning it. The original was must-see viewing in the 90's - it was one of those generation defining shows...the one you would watch while on the phone with a friend watching the show on their end and commenting on what you were watching "together" - the one you would talk about at break at work the next day with your fellow Melrose buds. Which is why i'm really disheartened by a lot of the reports coming out about the new incarnation - the current producers have just been blowing the chances to bring back old cast members left and right (ie they refuse to spare the expense!) So far, only four original characters have been mentioned as returning (one just this last week)...and even then most of them just for an episode or two...and the main one being Sidney Andrews...a character that was killed on-camera in the original and even by Melrose standards seems very outlandish to manage to explain/justify (not that i'm not a fan of Syd - on the contrary while Heather Locklear's Amanda was the one who often is credited as "saving the show"...Amanda had the best lines, Marcia Cross' Kimberly had the best storylines and shocking moments (the wig, the unspoiled return from the dead in season two, the blowing up the apartment, the multiple personalities), and Laura Leighton's Sidney was the one you would be gushing about when you were catching up with your water cooler discussion friends with the next day with your conversations almost inevitably starting with "Can you believe what Syd said/did/wore?") I am at least glad to see Thomas Calabro returning as Michael Mancini (the only cast member who was on the original series all the way from the first to the last episode) but still i get the feeling that this will be such a cheap ripoff of the original that it will probably end up cancelled after about six episodes. The funny thing is, on paper Melrose Place seems like a show that could be done with an all new cast being that the premise is that it revolves around residents of an apartment building...and in real life tenants move in and out of apartments all the time...but what made MP the show it was in its original form where the characters and without a healthier portion of those cast members/characters (or at least the ones who managed to never be killed off!), it's destined to fail (the only exception i would make is i would have NO problem with a recast Billy Campbell - Andrew Shue was one of the worst actors ever on a primetime drama!) I was always sad that even though they had Heather Locklear herself as a guest in an episode that Muppets Tonight (or the Muppets in general) never got around to doing a good Melrose parody...i always wanted so badly to see them do one where there would be a running gag of "by the way where is Kimberly?" ... and then it would end with Crazy Harry popping up at the end in drag in a long red wig setting off a huge explosion.
I avoided mentioning any Henson/Muppet series though i will comment that The Jim Henson Hour was one of my all time fave Henson/Muppet projects which totally got a raw deal from NBC...but unfortunately even if it DID get renewed...it wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway due to sadly obvious reasons.
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