4 Quirky, Cancelled Television Shows for Your Netflix Queue

There's a lot of good TV out there. Netflix has helped a lot of people keep up with shows that they would otherwise miss entirely. House, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, these programs are in high demand, and appear on a huge number of Netflix queues. Many great television shows hit the airwaves during inopportune timeslots, or lack the broad support needed to maintain their momentum through more than a season or two. It seems that these shows are gone before they ever have time to be seen. In years past, a television show that was cancelled before the end of their first season was doomed to obscurity, regardless of the value of the show itself. You Netflix queue offers you an opportunity to view these excellent shows in the comfort of your home, without having to special order them or track them down on ebay. Here are four quirky shows that should have stuck around a little longer. Add them to your queue today - you'll thank me.

Dead Like Me - 2003-2004
29 episodes

Basics - Originally aired on Showtime, the Sci Fi Channel is currently airing slightly-censored episodes of the show. As is typical in such cases, while the cencored bits add little to the overall story-arc of each episode, they are amusing and add a lot to the quirky character of the show. Netflix is the way to go.

Synopsis - Georgia "George" Lass, played by the adorable and sarcastic Ellen Muth, kicks the bucket, killed by a flying toilet seat, at the beginning of the first episode. Rather than passing on to the afterlife, George is recruited into the ranks of the grim reapers by Rube (Mandy Patinkin). George's job is to escort the souls of the recently deceased on to their next plane of existence, while gaining no real knowledge of the nature of the next plane herself. Each episode is a reflection on death, dying, and the nature of our relationships with the people and things that make up our lives.

Why You Should Watch It - Black humor is really funny, and this is darkness and humor at their best. The ensemble of reapers is incredibly funny, and their interactions make you keep coming back, just to see what happens to them. Dead Like Me manages to make observations on all aspects of life, while keeping you laughing the whole time.

Firefly - 2002-2003
14 episodes (11 aired)

Basics - Created by Joss Whedon, of Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, Firefly is far and away the most controversial program on this list. Firefly was plagued with disagreements between Whedon and FOX Television, resulting in a show killed before ever having had a chance to shine. Fox rejected the pilot episode after picking up the show, and aired the shows in the wrong order before cancelling it for underperforming. Firefly retains a huge cult following with enough vocal support to result in a feature-length film, "Serenity," produced after the nails were in Firefly's coffin.

Synopsis - Set about 500 years in the future, Firefly is the only true science fiction program on the list. A small ragtag crew of nine criminals and fugitives cross the galaxy, trying to avoid the Alliance government, and making a living however they can, as mercenaries or smugglers. Often called a meeting of Star Wars and the wild west, the setting is most often border planets with a decidedly early American aesthetic.

Why You Should Watch It - The writing, production, and chemistry of this show are all top-notch, and once you get through the first three or four episodes, you'll understand. There can be no question that this show was just picking up steam when cancelled, and it's a damn shame.

Tru Calling - 2003-2005
26 Episodes

Basics - A FOX Television production, starring the extremely lickable Eliza Dushku, Tru Calling was filmed in Canada. Tru Calling, while much mourned by fans, is the show on this list that met with perhaps the least outcry upon its cancellation. The series was admittedly in a strange place, development-wise, upon its cancellation, but show creators have made it clear that the show was developing with specific goals in mind, and the brief glimpses they've made public are indeed intriguing. This program is much less of an ensemble show than the first two on the list. While Tru's supporting cast does a lot to keep the viewer grounded in the setting, Dushku spends much or her on screen time sorting through an impressive amount of emotion on her own.

Synopsis - Tru Davies (Dushku), works nights in the City Morgue. A crummy job for a lot of folks, but as a med studenet, this is a definite resume-builder. While Davies may not have much to say to her customers, they often have something to say to her. Some of the recently dead reach out to Tru and ask her for help, sending her hurtling 24 hours back in time to try and prevent their deaths. Needless to say, wacky hijinx ensue!

Why You Should Watch It - Eliza Dushku is ultimately reason enough to watch anything at all. I'd watch her go bass fishing, I really would. That said, the first season of this show is particularly watchable. Tru deals with some character-developing family and relationship issues, sure, but for the most part, she's trying to keep dead people alive without tipping them off, or letting her friends and co-workers in on the secret. The creativity, awkwardness, and pluck depicted throughout this show are just a blast.

Wonderfalls - 2004
13 episodes

Basics - This show wins the prize for being underutilized by a network. In what is clearly becoming a trend, FOX Television produced 13 episodes of the show, aired only four of them - in the wrong order - and canceled the program prematurely. It wasn't until I started writing this article that I realized that this series is the Kevin Bacon of the list, as folks involved in every other series on the list worked on Wonderfalls in some role or another.

Synopsis - Jaye Tyler (Caroline Dhavernas) works a job much below her level of education - as a retail clerk in a Niagara Falls gift store. Kitschy animal figurines sold at the gift shop talk to Jaye, warning her of impending doom in the world around her, which she must work to prevent. Similar to "Joan of Arcadia," but without God, and with wax lions, the program is about as quirky as they get.

Why You Should Watch It - It's fun and funny. Dhavernas and the rest of the cast make this program a riveting program, and the strange, edgy cinematography stylings keep you interested with ease. If you bought in to the rest of the list, most of which you've probably at least HEARD OF, why not trust me on this one? Add disk #1 to your Netflix queue.