Five Good Canceled TV Shows Available on DVD

The fall TV season will be starting soon, and there are bound to be some great shows that don't last as long as they should. Even though they may not find a big enough audience while they are on the air, viewers can discover them later on DVD. Here are five great shows that were unfortunately canceled before their time.

1. Pushing Daisies: Ned is a piemaker whose touch can bring people back from the dead. This gift has a limit, though. If somebody he touches comes back to life for more than one minute, someone else dies. With another touch from him, they are dead for good. A private detective enlists Ned's talents, and Ned finds himself on some interesting cases. His gift also brings his childhood sweetheart back into his life. This sweet and quirky show was on for two seasons.

2. Veronica Mars: Kristen Bell is terrific as snarky teenage detective Veronica Mars, who is working to solve her best friend's murder. She also makes money by solving cases for her high school classmates and others in a California town full of economic inequality. She also deals with her rich former friends while making new ones and finding some romance, as well. This show had three seasons, but it deserved more.

3. Firefly: Malcolm Reynolds is the captain of a spaceship hundreds of years in the future, where space has sort of a "wild west" feel. He ends up taking in a fugitive doctor and his sister, which makes it more difficult for the captain and his eclectic crew to find jobs as they go from planet to planet. This show was only on for one season, but a movie, "Serenity," came out a few years later and is also available on DVD.

4. My So-Called Life: Claire Danes plays Angela Chase, who is dealing with all the challenges of being a teenager. As her relationship with her family and her former best friend is changing, she is making new friends and falling in love. This show, which captured the drama of being a teenager so well, unfortunately only lasted one season.

5. American Gothic: Gary Cole plays Lucas Buck, the sheriff of a small Southern town called Trinity. He is always happy to do favors for the people of his town, but he later expects something in return. If they don't do what he asks, bad things seem to mysteriously happen to them. This creepy but good series only lasted one season.

These shows may have never found the audience they deserved, but at least they can still be appreciated on DVD. These programs can be great to watch during lulls in the TV season or when time is freed up because of another promising show being taken off the air too soon.