brilliant but canceled

Several months ago, somewhere in between the holiday specials that run incessantly from Halloween on and the debut of new shows and return of old favorites, I found myself lost in Rerun Land.

Not only lost in a full line-up of repeats, but without a remote because my husband was holding it hostage. Never did I imagine I’d long for the days of Pawn Stars and Mythbusters, but when even ridiculous reality television shows went on hiatus, my husband resorted to watching shows about a crazy exterminator in Louisiana, Vanilla Ice flipping houses and some angry men cutting down trees.

It was a dark time.

As I endured cursing loggers and handy rappers, I wondered why I was so incredibly irritated by the lack of good TV. And then I remembered: When rerun season has hit in the past, I’ve taken the opportunity to watch through canceled TV shows I missed when they first aired.

Actually, that’s how I’ve found some of my favorite TV shows! Some of my favorites (so far) are:

  1. Arrested Development (I need to watch this one again, now that I think about it.)
  2. Freaks & Geeks (If you’ve been around for a while, you might remember my slight obsession with this one.)
  3. The Middleman (Very quirky and, possibly, very nerdy. But yeah, I loved it.)
  4. Better Off Ted (It’s a little bit like a mash-up of The Office and Arrested Development. And it’s a lot [dark and] hilarious.)
  5. Firefly (Look, I know “space cowboys” sounds like a joke…or a Joker, get it?!…but I’m very serious about how great this show is!)
  6. Veronica Mars (season one – after I’d already watched the other two seasons. This made everything make so much more sense!)
  7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season one – and I’ll admit, I loved it. But one season was enough.)
  8. Warehouse 13 (season one – just in time to watch the second season last summer!)
  9. Felicity (Watching these slightly out of order, as reruns, was crazy confusing. But still so good!)

And last, but most recent, Parks and Recreation. Which is a problem, because this show is still on. And that means I just added another 30 minutes to my already-packed schedule of shows.

I tend to prefer canceled, short-lived series, because the time commitment is small enough to keep me occupied and entertained until my favorite shows have new episodes, but not so long that I have to dedicate months to them. I have friends, though, who have spent many an evening watching the multiple seasons of West Wing, Monk and Psych.

Oh – and I can’t wait to someday watch Friday Night Lights from start to finish. That should keep Swamp People and presidential biographies at bay for a good long time!

What do YOU watch when reruns are on?

An earlier version of this post was originally posted at Blissfully Domestic. Affiliate links are used in this post. And the whole thing will be linked up to Top Ten Tuesday at OhAmanda.

What should you watch next?

 

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