So many shows nobody watched the first time around, so little time. . .
Universal HD, the NBC-owned high-definition channel, is like a big cable station in the sky for failed network shows that couldn’t make it in the wide world. In fact, of the 10 series currently airing on this graveyard of forgotten programming, nine of them were canceled after one or two seasons.
The big man on campus, Friday Night Lights, has bragging rights as the only show currently filming new episodes (albeit episodes that won't air on the network until 2009). But the award for the shortest-lived show goes to the atrociously reviewed drama Sex, Love & Secrets, which aired only six episodes in its original run on UPN. (Maybe it was the creepy Animal Planet-style voiceover intros, or the tired seduction tactics of Denise Richards, that sealed the deal?)
Still, we're kind of loving Universal HD. It's a remedy for the sting of loss we've all experienced when shows we claimed were underappreciated or ahead of their time met an early end (My So-Called Life, Second Noah, Boomtown, Jericho, maybe even that weird Kirk Cameron sitcom from the late '90s -- whatever you're into). We're positive that it's just a matter of time before Six Degrees rears its ill-fated head between episodes of Philly and Kidnapped.
In this uncertain era, it’s always nice to know that there’s a cable channel willing to give even the most injudiciously chosen series another shot at life. If you find yourself in need of a good laugh one evening, never fear: There are eight episodes of South Beach just waiting to be rediscovered.
Previously:
Get Your Friday Night Lights Spoilers
Things We Missed the First Time: Delroy Lindo in Kidnapped