Author: Anna Ravenelle

 

From the Veronica Mars movie in early 2014 to Heroes Reborn this past September, the last  year and a half has been phenomenal for television fans who felt like their favorite shows didn’t get the endings they deserved.

With the highly anticipated (at least on my Facebook feed) Gilmore Girls revival supposedly ordered by Netflix, here’s a list of other shows that need to be brought back next. Because I’m not a hypocrite, proceed with caution: spoilers (may be) ahead.

 

1. Bunheads (2012 – 2013)

 

 

Bunheads was, in a way, the natural sequel to Gilmore Girls that we never had (until now, of course). Not only was GG creator Amy Sherman-Palladino at the helm, but it starred many Stars Hollow favorites: Kelly Bishop, Liza Weil, Sean Gunn, and eight others. Following the life of main character Michelle, an ex-Vegas show girl who moves to a small town to marry a nice guy (who subsequently dies in episode two), the show relied more on its quirky characters than major plot twists to drive itself forward. Season Two would be more of the same and, though I’d be down for that, it seems like ABC Family didn’t feel the same way.

 

2. Terra Nova (2011)

 

 

This dinosaur drama centered on the lives of a colony of people travelling from the polluted earth of 2159 to an alternate timeline where, you guessed it, dinosaurs still roamed the earth – all to give humanity a second chance. With Steven Spielberg producing and, um, dinosaurs as one of the villages’ major threats, this show should have lasted longer than 13 episodes. A second season could have fleshed out their long-term settlement plans, and explored the idea of another temporal rift that could bring the settlers to yet another alternate timeline.

 

3. How I Met Your Mother (2005 – 2014)

 

 

Okay, maybe including HIMYM in this list is a bit of a cop-out. We don’t need another season so much as we need a different final one. While the show was dragging toward the end, those of us who stuck it out to finally meet the mother deserved better than the series finale that we got.  Sure, there’s an “alternate ending” on the DVD that gave all the happy feels we originally wanted. The fact remains that they decided to end with a stab in the back as the official ending. I want just one more flashback: the one where Ted goes back in time and realizes that final blue horn was just a dream.

4. Chasing Life (2014 – 2015)

 

 

Imagine my surprise when I go to catch up on one of my summer shows after a busy few weeks, only to have the top search result reveal it’s been cancelled! Centering on mid-twenties leukemia patient April and her family, Chasing Life was emotionally resonant, often funny, and a great addition to the ABC Family lineup. After a cheap kill off of main love interest Leo (AKA Scott Michael Foster, so he could star in the new series Blood and Oil), it lost a bit of steam emotionally and sort of fell through the cracks. Still, Season Two ended on more than one cliffhanger that need to be resolved. Had April’s cancer come back? What was the deal with her dead dad, anyway? Why did you kill off the heart and soul of the entire show? A third season could have wrapped that up.

 

5. Revolution (2012 – 2014)

 

 

Revolution follows the Matheson family during the post-electricity, post-apocalyptic America of 2027. After her dad is killed, brother is kidnapped, and mom goes MIA, Charlie enlists her alcoholic uncle to help her find her brother and, à la Katniss Everdeen, save her republic from the tyrannical militia. Season Two brings in a new enemy in the form of ex-government officials AKA the Patriots, and ends in declared war between them and one of the Republics. Though a Season Three was planned, the show was cancelled due to lack of funds and low ratings. Eventually, a four-part digital comic book was released with some questions answered, but post-show comics just aren’t the same. Speaking of comics…

 

6. Angel (1999-2004)

 

 

Angel was supposed to have a sixth season. Joss Whedon expected it, the writers expected it, the actors expected it, and we expected it (okay, I only watched it for the first time last year, but had I been watching when it first aired, I’d have expected it).Though spin-offs are often wonky, Angel expanded the Buffy-verse in a funny, interesting way, and its fifth and final season was the best of all. There were some weird parts in the middle seasons (like when Angel and company inadvertently stopped world peace) but Season Five had the Angel crew taking over evil magical law firm Wolfram & Hart, balancing the demands of old contracts while trying to use the company’s power for good instead of evil. With the addition of James Marsters as Spike once Buffy ended, the show was phenomenal. However, instead of a nice wrapped-up ending (like Buffy), Angel ended in the middle of a battle where many characters were lost and more were alluded to follow. Like Revolution, Angel and the rest of the Buffy-verse continues on in comic form, but it’s not the same as seeing David Boreanaz as the titular vampire we’d come to love.