Television shows are like people. Eventually, they're all going to die. Even "Guiding Light" got the ax after 57 years on TV (and 15 years before that on the radio). We feel sad when a TV show dies after eight, 10, 12 seasons. It's like losing an old friend. But the real TV tragedy is that some shows don't live to a ripe old age. They're taken before their time, when they still have a lot of entertainment in them. Occasionally, great shows can rise from the grave. Seven years after Fox canceled "Futurama," it returned on Comedy Central. Six years after Fox axed "Arrested Development," it will return on Netflix in the spring. But that's the exception. Sadly, we're never going to see more episodes of these 10 shows:
10. "SPORTS NIGHT"
1998-2000, 45 episodes
Aaron Sorkin's "SportsCenter"-inspired comedy was loaded with rapid-fire dialogue and lots of laughs.
9. "FREAKS AND GEEKS"
1999-2000, 18 episodes, three unaired
A teen drama/comedy executive produced by Judd Apatow and starring Seth Rogan, James Franco, Jason Segal and Busy Philipps. NBC would kill for that today.
8. "FIREFLY"
2002, 15 episodes, three unaired
After a slow start, this show quickly found itself. A decade after it was axed, fans still complain.
7. "BETTER OFF TED"
2009-10, 26 episodes, two unaired
This show was smart, wry and flat-out hilarious. Too bad not much of anybody watched.
6. "ELI STONE"
2008-09, 26 episodes
There was something magical in this show about a lawyer (Jonny Lee Miller) who was either getting messages from God or suffering from a brain aneurysm.
5. "STAR TREK"
1966-69, 79 episodes
It's still hard to believe the original series only lasted three seasons. (And although "Star Trek: Enterprise" lasted four years and 98 episodes, that show didn't hit its stride until Season 4.)
4. "EVERWOOD"
2002-06, 89 episodes
This made-in-Utah series was a fantastic family drama. When the WB and UPN merged, the management of the CW decided to keep "One Tree Hill" and kill "Everwood." I'm still mad.
