The Cancelled Shows you Remember .....

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Sometimes an actor comes from another industry and becomes so regarded as an actor , people forget what they did before. In fact it takes some searching and you learn , ahh that person did this ? In the history of shows this has happened a number of times. But we will examine this with some named here and where they had came from and what short lived shows they had.

Its hard to believe that Ice-T was once a rapper. Yes ...this guy ...



Anyhow Ice was not without controversy. As a white kid in the 1990's , we all heard cop killer and thought Ice was dangerous as fuck. I mean hey , he was rapping some hard stuff. Plus it exploded in the media and people were up in arms major over this. Talk shows and even members of Congress was pissed at Ice-T over that song. So as years passed it stunned everyone that Ice-T would move into the next phase of his career. He would be a TV star.


(Sorry this is the only clip I could find)

The story was Dick Wolf was looking for a show to do that wouldn't be Law & Order related. Wolf had built his career empire on Law & Order and "Players" would be the ultimate reverse of that. Instead of a show about cops , Players would be about 3 con artists who to get their sentences reduced , would work for the FBI. The series cast Australian heart throb Costas Mandylor as one of the leads and Frank John Hughes as the other. Hughes had been gathering steam and seemed destined for big things as the comedic small guy foil in the show.

But Wolf needed someone "hard" to play Issac Gregory. Rumors was he was looking at well known black actors and even a few others like Ice Cube. But then at the urging of someone ...Ice-T walked in and stunned Wolf who never considered him for the role. Not only did Ice have a very good screen presence , he soon became the reason to watch PLAYERS each week. Wolf didn't believe that Ice was gonna be that good but walked away impressed by this guy.

Alas for Ice-T his big role in Players didn't help the series. NBC and Wolf tried to commit to a 2nd season , but the series was cancelled due to the Winter Olympics airing on NBC that fall . All 18 episodes of Players have aired on various cable channels and many have wished they would produce a season set of it. As far as Manylor , Ice and Hughes go ? All 3 have gone onto solid careers. Mandylor left his heart throb image behind and played a villain in Saw films and Hughes would go on to fame as part of the Sopranos. And ICE ?

Due to his friendship with Dick Wolf , Ice-T would do a role that no one ever imagined in the early 1990's when he did "Cop Killer". He'd play a cop on Law & Order : SVU , joining that 2nd season. As Detective Odafin Tutuola , Ice has now the 2nd most episodes beyond Mariska Hargitay with 366 episodes thus far. The show is returning for its 18th season.



Alex Karras himself had been a successful football player for a number of years. Karras was known for a gambling scandal and not really seeming to care as he joked when he returned to call a coin flip , "No sir , I'm afraid I can't. That would be gambling." Anyhow after a 11 year NFL career Karras moved onto being an actor where he enjoyed a lot of success. In fact Karras is most famous for playing Mongo in "Blazing Saddles" and punching a horse. This would be an iconic role for Karras and fully transition him to acting basically.

In 1978 as he had jumped around from broadcasting to acting , Karras would land the role of Hans Brumbaugh in NBC's "Centennial" . The show was a huge lavish miniseries like what networks would do then. Cost wise the series ran 12 episodes (running 26 and half hours) and cost $25 million then. According to inflation todays cost would put it at $90+ million. While it was a mini-series , it really wasn't considered a big role for Karras. Plus it ran only in 1978-1979.

The role that Alex Karras would become identified with and one he'd be known for would come in the 1980's...."Webster".




In the series Karras would play George Papadopolis a retired ex-NFL player who is the godfather of a young child named Webster. When the boys parents die , he's asked to become the father of the 5 year old. The character also recently married a socialite as well and she has to adjust to being a mother to a young child. The series was originally supposed to start Karras and his real life Susan Clark in a ex-MLB player comedy about a man who marries a socialite on a cruise. The series was revamped once Emmanuel Lewis came into the picture.

To the credit of Karras and Clark , both loved the idea of them being parents to a young black child and "Webster" would run 6 seasons and 150 episodes.

[Kao]

Yo Ice-T is a terrrrible actor

love the guy

but TERRRRRRRRIBLE

[Hypestyle]

has anyone mentioned the more short-lived WB and UPN tv shows?

Sir Mix-A-Lot as "The Watcher" was one. Semi-anthology series. Should have lasted longer.

[TheInvisibleMan]

I remember that show, set in Vegas, I thought it was cool

UPN had some interesting ones - Legend, with Richard Dean Anderson and John DeLancie - RDA played the inspiration behind dime store novels, Nicodemus Legend, but in fact was a washed up drunk, DeLancie played an inventor who helped him out in the Wild West

Marker - Richard Grieco and Gates McFadden - Grieco played a prodigal son, working as a private detective of sorts, his deceased father had given "markers" to various people if they ever needed his help

[numberthirty]

I remember that show, set in Vegas, I thought it was cool

UPN had some interesting ones - Legend, with Richard Dean Anderson and John DeLancie - RDA played the inspiration behind dime store novels, Nicodemus Legend, but in fact was a washed up drunk, DeLancie played an inventor who helped him out in the Wild West

Marker - Richard Grieco and Gates McFadden - Grieco played a prodigal son, working as a private detective of sorts, his deceased father had given "markers" to various people if they ever needed his help

Speaking of UPN and Vegas, The Strip. I don't even think it hit double digits.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Yo Ice-T is a terrrrible actor

love the guy

but TERRRRRRRRIBLE

Ice-T is the best.

[numberthirty]

Ice-T is the best.

Dude, you are figuratively killing me.

You are talking about Ice-T being the best, but that was not a clip from Surviving The Game.

[Deathstroke]

The Master. Either 1983 or 1984. Lee Van Cleef as a ninja master who rode around the country helping folks out.

With Timothy Van Patten if I remember correctly.

[Deathstroke]

Street Hawk. May have also been half a season in 1984? Sorta Knight Rider on a motorcycle.

With Joe Regalabuto as his tech guy. He went on to more success on Murphy Brown.

[Deathstroke]

This was a good one from back in the pre-superheros are cool days.

Yep, I loved this one.

[Deathstroke]

All in the Family is considered one of the most ground breaking sitcoms that will ever be made. It made Norman Lear a star producer who would go onto do such successful spin-off shows Maude , Good Times and The Jefferson's in the 1970's. But there is a spin-off show many have forgotten and this was done long after the show had really been the force it once was when Maude and Jefferson's was spun off as a series.

In 1982 , CBS approached Sally Struthers to return to the role of Gloria Bunker/Stivic and do a spin-off. At this point Struthers film career was pretty much non-existent and she needed the work so returning was easy for her. CBS wouldn't get Rob Reiner back as Michael Stivic due to the fact Reiner's directing career was just starting to launch and he'd never look back again.

The premise was Gloria had came home to New York to be close to her father after her husband Mike had left her for a student so he could live on a hippie commune. In an Archie Bunker's Place (All In the Family has changed its name in 1979 to reflect the change of direction of the series) Gloria returned home. The spin-off show was supposed to have close ties with Carol O'Conner's series and have Archie appear a lot to show this.

I remember watching at least some of this show. But in the cold light of day, it really wasn't all that good.

[Deathstroke]

Carnivale was great and got canned too early.

I don't know about that. The 2nd season kind of soured me on the show.

[Deathstroke]

Alphas-Thanks a lot SyFy, you get an original show that keeps me coming back and you end it.

I loved that show.

[Deathstroke]

Copper

For a show that was so good in the first season, I was really disappointed in how the 2nd season developed. Yes I would've liked to have an actual ending, but I was less upset about the show being canceled than I might normally have been otherwise.

[Deathstroke]

Though this show did get a proper ending, it was meant to go on longer and it was never able to.

The Killing

I have to disagree. I think the show ended right on time.