Culture on My Mind
Quickly Canceled
February 10, 2023

This week, I’m thinking about cancellations.

Like, quick cancellations. The kind that hit science fiction on television and accelerate a good thing from airwaves to destitution in three episodes, then on to cult status at convention bootleg bins or Shout Factory DVD sales sometime thereafter. Some genre shows get six seasons and a movie – and sometimes, they even deserve the honor! – but other shows were lucky to get a single shot after a mid-season pickup.

On February 9th, Joe Crowe and Gary Mitchel were joined by Tom Morris (The Good, the Bad, and the Nerdy Movie Podcast) and Shaun Rosado (@pneumaz on Twitter) to reminisce about those few brave shows that inspired so many angry letters to television executives. After all, what did the Fox say? “Firefly and Wonderfalls are canceled.”

(Always too soon, I know.)

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These Classic Track Quarantine Panels are typically held once every two weeks (or every fortnight, if you will). If you want to play along at home, grab your internet-capable device of choice and navigate the world wide webs to the track’s YouTube channel and/or the group on Facebook. If you join in live, you can also leave comments and participate in the discussion using StreamYard connected through Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch.

Gary can also be found on A Podcask of Amontillado, a horror-themed podcast that he co-hosts with Erin McGourn.

If you want to connect with the track, Joe, and/or Gary on the socials, you can find them on Twitter (ClassicTrack, JoeCroweShow, and sneezythesquid) and Instagram (SciFiClassicTrack, JoeCroweShow, and Gary_Mitchel). And, of course, to celebrate more pop culture awesomeness, you can find Dragon Con all year round on the internet, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

You can find those discussions and more every other Thursday as the American Sci-Fi Classics Track explores the vast reaches of classic American science fiction.

The episode art each week is generously provided by the talented Sue Kisenwether. You can find her (among other places) on Women at Warp: A Star Trek Podcast.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.