I was about 15 years old when PREY aired in Ireland. Starring Adam Storke (Mystic Pizza, The Stand) and Debra Messing in her pre-Will & Grace days, it hooked me from the opening credits.
Forty thousand years ago, the most advanced species on Earth was wiped out by a powerful new life form… Us…. (hear the rest in the trailer)
I watched all 13 episodes huddled on the couch under a blanket, half in love with Adam Storke’s character, Tom, and scared for the human race. As far as I can remember, the very last scene showed Tom locked in a cage awaiting his fate. That was it. An announcer’s voice spoke over the end credits to say Prey had been cancelled and there would be no more episodes. I remember releasing a string of expletives that brought my dad into the room to give out to me. The show had a great premise, an X-Files vibe and good chemistry between the leads. I’m not sure why it never took off. If there’s one thing ABC can be counted on, it’s cancelling good shows before they’ve had time to find an audience, The Unusuals starring Jeremy Renner and Amber Tamblyn anyone?
Pic from http://www.sfseriesandmovies.com
In PREY, the new species of humans are smarter, physically stronger, often violent and are determined to wipe us regular folk out. They’ve also got a handy ability to sense the emotions of those around them and a few other psychic gifts – which I can’t actually remember as I haven’t seen this show in years. Tom is one of these new humans. His mission is to kill the scientist (Sloan) before she can share her knowledge with others. He breaks into her apartment, hides in her bathroom and attacks her. But he doesn’t go through with the hit. Tom knows he’s meant to see humans as animals, mere prey, but he can’t lie to himself any longer. Tom and Sloan start to work together as the weeks go on. There was a Mulder and Scully vibe between them and if given the chance, I think Prey would have found a loyal audience like X-Files. Oh, well.
I’d love to have this for my DVD collection, but I can’t find it anywhere. I have to contend with watching clips from YouTube. 😦
Has anyone heard of this one? What TV shows did you love only to see them cancelled prematurely?
Emma's Ramblings on Supernatural Fiction 
I’ve never heard of it, but it sounds like my kind of show.
What show got cancelled prematurely? Moonlight! I’m watching that currently on the DVD’s I bought. 🙂
If you liked sci-fi shows like The X-Files and , you’d have enjoyed Prey.
I really liked Moonlight. It was a friend of mine who adored Mick St. John who got me into it. 🙂
Aggh it drives me mental when networks keep cancelling shows that I like! It can be so upsetting. I remember this one called True Calling that I really got into when I was younger, they cancelled it around a third of the way through season two. 😦 I was really liking Ringer with Sarah Michelle Gellar in too and couldn’t believe it when I heard it had been cancelled!
It drives me mental too, Becky. 🙂 I hated when they finished Dark Angel after only 2 seasons. I loved Tru Calling, mostly cause I was a big fan of Elizu Dushku from her days as Faith. I couldn’t get into Ringer.
Agh the end of Dark Angel killed, because you could tell they had so much more up their sleeves! I remember crying my eyes out on the last ep of season one of Tru Calling, so sad.
It did take me a while to get in to Ringer, but once I got into it I REALLY got into it, lol!
I did miss seeing Sarah Michelle Gellar since Buffy, so i guess at least Ringer brought her back to us. 🙂
I think I would have loved this. Dark Angel was one of the shows that got cancelled before the story was completely told. There are probably too many for me to name, lol.
I’d have loved to see just one more season of Dark Angel. The cast from that show was great. At least it went out with a brilliant double episode. There’s actually a book that follows the characters in Terminal City after they take the stand, so you get a glimpse of what could possibly have happened had the TV show continued. Author’s name is Max Allan Collins.
I don’t remember Prey or The Unusuals, but there were plenty of shows I did enjoy that got cancelled before their time. It’s made me leery of getting involved with a TV show, something I’ve avoided for many years. Last year, I got hooked on Once Upon a Time which, thankfully, I just heard was picked up for a third season. Pushing up Daisies was one I love that got cancelled.
A few others I remember and loved: Starman (I wish they would release that on DVD), Glory Days, and Nowhere Man (brilliant story-telling). I know there were many more, some I don’t remember the titles of, but loved all the same.
Cool post, Emma!
I think if the MEN IN SUITS came out and told people from the get-go they’d commit to making an initial 12 episode season that does not finish on a cliffhanger, people might give new TV shows a better chance. But most of the time things get cancelled mid season with no resolution, showing complete disrespect for viewers.
I haven’t watched Once Upon A Time but I’m always hearing good things about it. I haven’t heard of the others, though I remember Starman was a film starring Jeff Bridges? 🙂
I completely agree with your take on the men in suits and new shows!
You’re right about Starman. After the movie it was made into a weekly series with Robert Hays in the lead role. He came back to earth, found his son and the two of them went looking for the son’s mother while fleeing from a government agent.
Nowhere Man was a brilliant show with Bruce Greenwood as a man who’d taken a photograph of something he wasn’t supposed to see and was on the run with the negative. The show was about mind control, government conspiracies, cat-and mouse stuff. It lasted 1 season, but fortunately was released on DVD!
They both sound great. I definitely would like to see more of Starman.
Nope, never heard of ‘Prey’. But you’re spot on about ABC. I refused to watch any new show they put out because they always canceled them: The Unusuals, Life on Mars, Pushing Daisies, The Gates. But I just recently got turned onto Castle (with Nathon Fillion from Firefly) and I’m loving it, amazingly ABC has kept this around for the past five years and confirmed a season six. Still I’m mad at ABC for canceling the other shows. Grrrrrrr
I saw some of the British version of Life on Mars but not the others you mention. I’m mad too. 😉 ABC = About to Be Cancelled.
Sounded like a potentially interesting series! Curious…did you ever see the short lived series “Wolf Lake”? That’s been my sigh of disappointment show.
I didn’t, Kitt, but the title rings a bell. And it sounds like my kind of thing so I’m going to have to check it out. Thanks.
You won’t regret it. Lou Diamond Phillips was in it along with the guy who plays Stefan Salvatore…just to name a few.
Stefan! Yep, I’m checking it out.
Oh man, that sounds like such a Stephen King story. I’ve always loved survival of the fittest. Lost and Game of Thrones pulled me in for those very reasons. It’s a real shame some shows get cancelled. I can’t remember any that I’ve wanted to continue, but there have been instances where shows I thought had ended were brought back, which made for a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, not enough viewers means cancellation. It’s sometimes due to poor marketing or just something that doesn’t appeal to the masses. Doesn’t mean it’s not a good story 😉
You’re right. It’s not that some TV shows don’t have a worthwhile story, it’s that they may not appeal to a lot of people.
Can you think of any shows that were brought back?
I remember when Roswell was about to be cancelled after its first season or 2nd season, fans sent in bottles of Tabasco sauce (the aliens’ favourite sauce) and the show got another season. 😉
The Killing is one of my favorites right now. It was supposed to end at season 2, but then it got brought it back for another season with a brand new case (the original case was supposed to be the whole story, so it turned into a sequel). Pleasantly surprised indeed. And that’s pretty funny, lol. Fans are awesome 🙂
That’s one I haven’t seen, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about it.
Never heard of it but clearly you liked it.
I remember Prey, loved it and I am an Adam Storke fan. I managed to record it though as it was on late and kept the copies so am lucky enough to still have it to watch. It does seem like they never release series on DVD if they cancel them after the first series such as Star Crossed / Tomorrow People which were shown last year .