Running Down Every Canceled Fox Show From The 'Family Guy': "North By North Quahog" Cold Open: Are They Streaming? (PART ONE)

A fun exercise in acknowledging how much streaming has made obscure shows available, so check out how this selection fares. And an unintended anniversary piece.

On May 1, 2005, Family Guy returned to FOX 39 months after last premiering an episode there, “Family Guy Viewer Mail No. 1” in February 2002. The first episode back, “North by North Quahog”, begins with a cold open where Peter Griffin informs his family that they’ve been canceled. No room on the schedule, in favor of other shows, 29 of which Peter lists off, and remarks if any of them failed, Family Guy would have a shot. The age of streaming has allowed many short-lived shows to resurface and find a new audience. Do any of these shows currently have that chance? Let’s find out, in this first part.

Dark Angel was certainly one of the most prominent names of the bunch. It was a science fiction series co-created by James Cameron that starred Jessica Alba in her breakout role, as well as Michael Weatherly, who would later be known for NCIS and Bull. Max Guevara (Alba) is a runaway genetically enhanced supersoldier who as a child breaks out of a covert military facility. In a dystopian 2019 Seattle, she tries to lead a normal life while still trying to avoid government agents in her pursuit and trying to find her also-escaped and dispersed brothers and sisters. Its first season was rather popular, but the second season got the Friday night death slot treatment and was canceled after two seasons and 43 episodes, airing from October 2000 to May 2002. Not only is it not available for instant streaming, but it’s only available for purchase on YouTube. Not a great start.

Titus was a dark comedy sitcom created by and starring Christopher Titus. Well, he co-created it with Jack Kenny and Brian Hargrove. It’s based on Titus’s stand-up, more specifically one of his one-man shows, loosely based on his real-life family. Titus plays a manchildish version of himself, who owns a custom car shop. His supporting cast includes a dimwitted half-brother Dave, his kind girlfriend Erin, his too-good-for-his-own-good friend Tommy, and his drunken stuck-in-his-ways father Ken. His costars included Cynthia Watros and Stacy Keach. It was canceled due to a stand against meddling executives and their seeking to break up the show’s main relationship. The series originally ran for 3 seasons and 54 episodes from March 2000 to August 2002, with the last handful of episodes being summer burnoff following a pull from the schedule in March. The series finale was followed the next week by a previously-banned episode. However, in 2020, Titus released a two-part wrap-up to get his character out of the predicament the series finale left him in. As for streaming, well there’s great news. The complete series is available for free on the comedian’s YouTube channel. including the two new episodes, which were rereleased on April 15 of this year. This probably means he holds the rights to the show and explains the lack of availability anywhere else.

Undeclared is a show you’ve probably heard about for the cult following it rapidly developed, and its short-livedness being one of the hurdles of its creator, Judd Apatow, in the stories of the successes that followed starting with The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Back-to-back with similarly-regarded fellow one-season wonder Freaks & Geeks, it was quite a thing. The show follows a group of college freshmen at the fictional University of Northeastern California in the then-contemporary days of the early 2000s. It starred Seth Rogen, like Freaks and Geeks before and several of Apatow’s productions after, as well as Jay Baruchel, Bones’s Carla Gallo, and Charlie Hunnam, among others. Its single season ran for 17 episodes from September 25, 2001, until March 12, 2002, and is not streaming.

Action was a dark comedy series following Hollywood producer Peter Dragon, played by Jay Mohr, as he tries to recover from his last box-office failure. It ran 8 of its 13 episodes from September 16 to December 2, 1999. This makes it an odd choice by the writers to namecheck it, seeing as Family Guy aired its first two season 2 episodes, eight and nine overall, over that period. Fox was still having issues fitting it, and it’s closer to Family Guy’s near-cancellation that season but that’s beside the point. Luckily, it’s streaming for free on Crackle.

That ‘80s Show was conceived as the first spinoff of That ‘70s Show, but in execution did not turn out that way. Set in 1984, the series was about struggling musician Corey Howard and his associates, friends, and family, including romantic interest June Tuesday. A culture clash between their lifestyles would develop, as the show used ‘80s pop culture to shape their lives. They were played by a pre-It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Glenn Howerton and a pre-Supergirl Chyler Leigh, as well as Eddie Shin, who would eventually star on the Netflix sitcom Alexa & Katie as the dad Dave Mendoza. It was not received well, thus the 15+ years to sequelize the mothership show. That ‘80s Show ran for 13 episodes from January 23 to May 29, 2002, losing half of its 11 million premiere viewership for the third episode, fluctuating from there but never reaching 8 million viewers again. It is not legally streaming anywhere, but there are two complete series TV rip playlists in a certain place. Its cancellation was announced weeks before the network formally canceled Family Guy, so it ekes in from a logical standpoint.

Wonderfalls, a comedy-drama television series created by Todd Holland and eventual Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller was a much-loved show but was canceled after 4 episodes aired out of order. Jaye Tyler, played by Caroline Dhavernas, is an Ivy League graduate with a philosophy degree in a dead-end job. She’s a sales clerk at a Niagara Falls gift shop and a hesitant participant in conversations with various animal figurines, including a wax lion, stuffed bear, brass monkey, and mounted fish, which vaguely direct her to help those who need it. Airing from March 12 to April 1, 2004, it is the first series named that was greenlit after Family Guy was canceled. There wouldn’t have been a full DVD release of the one season Wonderfalls had if it wasn’t for fan demand. Guess they have incredibly supportive fanbases in common. This series is not streaming either, as Collider pointed out in its February 2023 endorsement of it.

Fastlane is a crime drama action series where two undercover Los Angeles cops immerse themselves in the flashy social climate of high-stakes crime in order to get the job done, as they walk the line of cop and criminal. They’re Van and Deaq, played by Peter Facinelli and Bill Bellamy Their shady boss is played by Tiffani Thiessen. The series managed to air a full 22-episode season without being pulled and burned off, running from September 18, 2002, to April 25, 2003. Its cancellation came from sagging ratings and allegedly high production costs. Each episode allegedly cost Warner Bros. $2.6 million. The show's frequent use of unconventional cinematography, pyrotechnics, guest appearances, licensed music, supercars, and other exotic vehicles all contributed to it. According to The A.V. Club, the back eight tried to mitigate that in ways that also affected the writing, to unsexy results. According to them, Van and Deaq were blowing cover more frequently, as the undercover aspects began to matter less and less. The extravagant lifestyles were shown less, while the directorial elements and editing tricks overcompensated for the reduction in vehicles and explosions. The series is on all of the digital marketplaces but not instant streaming. Whether the licensed music (cleaned out on home release 15 years ago) is the issue is unknown.

Because there are 29 entries, and was conceived on a whim remembering a couple of my tweets, I’m going to cut it off at 7. So far it’s a 2-5 count on streaming and not streaming in a win-loss format, 2-7 in a batting average type format, which isn’t promising. The rest will come. This was not an intended anniversary piece, but still, happy 18th anniversary to Family Guy’s revival, American Dad’s regular presence, and the birth of Animation Domination. Part two is probably coming soon. How equally each part is broken up is to be determined, but it may end up as even as possible.