12 Cancelled 80s Sci-Fi Shows That Were Way Ahead of Their Time

From a man who turned into a panther every Friday night to a TV show your kids could shoot at with a toy jet, these are 12 cancelled 80s sci-fi TV shows that tried to bring the future to prime time and got sent back almost immediately. In this countdown we dig into how each show got made, the surprising names behind them (Isaac Asimov, Glen A. Larson, J. Michael Straczynski, Steven E. de Souza, Michael Piller), the stars who signed on (Matt Frewer, Courteney Cox, Robert Hays, Jonathan Banks, Louis Gossett Jr., Martin Kove, Desi Arnaz Jr.), what went wrong, and the strange things that happened next, from George Clooney losing the Street Hawk lead to the real Max Headroom signal hijacking of 1987. Which of these did you actually watch when it first aired? Tell us in the comments. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:42 #12 The Phoenix (1982) 1:51 #11 Probe (1988) 2:53 #10 Hard Time on Planet Earth (1989) 4:01 #9 Otherworld (1985) 5:03 #8 Starman (1986) 6:18 #7 Street Hawk (1985) 7:25 #6 The Powers of Matthew Star (1982) 8:42 #5 Manimal (1983) 10:02 #4 Automan (1983) 11:17 #3 Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future (1987) 12:41 #2 Misfits of Science (1985) 14:09 #1 Max Headroom (1987) 15:46 Final verdict Subscribe to Never Renewed for more cancelled, forgotten and unbelievable TV from the 60s to the 90s. Clips and images are used for commentary, criticism and education. All shows remain the property of their respective owners. #80sTV #SciFi #CancelledShows