A challenge for the rare footage hunters! For this list, we’ll be ranking the television programs that, for one reason or another, have become difficult to view under legal means.
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00:00 Are you sure about that, doctor?
00:02 Yes, sir, I am.
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 TV shows you can't watch anymore.
00:09 And this particular piece was from the film.
00:13 It is a set of handcuffs.
00:14 Oh my God, handcuffs.
00:16 That would have been worn by Eddie.
00:19 For this list, we'll be ranking the television programs that for one reason or another have become difficult to view through official means.
00:26 Some of these shows may have out-of-print physical media with no streaming presence, while others perhaps were streaming at one time but have now disappeared.
00:33 Did you watch any of these shows during their original run?
00:36 Let us know in the comments.
00:38 Number 10, The Mighty Ducks Game Changers.
00:42 You may be surprised to find so many newer shows on this list, but the streaming game isn't exactly bereft of TV casualties.
00:48 It's the first practice of the new season for the Mighty Ducks Junior Division.
00:51 This is real. This is happening, you guys.
00:53 The Mighty Ducks Game Changers was a well-received television reboot of the classic Disney movie series, and it even featured Emilio Estevez reprising his original role.
01:01 My son just got fired from his hockey team by a very mean coach.
01:04 Let me guess, the Ducks?
01:06 Yeah, the Mighty Ducks. Do you know them?
01:08 A little bit, yeah.
01:09 However, May of 2023 saw Disney+ purge a lot of its content from the service, even programs with this aforementioned fan base.
01:17 Since the Mighty Ducks Game Changers doesn't possess any physical media to its name, this malart has gone the way of the dodo.
01:23 That's not cool.
01:24 Number 9, The New Leave It to Beaver, aka Still the Beaver.
01:29 We can hear you snickering over there in the back. Stop it.
01:32 This reboot of the original Leave It to Beaver was actually a modest success back in the early days of the Disney Channel.
01:37 It started with a TV movie titled Still the Beaver, which was later adapted as a pilot for a new sequel.
01:43 When your father says no, you're going to have to learn to respect it.
01:47 Thanks, Mom, but I can handle this.
01:49 There may not exactly be a huge demand for unironic retread of established 50s tropes,
01:53 but the new Leave It to Beaver took steps to modernize itself, making June Cleaver a widow and presenting, ahem, Beaver as a divorcee.
02:01 Now, wait a minute. One step at a time.
02:03 Watching the entirety of it today proves difficult, however, as the show isn't streaming apart from some YouTube rips,
02:09 and physical media copies of Beaver seem nowhere in sight.
02:12 Kids change so fast.
02:14 When you learn all the characters on Sesame Street, they're watching 60 Minutes.
02:18 Number 8, Hidden America with Jonah Ray.
02:21 Many promising streaming services come and go, and a lot of that content becomes lost.
02:26 As a result...
02:27 This is Boston Harbor. It was a place where Englanders could leave the chains of persecution of an old England and start a new England,
02:35 or England Two, as it was called.
02:37 But one thing's for sure, like most sequels, it's better than the original.
02:41 Hidden America with Jonah Ray was one such casualty,
02:44 a program on the CISO streaming service that was formerly offered through Comcast via NBCUniversal.
02:49 The show was a tourism show that was largely funny and parodic,
02:53 while still making plenty of time for serious discussions and informative insights.
02:57 This place is incredible. Like, you really feel the history here, and I can see why it was inspiring to so many authors.
03:04 Yes, well, to be inspired, one must come to the place that has inspired many others, right?
03:09 Host Jonah Ray would find success as the new host of Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Netflix,
03:14 but the dissolution of CISO effectively meant that Hidden America with Jonah Ray would be lost to the seas of time.
03:20 Or at least, random YouTube clips.
03:22 Number 7, Ed.
03:24 It seems as if nearly every sitcom that aired during the 70s, 80s, and into the 90s received at least some sort of home video or box set release.
03:32 And you are?
03:33 I'm Ed Stevens, the new owner.
03:36 I'm sorry. Would you mind repeating that?
03:40 I said, I'm Ed Stevens, the new owner.
03:43 This wasn't always the case with millennial sitcoms, however,
03:46 as evidenced by the frustrating lack of Ed in the physical media and streaming worlds.
03:51 The show built up an audience and ran for four seasons, yet the television landscape acts as if it didn't exist.
03:57 It just so happens I love the game.
03:59 Ah, you love the game.
04:00 Yes, I do. When played correctly, it's really quite beautiful.
04:03 There isn't even a complete first season of Ed on DVD,
04:06 and any hopes for streaming should be dashed as soon as you finish typing D into a search bar.
04:11 Nope. Ed is nowhere to be found, and we're not okay with it.
04:15 Yeah. Yeah.
04:17 Number 6, Prop Culture.
04:19 One might think that a show celebrating all of Disney's storied history would be a mainstay on their streaming platform.
04:25 Right? Wrong.
04:27 I'm setting out to learn more about the props from the Disney movies that I love.
04:31 Prop Culture was a wonderful program that documented the legacy of props and other items of memorabilia
04:36 from Disney's enviable back catalog of films.
04:39 The show even managed to bring a retired Rick Moranis back in front of the camera for an interview,
04:43 which felt huge and promised more great things for the series.
04:46 So science fiction really boomed, and that's when comedy came in.
04:51 And suddenly I wound up in these films where, for some reason, these characters, you're absolutely right,
04:57 wind up wearing these odd headpieces.
05:00 Unfortunately, and we think you know where we're going with this,
05:03 Prop Culture also fell victim to our aforementioned Disney+ purge.
05:07 It and other well-regarded shows like The World According to Jeff Goldblum disappeared without a trace.
05:12 Wish me luck. I think I'm gonna need it. I'm going in.
05:16 Number 5, Ferris Bueller.
05:18 The next show on our list, unlike some other examples so far discussed, is fairly obscure.
05:23 [Motorcycle engine revving]
05:29 As a result, it sort of makes sense why the short-lived adaptation of the hit '80s flick Ferris Bueller's Day Off
05:35 would be hard to find today.
05:37 It only ran for a single season, doesn't possess a rabid cult following,
05:41 and didn't seem to have any network support to back up its premise.
05:44 In other words, Ferris Bueller 1990 felt doomed from the start.
05:48 So. So. So. Today's the first day of school. Give Ferris some fatherly advice.
05:57 Never invade Russia in the winter.
06:00 Thanks, Dad. I'll have to reschedule.
06:02 However, the show did feature an unknown Jennifer Aniston amongst the cast.
06:06 So why not bring it out of retirement for some reappraisal?
06:09 Don't just stand there! Call the police! My car was stolen!
06:13 Leaving school grounds in a stolen vehicle? This is getting better and better.
06:17 You're the principal! Do something!
06:20 No dice, unfortunately. It seems as if life moved too fast for this also-ran.
06:25 Number 4. Boston Public
06:28 Boston Public is the first show on this list that was created by David E. Kelly.
06:32 But, spoiler alert, it won't be the last.
06:35 Kelly enjoyed an esteemed pedigree with shows like Doogie Howser, M.D. and Ally McBeal,
06:42 and Boston Public ran for a solid four years.
06:45 Yet, why is this show languished in comparative obscurity
06:48 while other of Kelly's shows can be purchased or streamed?
06:51 We're not sure, really, because Boston Public also possessed a strong cast,
06:55 including Shea McBride, Jerry Ryan and Rashida Jones.
06:59 There's no physical media presence for Boston Public,
07:04 nor is the show available to legally stream anywhere at the time of this writing,
07:08 apart from clips on sites like Vimeo and YouTube.
07:11 Number 3. Millennium
07:15 It sort of defies logic, right?
07:17 How can a show created by The X-Files' own Chris Carter be so difficult to watch in the modern day?
07:22 Millennium was a cult sci-fi series starring Lance Henriksen
07:33 that enjoyed strong fan appeal, and to be fair, the show did get released on home video.
07:38 However, those discs have sadly gone out of print
07:41 and demand a hefty price tag on second-hand markets like Amazon.
07:44 My guys want to know why you're here, Frank.
07:46 I still don't know what to tell them.
07:48 I'm here because I have a wife and a kid,
07:51 and I want them to live in a place where they can feel safe.
07:54 Additionally, Millennium isn't available to stream
07:56 apart from Dailymotion and YouTube rips at the time of this writing,
07:59 although we're hoping that this will change sooner rather than later.
08:02 We can't just sit back and hope for a happy ending.
08:05 Number 2. Willow
08:07 We're back to the great Disney purge once again.
08:10 This time, we're discussing a show that, depending on who you ask,
08:13 either isn't missed all that much or didn't get a fair shake.
08:16 That's where we must go.
08:18 Beyond the edge of our world, into the unknown.
08:22 This 2022 sequel to the classic 1988 fantasy film
08:26 received a mixed audience reception but fared well critically,
08:29 at least enough, fans thought, to merit another season.
08:32 That's why I came back. 'Cause it's time.
08:35 For what?
08:36 The exact opposite happened, though,
08:38 and Willow was dropped only six months after it debuted.
08:41 The quickness with which this show got the axe effectively meant that,
08:44 if you didn't stream it when it debuted,
08:46 you may never get a second chance to see what you missed.
08:49 No, it's okay. I-I... I'm just glad you told me.
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09:08 Number one, Chicago Hope.
09:11 We're back to David E. Kelly for our top pick,
09:14 a show that ran for an impressive six seasons,
09:16 yet is strangely absent on the streaming circuit,
09:19 apart from, you guessed it, YouTube and Dailymotion.
09:22 Sorry.
09:23 I did what was necessary.
09:28 I think you know that.
09:30 Chicago Hope was a popular show during its initial run,
09:33 enough to get individual seasons released on DVD,
09:35 as well as a complete series set.
09:37 However, these discs weren't released in North America,
09:40 meaning that one needs region-free access on their players
09:43 to view them at home.
09:44 Huh. Well... well said.
09:47 This isn't like utilizing a VPN for geolocked content either,
09:50 as region-free technology is either built into the device
09:53 or unlocked on some older players
09:55 by pressing certain button sequences on the remotes to gain access.
09:58 Physical media wins again.
10:00 Are we all happy?
10:02 Um...
10:04 We-we didn't mean anything by that.
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10:15 [outro music]