Top 10 TV Shows You Can't Watch Anymore

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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.
Transcript
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]