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Universal has just announced what appears to be a new brand for their TV product - Brilliant But Cancelled. Their first title sure fits the bill - the critically acclaimed series, EZ Streets. The series was named the Television Critics Association "Program of the Year" in 1997, despite airing just 9 of the 10 episodes created, with 6 of those being burned off in the spring.
The series starred Ken Olin as Det. Cameron Quinn, Debrah Farentino (Theresa Conners), John Finn (Captain Geary), Jason Gedrick (Danny Rooney), and Joe Pantoliano (Jimmy Murtha). This series, created by Oscar-nominated director Paul Haggis, is a gritty look at crime, and the cop that wants to put an end to it.
Universal has plans to release a single disc containing 3 hours, 2 minutes of material on May 16. We can only assume that this will be the double-length pilot, and 2 episodes which followed. Universal has priced the set at a very reasonable price - $19.98. We plan on getting more information about this title as soon as possible. They also list another release, simply titled "Brilliant But Cancelled: Crime Dramas," for the same day, but no information is available, besides the running time (3 hours, 29 minutes), and a listing of "Color and Black & White" under the "Picture" specs. We assume this will be episodes from a few different shows, but we'll ask Universal for more information later in the day.
Gord's Comments
I never, ever thought this show would see the light of day. Yes, Paul Haggis is in the spotlight right now, but this was a show that was canned after airing two episodes (the pilot and one other), then brought back as a midseason show, only to be yanked again. It was severely under promoted by the network, yet anyone that saw the show loved it. Had it been placed in a decent timeslot, with some advertising, it likely would have lasted a lot longer. The show wasn't black and white, good and bad; it was grey. The theme song by Mark Isham was brilliant, earning him an Emmy Award. I would have loved to see the complete series released, but I can understand that Universal wants to test the waters with a cheap release. Hopefully they have plans to continue the series if this first release sells well.
  
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