There were some TV shows that based their entire existence on story twists. Shows like Lost and Twin Peaks kept their audience tuning in every week with shocking revelations that made them rethink the events of previous episodes.
It was these mystery plots and the unraveling of the meaning behind them that enthralled audiences across the globe and turned them into fans for life.
You can’t resolve every storyline in a shocking way, otherwise, the audience will grow to expect the unexpected and the twists that do appear will lose their effect.
A storyline swerve has to be saved for special occasions, which is something that even professional wrestling and soap operas have learned to do, as wearing out the audience with nonsensical plots is the quickest way to make them never tune in again.
It’s for this reason that some plot twists were abandoned during the pre-production stage of a show’s development, or changed beyond recognition when filming began.
The producers and writers who worked on these shows have since revealed the shocking ways in which classic storylines might have been resolved, had the plans not been changed.
We are here today to look at the best TV show twists that were abandoned by the writers, from the lost pregnancy storyline on Friends to the original culprits behind the attack on Mr. Burns.
Here are the 20 Canceled TV Twists (That Were Way Better Than What We Got).
Ross’ New Baby Momma (Friends)
One of the major storylines in the later seasons of Friends involved Rachel and Ross briefly hooking up and having a kid together.
The two of them would rekindle their romance in the last episode of the series.
The writers of Friends had originally planned for a different plot involving one of Ross’ earlier girlfriends.
The original plan was for the sixth season of the show to conclude with a cliffhanger ending, with the revelation that Elizabeth was pregnant with Ross’ child.
Elizabeth was Ross’ girlfriend, as well as being one of the students that he taught. The plan for the seventh season was for Ross to deal with the fallout regarding Elizabeth’s pregnancy, only for it to be revealed that he wasn’t actually the father.
This plan was scrapped due to the fact that it would end shortly before the Rachel pregnancy storyline was set to begin, so the character of Elizabeth was pretty much dumped from the show.
The Missing Beetle (Arrow)
Kord Industries is the corporation owned by Ted Kord in the DC comic books. Ted Kord is also a masked superhero in his spare time, as he dons the outfit of the Blue Beetle and fights crime alongside the other superheroes, even though he lacks any powers of his own.
There have been several mentions of Kord Industries in Arrow, but the Blue Beetle has yet to appear on the show.
This wasn’t always meant to be the case, as Brandon Routh was originally meant to play Ted Kord/the Blue Beetle in the third season of the show.
The writers of Arrow asked if they could use Ted Kord on the show, but they were refused, as the people at DC had other plans for the screen version of the character.
They were offered Ray Palmer/the Atom instead, which was the role that was given to Brandon Routh instead.
Saving T-Dog (The Walking Dead)
The Walking Dead is infamous for the rotating nature of the minor characters on the show.
This has led to fatigue among the audience, as it’s hard to become invested in a new character if they are going to end up as walker chow in a few episodes time.
There was a moment during the production of the third season of The Walking Dead when one character was given a stay of execution and another character was put in their place.
The fate of T-Dog in the third season of The Walking Dead was originally meant for Carol.
The writers weren’t sure where else they could go with Carol, considering that the storyline involving her daughter had been resolved already.
The writers had a change of heart and switched the fate from Carol to T-Dog, even though T-Dog was a favorite among the fans (despite his limited role compared to other characters.)
The New Riker (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
The crew members of the various ships and stations that appear in Star Trek will rarely receive promotions, as it becomes harder to justify their presence on their show if their rank becomes too high.
Will Riker was offered the captain’s chair on several ships during his time on aboard the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation, but he always refused them. This loyalty almost proved to be his undoing.
The episode called “Second Chances” was originally going to involve Will Riker perishing during a mission and being replaced aboard the Enterprise by his clone, Thomas Riker, who would hold a lower rank.
This would mean that Data would have become the first officer while the new Riker would take his old position at operations.
The changing of Rikers would have been the biggest shake-up on the show since the passing of Tasha Yar, but it was squashed during the early stages of production, as the higher-ups wanted the original crew together for the upcoming Star Trek: The Next Generation movies.
The Planeteers (Captain Planet)
Captain Planet and the Planeteers followed a formula where the five Planeteers would attempt to use their magical rings to solve the problem of the week.
When this plan failed, they would combine their powers and summon Captain Planet, who would save the day on his own.
One of the writers of Captain Planet and the Planeteers was Nick Boxer. He once pitched a radically different direction for the series that was rejected by Ted Turner himself for being too out there.
Nick Boxer had wanted Captain Planet to be destroyed, which meant that the five kids would have had to become superheroes in their own right.
This change would have meant changing the name of the show to The Planeteers and making it all about the kids.
Ted Turner rejected this idea, as he felt Captain Planet was integral to the success of the show.
The Backup Mothers (How I Met Your Mother)
How I Met Your Mother concluded with one of the most reviled finales in TV show history. The fan backlash against the revelation of the identity of the mother (and her passing) has yet to waiver.
The producers of How I Met Your Mother actually had several backup mothers in place, on the off-chance that the show was canceled, so that they could end the show on a (somewhat) satisfactory note.
The most prominent backup mother was Victoria, who Ted dated throughout the first season of the show.
If How I Met Your Mother had been canceled during the production break of the first season, then they would have wrapped up the show with a voiceover explaining that Victoria was the mother.
The other backup mother was Stella, who was introduced during the third season of the show.
This was around the time that Britney Spears appeared on the show, which helped How I Met Your Mother develop a large enough audience to never have to worry about being abruptly canceled.
The Woman With The Purple Gun (Breaking Bad)
One of the recurring elements of Breaking Bad was Marie’s obsession with the color purple. It seemed as if every possession that Marie owned was purple, which extended to her clothes and the furnishings in her home.
It seems that Marie was once planned to own a purple firearm, as there was a scrapped storyline in Breaking Bad which would have involved her opening fire on a UPS delivery man.
The idea for the storyline involved Marie being scared of a home invader, which led to her accidentally injuring a UPS man.
The reason the storyline was scrapped was due to the writers worrying that it would have been too silly.
There was also the issue of how Hank was going to get her out of it, as even his pull as a police officer wouldn’t have been enough to get her off the hook for such a serious crime.
Magnum Leap (Quantum Leap)
The story of Quantum Leap involved Dr. Samual Beckett traveling through time in order right the events that went wrong.
He did this by possessing one of the locals and using his knowledge to prevent certain catastrophic events from happening.
This format would have been perfect fodder for a crossover, which almost happened when the people at NBC planned for the fourth season of Quantum Leap to conclude with Sam entering the body of Magnum P.I.
The idea of a crossover between Quantum Leap and Magnum P.I. was seemingly squashed by Tom Selleck, who had no interest in being involved with the project.
There exists some test footage of Scott Bakula wearing the iconic Hawaiian shirt, but it was never used in an official capacity.
Archer’s Future (Star Trek: Enterprise)
Star Trek: Enterprise was a show that dealt with the past of the Star Trek world, but it eventually became involved with the future of the setting.
This was due to the introduction of the Temporal Cold War storyline, which involved a conflict that took place across time itself.
The Temporal Cold War storyline involved a mysterious character who was only ever shown in silhouette form. This figure is often referred to as the “Future Guy” by the fans, as his true identity was never revealed.
Brannon Braga has revealed that the original plan for the Future Guy was for him to be Archer from a bad future timeline.
This future version of Archer was trying to manipulate his younger self into preventing whatever catastrophe was going to happen and saving the universe from some unknown threat.
The Plan (Battlestar Galactica)
The early seasons of Battlestar Galactica presented the Cylons as having some sort of mysterious plan, which was going to explain their genocidal actions towards the human race.
This turned out to be a lie, as the creators never had a definitive explanation for the Cylon’s actions at the start of the show.
There was a proposed plan for the Cylons in the pre-show bible that was created during the pitching process, but it was ignored when the show made it to air.
The original plan for the Cylons was that they wanted a portion of humans to escape the destruction of the colonies so that they would lead the Cylons to Earth.
They had never intended to wipe out the fleet and were just keeping them on their toes the whole time until they reached Earth.
Jumping Jack Flash (Lost)
The island from Lost was home to a dormant volcano that fans expected to play a significant role at some point in the story.
The volcano would play a minor role in the final episode of Lost but it wasn’t the fiery explosion that many had expected.
The volcano was actually planned to play an important role in the finale of Lost, with an eruption threatening to tear the entire island apart.
The original plan for the finale included a fight scene between Jack and The Man in Black which would have taken place among streams of magma that poured out across the island.
The reason this ending wasn’t used was due to the cost involved, as the budget for the finale didn’t allow for such an epic conclusion.
The writers were forced to change their plans to something that was possible to realize within the limited budget they were given.
Sito’s Survival (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
“Lower Decks” was an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that gave the viewer a look at the lives and perspective of some of the officers aboard the Enterprise who weren’t part of the main cast.
This group involved a Bajoran Starfleet officer, named Sito Jaxa, who assists in a mission that involves helping a Cardassian defector.
It is later reported that Sito perished during the mission, though we do not see it happen on-screen.
There were plans for Sito to reappear in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as she had proven to be popular with the fans.
The idea was for Sito to be discovered in a Cardassian prison, after spending years enduring abuse at the hands of her captors. The story would have involved Sito suffering from PTSD and showing the effects that it can have on a person.
The idea for the episode was scrapped, as the writers felt that it would diminish the ending of “Lower Decks”, though elements of the story were used in “Hard Time.”
The GS Ball (Pokémon)
The unexpected success of the Pokémon franchise led to the original plans for the anime being scrapped.
Pokémon was planned to end with the first season/movie, but the story was stretched out into a filler season involving the Orange Islands, where Ash was dispatched in order to procure an item called the GS Ball.
The GS Ball was a mysterious Poké Ball that couldn’t be opened by conventional means and was unable to be transported through the computer.
Ash Ketchum collected the GS Ball and took it to Kurt in Johto, where it was abandoned and never mentioned again.
Masamitsu Hidaka (one of the directors of the Pokémon anime) has revealed that the GS Ball was originally meant to contain a Celebi, which meant that Ash would have possessed a Legendary Pokémon.
These plans were changed when Celebi was chosen to appear in the Pokémon movies, so the GS Ball storyline was dropped.
Kyle’s Fate (South Park)
One of the recurring jokes in the early seasons of South Park involved Kenny perishing in various different ways, only to come back the next episode as if nothing had happened.
The episode “Kenny Dies” treated the passing of Kenny as a serious event, which it turned out to be, as Kenny was gone from the show for almost a whole season.
This led to a storyline where the main kids sought out a new fourth member for their group.
Kenny wasn’t actually the first choice to be offed on a permanent basis, as Trey Parker and Matt Stone originally wanted to get rid of Kyle.
This was due to them believing that Kyle and Stan were too similar and had become interchangeable.
They never considered getting rid of Stan, because his dad had become a popular character, so Kyle was the logical choice. Parker & Stone changed their minds and decided to get rid of Kenny for a while instead.
Growing A Rose (Doctor Who)
The Doctor of Doctor Who has had many different companions throughout his various incarnations.
These individuals have gone on adventures with him and explored the reaches of time and space in the TARDIS, but they always leave him in the end.
There was an episode planned for the Ninth Doctor’s tenure that would have involved solving the problem of having companions that eventually abandon him.
Paul Abbott worked on an episode that would have involved Jack Harkness discovering a terrible secret about the Doctor.
It turns out that Rose was the result of a secret experiment that the Doctor was conducting in order to create the perfect companion. The story would have involved Jack’s dilemma concerning whether he should tell Rose the truth or not.
Great Lincoln’s Ghost! (The X-Files)
The X-Files started out as a show that dealt with some genuinely creepy subject matter.
The show would still have dark episodes from time to time, but there were also a few episodes that were just silly, such as aliens who play baseball and Mulder and Scully entering a virtual reality game that can slay people.
We narrowly missed out on what would have been the silliest X-Files episode of all time, as there were once plans for an episode involving Mulder & Scully encountering the ghost of Abraham Lincoln.
The fourth season of The X-Files almost included an episode where Mulder & Scully visited the White House, in order to investigate rumors of Lincoln’s ghost.
The only reason this episode didn’t get made was due to delays created by the production of “Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man.”
Dragon Buffy Z (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
The relationship between Tara and Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer was considered to be a pivotal moment in gay and lesbian representation on TV.
The writers also managed to screw things up by offing Tara and turning Willow into an evil sorceress in response.
The loss of Tara caused a severe backlash from the Buffy fanbase.
Joss Whedon came close to backtracking and bringing Tara back onto the show through magical means, though this plan had to be abandoned due to Tara’s actress not wanting to return to the show.
The plan was for Buffy to receive a magical wish during the final season of the show, which she would use to bring Tara back to life.
The Many Fathers Of Josh (24)
The fifth and sixth seasons of 24 gave us a deeper look at the family of Jack Bauer, which included his brother, Graeme Bauer, his father, Phillip Bauer, and his nephew, Josh Bauer.
The writers of 24 had a lot of ideas for Josh Bauer that never made it past the writing stage. These ideas involved his parentage, as the writers wanted anyone but Graeme Bauer to be Josh’s father.
One of the ideas involving Josh Bauer was the revelation that Jack was his father, meaning that Jack had slept with his brother’s wife in the past.
The other idea involved Phillip Bauer being Josh’s father. This would have involved Phillip forcing himself on his son’s wife at some point in the past.
This would also mean that Josh was Jack’s half-brother.
The Bear & The Ugly Guy (Game Of Thrones)
One of the changes in the adaptation of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels into Game of Thrones was the removal of a mercenary company called the Brave Companions, who switched sides several times during the conflict between the armies of the North and the Westerlands.
The leader of the Brave Companions was a man named Vargo Hoat, who was responsible for removing Jaime’s hand in the books.
The Brave Companions were written out of the show and replaced with a group of Bolton soldiers, who were led by a man named Locke. It was Locke who removed Jaime’s hand in the show.
The producers had originally intended for Jaime to get his revenge against Locke and have him thrown into his own bear pit.
They were so impressed by the performance of Locke’s actor that they decided to keep him around for another season, depriving Jaime of his vengeance.
The Revenge Of Patty & Selma (The Simpsons)
“Who Shot Mr. Burns?” is one of the most famous storylines from The Simpsons. The final episode of the sixth season concluded with the attempted assassination of Mr. Burns, while the opening episode of the seventh season revealed that it was Maggie Simpson, as Mr. Burns’ firearm fell into her hands.
The producers of The Simpsons created multiple endings for “Who Shot Mr. Burns (Part Two)” in order to prevent the mystery from being spoiled by insiders.
This partly came from the fact that numerous different suspects were thought of during the creation of the episode.
Josh Weinstein has uploaded the original pitch document for the “Who Shot Mr. Burns” storyline on his Twitter page and a strong candidate for the original assassins was going to be… Patty and Selma.
The reason Patty & Selma were going to attempt to take Mr. Burn’s life was due to him secretly having an affair with both sisters at the same time without the other knowing.
When Patty & Selma discover that Mr. Burns is cheating on them with the other sister, they decide to take matters into their own hands.
If this plotline would have gone through, then it may have ended up with Patty & Selma being thrown in prison and being mostly written out of the show, but anything would have been better than the original ending to the “Who Shot Mr. Burns?” storyline.
Can you think of any other canceled plot twists that were better than what we got on TV? Sound off in the comments!
