When Good TV Shows Disappear Forever

I remember so many wonderful shows that you just can't see anywhere except maybe by downloading them illegally if you're lucky.

What happened to Murphy Brown? Sure Candice Bergen has been making guest appearances everywhere and basically just playing Murphy Brown—and those of us who were alive in the 80s and early 90s will always think of her as Murphy Brown because the show was iconic and unforgettable.

Murphy Brown was a newswoman. She was crass and tough-as-nails and she was often mean-spirited and petty. It was fun to watch her. She was the kind of woman who would send hookers and mariachi bands to the houses of her enemies at night. If you ever see Candice Bergen on anything, it's because Candice Bergen IS Murphy Brown and we all loved Murphy Brown.

So why can't you get the show on DVD? Well, that's what I was asking 5 years ago. Now I'm asking, “Why isn't it on Netflix?”

It's the same with The Practice. I loved that show back when it was on. Unfortunately, if you weren't alive and watching TV at the time, then you have missed out on The Practice. It's nearly impossible to find now. It was a legal drama, and one of the best of its kind I've ever seen. It was high drama through and through. It was riveting. The stakes were high. The actors were good. The show made you really care about the jury's verdict.

What happened? The Practice ran for 8 seasons—a very solid run for a TV show. Shows don't run that long without an audience. Even if you ignore the last season, and you should, that's still 7 seasons, which is still a great run.

The Practice, much like Roseanne, had a very bizarre last season. In Season 8 of The Practice, the show fired most of the main cast, and they completely changed the show. It was literally an entirely new show with, like, two of the cheapest actors from before remaining. For the historical record of The Practice, I'd recommend just throwing away Season 8 because it is not even part of the same show.

Like Murphy Brown, most of the seasons of The Practice are not available for purchase on DVD or online. The only way to get them is to find someone who recorded them from TV and copy those recordings. If you know something about pirating TV shows online, then you know that that is exactly what pirating is all about. But it's not even easy to pirate these shows because so few people have copies.

It's so sad when good TV shows disappear forever.

As of this writing, Hulu has season 1-3 of The Practice. Why not all of them?