Love stinks. Especially when you fall in love with a TV series only to have cold-hearted bottom-line network jerks cancel the show.

Now technology has come to the emotional rescue of bereft couch potatoes. Old TV shows - even short-lived cult series - are rising from the dead on DVD.

When the science-fiction western ``Firefly,’’ created by Joss Whedon of ``Buffy: The Vampire Slayer’’ fame, debuted in 2002 on Fox, Debra Anderson of Fairhaven fell hard for its sarcastic, biting humor’’ and good writing.

``Yet we weren’t really surprised when they canceled it because they seem to cancel everything my husband and I like,’’ she said.

Anderson and other fans soon dropped a ``Save Firefly’’ push for an ultimately successful campaign: Getting the truncated season - including three unaired episodes - released on DVD. The box set sold so well that Whedon got a ``Firefly’’ movie deal. His ``Serenity’’ opens Sept. 30.

Industry experts say the growing DVD market has made releasing multi-episode TV shows less cumbersome than on VHS. A 2004 Merrill Lynch report estimates consumer spending on TV DVDs will grow from $2.3 billion in 2004 to $3.9 billion in 2008.

And now such cult wonders as ``Freaks and Geeks’’ (1999) or ``My So-Called Life’’ (1994) now are on DVD shelves with powerhouses ``Seinfeld’’ and ``Friends.’’

The trend ``has taken the TV experience and put it into the hands of the consumer,’’ said Gord Lacey, webmaster of www.tvshowsondvd.com, which lets users agitate for getting old TV series on new DVDs. Currently, 4,465 TV-related DVDs have been released.

While shows like ``Miami Vice’’ (season one was released Feb. 8) cater to a huge fan base, even quirky or one-season wonders can get a second life and new fans.

The ``Firefly’’ fan Web site browncoats.serenitymovie.com/serenity has jumped from 2,000 to 22,000 registered users in the last six months, Anderson said.

Some shows win the ultimate prize: The popularity of the canceled animated show ``Family Guy’’ DVD - volume 1 and 2 sold more than two million units - convinced Fox to return the show to production, Lacey said.

Canadian Selina Asgar, a Web designer, knew her cause was hopeless when the offbeat but critically acclaimed ``Wonderfalls’’ (2004) was canceled after only four of its 13 episodes aired. She decided to ``forget about trying to save the show. Let’s get the unaired episodes aired or get them on DVD.’’

The ``Wonderfalls’’ DVD, released on Feb. 1, is among the top 25 DVDs selling on Amazon. ``There was a time when Fox would have let the first 13 episodes go’’ into TV oblivion, Asgar said. Other obscure shows released with unaired episodes include ``God, the Devil and Bob’’ (2000) and ``Significant Others’’ (1998), starring Jennifer Garner.

Even old shows find new material: The DVD of the black-and-white ``The Munsters’’ (1964), contained a never-aired color pilot.

TV producers, like film directors, now keep DVD potential in mind. J.J. Abrams of the hit show ``Lost’’ has had a documentary team on site since day one; ``He’s been planning the DVD alongside the show,’’ Lacey said.

Some shows, such as ``WKRP in Cincinnati,’’ may never make it to DVD due to huge licensing costs for the music on the original shows. Indeed, fans will notice DVDs of shows like ``Quantum Leap’’ and ``Northern Exposure’’ lack their original soundtracks.

Lacey himself has virtually quit watching live TV. His habit may be the mantra for a new generation: ``I’ll just wait for the DVD.’’