Short-lived TV Programs that YOU liked, but the network yanked off...

@AmbiePam (84668)
United States
March 12, 2007 8:58pm CST
There have been some really great TV shows that did not last long because the ratings were not good enough for the networks. Two of my favorites were "Almost Perfect", which was a comedy that starred Nancy Travis, and "Due South", which was continued up in Canada, but not aired here in the U.S. Oh, and how can I forget "Rescue 77", which was produced by the late Aaron Spelling. It was on the WB briefly. Does anyone remember that besides me? What were some of your more obscure short lived shows that you liked, and what were they about?
9 people like this
47 responses
• United States
13 Mar 07
I liked Karen Sisco. It was a cop show where Carla Gugino played a hard noesd U.S. Marshall working in Florida.It started out good but I guess it didn't have the numbers to stay. And then there was It's All Relative. it was a sitcom about a boy from a consertive Irish Cathloic family who is engaged to a girl with two gay dads.It stared out cute but maybe it ran out of steam. But my favorite t.v. show that left the air way too soon was Homicide: Life On The Streets. NBC had this comerical saying that it was "too good for t.v.". And I gues they were right. It was a realistic drama about being a homicide cop in Baltimore. It was like Hill Street Blues meets Barney Miller. It was classic.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
13 Mar 07
I remember two of the 3 you mentioned. I hadn't ever heard of "It's All Relative." I guess because it, too was on for such a short time. : )
1 person likes this
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
13 Mar 07
I agree Karen Sisco was quite good. I enjoyed it but I think it was up against something that had a better following which hurt it's rating. There have been several shows where that has happened.
2 people like this
• United States
14 Mar 07
AmbiePam, It's All Relative was on for a brisf and I mean brief time. Emeraldisle,these days the time slot is key.
@peni88 (469)
• United States
13 Mar 07
the most recent for me were the shows"blade the series", and "daybreak".
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
13 Mar 07
Oh, wow. I forgot about Blade: the series. That WAS FAST.
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
19 Mar 07
Yeah, the episodes are available, but the show is not coming back next year. That's what I mean by canceled. You can watch online episodes of a lot of shows. Like Lost, Grey's Anatomy...
• United States
19 Mar 07
daybreak didnt get cancelled. i just found that out this AM. all the episodes right up to the series finale are online.
• United States
27 Mar 07
I really liked "Wonderfalls". Did you ever see that one? Inanimate objects told her things and she would have to try to save somebody or help them out. It was really charming. I plan to buy the whole show on DVD. Sadly it barely lasted a season.
1 person likes this
• United States
28 Mar 07
I think that some video stores have it.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
28 Mar 07
I wonder if I can rent it?
1 person likes this
@Zloofah (83)
• United States
13 Mar 07
I loved Second Noah. It was about a big family and their faith. I was always interested in how big familys worked together. I still mention it to others although many people don't remember it. Do you remember Second Noah?
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
13 Mar 07
I remember that show. I watched it all the time. It had James Marsden in it, who went on to be in several movies, like "X-Men", and "The Notebook."
• United States
21 Mar 07
Yup, you are right-I never linked them together-thanks!
1 person likes this
• United States
21 Mar 07
There was a show I watched every week it was on called Life on a Stick. I thought it was such a funny show! I was surprised and upset when they stopped playing it! Has anyone else seen this show?
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
21 Mar 07
I think I remember it. Was it on FOX, and didn't it mostly take place on a food court? I believe Amy Yasbeck from 'Wings' co-starred in the show. I watched two episodes, but got the feeling it wouldn't be renewed, so I quit before I got attached to it. : )
• United States
22 Mar 07
lol. yes it was on fox and a lot of the show was in a food court because the two boys worked at a hot dog place. I did get attached and it sucked whn they stopped airing it
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Mar 07
i miss firefly so much and surface. both were scifi-ish. i also miss angel. it wasnt actually short lived but it was a great program. oh, and dark angel it was sort of like the furturistic bionic woman.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
13 Mar 07
Did you go see 'Firefly', the movie version?
• United States
13 Mar 07
I know what you mean about Firefly. I really wish it'd never been cut. I saw the movie Serenity, but I didn't really think it was a good as the series. A good movie, yeah, but it didn't really capture the same feel for me that the series did.
1 person likes this
@misskatonic (3723)
• United States
13 Mar 07
Due South aired in entirety in the US. O.o I watched the whole series on either CBS or NBC, all four seasons. I remember it got moved around a lot, but the whole thing did air. The show I mourn the most is Harsh Realm. Written by Chris Carter and based off of a graphic novel, it was an amazing thriller based around military corruption and a virtual world split between the wealthy, ruthless 'utopia' and the wastelands where those who refused to bow to a sadistic dictator were forced to eke out a living. Harsh Realm, the virtual world itself, had been designed as a military training program - an entire world that mirrored our own. But it was hacked and taken over by General Santiago, and since then, soldiers have been carefully selected and sent into the program, not knowing what awaited them. It starred D B Sweeney, and it was just an awesome series. Very dark, very gritty, and Chris Carter at his best. I have what was made on DVD, but I wish we had been given an actual ending.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
13 Mar 07
Yes, I remember "Harsh Realm." A lot of people fought for that show - I think it got great reviews. As for "Due South", it was on for a couple seasons here in the U.S., but then I read an article how the main networks dropped it, and Canada began airing it exclusively, with a slightly different cast. Maybe I'm wrong though. It happens a lot to me. : )
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
19 Mar 07
Hey, thanks for the details. I never knew the whole scenario.
• United States
13 Mar 07
While I realize now that the original Battlestar Galactica was not as good as I once thought it was, it was my one of the series I used to like when I was in middle school/junior high, and it was treated fairly shabbily by ABC during its 1978-79 run. It was always getting pre-empted for some reason or another, and it was canceled after only one season. A fan letter campaign akin to the one that "saved" Star Trek from cancellation by NBC resulted in ABC's green-lighting of a really bad "spin-off" called Galactica 1980, in which the battlestar and its ragtag fleet found Earth in contemporary times. It sucked, though, and it, too, was canceled. As for "Joey," I happen to think it shouldn't have been aired in the first place. Joey without his "Friends" was blah.
• United States
25 Apr 07
And it wasn't exactly Matt LeBlanc's fault...it was the producers/writers who created the spinoff who we should blame for foisting "Joey" off on NBC's viewers.
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
13 Mar 07
Don't tell, but I agree with you about 'Joey.' : )
• United States
19 Mar 07
I dont really remember Rescue 77.Back in the 70's ,there was a tv show about a black female detective called "Get Christy Love".I loved that show but it didn't last very long at all.Another show that didn't last long was the redo of the Twilight Zone and also another Sci/fi show called Amazing storied. They may not have lasted long but they are still being seen,except for Get Christy Love.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
19 Mar 07
I had never heard of Get Christy Love. It's surprising that TV Land hasn't aired it. They used to air shows that only got a limited number of episdoes made.
@dusty1020 (174)
• United States
19 Mar 07
i was enjoying six degrees on abc last year but it got the axe
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
19 Mar 07
I read it was coming back this week. I saw it on the TV schedule here.
@racheld (840)
• United States
23 Mar 07
I liked the show Still Standing but I think that was only on the air for 2 years if that. I really like this one soap opera, Sunset Beach and that was only on for 1 year. :( Out of the shows you mentioned, I only remember hearing about Rescue 77.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
23 Mar 07
Is it the Still Standing that was on in the U.S.? It was on CBS for five years, but I know there was a BBC version too.
@seamonkey (1976)
• Ireland
13 Mar 07
I liked Wonderfalls. It was the funniest show I have seen in ages. Here's the description from TV.com: Set against the backdrop of Niagara Falls, Wonderfalls is a quirky one-hour family dramedy about an underachieving twenty-something souvenir shop worker named Jaye Tyler. Her life is forever changed when inanimate figures – including toys, cartoons and anything in the form of an animal, begin to talk to her. In each episode, the creatures' cryptic messages set into motion a chain of unpredictable events that invariably lead Jaye into the lives of others in need. Throughout the series' bizarre situations and madcap adventures, Jaye seeks advice from her best buddy Mahandra and befriends Eric, a local bartender who tries to help answer her unrequited questions. Is the universe conspiring against her? Is this real or just her imagination? Should she struggle with fate or surrender to destiny? Whatever the outcome one thing is for certain - Jaye will discover that the world around her is a magical place and that the seemingly random events in her life are actually all part of something much greater.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
13 Mar 07
I had heard of that show since I saw it on DVD, but I didn't know the premise. It sounds like a can't miss. : )
• Ireland
13 Mar 07
I liked it too but it was only on for a few months and then disappeared. Pretty stupid decision by someone in charge!
1 person likes this
@oshawn31 (100)
• Philippines
14 Mar 07
i loved arrested development. i couldn't pick a favorite character cause they were all great. too bad they had to cram everything in the last season. are they making a movie
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
14 Mar 07
I heard rumblings about a movie...
@Woodpigeon (3710)
• Ireland
25 Apr 07
I don't remember any of those, I'm afraid. I really like Roswell and Good vs Evil but neither of them lasted very long. And I guess I am hard toplease because Stargate has run for ten years and they are finally going to retire it but I am still not ready to let it go! I would love another ten years!
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
25 Apr 07
Stargate sure became a popular show, especially for not being on a main network. It has such a huge following. I remember the first season 'Roswell' was on the WB, I didn't miss an episode. Then Tess appeared and the second season didn't seem to great. Then they switched to the now defunct UPN for the third season and it got better. Could you ever have imagine Katherine Heigl going on from 'Roswell' to be on Grey's Anatomy', such a huge hit? I don't watch it, but she sure came up in the TV world.
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
14 Mar 07
There have been many, many shows I enjoyed over the years that didn't seem to last very long. One of the more recent ones was "Tru Calling" I really enjoyed that one. Some others include: Birds of Prey Werewolf Tabitha Tucker's Witch Masquerade Dark Shadows (remake) Mission Impossible (remake) Automan Outlaws Magnificent Seven Stingray And I know there are many more but I'm blanking on them. Oh well. Just goes to show I watch a lot of tv
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
14 Mar 07
I thought "The Magnificent Seven" was awesome. CBS never put it in a time slot that was consistent and growth worthy. On "Tru Calling." They gave that a series finale fitting, didn't they? I thought they knew ahead of time they would be canceled, but were able to wrap things up. I always look for good finales if the shows is not coming back.
• United States
13 Mar 07
I dont remember any, thats how much of an impact that TV has on me. Yes I do remember Rescue77, never saw the show,but it rings a bell.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
13 Mar 07
So I'm not alone - yeah!
• United States
13 Mar 07
I'm a science fiction fan and those seem to be the ones that usually get pulled too soon. Firefly, John Doe, a couple of real oldies: Prey, VR5. Also Carnivale, though it did manage to hang on for two seasons. Dark Angel also didn't last long even though it had a really interesting plot and cast of characters.
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
13 Mar 07
I remember 'Prey' because I thought wow, that lady is so pretty. She went on to star in "Will & Grace." Who knew the ending of 'Prey' would make Debra Messing such a star. It WAS a good show.
• United States
14 Mar 07
Providence. I loved that show! I think it was on for about 3 years. Our House was an 80's tv series that I also wish would have stayed on a lot longer. I'm going to look on Amazon.com tonight to try to find the dvds or vhs.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
14 Mar 07
Oh, Our House. I always bring that up when my sister and I talk about older shows we liked. It had Deidra Hall and Shannen Doherty pre-90210. It was good.
• United States
13 Mar 07
i think the one i was dissapointed that the took off the air it was a show called "The others" now i know there is a movie with Nicole kidman by that name as well but there was a show too i miss that show
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
13 Mar 07
Oh yeah! I loved that show. It was so great. NBC ran it, but then just let it go. That happens to midseason replacements so much.
@Venus965 (36)
• United States
13 Mar 07
I really miss The Sharon Osbourne Show. I think it was on for 2 seasons and then she didn't renew her contract. I wish i could buy it on dvd or something. I think The Wade Robson Project was a pretty good show too. I liked being able to see normal people off the street participate in a dance competition instead of like 'Dancing With The Stars' show which i didn't really that much. My So Called Life that was on MTV i loved that show too, that was in the mid 90's.
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
13 Mar 07
My So-Called Life actually started on ABC. When it was canceled, MTV picked it up. Wouldn't it have been nice if MTV had just bought the rights to the show and continued producing them? Of course, then Claire Danes might never have gone to to so many movies, whether they were all good or not.