Short-Lived TV Programs

[ItalianAngel]

Oh my..I have so many favorites...

One show that comes to mind was The Powers That Be, which was a comedy about a political family starring John Forsyte, David Hyde Pierce, and Peter MacNicol (among others) It ran from 92-93 and Norman Lear was the Executive Producer. Hilarious show! Why it lasted only a year, is a mystery to me.

Amazing Stories... what a brilliant show this was! I believe it only lasted 3 seasons and it deserved a longer life. It was on in the mid 80's during the same time as The Twilight Zone and that show only lasted a few seasons as well.

Alien Nation ran for one year from 89-90. I thought it was very innovative and entertaining

Several inspirational shows that deserved a longer life: Promised Land, Joan Of Arcadia and Three Wishes

Roswell. Probably one of my favorite sci-fi series since the X-Files.

Voyagers. great show!

Mysterious Ways. I think it was on for a couple seasons in early 2000's starring Adrian Pasdar and Rae Dawn Chong.

The Fugitive. I'm referring to the 2000 remake starring Tim Daly. I know many critics slammed this version but I found it very entertaining.

Models Inc.. okay, I know this was a trashy, spin off from Melrose Place but I enjoyed it.

The Last Resort. This short lived reality series aired on the abc family channel in 2003. The premise was three couples, on the brink of seperation flew to this island resort to try to work out their problems.

e-love. Also a reality show from 2003, which aried on the oxygen channel. This show was about couples (who met on-line) meeting for the first time IRL.

Otherworld. This show was from the mid 80's and it starred Tony O'Dell. If I remember correctly, the basic premise of the show was a modern day family has been time warped to a paralell universe. It only lasted about 8 episodes but it was so intriguing.

Whiz Kids. I think this one aired in the early 80's and it starred Matthew Laborteaux. Really fun show.

Rags To Riches. This show from the late 80's was set in the 60's. It was a musical-drama-comedy starring Joseph Bologna and Tisha Campbell. Nice show.

blessings,
~Michele

 

[LivingByFaith]

How about "Just the Ten of Us"... does anyone remember that? It was supposed to be a spin-off of "Growing Pains".

I haven't seen it for a long time, but from what I remember, it was pretty good.

Yup. I have the whole series on tape. That show should have lasted a lot longer. I believe the show may have been ahead of its time.

Other shows:
"Baby Talk" from the early 1990's.
"Maybe It's Me" and "Raising Dad" on the WB in 2001

 

[Ceili]

The Lone Gunmen- I loved it,was funny!

 

[WannaWitness]

I remember "Baby Talk"; I kind of enjoyed that one. It was a great family show.

Sadly, something like that couldn't have lasted because the babies (Mickey and Danielle) were almost old enough to start talking on their own... and therefore not as much fun to hear their thoughts.

 

[LadyNRA]

Anyone remember "The Dinosaurs"?

Yes, I remember The Dinosaurs. "Not the mama!" I think that was the show right. I particularly loved the one with the baby turning into his terrible twos and the doctor advising the mother to move the kid into a room and seal it up for a year...but she is adamant about not doing it and the kid is crazy.

 

[LadyNRA]

Interesting how many folks listed Science Fiction shows. I remembered many mentioned here. I did like Earth 2 and was sorry it got taken off. And otherworld and the original Battlestar Galactica. Though I thoroughly dislike the new one...nothing but a soap opera in space and not a particularly good one at that.

Here's my list:

The Young Rebels (one of Lou Gossett's earliest roles), lasted 15 eps.

Tales of the Gold Monkey (Stephen Collins and Jeff MacKay with Roddy McDowell) lasted one season.

Tremors: The Series Lasted 13 episodes.

Wizards and Warriors with Jeff Conaway and Walter Olkewicz lasted 8 episodes and was the funniest shows I've ever seen. They hauled it off because this was around 1982 and it cost close to $1 Million an episode to produce (or so I heard). Sword and Sorcery mixed with tongue in cheek humor.

Lost in Space (only lasted 3 seasons).

I miss each and every one of these, though I fortunate in that I have them all on video so I can watch them if I get desperate to see them again.

 

[desmalia]

Roswell was one of my faves too, though I didn't like all the messing around with it they did in season two. It lost a lot of its charm then. But they did come around in season three. To bad it was too late.

Anyone remember Max Headroom?

How about Parker Lewis Can't Lose?

OK, I know this one had a few eps that would technically count as "season 4", but Farscape was by far one of the best sci-fi shows ever made, and it was cancelled way too soon. I'm glad they did the mini series after and I hope they take Firefly's lead and create a full length feature too.

Another one I really missed was My So-Called Life.

And one I could not believe they cancelled was That's Life with Heather Paige Kent. They had basically an all star cast, and great writers. Shame.

 

[LadyNRA]

Yes, I remember Max Headroom. You see him a lot on other series. Right now Matt Frewer (Max) is on Eureka...a WONDERFUL show but like most TV programs these days, destined to only go a few seasons if we, the fans, are lucky. Even Heroes, which the whole family likes, is doomed, because there is only so much you can add to this story line.

Two more come to mind...Surface was short-lived, one season.

And "The Nine" which ran for all of 7 episodes and this still burns me because they were going to take it off briefly until after the holidays, and now I hear it's probably not coming back.

It seems like it's nearly impossible for anything to survive on TV these days.

BTW: I did love Amazing Stories and liked Alien Nation, so I agree with the person who listed it.

 

[Bun-Bun]

Tremors: The Series Lasted 13 episodes.

That was a good one. I was sad to see it go.

 

[Glaz]

There was a comedy back in the early 90's called 'Get a Life' with Chris Elliot as a 30 year old paper boy who lives with his parents. It was pretty funny, didn't last long though.

 

[KristyAnne]

I just remember another great show called "Do Over", it only lasted half a season. A gown man goes back in time into his fourteen year old body and re-lives the eighties. I thought it was fantastic, and quite funny. It was in 2002-03. Does anyone else remember this?

 

[practicemakesperfect]

The Wonder Years...

 

[desmalia]

The Wonder Years...

Um... that one lasted way more than three seasons...

 

[LadyNRA]

That was a good one. I was sad to see it go.

Me too!!! But at least I was smart enough to tape it right from the beginning so I can see it when I want. What a hilarious bunch of characters. I can't honestly say I disliked any of them. Burt/Twitchell/Larry were my favorites. SciFi Channel was determined to kill it from the beginning. Moving it around, putting it on for 2 episodes then removing from the lineup for 3 weeks, then 2 more episodes, then taking it off for a month. No wonder they didn't get more of a fan following.

 

[cinnabunch]

Threshold , miracles , and joan of arcadia are three that come to mind.

I looooved Joan of Arcadia. That was such an awesome show. My and the kids were totaly bummed when we saw that it wasn't coming back on.

cindy