[TV] Great shows that lasted only one season

[spigot]

I liked a show called Keen Eddie. I thought it had promise. It also had Sienna Miller.

[wonderpug]

This is actually a quite easy question for me,because it has annoyed me and my friends for a long time that only 6 episodes were made

   Here in the U.S. it ran for 12 seasons and had 8 movies. 

?

Police Squad inspired the Naked Gun movies, but 8 movies?  12 seasons?  What show are you thinking of?

[Soulchilde]

How could i forget Space: Above and Beyond   Another show Fox canceled to early

[hepcat]

   Here in the U.S. it ran for 12 seasons and had 8 movies.  

?

Police Squad inspired the Naked Gun movies, but 8 movies?  12 seasons?  What show are you thinking of?

The brits only got 6 episodes because let's face it, we're still pissed about the revolutionary war.  

How could i forget Space: Above and Beyond   Another show Fox canceled to early

another +1.  Bleakest series finale ever.

[wonderpug]

   Here in the U.S. it ran for 12 seasons and had 8 movies.  

?

Police Squad inspired the Naked Gun movies, but 8 movies?  12 seasons?  What show are you thinking of?

The brits only got 6 episodes because let's face it, we're still pissed about the revolutionary war.  

Can you post a link to some evidence of a 7th episode that we got in the US?  I think you must be thinking of a different series.

[Harkonis]

I forgot about Brisco County Jr

Pushing Daisies would be on the list, but I think it ended part way through 2

[hepcat]

   Here in the U.S. it ran for 12 seasons and had 8 movies.  

?

Police Squad inspired the Naked Gun movies, but 8 movies?  12 seasons?  What show are you thinking of?

The brits only got 6 episodes because let's face it, we're still pissed about the revolutionary war.  

Can you post a link to some evidence of a 7th episode that we got in the US?  I think you must be thinking of a different series.

and...scene.

pssst...I was teasin' the englishman.  

Pushing Daisies would be on the list, but I think it ended part way through 2

Yeah, I mentioned my beloved Pushing Daisies earlier.  It actually made it into season 2 so I didn't put it on the list.

[metallicorphan]

   Here in the U.S. it ran for 12 seasons and had 8 movies.  

?

Police Squad inspired the Naked Gun movies, but 8 movies?  12 seasons?  What show are you thinking of?

The brits only got 6 episodes because let's face it, we're still pissed about the revolutionary war.  

LOL,12 seasons and 8 movies i wish....although saying that by the third movie it was a bit so-so,and OJ couldn't of been in the 4th(well,actually he could of...)

EDIT:laughing at thinking of Pug searching the internet for Police Squad 12th season

[Lordnine]

Better Off Ted comes to mind, although it made into at least part way into a second season.  Regardless, I'm including it anyway.

Not sure if you're aware but you can watch the complete second season on Netflix instant watch.  It was never aired or even released on DVD.

[pr0ner]

I don't think it's on par with the other top notch things people have already listed, but I think Sarah Connor Chronicles was just starting to really come into its own when they pulled the plug.  

Sarah Connor lasted 2 seasons, though, so I think it's disqualified from this thread.  

No kidding?  Why do I remember it getting yanked mid-season?

Yeah, no kidding.  A 9 episode first season, and a 22 episode second season.  It's possible that the second season having a mid-season break and/or ending on such a cliffhanger made you think it was yanked mid-season, though.

Also, thanks to Soulchilde for bringing up Space: Above and Beyond.

[Ironrod]

I'm kinda partial to Wonderfalls. It's a Joan of Arc comedy (who thought that sentence would ever be written). It doesn't seem like any of Bryan Fuller's shows get more than a season or two....

+2. Although it did gradually become repetitive as the season went on, the first few episodes were brilliant. It's my understanding that they only aired four episodes, and those were out of order. Why do networks set a show up to fail like that?

Fox seems to all the time.

But why? They aren't stupid. Why would they deliberately sabotage a show that they paid to develop before it even has a chance to find an audience? Why would they not air all of the episodes that they already own? How is that a good business decision?

Here is where business sense and common sense collide. It's actually a good business decision because prime airtime is highly limited. The money they've already spent is a sunk cost and doesn't matter. The only thing they are looking for is what the opportunity cost is to replace any show.

What I think might be happening is that they greenlight the series after they see the pilot, but then don't like the subsequent episodes or think it's going to be too niche based on focus groups/market research. They've probably already greenlit something with better mass appeal, but have already signed the contract to air the show. They air a few episodes because they have to. If it doesn't find a really large audience or an audience as large as they forecast for the new one, they just cancel it and air the new show. The vast majority of the time, they're right.

So they have something they believe is better waiting in the wings? That makes sense. I figured there were probably office politics involved as well -- the doomed show's corporate champion left the company or fell from grace.

[metallicorphan]

while we are on TV shows with 1 season,anyone know what's happening with Teen Wolf?,I surprisingly really liked the TV series last year,but not really heard anything since and i am afraid it will make the cancelled list,it was shown on a shitty channel over here so i can certainly imagine it not getting the audience here anyway

[Crusis]

Nowhere Man! Bruce Greenwood was great in this show.

[Isgrimnur]

Nowhere Man! Bruce Greenwood was great in this show.

This is still sitting in the plastic on my "DVDs yet to be watched" shelf.  I was too young to catch it all first run, but I was very impressed with what I saw.

[hepcat]

Nowhere Man! Bruce Greenwood was great in this show.

This is still sitting in the plastic on my "DVDs yet to be watched" shelf.  I was too young to catch it all first run, but I was very impressed with what I saw.

Oh for christ's sake, i'm not THAT damn old, am i???

[Isgrimnur]

Wiki tells me it was 1995.  I would have been 19, and it was syndicated.  I had other stuff going on, like college and a job, to devote to making sure I knew when to be in front of the tube.

[wonderpug]

I'm younger than you and I watched the whole season, so nyah!

[hepcat]

My walker is older than you whipper snappers.  NOW GET OUT OF MY YARD!

[WarPig]

Am I the only person who liked Earth 2?

Tapatalk! How does it work??

[hepcat]

Nah, I enjoyed it too.  Then again, you'd have to be a pretty awful show to have Clancy Brown and NOT win me over.  I was disappointed to see the show cancelled just as they were starting to delve more into the history of the natives.

F&#&ing magnets, how do they work?

[Teggy]

Just thought of two more:

Starman, underrated show based on the underrated Jeff Bridges/John Carpenter movie.

Probe, which actually only had 6 or 7 episodes. Created by Isaac Asimov.

[hepcat]

I honestly don't remember either of those shows.   

[Teggy]

I honestly don't remember either of those shows.   

Because they only lasted one season!

[Soulchilde]

I want to include Twins Peaks but it lasted two season if I remember correctly

[Cragmyre]

I'm probably one of the only ones that enjoyed Threshold, but I loved the characters and would have liked to have seen that show continue on.

[rshetts2]

Ill also give a thumbs up to Keen Eddie. It was a very fun show.  I was sorry to see it go. 

[hepcat]

I honestly don't remember either of those shows.   

Because they only lasted one season!

but i pride myself on being knowledgeable about the dumbest of things.  Things that will in no way, shape or form benefit me in the future. 

[metallicorphan]

I want to include Twins Peaks but it lasted two season if I remember correctly

this makes me cry because i just watched the entire two seasons last month for the first time...I really really loved it,but what a way to end  ...now i wish i never bothered

[Teggy]

I honestly don't remember either of those shows.   

Because they only lasted one season!

but i pride myself on being knowledgeable about the dumbest of things.  Things that will in no way, shape or form benefit me in the future. 

You'll always have Carrot Top.

[hepcat]

If I recall my tv trivia correctly, Lynch only planned to run Twin Peaks for one season.  The last episode of season 1 would have wrapped up everything very nicely.  It was only after the show took off that the network put the screws to Lynch and demanded a second season.  Lynch, not having any idea where to go with a second season, had to pretty much make it all up on the fly.  That's why season 2 seems so disjointed and tonally different than season 1.

You'll always have Carrot Top.

No, my friend.  The 'top belongs to the world.

[Purge]

I honestly don't remember either of those shows.   

Because they only lasted one season!

but i pride myself on being knowledgeable about the dumbest of things.  Things that will in no way, shape or form benefit me in the future. 

We need a witless battle between you, and Isgrimnur.

Obscure Garfield quotes: GO!

[Teggy]

If I recall my tv trivia correctly, Lynch only planned to run Twin Peaks for one season.  The last episode of season 1 would have wrapped up everything very nicely.  It was only after the show took off that the network put the screws to Lynch and demanded a second season.  Lynch, not having any idea where to go with a second season, had to pretty much make it all up on the fly.  That's why season 2 seems so disjointed and tonally different than season 1.

Yeah, I think that's pretty much correct. There's also a 2 hour movie that was released for international markets (I think you can also get it in the US) that has a completely different ending and identity for Bob.

[Isgrimnur]

I honestly don't remember either of those shows.   

Because they only lasted one season!

but i pride myself on being knowledgeable about the dumbest of things.  Things that will in no way, shape or form benefit me in the future. 

We need a witless battle between you, and Isgrimnur.

Obscure Garfield quotes: GO!

I'll just play my trump card now:  Garfield Minus Garfield

[hepcat]

I love that site.  It's so existential without Garfield.

[Purge]

I love that site.  It's so existential without Garfield.

No agreeing.

DRIVEL KOMBAT!!!!

FIGHT!

Spoiler for Hiden:

[Bullwinkle]

Someone did the same idea with Peanuts, but this time, they just remove the last panel.   Not as good as the original, but still full of yummy, existential dread.

3eanuts

[hepcat]

If Frank Miller wrote Peanuts



If Charles Bukowski wrote Peanuts

[Misguided]

Firefly and Nowhere Man have already been mentioned.
The Others comes to mind. Also the Babylon 5 spinoff Crusade.

The one I can't believe no one has brought up is Miracles with Skeet Ulrich and Angus Macfadyen. This show was brilliantly chilling. I still remember staring at the tv with my jaw hanging at the end of the first episode, and saying to my wife that the show was too intelligent for tv. I gave it three weeks, it made it six.

[CeeKay]

almost forgot about Wizards and Warriors!

[wonderpug]

When I was a kid I really lamented the loss of Pirates of Dark Water.  I loved that it actually had A) a serial plot, and B) the moxy to actually kill off characters.