Shows That: Died Before Their Time, Never Got A Fair Shot, Or Were Ahead Of Their Time

[wendyg]

Is The Addams Family the only show in TV history to be based on a series of New Yorker cartoons?

[magicdog]

5 hours ago, wendyg said:

Is The Addams Family the only show in TV history to be based on a series of New Yorker cartoons?

As far as I know, yes.  But the 60s version of the family was so well done!  I know people will have their favorites, but that version still lives as the yardstick for many.  

[KWalkerInc]

16 hours ago, BlueSkies said:

i think it was an Aaron spelling production? 

Yes, Titans was an Aaron Spelling show.  I remember that NBC didn't show the last few episodes (two or three) when they cancelled it, so I copied some recordings of some other show for someone in exchange for the remaining episodes so I could complete the episode guide I was doing (I had done some other Spelling shows like 90210 and Melrose).  I don't think the show had any kind of real finale, though I vaguely remember being annoyed by something that happened in one of the subplots.  I think it had to do with John Barrowman's character who pretended to have a child he was separated from in order to impress the woman who was romantically interested in Casper Van Dien's character before he got back with Yasmine's.  I think the woman took him back and I wasn't happy.

[BlueSkies]

I found the before mentioned bikini scene.  End of this episode.  As a teenager watching that Yasmine was so 🔥🔥

 

But yeah the whole thing is kind of funny now.  Oh honey the flu is going around.  I'm all of a sudden not feeling good.  I gotta stay home.  LOL. 

 

 

[BlueSkies]

I def recall this show

 

 

I know it was short lived.  Never really tired to watch it though.  But it doesn't look bad on paper 

[KWalkerInc]

I remember watching Fastlane when it first started, but I think I kind of lost interest when it switched nights (I think from Wednesday to Friday).  But all I can remember other than the cast is that they had a big warehouse where they stored things they would use for the various cases like weapons and fast cars and stuff and that they referred to it as "the candy store."

[Jaded]

I liked Fastlane and was bummed when it got cancelled. I started watching because I was a fan of Tiffani's since SBTB and knew Bill Bellamy from MTV. I remember when Jenni Garth and her ex-husband Peter Facinelli who was the other main cast member in the show were having marriage troubles and one of my thoughts was about how he was the guy from Fastlane. I think at that time though he was playing a Dr. on the show Nurse Jackie.

[BlueSkies]

On 3/17/2023 at 5:14 AM, KWalkerInc said:

I remember watching Fastlane when it first started, but I think I kind of lost interest when it switched nights (I think from Wednesday to Friday).  But all I can remember other than the cast is that they had a big warehouse where they stored things they would use for the various cases like weapons and fast cars and stuff and that they referred to it as "the candy store."

Yeah from what I recall the show had a Fast and the Furious vibe to it.

 

Those were a set of movies I started to like long after they came out so the show itself might appeal to me more today 

[Egg McMuffin]

On 3/13/2023 at 6:51 PM, wendyg said:

Is The Addams Family the only show in TV history to be based on a series of New Yorker cartoons?

I think so. The closest thing I can think of is “Hazel,” which originated as a series of cartoons in the Saturday Evening Post.

[JAYJAY1979]

Eerie Indiana from 1991 was fun and quirky...but a bad timeslot doomed it.

[andromeda331]

4 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

Eerie Indiana from 1991 was fun and quirky...but a bad timeslot doomed it.

I loved that show.

[BlueSkies]

I'm from New Jersey so I'm pretty familiar with the Hurley family.  Danny just won the national championship coaching for Connecticut.

 

But it made me think of his dad Bob Hurley Sr. the famous high school coach.  He's won like 20 something state championships as a coach.  This told the story of his final season coaching at St. Anthony's and the school closing.  While I wouldn't like playing for a guy like that or working for one either I have to admit I legit felt pain when this was over that he couldn't keep the school.  

 

So yeah would be good to see a follow up on him or the kids

 

 

[Vermicious Knid]

Does anyone remember The Phoenix? The main character was played by Judson Scott, whose biggest claim to fame was being cast as Kahn's son in Star Trek II. He did the occasional part after that and then kinda disappeared? Which is too bad because he was a pretty, pretty man. The show lasted a whole 5 episode and yet it still remains in my memory. Pretty sure it was never rebroadcast or released on any form of media. I think it was just too esoteric for the ordinary person. There were religious overtones and it was drawn in part from von Däniken's Chariots of the Gods. About 15 years before it's time. 

[magicdog]

On 4/11/2023 at 8:29 PM, Vermicious Knid said:

Does anyone remember The Phoenix? The main character was played by Judson Scott, whose biggest claim to fame was being cast as Kahn's son in Star Trek II. He did the occasional part after that and then kinda disappeared? Which is too bad because he was a pretty, pretty man. The show lasted a whole 5 episode and yet it still remains in my memory. Pretty sure it was never rebroadcast or released on any form of media. I think it was just too esoteric for the ordinary person. There were religious overtones and it was drawn in part from von Däniken's Chariots of the Gods. About 15 years before it's time. 

Definitely!!  I watched the show and was really interested in how it was going to play out (though I do remember an episode in which the character found where his match was supposed to be but finds out at the last minute that she had been moved) and I was disappointed it vanished so quick.  Same for Judson Scott - except for a few roles I caught him in afterwards, he seemed to fall off the radar. 

[BlueSkies]

I only know of it because it was the last appearance by Andy Kaufman anywhere but The Top looked like a cool show.  It was a very short lived show 

 

 

[EtheltoTillie]

On 2/9/2016 at 7:46 AM, Chaos Theory said:

I am rewatching Life on Netflix. Damian Lewis played a cop who spent over a decade in prison for a murder he didn't comit. The show is part procedural and part overreacting story arc. It was one of the better cop shows I have seen but it only lasted two seasonsZ

I just discovered this show on Peacock. It’s terrific. 

[EtheltoTillie]

I just remembered another lost show. Does anyone remember 100 Centre Street?  A great courtroom show with Alan Arkin. Only lasted 2 seasons. 

[EtheltoTillie]

On 4/15/2023 at 6:22 PM, BlueSkies said:

I only know of it because it was the last appearance by Andy Kaufman anywhere but The Top looked like a cool show.  It was a very short lived show 

 

 

What even is this?  I never heard about it at the time. 

[BlueSkies]

Anyone recall Hudson Street a real short lived show with Tony Danza?  I never watched it but I recall my Dad seemed to think it was pretty good.  

[bluegirl147]

On 3/23/2024 at 1:31 PM, BlueSkies said:

Anyone recall Hudson Street a real short lived show with Tony Danza?  I never watched it but I recall my Dad seemed to think it was pretty good.  

I never watched it but I remember Lori Loughlin was his costar.  

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 3/23/2024 at 1:31 PM, BlueSkies said:

Anyone recall Hudson Street a real short lived show with Tony Danza?  I never watched it but I recall my Dad seemed to think it was pretty good.  

 

9 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

I never watched it but I remember Lori Loughlin was his costar.  

I was excited to see Danza again after Who's the Boss? But he and Loughlin had absolutely NO chemistry and it just wasn't interesing; just like Judith Light's next sitcom with...I want to say...William DeVane? Something about tennis?

But I LOVED her recurring character on L&O: SVU, until I couldn't take the show any more. Her ADA was BADASS!!!! The total opposite of Karen (One Life To Live) and Angela. Judith is just awesome.

[ABay]

due South was ahead of its time in combining drama and comedy. I just found "North", one of the best episodes, and I'm howling at the ghost dads. It's been years since I've watched an episode and I'd forgotten how much I loved it.

[proserpina65]

On 4/13/2024 at 4:30 PM, ABay said:

due South was ahead of its time in combining drama and comedy. I just found "North", one of the best episodes, and I'm howling at the ghost dads. It's been years since I've watched an episode and I'd forgotten how much I loved it.

I adored the first two seasons but stopped watching after they got rid of the original Ray.

[andromeda331]

2 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I adored the first two seasons but stopped watching after they got rid of the original Ray.

I love that show but agree it went down in quality after the original Ray left. 

[mishy]

On 3/26/2024 at 4:46 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

I was excited to see Danza again after Who's the Boss? But he and Loughlin had absolutely NO chemistry and it just wasn't interesing; just like Judith Light's next sitcom with...I want to say...William DeVane? Something about tennis?

Phenom! I actually remember enjoying that, even though I don't think it was on more than a season. Carly Simon sang the theme song.

[andromeda331]

17 hours ago, mishy said:

Phenom! I actually remember enjoying that, even though I don't think it was on more than a season. Carly Simon sang the theme song.

I liked that show too. 

[krankydoodle]

It only came out at the end of last year, but I've hardly heard anything about it so I'm going to say Carol & the End of the World on Netflix. It took me a while to get used to the animation, tone, and the main character's voice, but I watched the whole thing last week and loved it though I recognize that it's not going to work for everyone. It's about a single, middle-aged woman named Carol and other people in her orbit dealing with an impending apocalypse. It's a non-violent, slow-moving end of the world scenario, so it's mostly about how people are spending their final months by finding meaning and purpose. Many are experimenting with new relationships, traveling, or engaging in bucket list-type activities. Carol, on the other hand, is a bit lost until she stumbles on an office that's still functioning even though it's not clear what anyone is actually working on. It definitely has funny moments, but I also found it surprisingly moving. Based on the last episode, it looks like the story was supposed to continue, but Netflix is billing it as a limited series so I guess one season is all we're going to get, sadly.

[BlueSkies]

I remember Early Edition was a pretty good show in its day or at least the first couple seasons.  Since I saw it was only on for four seasons I'm guessing it was cancelled?  

[Raja]

Getting around to watching the NetFlix/MCU Defenders saga while waiting for Daredevil: Born Again I am just getting back to the pilot of Iron Fist. I think because Finn Jones was not a martial artist before the production the fans of marvel's number 2 martial artist didn't give the show a chance. 

I don't think it was showing Finn Jones doing slow Tai chi/katas was the problem but rather the stunt players on the other productions were too good, there was no room for visual improvement. Secondarily that Marvel Studios did not race flip the character in the pre Shang-Chi production schedules.

[andromeda331]

I don't know if anyone remembers this show it aired on the original Court TV right before it turned into Tru it was called Til Death or Til Death Do We Part a crime show of real life cases but for people who killed their spouses. It always started with a wedding and ended with one of the spouses going to jail for murdering the other. 

It's host and narrator was very sarcastic and hilarious like in one he remarks as the husband who's a doctor and his new wife is his nurse are "playing" doctor and nurse as they have sex in one of the exam rooms. He says "role playing is fun but soon one will take on the role of murderer while the other will be forced to play the victim.

Some of the cases were hilarious. One a gay man marries a woman who knows he's gay but he's a pilot and she wants the perks of being married to a pilot. Sometime later they fight and he kills her and throws her in a hole on their properity. His boyfriend moves in and they live happy for decades. Until one day his dog comes running back to him and his friends with a human skull. He realizes he has no choice but to confess. So he does to the detectives and asks if he can bury his wife. One detective tells him he can...when they find the body. The skull found? Turns out it's a few thousand years old. 

Another one a woman starts an affair with the clown at her kid's party. It goes on for awhile. They decide their going to kill her husband. They'll get all the money and she'll get the kids. So the boyfriend decides he'll kill him dressed in his clown costume. The husband when a gun is pulled on him looks up and sees a clown and asks "Are you serious?" He's shot and killed. The cops immediately arrest the wife. She tells the truth about the clown. But apparently, there was no clown. She's the one who killed him dressed as a clown. See she has mental problems including hallucinations. She hallucinated the clown and affair. She's very confused but the host jokes that "she's the only inmate who gets to take her boyfriend to jail with her".  When the episode begins at the birthday party her sister does ask how she's doing which ends up being a hint. She was refering to her mental state and not a health problem.She's holding a box of cereal that has a clown on it. That's where the clown comes from. 

Because it was the last show to air just before it changed it didn't get renewed. Too bad they were hilarious.

[Palimelon]

It's probably been mentioned already, but Profit from 1996. Way way way ahead of it's time and canceled after 4 episodes, despite tons of critical acclaim. If the show had aired post-Sopranos and on a network like HBO or AMC, it could have been a modern classic.

[DoctorAtomic]

I think Action was on about the same time as Profit. Also ahead of its time and a better fit for premium cable. 

[MissAlmond]

6 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Another one a woman starts an affair with the clown at her kid's party. It goes on for awhile. They decide their going to kill her husband. They'll get all the money and she'll get the kids. So the boyfriend decides he'll kill him dressed in his clown costume. The husband when a gun is pulled on him looks up and sees a clown and asks "Are you serious?" He's shot and killed. The cops immediately arrest the wife. She tells the truth about the clown. But apparently, there was no clown. She's the one who killed him dressed as a clown. See she has mental problems including hallucinations. She hallucinated the clown and affair.

What! Let me go hunt this show - or at least this episode - down because I need to watch this. 

Edited June 19 by MissAlmond

[andromeda331]

On 6/19/2024 at 9:54 AM, MissAlmond said:

What! Let me go hunt this show - or at least this episode - down because I need to watch this. 

The best I can do is 'Til Death Do Us Part: Season 1 (2007) — The Movie Database (TMDB) (themoviedb.org)

not the right episode but gives you the idea of what kind of show it was.

and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI0RlBNTdoA

 

[BlueSkies]

Sex Bytes on HBO.  It was a show definitely remember but looks to only last one season.

To be honest I never actually watched it but I just recall as a kid one late night my Dad was switching channels at a hotel and he's like Hmm Wonder What's on HBO?  Too which there was some girl talking and then yeah it did a shot of well ya know...  😅.

 

I never had HBO where I lived but some kids at school did and well and as kids were were very invested in this program.  lol

 

I can't say whether or not it was a good show in retrospect but it looks to have only lasted one season.  

[annzeepark914]

I just saw on Wikipedia a reference to the Joy Behar Show on HLN (Headline News). It was on maybe two years. I loved it when she'd have a panel of guests and they'd schmooze about various newsmakers. I think Rob Shuter was the best source for all kinds of juicy tidbits.

[BlueSkies]

I did another post about it on the other thread but Samantha Who.  It only lasted from 2007-2009.

 

As I said Christina Applegate and Jennifer Esposito as friends on a TV show would have always still kept me interested no matter how bad it was.  Seemed it was a funny show though. 

[andromeda331]

9 hours ago, BlueSkies said:

I did another post about it on the other thread but Samantha Who.  It only lasted from 2007-2009.

 

As I said Christina Applegate and Jennifer Esposito as friends on a TV show would have always still kept me interested no matter how bad it was.  Seemed it was a funny show though. 

I loved that show. It was hilarious. So many hilarious episodes. The one where Samantha learns she stalked a guy back when she was bad Sam and she wants to tell him that she's changed, by stalking him.  Another episode where Sam thinks she's adopted because she went under hypnosis (which her dad warned her not to do because he was hypotized once and was a chicken) turns out it was a memory of her playing Annie in a school play. Her parents' are just as hilarious and so is her doorman who's very sarcastic. I bought the series on DVD years ago.

[Palimelon]

It was an underrated show. I wouldn't put it in my top 10 list of shows, but it was a funny entertaining show overall.

[Kel Varnsen]

On 6/19/2024 at 10:59 AM, DoctorAtomic said:

I think Action was on about the same time as Profit. Also ahead of its time and a better fit for premium cable. 

I rented the DVD set of Action years ago and I think on one of the behind the scenes things the producers talk about how HBO or another cable channel made them an offer, but Fox was network TV and at the time could offer them more money. Plus being on a network was considered more prestigious. So they took the Fox offer even though it was probably much higher risk.

[BlueSkies]

6 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I loved that show. It was hilarious. So many hilarious episodes. The one where Samantha learns she stalked a guy back when she was bad Sam and she wants to tell him that she's changed, by stalking him.  Another episode where Sam thinks she's adopted because she went under hypnosis (which her dad warned her not to do because he was hypotized once and was a chicken) turns out it was a memory of her playing Annie in a school play. Her parents' are just as hilarious and so is her doorman who's very sarcastic. I bought the series on DVD years ago.

I guess I always really liked Jennifer Esposito as I remember her character more than anything else about the show.  
 

Very beautiful woman that seems at least based on interviews very nice.  

[Crashcourse]

I really enjoyed Last Comic Standing, and it's too bad it was cancelled.  

[proserpina65]

Talk about dramedies on another topic made me think of my favorite show from the dramedy period in the late 80s: Frank's Place, with Tim Reid and Daphne Maxwell Reid.  It was quirky and wonderful and full of well-drawn characters who could've been caricatures but weren't.  It really deserved a bigger audience and many more seasons.

[Crashcourse]

Yes, I remember Frank's Place.  I loved the characters on that show.

[EtheltoTillie]

Frank’s Place is always number one on my list of shows that died too soon. I always wanted to hang with those characters some more. Freaks and Geeks is also a favorite one-season show, but I think it could stand as a complete statement of the story and didn’t need more. 

[Raja]

3 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Freaks and Geeks is also a favorite one-season show, but I think it could stand as a complete statement of the story and didn’t need more. 

The little girl who grew up in our house left with my DVD set. After The White Shadow, Freaks and Geeks was the show most like my high school experience.

[Kel Varnsen]

15 hours ago, Raja said:

The little girl who grew up in our house left with my DVD set. After The White Shadow, Freaks and Geeks was the show most like my high school experience.

I have been thinking about Freaks and Geeks lately and I wonder if it would have been more successful if it had been a 30 minute show. Because I think a big thing that hurt it was there was nothing on TV like it. It was a teen drama but it wasn't your typical 90210 or Dawson's Creek soap opera type drama. If it was 30 minutes they could have focused a bit more on the comedy which would have been easier to get. Of course it would have had to have been a single camera sitcom which was still fairly uncommon at that point but I think it would have done better.

Plus at 30 minutes there are more options for timeslots.

[Chaos Theory]

I just set up a new Netflix account for reasons that aren’t important and rewatched Sense8 and Insatable again.    Both Netflix Originals that got cancelled for different reasons.     Sense8 because it was science fiction and expensive.   I think if it came out around the GOT boom it would have done better.

insatiable bombed because of that one dumb professional review accusing the show of fat shaming.  But that was a load of crock.   It was a fun show that got ruined by a single bad review.

 

[Palimelon]

Sense8 kind of did come out during the GOT boom, though, it was around the time of seasons 5 through 7 when the show was hitting a new ratings high each season.

[JustHereForFood]

On 8/21/2024 at 9:51 PM, Palimelon said:

Sense8 kind of did come out during the GOT boom, though, it was around the time of seasons 5 through 7 when the show was hitting a new ratings high each season.

And I don't see any similarities between those two shows anyway. I think that Sense8 was cancelled because it was very expensive, they shot it in several countries. (I do love it though and wish they could have done 5 seasons of it.)