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

[ratgirlagogo]

21 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

They did a 2hr movie to wrap things up after season 2. 

So I gather, but we never knew of it.  We watched it on REELZ and maybe since we didn't watch anything else on REELZ we never found out about it?

[Spartan Girl]

The Muppets. We finally got them back on TV in a hilarious show, and the Million Moms or whatever the hell they call themselves threw tantrums because it wasn't "family friendly" enough, and it wound up cancelled after one season. One.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

On 6/23/2019 at 9:31 AM, krankydoodle said:

and Andy Barker, PI.

I remember watching that show. Although the big thing I remember was how I found it really uneven. Some episodes were hilarious, but others weren't funny at all.

22 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

The Muppets. We finally got them back on TV in a hilarious show, and the Million Moms or whatever the hell they call themselves threw tantrums because it wasn't "family friendly" enough, and it wound up cancelled after one season. One.

 

That show was anazing. I still can't believe how well a Muppets version of 30 Rock with Kermit as Liz Lemon worked. It seems so simple but it was so awesome.

[krankydoodle]

4 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

On 6/23/2019 at 9:31 AM, krankydoodle said:

and Andy Barker, PI.

I remember watching that show. Although the big thing I remember was how I found it really uneven. Some episodes were hilarious, but others weren't funny at all.

There were only 6 episodes, so it didn't get much time to prove itself ☹️

Another surprisingly good show canceled after only 1 season was Huge, about campers and staff at a weight-loss camp.

[Melgaypet]

I've been rewatching my DVDs of Forever, about an immortal coroner played by Ioan Gruffudd. It's as strong as I remember and really deserved a second season.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Melgaypet

[Silver Raven]

Grand.  Comedy soap about three intertwined families in the town of Grand, Pennsylvania, where the major industry was the manufacture of grand pianos.  Pamela Reed, especially, stole the show.

[ganesh]

8 hours ago, Melgaypet said:

I've been rewatching my DVDs of Forever, about an immortal coroner played by Ioan Gruffudd. It's as strong as I remember and really deserved a second season.

This was a victim of the strike, but at least it's a good self contained story. 

[Gramto6]

4 minutes ago, ganesh said:

This was a victim of the strike, but at least it's a good self contained story. 

I loved this show and was so sad to see it cancelled.

[SVNBob]

4 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

Grand.  Comedy soap about three intertwined families in the town of Grand, Pennsylvania, where the major industry was the manufacture of grand pianos.  Pamela Reed, especially, stole the show.

Which is really impressive, since it was kind of an all-star cast.  Theme song is also pretty awesome.

[MaryMitch]

On 7/6/2019 at 8:48 AM, Spartan Girl said:

The Muppets. We finally got them back on TV in a hilarious show, and the Million Moms or whatever the hell they call themselves threw tantrums because it wasn't "family friendly" enough, and it wound up cancelled after one season. One.

I loved that show! I always loved Miss Piggy! I found a "Up Late With Miss Piggy" mug on Amazon - around $17. They have 2 left in stock. Just search Amazon if you're interested.

Edited July 7, 2019 by MaryMitch

[catlover79]

Another sitcom I remember liking but didn't last long was Thunder Alley (1994, ABC) with Ed Asner. Haley Joel Osment played his grandson.

Edited July 7, 2019 by catlover79

[blueray]

On 6/28/2019 at 1:49 PM, Archery said:

Star Trek: Enterprise -- hit its stride in Season Three, got cancelled during a great Season Four.

I agree. The last two seasons were great (minus the horrible series finale).

I'd at Stargate: SGU to this list. It also got better right before it was cancelled. It first season was kind of meh (with a few good eps) and then season 2 was great. If I remember correctly the cast found out it was cancelled the same time the fans did. After they were long done filming the season.

[catlover79]

I really enjoyed Me and the Boys (1994-95, ABC) with Steve Harvey. I don't understand why it was cancelled after just one season - it aired on Tuesday nights between Full House and Home Improvement, and finished #20 in the season's ratings. 

[IWantCandy71]

Less Than Perfect. Sitcom with Sara Rue, Eric Roberts, Patrick Warburton, Zachary Levi, Andrea Parker, Sheri Shepard, Andy Dick and Will Sasso. Early 2000's. It got shuffled around by ABC, and the last half of the last season didn't even air on ABC-it aired three years later on Lifetime. IDK why it got jerked around the way it did, but it was actually pretty funny. Nothing overly original, although having a plus size lead was unusual at the time. I remember watching the first season and loving it, and it's one show that actually remained entertaining from beginning to end. Some of the characterizations for the supporting characters was all over the place by the end, but still. It remained watchable from start to finish. I think most of the episodes are on You Tube or Amazon, but you may have to search them out. 

[Stats Queen]

Just Shoot Me! Really liked the show but doesn’t ever anywhere not can I find it on streaming sites

[dargosmydaddy]

41 minutes ago, Stats Queen said:

Just Shoot Me! Really liked the show but doesn’t ever anywhere not can I find it on streaming sites

Apparently seasons 4 and 5 are free to stream on Sony Crackle. I don't know why they don't have the earlier seasons...

https://www.sonycrackle.com/watch/2561

[Chaos Theory]

I was reading over the first page and someone mentioned a show called Fastlane.  It was part Charlie’s Angels Part 21 Jumpstreet.  I think it might have worked under USA brightness before they too went dark.  It was about undercover cops who used a warehouse full of confiscated goods to maintain a lifestyle as big players to bust high level people.    It was a fun show that got cancelled after a season with a cliffhanger.

[andromeda331]

That's Life aired only for 2 seasons 2000-2002 about Lydia DeLucca and her family. Lydia breaking off her engagement and enrolling college. It was a good show with Ellen Bursstyn, Paul Sovino, Debi Mazar, and Heather Paige Kent as Lydia.

[Jaded]

On 7/11/2019 at 9:46 AM, andromeda331 said:

That's Life aired only for 2 seasons 2000-2002 about Lydia DeLucca and her family. Lydia breaking off her engagement and enrolling college. It was a good show with Ellen Bursstyn, Paul Sovino, Debi Mazar, and Heather Paige Kent as Lydia.

I really liked that show and missed it for years after it went off the air. It's sad that Heather Paige Kent turned into the person portrayed on Real Housewives of Orange County. I was never a regular viewer of that particular version of the series but saw an episode or two along with clips in addition to her appearances on Watch What Happens Live on Bravo. She's tinkered with her face too much too.

[andromeda331]

Temporary Yours-1997 starting Debi Mazar. It only lasted 6 episodes but it was a fun show every episode she'd go to a different temp job. I really liked seeing the different jobs she had to do. Like makeup artist for a mortician and typing for a romance author. I love Debi Mazar and wish it had lasted longer.

[SVNBob]

4 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

Temporary Yours-1997 starting Debi Mazar. It only lasted 6 episodes

Somehow, that seems fitting.

[Bastet]

9 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Temporary Yours-1997 starting Debi Mazar. It only lasted 6 episodes but it was a fun show every episode she'd go to a different temp job.

I remember that show because, at the time it was announced as an upcoming show, a friend of mine was about two thirds of the way through writing a spec script about ... a woman who works for a temp agency, with the idea that every episode would be about a different job.  Obviously, my friend was not amused as she fed her pages to the shredder.  We used to watch the show together and talk about how much better her version would have been (it actually wouldn't, but that's friendship).

[Dejana]

On 7/4/2019 at 10:16 PM, Scarlett45 said:

I loved Bomb Girls, a Canadian series, we got a wrap movie but it wasn’t the same. 

Also Spider Games a soap on MTV. It was really good and it ended mid season 1, pre-emoted by coverage of 9/11 and was never aired again. 

Spyder Games--I haven't thought about that one in years! I loved soap operas back then and it got to be edgier than most, being on MTV. The family business being a gaming company made it refreshingly specific compared to all the generic tycoons of the network soaps. I remember feeling that the Natalia actress was too good for an MTV soap, but some of the others... The episodes are online and there's even part of a pilot with (some) actors/scenes that never made it to air.

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, Dejana said:

Spyder Games--I haven't thought about that one in years! I loved soap operas back then and it got to be edgier than most, being on MTV. The family business being a gaming company made it refreshingly specific compared to all the generic tycoons of the network soaps. I remember feeling that the Natalia actress was too good for an MTV soap, but some of the others... The episodes are online and there's even part of a pilot with (some) actors/scenes that never made it to air.

I didn’t know this thank you. 

[SmithW6079]

On 7/10/2019 at 11:25 PM, Stats Queen said:

Just Shoot Me! Really liked the show but doesn’t ever anywhere not can I find it on streaming sites

On 7/11/2019 at 12:07 AM, dargosmydaddy said:

Apparently seasons 4 and 5 are free to stream on Sony Crackle. I don't know why they don't have the earlier seasons...

https://www.sonycrackle.com/watch/2561

I bought the first three seasons on DVD. I agree, this was an underrated show.

[Haleth]

I was watching a show on Prime that originally aired on PBS called Homefires.  It was a lovely show about a handful of women and their families in a small English village right at the beginning of WWII.  I thought it was a great follow up to Downton Abbey.  The second season ended with a major cliffhanger

Spoiler

as a military aircraft crashed into the doctor's house where one of the characters was giving birth.

Then I find out there was no season 3.  Wait, what?  We never find out what happened???  There were other minor cliffhangers but this was a doozy.  Guess viewers will have to make up their own ending.  Dammit.

[lurkerbee]

2 hours ago, Haleth said:

I was watching a show on Prime that originally aired on PBS called Homefires.  It was a lovely show about a handful of women and their families in a small English village right at the beginning of WWII.  I thought it was a great follow up to Downton Abbey.  The second season ended with a major cliffhanger

  Hide contents

as a military aircraft crashed into the doctor's house where one of the characters was giving birth.

Then I find out there was no season 3.  Wait, what?  We never find out what happened???  There were other minor cliffhangers but this was a doozy.  Guess viewers will have to make up their own ending.  Dammit.

I was disappointed when the series ended after the second season as well. There were some books released after the series ended that concluded the story and it looks like they’ve been consolidated into one book. Amazon has it here.

[Glendenning]

Even without Samantha Smith's death, Lime Street would still have been destroyed by The Golden Girls, 227, and the complete lack of support from the American Breadcrumbling Company (As Dan Ingram called them).

As I said elsewhere, Samantha Reed Smith should have been cast in a show that was like The Torkelsons or The Wonder Years. She would have made a great Winnie Cooper in an earlier-produced Wonder Years

[tinderbox]

I enjoyed Grand Hotel and am saddened to hear the show isn’t being renewed after one season.

[proserpina65]

On ‎07‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 11:10 PM, IWantCandy71 said:

Less Than Perfect. Sitcom with Sara Rue, Eric Roberts, Patrick Warburton, Zachary Levi, Andrea Parker, Sheri Shepard, Andy Dick and Will Sasso. Early 2000's. It got shuffled around by ABC, and the last half of the last season didn't even air on ABC-it aired three years later on Lifetime. IDK why it got jerked around the way it did, but it was actually pretty funny. Nothing overly original, although having a plus size lead was unusual at the time. I remember watching the first season and loving it, and it's one show that actually remained entertaining from beginning to end. Some of the characterizations for the supporting characters was all over the place by the end, but still. It remained watchable from start to finish. I think most of the episodes are on You Tube or Amazon, but you may have to search them out. 

Oh god, that show included two of my least favorite actors: Andy Dick and Sara Rue.

[andromeda331]

8 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Oh god, that show included two of my least favorite actors: Andy Dick and Sara Rue.

Out of curiosity why Sara Rue? 

[proserpina65]

14 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Out of curiosity why Sara Rue? 

I'm not honestly sure.  Maybe her character from whatever I first saw her in annoyed me, and that's just stuck with me?  Although she also annoyed the hell out of me on Big Bang theory (to the point that I usually avoid the episodes with Stephanie), so maybe it's her.

[smittykins]

Our World(ABC, 1986-7), featuring Ray Gandolf and Linda Ellerbee.  The first half-hour ran directly against The Cosby Show, and IIRC was at the very bottom of the ratings.  This show inspired me to buy my first VCR because I wanted to tape as many episodes as I could before the axe fell.  The segment on the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre still haunts me; to this day, I get a lump in my throat when Jim McKay says “They’re all gone.”

The opening of the first episode:

[andromeda331]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I'm not honestly sure.  Maybe her character from whatever I first saw her in annoyed me, and that's just stuck with me?  Although she also annoyed the hell out of me on Big Bang theory (to the point that I usually avoid the episodes with Stephanie), so maybe it's her.

I understand that. I feel the same way about Rachel Boston and Jesse Metcalf. I don't know if its their roles, their acting or them.

[cleo]

Man Trial and Error. What a travesty this show was cancelled. Doing a rewatch- I've laughed more in the pilot than in whole other seasons of other comedies.

[biakbiak]

7 minutes ago, cleo said:

Man Trial and Error. What a travesty this show was cancelled. Doing a rewatch- I've laughed more in the pilot than in whole other seasons of other comedies.

I loved that show so much!! Is it streaming somewhere?

[cleo]

@biakbiak I don't know if it's streaming anywhere but you can buy the dvds. John Lithgow is the best.

[IWantCandy71]

On 10/24/2019 at 2:07 PM, proserpina65 said:

Oh god, that show included two of my least favorite actors: Andy Dick and Sara Rue.

Andy Dick on a personal level is a no for me, but he actually was funny opposite Zachary Levi. Sara Rue, I've only ever seen in this. I liked the character of Claude more than I liked Sara the actress.

I still think the show was treated unfairly by the network, and I do wonder what went on backstage to end up causing it to be jerked around the way it was.

[Hiyo]

Happy Endings.

[Was-MArsenault]

Dave's World and The John Larroquette Show.

I would’ve liked to see more seasons of both those shows.

[andromeda331]

59 minutes ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

Dave's World and The John Larroquette Show.

I would’ve liked to see more seasons of both those shows.

Both good shows. I hated the way the network messed with John Larroquette Show taking out everything that was great about it. 

[Was-MArsenault]

31 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

Both good shows. I hated the way the network messed with John Larroquette Show taking out everything that was great about it. 

They are really underrated shows and should get shown on TV again.

[Chaos Theory]

I guess we can did BH90210 to the list now.

it was actually a pretty fun meta show but too many people walked away early with “I don’t get it” and “why can’t they have a real reboot”. 

[Glendenning]

Samantha Reed Smith, despite no formal training, was the best thing about "Lime Street". She deserved a better role than the afterthought in an action-adventure series.

This screen-shot.. Judging by Samantha's face, they over-did her makeup.

[Was-MArsenault]

On 11/12/2019 at 7:37 AM, Chaos Theory said:

I guess we can did BH90210 to the list now.

it was actually a pretty fun meta show but too many people walked away early with “I don’t get it” and “why can’t they have a real reboot”. 

I agree, and had a feeling that it wouldn’t do well.

[zoey1996]

On 7/4/2019 at 10:16 PM, Scarlett45 said:

I loved Bomb Girls, a Canadian series, we got a wrap movie but it wasn’t the same. 

It's available now on Tubi! I started watching last night.  I'd seen a few episodes, but not the entire series, and had been looking for it for a while.

[zoey1996]

On 9/19/2019 at 9:38 AM, lurkerbee said:

I was disappointed when the series ended after the second season as well. There were some books released after the series ended that concluded the story and it looks like they’ve been consolidated into one book. Amazon has it here.

Thanks, just ordered! (referring to Home Fires)

Edited May 8, 2021 by zoey1996

[jewel21]

On 7/11/2019 at 9:59 AM, Chaos Theory said:

I was reading over the first page and someone mentioned a show called Fastlane.  It was part Charlie’s Angels Part 21 Jumpstreet.  I think it might have worked under USA brightness before they too went dark.  It was about undercover cops who used a warehouse full of confiscated goods to maintain a lifestyle as big players to bust high level people.    It was a fun show that got cancelled after a season with a cliffhanger.

I'm still beyond bitter about Fastlane. It was so good. The cast gelled really well and it was such eye candy. And I still want to know what happened to Billie, damn it. That cliffhanger bothers me so much. 

Another show I felt ended before its time was Tru Calling. Season 2 was really picking up steam and the addition of Jason Priestly was wonderful. He really made you start to question who was the actual hero, him or Tru? Was Tru, whose mission was to relive the day over and over to prevent people from dying, the good guy? Or, was Jason's character the hero for trying to keep the scales balanced and preventing Tru from deviating from Death's plan? I wanted to see that developed further but alas, it was not to be. 

FYI, it was Fox who cancelled both shows. I really hated Fox for awhile. 

[Lugal]

I'll add Lodge 49 to the list. The ending was a satisfying enough conclusion, but they were setting up for so much more.  I would have loved to see where they would have gone with a third season.

[Guest]

20 hours ago, jewel21 said:

FYI, it was Fox who cancelled both shows. I really hated Fox for awhile. 

I was torn between my hatred of FOX and American Idol.  American Idol was the problem because it filled so much of their schedule after considering they only programmed 2/3 of what the big three did in prime time.  A show had to achieve House levels of popularity to be given a chance at FOX.