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

[aradia22]

Kromm: Yeah, it's the one with Cat Deeley. It's the best hulu series I've watched so far though most TV critics were very harsh. I think it's funny and has potential and Tyler plays sweet idiot really well in contrast to the lovable jerk he played on Reaper. I was going to petition for a board but I'm not creative enough to think of titles. Oh, but fair warning, you're really going to hate Cat Deeley. By the end of the season 1, there is no way she's not going to infuriate you. 

[Kel Varnsen]

There was an article many years ago about Fox and how schitzo it is. The gist was: Fox is the only network to greenlight these weird shows that are pretty good, but they also ax them so fast if they aren't gangbusters out of the gate. And, they also meddle way to fucking much. 

 

 

As much as people complain about FOX being trigger happy I totally agree with this. I mean sure they cancel shows fast, but a lot of the low rated cult shows that they put on and then cancel, wouldn't have a chance on any other network. So as much as there is the complaint about FOX never giving them a chance, they at least gave the creators a chance to pitch their show, make a pilot and then a few more episodes. I mean how many genre shows are on CBS?

 

 But the one that will haunt me forever is the cancelling of Deadwood. Best. Show. Ever.

 

This is the worst for me, especially because even after reading a ton about it, it still doesn't make any sense to me. It seems some of the blame falls on HBO, but some of it also falls on David Milch. Plus the promise of feature length movies to wrap it up never seemed to happen either, and that seems to be all on Milch.

[Kromm]

Another Fox example (although this one had enough problems that it's maybe borderline for this list).  Jessica Alba's original fame vehicle, Dark Angel (well, technically that Flipper tv show she did as a kid was her original fame vehicle, but close enough).  Anyway, despite those flaws (bad dialogue, for example), Dark Angel had potential, and so it's for me half on the "Never Lived Up To It's Potential" list, and half on this one (because I think it still had enough of that realized to deserve at least one more try instead of just getting the boot when it did--because the main reason it's second season did so badly was that it was stuck in a Friday Night Death Slot).

 

Which brings us to... The Sarah Connor Chronicles.  A really really good show (in it's own way, better than even T2--at least in terms of worldbuilding and acting). I'm pretty sure it's ratings had already started to die earlier in Season 2, before Fox moved it to the Friday Night Death Slot, but the FNDS put the nails in the coffin.  And this one hurt far more than Dark Angel, because it was totally working.  Lena Headey, who we all know is brilliant from what she's done since, was brilliant on this show too.  I prefer her Sarah Connor to Linda Hamilton's by a factor of like... ten times.  Summer Glau, in my opinion, was never as at home with a role as she was with the one she did for this show. The other players around these two were strong too, even if these two were the heart.  This show deserved years and years that it didn't get.

Edited June 24, 2014 by Kromm

[Kel Varnsen]

Which brings us to... The Sarah Connor Chronicles.  A really really good show (in it's own way, better than even T2--at least in terms of worldbuilding and acting). I'm pretty sure it's ratings had already started to die earlier in Season 2, before Fox moved it to the Friday Night Death Slot, but the FNDS put the nails in the coffin.  

See I never bought into the concept of the Friday Night Death Slot. If your show is good, people will watch it on Friday night. There have been a number of shows that have been successful on Friday. Plus Friday night is the night of low competition and low expectations. If you can't get decent ratings on Friday, you probably aren't going to succeed on any other night when you are up against shows that get monster ratings.

[Kromm]

See I never bought into the concept of the Friday Night Death Slot. If your show is good, people will watch it on Friday night. There have been a number of shows that have been successful on Friday. Plus Friday night is the night of low competition and low expectations. If you can't get decent ratings on Friday, you probably aren't going to succeed on any other night when you are up against shows that get monster ratings.

It's not just that the shows aired on Fridays though, it's how they got there.  Often they got moved after ratings started to slip with Friday nights as a last hope. And Fox didn't have much patience. They often treated it as an unofficial "burn off" spot so that they didn't waste shows that they'd already put money into.  So yes, some shows can and did work on Fridays.  But they tended to have either been on Friday as either their point of origin (The X-Files) or have had a lot more momentum behind them (like Fringe) then the shows there for a last chance.

[WhoAmIWorkingFor]

With TSCC, the hiatus caused by the writers' strike hurt it in terms of viewer continuity.  On the other hand, the break also made them change/streamline/drop the high school plot, which was amusing, but didn't seem especially focused in the first eight episodes.

 

The post-hiatus portion was great, even with the weirder digressions like Sarah's obsession with the three dots (that turned up in a totally-unexpected area in the end). All of the stuff from the Bloody Wall of Plot Points tied together.  Garret Dillahunt was great, Shirley Manson surprised me, and... argh, the cliffhanger.

[Bort]

Some shows will thrive in the Friday Night Death Slot. I remember Smallville getting moved there to die (which had me all hopeful that I'd finally be free), only for it to do extremely well and go three more seasons. So yeah, I don't buy into Friday being a total kiss of death. If people want to watch it, they will.

[ALenore]

Knights of Prosperity,  ABC in 2007, with Donal Logue, Sofia Vergara, Maz Jobrani.  I loved this show, but it never found an audience and as far as I know they never even ran all the episodes.   I remember they were burning off the final few episodes some time in the summer, and I think the last 1 or 2 were scheduled, but got preempted.  I don't think it's ever been released on DVD or shown on Netflix.

[DittyDotDot]

Another Fox example (although this one had enough problems that it's maybe borderline for this list).  Jessica Alba's original fame vehicle, Dark Angel (well, technically that Flipper tv show she did as a kid was her original fame vehicle, but close enough).  Anyway, despite those flaws (bad dialogue, for example), Dark Angel had potential, and so it's for me half on the "Never Lived Up To It's Potential" list, and half on this one (because I think it still had enough of that realized to deserve at least one more try instead of just getting the boot when it did--because the main reason it's second season did so badly was that it was stuck in a Friday Night Death Slot).

 

Which brings us to... The Sarah Connor Chronicles.  A really really good show (in it's own way, better than even T2--at least in terms of worldbuilding and acting). I'm pretty sure it's ratings had already started to die earlier in Season 2, before Fox moved it to the Friday Night Death Slot, but the FNDS put the nails in the coffin.  And this one hurt far more than Dark Angel, because it was totally working.  Lena Headey, who we all know is brilliant from what she's done since, was brilliant on this show too.  I prefer her Sarah Connor to Linda Hamilton's by a factor of like... ten times.  Summer Glau, in my opinion, was never as at home with a role as she was with the one she did for this show. The other players around these two were strong too, even if these two were the heart.  This show deserved years and years that it didn't get.

 

I'm on board with the latter, but I don't know about the former. I tried to watch Dark Angel, but I couldn't get past two or maybe three episodes--Jessica Alba just really wasn't great in my eyes (I'd go as far as to say she was terrible) and then there were a lot of other problems that I couldn't get past. I usually have a higher tolerance for genre shows because it seems like they need a few episodes to find their way, but I just couldn't muster the energy with Dark Angel. Did really like The Sarah Connor Chronicles however and wouldn't have minded seeing more of it.

 

See I never bought into the concept of the Friday Night Death Slot. If your show is good, people will watch it on Friday night. There have been a number of shows that have been successful on Friday. Plus Friday night is the night of low competition and low expectations. If you can't get decent ratings on Friday, you probably aren't going to succeed on any other night when you are up against shows that get monster ratings.

 

I actually think some genre shows do better in the Friday-Night-Kiss-Of-Death slot. I think the bigger issue is the stigma that goes along with it--it must be sent there to die--so a lot of folks just won't invest in a show that starts there assuming that it doesn't have a future. But an established show usually will get its audience to follow them anywhere--especially in this era of DVRs and streaming. Supernatural, Hannibal, Fringe...they all did fine in that slot. None of them were ever going to be ratings powerhouses anyway. I think the main thing with scheduling is they need to be consistent so people can find the show no matter what slot they put it in.

Edited June 24, 2014 by DittyDotDot

[Kel Varnsen]

It's not just that the shows aired on Fridays though, it's how they got there.  Often they got moved after ratings started to slip with Friday nights as a last hope. And Fox didn't have much patience. They often treated it as an unofficial "burn off" spot so that they didn't waste shows that they'd already put money into.  So yes, some shows can and did work on Fridays.  But they tended to have either been on Friday as either their point of origin (The X-Files) or have had a lot more momentum behind them (like Fringe) then the shows there for a last chance.

Even the how they got there thing though, I think if those shows had stayed on another night they would have probably been cancelled faster. So while some people might look at Friday night as the place where shows go to die, I look at it more like a stay of execution. It is basically the network saying we know your show can't handle the competition of say a Thursday night, but instead of just cancelling your outright we will move to Friday where competition is not as tough, and see if your fanbase truly is loyal. And sometimes a show concept is just not a successful one for whatever reason.

[Lady Calypso]

I'm adding the recently departed but still loved Enlisted to the ring. It's really hard for me to get into sitcoms or comedies; mostly I have a unique sense of humour and frankly, I don't find poop jokes or immature jokes funny. I also don't find violence very funny, so that eliminates most of the sitcoms on television right now. I also have never gotten into Big Bang Theory and I never really watched Community, so my shows consist of basically dramas and crime shows. I think the last comedy I've gotten into recently was Cougar Town but life made me miss the last two seasons. So when I watched the first trailer for the show last year, I genuinely thought it was funny and wanted to give it a chance, but I honestly did forget about it until the third episode aired (no tv at my university). But watching the first three episodes, I knew I made the right choice; I haven't laughed harder at a comedy in years. It's one of those smart comedies with a light hearted tone to it and all the actors have great comedic timing. I also fell in love with the showrunner's passion for the show. It's clear he loves the show so much that he was willing to fight hard for it each and every single week, even with the dreaded Friday night time slot and the lower ratings. 

 

I think a lot of people go for the immature humour because they don't appreciate the subtle, more mature humour that shows like Enlisted produce. Even when Enlisted has made poop jokes, they're done in a classy way. It's just one of those shows that truly is ahead of its time, and it never really got a chance with its crappy timeslot. Some drama shows do well on Fridays, but comedies don't seem to do well at all. I think Enlisted could have done better on another day of the week, but the network never gave it a fighting chance, and I am hoping it gets picked up somewhere else because now I have no comedies to watch and I need some laughter in my life, and not the cringeworthy 'I feel sorry for you actors' laughter.

Edited June 24, 2014 by jessied112

[ganesh]

Still bummed about Breakout Kings.  It was just a fun show, and I liked the entire cast and characters, which is rare for me.

This is also a problem. While we enjoy a lot of original content nowadays, every show has to be A Show About Something. Also, usually 'dark and gritty.' Statistically, only a handful of shows will be Great Shows. But the likelihood your show can be good has never been better. But it seems like you can't just make a good show that's fun anymore. Lots of these shows fall into that.

 

Another one that still stings was Legend of the Seeker.  Yes, it was a syndicated, fantasy show, but after a few rough episodes early on, it actually became kind of awesome. 

If this was the 90s, LOTS would have been on for 5 seasons at least. It's Xena, Hercules, Sentinel, HIghlander. Syndication hurt it. It needed to be on some network somewhere. I think now it could have found a home. It was certainly better than the dreadful Camelot on Starz, and Starz doesn't give a fuck, they'll air whatever if they think it's good. 

 

So as much as there is the complaint about FOX never giving them a chance, they at least gave the creators a chance to pitch their show, make a pilot and then a few more episodes.

Part of the problem is that the show never gets off the ground before it's cancelled. This is the problem with a lot of broadcast tv because they have to fit into the same 20+ episode season and run for five years. If the concept isn't sustainable, they get rid of it. Many shows don't fit into that. I think if the broadcast networks only want to show reality tv and procedurals, then fine. But if they want to compete with cable, I think they should invest more in miniseries. 

 

I'm pretty sure it's ratings had already started to die earlier in Season 2, before Fox moved it to the Friday Night Death Slot, but the FNDS put the nails in the coffin.

With TSCC, the hiatus caused by the writers' strike hurt it in terms of viewer continuity. 

See I never bought into the concept of the Friday Night Death Slot. If your show is good, people will watch it on Friday night.

Some shows will thrive in the Friday Night Death Slot.

I think TSCC suffered mostly due to the strike. 

 

FNDS is really only a Fox thing. Farscape and SG1 did just fine on Friday nights too. As it was said, they FOX shows there as a burn off almost. They know the connotation. Think back when recorded television wasn't a thing. You actually had to watch a show on Friday. I don't know how well known this is, but the X Files was on its last legs was going to be cancelled. Fox moved it to Sunday because they literally had no other original programming except the Simpsons, and this was *just* before Sunday Night Television is the Best Television, right before The Sopranos basically established this. Then the X Files exploded. 

 

So, yes, Friday nights on Fox was a death slot. Even Firefly suffered because it was just still before the recorded era. I had to watch Farscape instead of Firefly because I couldn't record or d/l the show or watch live streaming. Dollhouse was slightly before or just started the recorded era, and at that point, networks still weren't factoring in the recorded viewing as part of the ratings. They actually didn't for a long time. Fringe survived on Friday nights partially because it was a different television climate. 

 

Networks are just finally catching up to how people watch tv nowadays and had a lot of these shows been around now, they would have done so much better. Look at Breaking Bad. If Firefly was around in the DVR era, *and* if they put it on netflix like BB was, it would have made it through a few seasons easily.

[DittyDotDot]

So as much as there is the complaint about FOX never giving them a chance, they at least gave the creators a chance to pitch their show, make a pilot and then a few more episodes.

 

I agree that they will give someone a chance, the problem for me is it seems that they greenlight these projects that they're not really so keen on the concept to begin with. So they tinker with it to make it more what they think will be popular, but usually just bastardizes the show to a certain extent. Firefly is a perfect example of that. On some of the commentaries, Joss Whedon talks about how the network was never to fond of the cowboys or space parts of the show and they kept getting notes from the network telling them to tone down those aspects--which was the entire premise of the show to begin with. Plus, they aired the episodes out of order and kept moving it around so people couldn't find it. I doubt that Firefly would have ever been a ratings powerhouse, but I think it could have found a following if it was given better treatment. Actually, it does seem to have found a following, just not when it needed to.

[Bort]

I think TSCC suffered mostly due to the strike.

The strike also killed Men in Trees. It did well in the ratings before but post-strike, it never recovered.

[ganesh]

Fox made Whedon create the train robbing episode for E1 rather than what he wanted the first episode to be too iirc. Networks are their own worst enemies I swear.

[DXD526]

The title of this thread brings two shows immediately to mind: Freaks and Geeks and Sports Night. Both ran, briefly, in the late 90s and both cut down in their prime. Still a couple of the best shows ever.

 

More recently, I'm still pissed at FX for its swift scuttling of Totally Biased. I'll never understand how that show was handled: broke in as a weekly, the network seemed to get that it had something with great potential and put it on its new FXX channel Mon-Thurs, then canceled it after a couple of months. The fact that many people didn't (and still don't) know that FXX exists most likely accounts for the lower-than-expected ratings, but this show was never given a chance. Why did they bother putting it on in the first place? FX and FXX are dead to me.

[Bastet]

I don't know how well known this is, but the X Files was on its last legs was going to be cancelled. Fox moved it to Sunday because they literally had no other original programming except the Simpsons, and this was *just* before Sunday Night Television is the Best Television, right before The Sopranos basically established this. Then the X Files exploded.

 

The X-Files moved from Friday nights to Sunday nights - bumping Married With Children, which was on its last legs, to Saturday nights - during its fourth season, when it had already moved from cult favorite to "legitimate hit" in the ratings; it had more than doubled its number of viewers since its inception, was FOX's number one show among the coveted age demographic, won its timeslot, and had started to crack the top ten.  FOX execs wanted to build on that steady momentum (and heightened publicity, nominations/awards, etc. of that time) and pick up even more viewers by moving it to a night when viewership was higher across television - especially since the other networks' Sunday night movies were slipping in the ratings - and thought giving Millenium the Friday night timeslot would make it the next hit (oops). 

 

I know some XF fans who would put Millenium in this category, but that show never appealed to me in the slightest.

Edited June 24, 2014 by Bastet

[ganesh]

I don't remember it that way. I remember that it was on the bubble for most of the third season. Critically acclaimed but short in the ratings. X Files was paired with Sliders, which died after the X Files move to Sunday.

[Bastet]

I don't remember it that way. I remember that it was on the bubble for most of the third season. Critically acclaimed but short in the ratings.

 

Your memory is just a season off.  It was on the bubble in the second season (even though its numbers had gone up significantly since the first season, they were still low), but in no danger after the third season's performance; it averaged nearly 17 million viewers that season (as opposed to fewer than 10 million viewers in the second season), picked up an entire point in the ratings and several percentage points in the share, etc.  That's when it started being written about in entertainment media as a mainstream or "legitimate" hit instead of a cult favorite, and FOX decided to capitalize on that by moving it to a more mainstream night.  Chris Carter was nervous the show was actually going to lose its momentum because of the shift, but it just kept going -- picking up another 2 million + viewers and another point in the ratings in season four.  (It then held steady in season five, its first full season on Sunday nights, before starting to slide in season six and every season after.)

Edited June 24, 2014 by Bastet

[aradia22]

 

I agree that they will give someone a chance, the problem for me is it seems that they greenlight these projects that they're not really so keen on the concept to begin with. So they tinker with it to make it more what they think will be popular, but usually just bastardizes the show to a certain extent.

Well, Fox gave me Glee and Kevin Reilly (before he was fired) did believe in The Mindy Project and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

[Ujio]

I'd say Rubicon was a good example of a show that debuted and died before its time.

 

Great cast, superb writing, and wonderful production value -- it almost seemed as if it were too intelligent for its own good. 

Yes, it moved at a glacial pace, but I considered it a part of the show's charm.  And the pace did pick up towards the end when it really counted.

 

Were it on air today, I think more people would get into the puzzle-solving and generate a lot more buzz through social networks. 

more people would get into the puzzle-solving and generate a lot more buzz through social networks. 

[ElleryAnne]

American Gothic.  Also Invasion.  Both created by Shaun Cassidy, of all people, but both were very good with a slow-building eeriness.  

 

The network killed American Gothic with scheduling and running episodes out of order, although I think it also suffered somewhat when Jake Weber's character was gone from the show.

 

Invasion, I think, just never found enough of an audience.

[DittyDotDot]

I never watched Invasion, but remember really being interested in American Gothic, but couldn't ever find when it was on. I always thought it was me as to why the episodes seemed out of order. It was definitely ahead of it's time as I recall.

[ElleryAnne]

remember really being interested in American Gothic, but couldn't ever find when it was on. I always thought it was me as to why the episodes seemed out of order.

 

 

Nope, it wasn't just you.  It takes real effort to watch that show in proper order, because even the DVD set was released with the episodes out of order.  The assorted PTB really messed up with that one.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

"Someone's at the door..."

 

Sarah Paulson, who played Meryln Temple, went on to play Miss Isringhausen in Deadwood, in addition to having several roles in American Horror Story, so fortunately that wasn't the last we saw of her.

 

Now I have to nominate the US version of Prime Suspect. Obviously Helen Mirren is the only real Jane Tennison, but Maria Bello should have been given more of a chance to make her version of the character her own. And NBC was actually the guilty party here, not Fux or ABC.

[spaceytraci1208]

American Gothic. Also Invasion. Both created by Shaun Cassidy, of all people, but both were very good with a slow-building eeriness.

The network killed American Gothic with scheduling and running episodes out of order, although I think it also suffered somewhat when Jake Weber's character was gone from the show.

Invasion, I think, just never found enough of an audience.

I just came here to mention American Gothic! It aired on CBS, right? That was probably the biggest mistake...during that time Touched By An Angel was the ratings juggernaut for the network, and American Gothic just didn't fit. It seems like it would've worked better on FOX, but we all know that would've been far from a safe bet

[Kromm]

Airing shows out of order seems to be the big form of network sabotage, aside from a questionable timeslot (which matters less and less now in the days of timeshifted viewing). Fux is definitely the king of airing shows out of order.  Network concept interference and network-assigned casting would probably be third and fourth in order of the network sins.

[Kel Varnsen]

Network concept interference and network-assigned casting would probably be third and fourth in order of the network sins.

Except when it works. I mean Tina Fey wanted Rachel Dratch to play Jenna. The role went instead to Jane Krakowski and I would have to think that with Rachel Dratch it would have been an entirely different show.

[ToxicUnicorn]

Now I have to nominate the US version of Prime Suspect. Obviously Helen Mirren is the only real Jane Tennison, but Maria Bello should have been given more of a chance to make her version of the character her own. And NBC was actually the guilty party here, not Fux or ABC.

I LOVED this show.  Very disappointed and confused when it was cancelled so early.  I would watch it in a heartbeat if it were resurrected somewhere.  That cast was great, and the tone was so understated.  Such a welcome relief from the hyper-reality and very important darkness that is everywhere these days.

 

Good thread - I'm learning about quite a few shows I'd like to check out.

[blugirlami21]

I agree with most of the shows mentioned already:

 

Dead Like Me

Wonderfalls

The 4400

Kyle XY

Joan Of Arcadia

 

I'll add:

Fringe

Dollhouse

Angel

Almost Human

[selkie]

Reaper reminded me of Brimstone from the late 90s- cop named Ezekiel Stone  kills his wife's rapist, dies a few months later and finds himself in hell because of the murder, and is offered a deal with the Devil that if he can help the Devil recpature 113 souls that staged a jailbreak from Earth, he'll get a second try at life and the chance for redemption. It only lasted 13 episodes before Fox cancelled it, and I think would have done better a few years later like Supernatural did.

[ganesh]

Airing episodes out of order just seems very disrespectful to the actors and directors to me. I'm not all acting is the craaaffffttttt or anything, but if you're trying to establish world-building or if it's two leads and you're trying to develop them as partners or something, it seems like you're just shooting yourself in the foot airing it out of order. 

Edited June 25, 2014 by ganesh

[Kromm]

Fringe

Dollhouse

Angel

Almost Human

Other than Fringe, I think most of those are being somewhat better covered by the Shows That Never Lived Up to Their Potential topic--at least in my personal opinion.  Take Dollhouse.  Sure it's a shame we didn't get to see certain things unfold, but there was so much they screwed up, I couldn't totally blame the network for yanking it.  Almost Human, in contrast, was screwed up largely BECAUSE of the network, but again, it was all unrealized potential, not a show that was working fine (like most of the ones talked about in this topic) but that got taken away despite that.  Angel kind of falls in the cracks between the two topics.  Arguably it had been going fine and then started on a decline.  The issue is if it could have fixed itself eventually or not.

Edited June 25, 2014 by Kromm

[aradia22]

 

Take Dollhouse.  Sure it's a shame we didn't get to see certain things unfold, but there was so much they screwed up, I couldn't totally blame the network for yanking it.

Agreed. Dollhouse was a mess. Victor and Sierra were fantastic. Alan Tudyk and some of the other supporting players had their moments. But Eliza was a dud (even if she was supposed to be a blank slate she couldn't even "Keanu" it properly) and the plot was so convoluted I didn't feel like they had something to say or a clear idea about the mythology of their world. It was the first Joss Whedon show I tried (Dr. Horrible aside) and I watched all of it hoping it would somehow morph into the kind of show that has inspired so much fan fervor (like Buffy, Firefly, Angel, etc.). They put me out of my misery by cancelling that show. But I will always be grateful to Dollhouse for turning me on to The Bird and the Bee who are one of my favorite acts now.

[Jeebus Cripes]

I really liked Awake, but it seems I was the only soul watching it. 

[ToxicUnicorn]

I was interested in that one too, Jeebus Cripes, so that makes two of us.  It's too bad we never got to see how that parallel structure was going to work out.

 

ETA: Plus the opportunity to see Lucius Malfoy in another light.  I expected viewers to turn out in droves!

Edited June 25, 2014 by ToxicUnicorn

[Jeebus Cripes]

Oh, make no mistake, I was there for Jason Isaacs! Dude needs to be on my TV again in some capacity. That said, the show was interesting and quite good. I wonder how it would have done on a different network.

[blugirlami21]

I agree.  I think those choices were more about how much I loved those shows than anything else.  I definitely agree about Almost Human.  I almost feel like Fox didn't want it to be succesful. 

 

I also agree with Awake.  It had such an interesting premise and I don't think it was allowed to find its footing. 

 

I don't know if anyone remembers a show on CBS called Threshold, I was really bummed when that one was cancelled so quickly

[Kel Varnsen]

Take Dollhouse.  Sure it's a shame we didn't get to see certain things unfold, but there was so much they screwed up, I couldn't totally blame the network for yanking it.  

Yea I totally see why they cancelled Dollhouse. I watched the first 4 or 5 episodes and they were all terrible I thought. I mean most of them were bad action movie cliches (people hunting people!). I actually gave it more of a chance than I probably would have if it had been some generic show. And yes I know the episodes were aired out of order, but those first episodes were still written by the creative staff, and they were still terrible. I was basically the target market for that show, single guy age 18-35 who already likes genre shows from this creator. If they couldn't convince me to watch the show, what hope did they have with the general public.

Edited June 25, 2014 by Kel Varnsen

[DittyDotDot]

I really liked Awake, but it seems I was the only soul watching it. 

 

You weren't the only soul, but we're a very small group and is a perfect fit here. An original and unique storytelling vehicle that just needed a bit more time to find it's legs, IMO.

[cynicat]

I'm a little surprised Arrested Development has not been mentioned, but perhaps that's because it found it's way back. That was (is?) a show that I believe was at the tipping point of popularity and it was yanked.  

 

Also, didn't the original Star Trek have only a handful of seasons?

 

[Kromm]

Also, didn't the original Star Trek have only a handful of seasons?

No, that was in our Mirror universe.  In ours it had 11 seasons!!!  11 I say!

[Bort]

My objections to Dollhouse qualifying for this category have been covered but I also don't think Fringe belongs here either. Considering the toilet the ratings were always in, it's a miracle FOX didn't cancel it after the first season. It got five, that's four more than I expected.

And Angel? That also had five seasons. I was ready for it to go at the end there.

[Kromm]

Well also I think that Fringe got to properly play its story out.  Maybe ideally they'd have had a full-sized last season, but it wasn't much of a compromise overall.

And think about it.  Overall Fox was pretty fair to Fringe at the end.  They clocked in at around 3m viewers per episode in season 4.  But they STILL renewed it (and then it did less than 3m per episode for those remaining 13 eps).

[Raja]

Seconding Vegas. It would've made an excellent block with CSI, showing LV then and now. I'm not sure where they were going to go but I was willing to watch. Quaid was getting on my nerves a bit, though.

Is there some kind of music rights issue? The season DVD set seems way over priced. Up there were the first movies on VHS used to be

[DittyDotDot]

I think Fringe definitely got a fair shake and for once it wasn't FOX's fault. Granted it struggled to find an audience and was somewhat before it's time, but it did get a chance to tell it's story at least. Even though I never watched Angel, I'd say the same thing about that one too and probably Arrested Development (I did watch that one though.)

 

Maybe we need a thread for those shows that nobody seemed to watch, but were brilliant--no matter if they got the shaft or not. Eh, too close to this one I guess.

[ganesh]

I think Fringe definitely got a fair shake and for once it wasn't FOX's fault.

 

I can see all the execs sitting around, "I know we're Fox, but let's just do them this one."

 

Star Trek TOS got 65 ish episodes before it was canned.

[ElleryAnne]

I don't know if anyone remembers a show on CBS called Threshold, I was really bummed when that one was cancelled so quickly

 

 

Great cast, even though I worried that they wouldn't be able to keep the plot from getting too convoluted.  I was sorry it didn't get a second season, though.  I think it deserved one.

[Kromm]

Great cast, even though I worried that they wouldn't be able to keep the plot from getting too convoluted.  I was sorry it didn't get a second season, though.  I think it deserved one.

Dinklage, Spiner and Gugino, if I recall correctly.

[Kel Varnsen]

I'd say the same thing about that one too and probably Arrested Development (I did watch that one though.)

 

Really liked AD but I would say the same thing. I mean FOX let the show run for 3 years, it was an emmy winner for best comedy, was getting all kinds of press (things like best of lists), they moved it to their Sunday night comedy block. Even with all of that it still couldn't find an audience. So what was FOX supposed to do. Especially since they even talked on the DVD's about how it was more expensive to produce than your average comedy, because of the larger than typical cast, and all the cut-aways and quick scenes they would do (more scenes mean more places you have to set up a crew).