Best TV show not to make it past two seasons

[maryfield48]

I made it two seasons because that's how many Sports Night had, and that's easily the best series canned by a network so early. In fact, it's one of my favourite half-hour series ever.

I also liked Bull, a Wall St. based show that TNT ran for one season, and Profit, showed on Fox in the early 90's I think.

[The Ocho]

For some ungodly reason, I liked 'Space: Above and Beyond' that used to run on Sundays on Fox after football. The production values were pretty crappy if I recall, but it was kinda cool. I think it only went two seasons, but it may have been three.

[YourFoxyGrandma]

Sports Night was fabulous. I've always been partial to Freaks and Geeks, though. I guess we'll never fully understand those crazy network executives.

[Eihli]

The Office. But I don't know if it counts because it's a British show and I don't think they normally run longer than 1 or 2 seasons.

[snakehead]

a long time ago there was a great show called 'wise guy' starring ken wahl. ray sharkey and kevin spacey played heavies.

[andyfox]

Great show. Pileggi wrote the pilot, I believe. Basically the Donny Brasco story.

[John Gaspar]

Sports Night was very good. I also liked a show on Sunday night on Fox called Hermans Head. It was after Married with Children. The other I liked was The Naked Truth with Tia (sp?)Leone.

[spamuell]

[ QUOTE ]

The Office. But I don't know if it counts because it's a British show and I don't think they normally run longer than 1 or 2 seasons.

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe it didn't make it in the US but, in the UK, The Office was HUGE, and rightly so.

[Eihli]

You live there? Do most shows last longer than that? The reason I thought all shows outside the U.S. only lasted 1 or 2 seasons was because of the special features on the Kill Bill DVD Quentin Tarentino was talking about some samurai series Kage nun Gundan or something and how they would make 1 season and if it was a hit, they would come back 4 or 5 years later and make a 2nd and it would be called Kage nun Gundan 2, like a sequel. He said most places outside the U.S. didn't have series running 7 or 8 consecutive years untill they got tired and discontinued them.

[ArchAngel71857]

I liked "John Doe" which was on Fox a couple years ago. ABC never gave "Miracles" or "Veritas: The Quest" much of a chance. Not that the latter deserved one. Of course both of those shows could be under the "Best TV shows never to make it to episode five" thread.

-AA

[thirddan]

Wise Guy by Pileggi is actually the story of Henry Hill, the story that Goodfellas is based on...

Joseph Pistone (donnie brasco) wrote a book called donnie brasco and was the basis for the movie...

Also, just for information purposes...the movie Casino is based on the book Enforcer abuot Tony Spilotro...

[Q8offsuit]

Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-20332/)

[maryfield48]

[ QUOTE ]
Joseph Pistone (donnie brasco) wrote a book called donnie brasco and was the basis for the movie...

[/ QUOTE ]

Co-operating in the hijacking of my own thread, the scene in 'Donnie Brasco' where Donnie was explaining to his fellow feds the nuanced meanings of the word "fuhgeddaboudit" was brilliant.

[thirddan]

Kindred: The Embraced....it was a drama about vampires, based on a seried of novels called "World of Darkness" it wasn't very good, but i liked the books so i like the show as well...

[TazQ]

Firefly :\

[Sponger15SB]

I would have to agree that sports night was the best show to not make it past two seasons.

[Schneids]

Freaks and Geeks

[Rubeskies]

[ QUOTE ]
For some ungodly reason, I liked 'Space: Above and Beyond'

[/ QUOTE ]

Haha, I really enjoyed this show too. I wasn't sure if anyone rembered it besides me.

PS Sports Night Ruled

[youtalkfunny]

I thought "Herman's Head" was brilliant. I was the show's biggest fan.

For about half a season, anyway.

I got annoyed, though, when every week Herman had to choose between doing the moral thing, or getting promoted/laid/rich/whatever. He always took the high road. Just ONCE, he could've boned the drunk girl!

And Jane Sibbett (Herman's slutty nemesis) was the hottest looking girl on the planet at that time.

Reminds me that "The George Carlin Show" was on about that same time, also Fox Sundays. More formulaic tripe, but it had George! Added points that the main supporting character was a bookie.

[liquidboss]

My pick is The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. I think it premiered on Fox the same night as the premiere of X-Files in the mid 90s, but unlike X-Files, it only lasted one season. Starring Bruce Campbell as Brisco County Jr. it was a great show for anyone who liked the Evil Dead movies and anything else he was in.

[daveymck]

Fawltey Towers.

End of Thread.

[maryfield48]

[ QUOTE ]
Fawltey Towers.

End of Thread.

[/ QUOTE ]

¿Qué?

[nicky g]

"Space: Above and Beyond" was great! I still remember the theme-tune; I sing it all the time for some reason. I thought it only went one season.

[spamuell]

You live there? Do most shows last longer than that?

Some do, some don't, but the length of time that a show lasts for is never a measure of its success. The Office had two series and two Christmas specials, but it was loved by almost everyone in the country.

See Daveymck's post on Fawlty Towers, it also didn't run for long and was hilarious.

[Bulldog]

I read the title and instantly thought of the two mentioned most in this thread: Freaks & Geeks (#1) and Sports Night (#2).

[Lawrence Ng]

Undergrads.

[Aces McGee]

Sifl and Olly.

-McGee

[daveymck]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Fawltey Towers.

End of Thread.

[/ QUOTE ]

¿Qué?

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you from Barcelona?

[nicky g]

There was a cartoon called Dungeons and Dragons (nothing to do with the role playing game - losers /images/graemlins/shocked.gif) about some kids that got sent to another universe by a fairground ride and kept trying to get back. It was great and I don't think it made it past two series.

Also noone has mentioned My So-Called Life yet.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
Also noone has mentioned My So-Called Life yet.

[/ QUOTE ] Thats because we all have penises.

[2planka]

Chins don't lie/

[nicky g]

/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

All this talk about people being gay, not having penises etc. Me thinks ThaSaltLady doth protest too much.

[ThaSaltCracka]

there is no saltlady /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

glad to see you have some sense of humor Nicky. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[elwoodblues]

[ QUOTE ]
Thats because we all have penises

[/ QUOTE ]
I, for one, only have one penis. TheSaltCracka and his penises notwithstanding, my so called life sucked.

[Cornbread Maxwell]

Freaks and Geeks, hands down.

[astroglide]

how has twin peaks not been mentioned yet?

[cnfuzzd]

Clearly twin peaks,, no questions asked.

peace

john nickle

[cnfuzzd]

great show

peace

john nickle

[cnfuzzd]

astro, you are the coolest lubricant ever

peace

john nickle

[B Dids]

The impression I have of Twin Peaks was that by the second season it just wasn't that good.

How many people did you know that didn't like Sports Night. It seems bizzare that it got cancelled given the universal love that it gets.

[astroglide]

as i understand it the second season was rushed because of impending cancellation

[beerbandit]

this show was pretty damn funny

cheers
beer

[Oski]

[ QUOTE ]
Wise Guy by Pileggi is actually the story of Henry Hill, the story that Goodfellas is based on...

Joseph Pistone (donnie brasco) wrote a book called donnie brasco and was the basis for the movie...

Also, just for information purposes...the movie Casino is based on the book Enforcer abuot Tony Spilotro...

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought the movie "Casino" was based on the book "Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas," by Pileggi.

It would seem so, since both the movie and book portray the life of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal. Of course the Spilotro character existed as well, but the primary focus of both the book and movie was not on Spilotro.

I am sure that Pileggi referenced "Enforcer " when writing the screenplay to Casino, but I wouldn't agree the movie was based on it.

[daveymck]

Still Fawlty Towers, twin peaks was just stupid, in particular the last episode.

Dungeons and Dragons no sure on how many series but they are out on dvd in Woolies (and probably play.com). I remeber there was one episode where they got home but then had to go back (as appose to almost getting home ). Not sure if they ever made it. My Kids dont know how lucky they are 24 hr many kids channels not 2 hours after school only.

Also have you noticed the old series of KNightmare are on Challenge (US people wont know this one neither).

[M2d]

Grand on NBC

[thirddan]

You are right, the book enforcer focuses on the Nikki Santoro character (Joe Pesci's role), but the stories are so intertwined that both books are the same for the most part...

[Legend27]

I liked Space Above and Beyond and Earth 2 was ok.

[Reef]

It had a pretty short run, but was damn good. Dunno if it made the 2 season cut.

[Aces McGee]

Did "The Critic" last more than two seasons? That show was funny as hell. Not as funny as Sifl and Olly, but close.

-McGee

[YourFoxyGrandma]

[ QUOTE ]

It had a pretty short run, but was damn good. Dunno if it made the 2 season cut.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nope, 4.

[ArchAngel71857]

[ QUOTE ]
Did "The Critic" last more than two seasons? That show was funny as hell. Not as funny as Sifl and Olly, but close.

-McGee

[/ QUOTE ]

2.5-3. You can buy the entire series on a 3-DVD set.

It's pretty funny.

-AA

[jmark]

What about Lucky?

[ArchAngel71857]

[ QUOTE ]
What about Lucky?

[/ QUOTE ]

That was a damn good show.

-AA

[jakethebake]

How has Playmakers not been mentioned? I've never even heard of most of these. The only ones I know are Freaks & Geeks and My So Called Life. But weren't those aimed at like a preteen audience?

[astroglide]

family guy had 3 seasons and now it's returning to tv with new ones

[CarlSpackler]

Andy Richter Rules the Universe - no idea how this got cancelled.

[doughhater]

Playmakers hasn't been mentioned because the thread title was BEST series to not make it past two seasons. Playmakers was atrociously bad. I had such high hopes for it that I was devastated by how incredibly bad it turned out. The characters were actually caricatures and the quality of acting was abysmal. Truly disappointing.

I also wanted to say that Sports Night was one of the best shows ever on television, and I still cannot understand how it didn't last.

[eric5148]

The Dana Carvey Show was on for one season. It was by far the best sketch comedy show of all time. I still have two episodes on tape.

The cast was Carvey, Robert Smigel (now the voice of Triumph The Insult Comic Dog), the tall skinny "reporter" from the Daily Show, and some other very funny people.

Fawlty Towers is a close second.

[nicky g]

"Dungeons and Dragons no sure on how many series but they are out on dvd in Woolies (and probably play.com). "

/images/graemlins/shocked.gif!
This is great news.

" remeber there was one episode where they got home but then had to go back (as appose to almost getting home ). "

here was one where they went back because they couldn;t bring the Unicorn. THat was dumb; they might as well have given up althogether then.

"Not sure if they ever made it. "

They didn't; it was cancelled mid-way through the series. The writers did write a final episode where they defeat Vengor and are offered the opportunity to go home. I am sad enough to have read it. It ends before they decide, with Hank just smiling. It's good!

[nicky g]

It is indeed available on play. Davey, you have made my year. This is the best news I have ever had.

Now I shall sit back and repare to be massively disappointed when it's not as good as I remember.

[daveymck]

[ QUOTE ]
It is indeed available on play. Davey, you have made my year. This is the best news I have ever had.

Now I shall sit back and repare to be massively disappointed when it's not as good as I remember.

[/ QUOTE ]

However bad it is console yourself with the fact it will be a million times better than the movie of the same name.

[Sheriff Fatman]

Murder One

Bochco drama series which I believe was a far bigger success in the UK than the US. Apparently the American audience didn't go for it as the first series covered one case over the entire 23 episodes. The US preferred a concept like LA Law which generally had a resolution at the end of each one, although the success of '24' (which is a blatant copy of the concept) seems to indicate that things have changed.

This thread is a nicely timed coincidence as the 2 series have only just been released on DVD and I finished watching the first one last night!

Going back to some of the earlier suggestions I'm kind of glad that Fawlty Towers never went beyond 2 series as I think there'd have been a lot of repetition in further episodes, which would have weakened it. Instead the 12 episodes that were made are now undoubtedly classics.

The Office was also brilliant, albeit all too brief, but you could argue that the final two episodes counted as a 3rd series. Did the American remake (why do they insist on doing this?) ever get off the ground. If it did, I am about 99.9999% certain that it would have been awful.

Sheriff

[Sheriff Fatman]

[ QUOTE ]
Now I shall sit back and repare to be massively disappointed when it's not as good as I remember.

[/ QUOTE ]

I know the feeling - Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds just wasn't the same on DVD! So much so, that I was relieved I held off from also buying The Adventures of Willy Fogg at the same time.

I have to admit, Dungeons & Dragons was a childhood favourite of mine too but I'm sure I'd be disappointed nowadays.

In fact, the only childhood cartoon series which has not deteriorated with age or the fact that I've (allegedly) grown up in Dangermouse, which remains brilliant to this day.

Sheriff

[nicky g]

Dungeons and Dragons was unquestionably better than those too though. I think of Dogtanian nostalgicaly but I don;t particularly want to watch it and it never really capture dmy imagination; and I didn't much like Willy Fogg even at the time. I absolutely loved Dungeons and Dragons and have always wished I could watch it again. I really think it was a good cartoon regardless of nostalgia value, although we shall see. Ulysses in the 31st Century is also available now; I remember it only vaguely but what I do remember was very very cool.

I never saw Dangermouse as a kid (didn;t have ITV cos I lived in Belgium), but having seen it recently, you;re right, it's amazing.

[maryfield48]

[ QUOTE ]
Murder One

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I'd forgotten about that. Even the revamped 2nd season was reasonably good, but the first was excellent.

[Ulysses]

Sports Night
Murder One (first season was excellent. second was weak.)
Action (starring Jay Mohr)

snakehead mentioned Wiseguy, but it actually went 3 or 4 seasons. However, it was only really great for Season 1 w/ the Profit/Roger Lococo storyline featuring Joan Severance/Kevin Spacey.

[daveymck]

I hated Dogtanian with a passion, even now I can flashback to the openinng titles with the stupid song "All for one and one for all muskerhounds etc" and the stupid dog at some point leaping in the air mouth agape throwing his hat in the air.

Best muskateer series was the Flashing Blade (from childhood memory).

I hated Uylesses as well.

Dangermouse is on one of the kids channels on sky, and I have to say the older stuff is much better than the current crop of crap that my kids watch, Ed Ed & Eddie, Sponge Bob Square Pants, Cow and Chicken and even to a point recess (although its ok) are so moronic and retarded that I the producers should all be lined up and shot.

Thankfully the kids see though it and the silence as they watch the simpsons is golden in our house.

[nicky g]

Dogtanian was OK.

"I hated Uylesses as well."
/images/graemlins/confused.gif
You is crazy.

[daveymck]

Wasnt theere some other similar series as well same japanese animation, cant remember its name though.

[TylerD]

The writers/creators of both Fawlty Towers and The Office only did two series by design and both shows were better for it. Just look at Only Fools and Horses, Friends and Frasier who got progressivly worse as time went on.

It must take a lot of guts to make only a set number of episodes for creative reasons when being tempted with (presumably) large pay days.

BTW: The US version of The Office was canned because it was a completely ludicrous idea.

[Lazymeatball]

Andy Richter had a great show going that had potential. Too bad he ended up on that weird show about quintuplets. Also, I am the one person who didn't like Sportsnight, not snappy enough, and I have no empathy for any of the characters.

[ArchAngel71857]

Dungeons and Dragons was unquestionably better than those too though

I used to watch that too. I downloaded them off the internet a couple months ago. they are pretty weak. the dungeon master is a rip off of Yoda. But as long as we are talking about cartoons, how about the Pirates of Dark Water?

-AA

[daveymck]

I dunno I think Fools and Horses got better with age.

Allo Allo goes into that category the first couple of series of that were fantastic.

I havent watched the office yet, never got interested in it, one of my current work collegues reckons its brillian just like what goes on in an office, however as I sit on my arse in one 40hrs a week it seems a bit busmans holiday to me.

[nicky g]

"Allo Allo goes into that category the first couple of series of that were fantastic."

Crazier and crazier. Allo Allo was uniformly terrible (although has some nostalgia value).

You should really watch The OFfice. It does capture office life extremely well, but is also very very funny.

[daveymck]

Maybe allo allo seemed better cos we would watch it at my mates house who's dad used to go into hysterics over it.

I do think the first two series were ok but thats from long term memory. It lost it more when the speccy german left.

Whats your view on Blackadder then?

[ArchAngel71857]

I'm still waiting for the premiere of Upstairs/Downstairs.

-AA

[daveymck]

ANother one I dont really like, the rise and fall of reginald perrin is better from memory but havent seen either in many years.

Some Mothers Do have em only went a couple of series too, not classic comedy but decent nevertheless. Think the constant repeats of it have rook the shine off how good the slapstick/stunts actually were.

[nicky g]

"Whats your view on Blackadder then? "

Great. Practically know the script off by heart.

[daveymck]

ok thats one we can agree on then, although first series was a bit weak, but that was after seeing the others first.

[nicky g]

Yah I agree about the first series, I've only seen a couple of them and wasn't inpired to watch the others.

[IndieMatty]

Great Question:

1. HBO Hard Knocks - Ravens/Cowboys why did they stop? The behind the scenes NFL Training Camp show was AWESOME.
1. Tenacious D - That's a Cosmic Shame
1. Prophet - Ran for 4 shows or so on Fox, it was awesome, they replay on TRIO once in a while.
1. Sports Night

0. Twin Peaks - Best Network Show Ever

[TylerD]

The problem with the first series was that it wasn't co-written by Ben Elton (this was back in the days before he sold-out).

The first series flopped so they cut the budget hugely, got rid of the outdoor, location shots and brought Ben Elton in to write with Richard Curtis, the result speaks for itself.

[daveymck]

I've read some of his books and they are a decent read, he is a much better writer than comedian.

He has calmed down a bit was relatively fromm the centre ground when on question time the other week.

[Ulysses]

[ QUOTE ]

1. HBO Hard Knocks - Ravens/Cowboys why did they stop? The behind the scenes NFL Training Camp show was AWESOME.

[/ QUOTE ]

I suspect they just ran out of interesting new storylines for future episodes and correctly thought new seasons would be basically carbon copies that wouldn't keep their core audience.

I watched the first season of Dream Job on ESPN. I thought it was the greatest. I then watched the first episode of the second season and having seen the first season, it wasn't interesting at all and I never watched again. I suspect Hard Knocks would suffer from the same problem.