TV shows that should have been good but weren't

Lost

I liked Studio 60. I loved Boomtown. I liked Smith and The Nine and neither lasted a season.

 

My Boys

 

I assumed this thread would be about Heroes. First season - awesome. Every other season - miserable crap.

 

I liked Studio 60 a lot as well. It suffered from two pretty large problems - the fact that the show-within-a-show wasn't funny, and the gross miscasting of both the female leads.

 

Totally agreed. It's not that it was an awful show -- it just couldn't overcome those significant flaws. The show-within-a-show was horrendous, and when the premise is that these brilliant guys are saving quality TV through this show, that's a big problem.

 

I loved the writing on Studio 60. Loved MOST of the actors. Still grieve for that show.

 

It's Like, You Know. The series, which ran from 1999 to 2001, was an attempt to draft off the heat of Friends with a cast of youngish, quirky people. Had Jennifer Grey playing herself, but with her nose work, she wasn't the interesting Jennifer Grey from Dirty Dancing that would have held viewers, but just another cute actress. And also had the slut from My So-Called Life, but she had no personality on this show, which didn't have the heart or the writing of Friends.

 

Twin Peaks.

I'm not sure how they could have kept up the initial vibe, but the potential was there. Instead, it took a turn for the very bizarre and, once they revealed Laura Palmer's killer, there was no reason to keep watching. Unless you were a freak, in which case bless you and be on your way.

Or maybe it should have just been a 10- or 12-part miniseries instead. Geez, remember when miniseries absolutely ruled TV? I miss those days.

 

2006, a show called "What About Brian"
I was kind of enjoying it and it just suddenly disappeared.

 

So, apparently their entire audience was SportsJournalists.com.

 

I loved that show. I've been told by those who did not that you had to be from California to get it.

Evan Handler, Jennifer Grey, A.J. Langer (who was on My So Called Life) and Chris Eigeman, who has been in a bunch of Whit Stillman movies.

 

Studio 60 also had one of the most expensive casts ever, which is rare for a show in its first season. If a show like that doesn't deliver immediately, it has almost no chance for survival.