Favorite quickly cancelled television series

[friend of the friendless]

Sirs, Madames,

I can't explain why but I'm always drawn to series that struggle or fail to get traction. It doesn't mean they're bad, ie a case to be made that Freaks and Geeks is one of the greatest comedy series if not the greatest ever.

A few stick out for me:

Hack
The Nine
Man of the People
Bay City Blues
The Senator
My World and Welcome to It
Richie Brockelman

Others?

YHS, etc

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Tales of the Gold Monkey.

 

[secretariat]

Cop Rock

 

[friend of the friendless]

Sirs, Madames,

Knights of Prosperity
Bob
I'll Fly Away (just got it on black-market DVD)
Nichols

YHS, etc

 

[RedCanuck]

How quickly cancelled are we talking? I still love SportsNight for what it's worth.

 

[micropolitan guy]

Buffalo Bill (Dabney Coleman was great)

And Alas, probably Detriot 187

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Andy Richter Controls the Universe

 

[friend of the friendless]

Sirs, Madames,

One season is a quick cancellation. Less than a season is more common now than it used to be. Early second is a quick one, if it comes on as a mid-season replacement.

Arrested Development doesn't qualify. SportsNight would.

Buffalo Bill and The Slap Maxwell Story are absolute gems.

YHS, etc

 

[dreunc1542]

Firefly is my favorite show that only made it a year.

 

[Shoeless Joe]

Tales of the Gold Monkey.

That's funny. The very first thing that popped into my head. I loved that show.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Peter Falk's Trials of O'Brien, from the mid-60s.

One season, 22 episodes.

Elaine Stritch was his secretary.

Consistently tremendous.

 

[Webster]

off the top of my head:

Rubicon (although the finale made me less upset)
Love Monkey
Better Off Ted (while 2 seasons, beyond me how this wasn't a huge hit)
Eyes

 

[Moderator1]

Freeks and Geeks

 

[Freelance Hack]

Rubicon (although the finale made me less upset)

Loved Rubicon up until the final, really up to the final 15 minutes or so. Almost seemed like an f--k you ending.

I'll second fotf on Slap Maxwell. Terribly underappreciated show.

 

[friend of the friendless]

Sirs, Madames,

John from Cincinnati
I even made a pilgrimage to Imperial Beach to visit sites. I know people loathed it. Has anyone ever had a worse lead in: the final Sopranos episode. People were already scratching their heads.

Mr Smith
Completely misunderstood show. The chimp had Emerson's and Thoreau's DNA.

Don't miss: Run Buddy Run, Mr Terrific

YHS, etc

 

[GoochMan]

Playmakers.

 

[Killick]

I'll second "Love Monkey." Sadly, because of the music they employed and the hoops they'd have to jump through to license it for a DVD release, it's another Tom Cavanaugh effort we'll never get to relive on video.

Gotta go with a BBC series, too: "Mulberry." Nice little show about the heir to title of grim reaper who befriends an elderly crank and tries to get her to enjoy life before he's to take her. Lasted two seasons, but Brit seasons are eight episodes, so I'm saying it qualifies. Never got to see her reaction to finding out the truth.

 

[Bristol Whipped]

I think Sports Night lasted two seasons. And since we're on the topic, I discovered last week that it's on Netflix instant streaming, so I burned through the whole first season.

Also, I really like Firefly. I didn't discover it until the show was already canceled and out on DVD, but it's fantastic.

 

[thegrifter]

Firefly
The Black Donnellys
Jericho (last-minute second season doesn't count to me)
Journeyman

 

[spikechiquet]

My TV viewing habits are littered with one-hit wonders:
My Co Called Life
Life As We Know It
Freaks and Geeks
Undeclared
Life on Mars (US version)
Journeyman
Season 1 of Twin Peaks (just stop before you hit Season 2)


The Event (just kidding...)