Hehehe.
Huh. IMDB says they are both 1984… Weird.
It might hurt to much to frak this series… Great build up, then nothing…
I took out a few series from my list that had three seasons…
We loved Reaper, is was moving in such a great direction when it got the axe and no closure. I was a huge fan of Defying Gravity too.
Several years ago ABC had a show called Homefront about life back in the states as servicemen came home from WWII. I loved that short-lived show.
Armando, since you liked Pushing Daisies, give “Wonderfalls” that I mentioned above a try. Same show runners, and Lee Pace was in it too.
Mine technically doesn’t count because it had two seasons, but Carnivale was cancelled well before it’s time…
I’m gonna focus on lesser know series…
wonder falls frickin hilarious nothing serious just plain weird fun. so very endearing, because its going out of its way to not be.
miracles think about as X files but full on focus on drama it was heartbreaking; scary not horror, not fancy monsters of crazy effects. just great acting storytelling. brought me to tears more than once i would usually end the episode with feeling uplifted and sad at the same time definition of the bittersweet ending.
kings… So very good whoever at NBC canceled it can just burn, absolutely brilliant the acting storytelling, and completely misunderstood series. its was modern Shakespeare. and was killed like dog
I’m going to define short-lived as being just one season (or less), otherwise I’ll be here all day.
Firefly - of course. First series I thought of.
Caprica - WHY, Syfy, WHY? I’m still so angry about this.
Virtuality - the freaking potential. Also, uber hot lead guy. Yes, sometimes, that matters.
Wonderfalls - Bryan Fuller is a mad genius. I don’t know how he does it every time
The Middleman - Great lines, great characters, awesome.
My So-Called Life - I LOVE almost everything about this series, even the darn cliffhanger.
Freaks and Geeks - I always wished we find out how Lindsay turned out after that summer.
Undeclared - underrated as it was in my opinion one of the few series that highlighted things so true to being in college that other shows never ever bothered to do. Hilarious show.
Space Above and Beyond - I really wished there were more just to see how it goes. A podcast would be the most excellent!
Andy Richter controls the Universe - maybe it was too ahead of its time. I’m not sure why it never succeeded as a show.
Threshold - I liked the concept a whole lot.
Drive - crazy concept, but I really would have liked to see how the story would have progressed.
Rubicon - I wish the ending was anything but the ending we actually got.
Studio 60 - Just kidding. I know a lot of people loved the series, but I was real unhappy with it myself. So much it affected my love for Sorkin’s other shows like Sports Night (which I still like a whole lot, just a little less than before). Yet, I really, really, really, liked the pilot of Studio 60.
Oh, I know. I’ve caught maybe a few minutes of it and can’t seem to find it anywhere ever (since I have yet to get a Netflix account. Thanks, bad economy).
Andy Richter controls the Universe - maybe it was too ahead of its time. I’m not sure why it never succeeded as a show.
Dear Crom, how could I have forgotten about Andy Richter Controls the Universe!?! What a brilliant show that was! Super quirky and bizarre and simply delightful (and is it me, or did it predate the kind of humor that made Scrubs so succesful by a year or two?).
The same year that Andy Richter came out there was a show with Julia Louis Dreyfus called Watching Ellie which lasted maybe five episodes but was hilarious. It was the same conceit as 24 (which premiered that same season): follow someone in real time during the length of an episode. Only Ellie was a freelancing singer and actress in L.A. getting into ridiculously absurd situations. I remember it being very funny, but haven’t seen it since it aired, so I have no idea how it would stand up.
Another short lived show that I think of fondly is Boomtown. It was a cinematic, follow the same story from different POV’s type of show before those kinds of shows were everywhere, had very well drawn, consistently developing characters, simple stories that revealed themselves to be utterly compelling and complex with every different viewpoint and just plain awesome. Technically, it did have a second season, but that was retooled beyond recognition and totally killed the show (and was, therefore, never issued on DVD).
Can I also add HBO’s Rome to the list? It had two seasons, sure, but it was supposed to have five and the second season felt rushed (even while ending up being pretty satisfying anyway) because of it.
youtube is your friend in this. I won’t post direct link but its there.
Yeah, the Blue Thunder series hit the same year as Airwolf. Both of them were attempts to capitalize on Blue Thunder the movie, with Roy Schieder and Daniel Stern.
At the end of their days, Rome, Carnivale, and Deadwood all got short shrift.
Funny: Nobody’s mentioned Cop Rock.
While Sports Nite definitely got short shrift, it did get two full seasons’ worth of show.
The greatest television injustice is definitely Freaks and Geeks. It was brilliant and there are only 13 episodes of that sheer brilliance.
^^^^ What he said.
Man, you guys reminded me of a lot of good stuff that was cancelled.
Flashforward (I’ll prolly be the only one to list it)
Nope.
FlashForward
Others:
Caprica :mad:
Sports Night (Two seasons made, but less then that aired originally, so I’ll let it be on the list.)
Crusade
I thought Flash Forward was a melted hot mess. Where was it even going? What did any of it mean? Why did it spend episode after episode going nowhere, and most importantly, why was Joe Fiennes the lead? They could have gotten more charisma out of an old classroom chalkboard.
Firefly
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
is it weird that i actually think BSG is a short lived series?
I had completely forgot about this show till about a month ago when I had some kind of flashback. I remember loving this show as a kid. I wanted a Power Suit so bad.
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. - Bruce Campbell - Need I say more?
M.A.N.T.I.S. - A paralyzed African-American scientist builds a powerful exo-skeleton in order to walk again, and uses his new abilities to fight crime.
Added Space: Above and Beyond to my Netflix queueueue. I’ll start up a play-by-play once I start watching.
Freaks and Geeks had a spot on my shelf until I started seeing the cast showing up in EVERYTHING and it made me sad that such a brilliant show was canceled. Those kids were me in high school. Same for Undeclared, really.
I can’t disagree with Fiennes but other characters/actors made the series for me. I think the writers had an arc in mind, but needed the first season to get crap established. Like B5’s or TNG’s first season you know?
Good to see my list has some overlap with other people’s.
Forgot about Mantis. I know I enjoyed it, but I can barely remember anything about it except for Carl Lumbly. I do remember thinking of him as Mantis, when I saw him on Alias.
Anyone think of Star Trek (ToS) as short-lived? Certainly ended before it’s time.
Brisco County was the BOMB! I used to watch that and Thunder in Paradise all the time. I feel like Brisco had a decent length run though? 3 seasons?
One Season - 27 episodes
It’s really a shame quality, story and performance have no bearing on how long a show runs. 