Building off Movies that made a big pop culture splash but are now disporportionately[sic] forgotten, what are some TV shows that suffered the same fate?
Ally McBeal.
Thirtysomething.
I think they both date badly.
Soap
NYPD Blue.
Welcome Back, Kotter
Family Ties
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Hill Street Blues
Captain Video – still the most successful SF TV show (more episodes than Doctor Who), and the zero point for all US SF TV shows
The Quatermass Xperiment – not as successful, but the zero point for UK televised science fiction
Laugh-In – its influence on comedy is everywhere.
Twin Peaks.
The Electric Company
I don’t want to fight the premise, but I think it’s clear only a tiny percentage of television shows remain relevant past their original showing, mostly due to syndication. It would be far easier to list the few shows that made it in syndication than list the thousands that didn’t.
Boston Public
Alias Smith and Jones
An American Family
Arnie
Bridget Loves Bernie (Highest-rated series to be canceled after one season)
Story Theater
Picket Fences and The Practice both won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series two years in a row. Who talks about them today?
Hardly obscure in the UK. There was even a remake a few years ago.
Heathen!
Then there are shows like Herman’s Head, which lasted just long enough to make a decent-sized cultural impact but ended two episodes short of the minimum required for syndication.
Even if the baseline state is failure, “disproportionately” means exceptional even when adjusting for the baseline. The criteria is shows that people were fairly confident should have attained cultural relevance but failed to.
I agree. Twin Peaks to me is the exact opposite of this phenomena, which is a show that wasn’t huge when it was on but has only attained more cultural relevance over time.
Although I disagree with you about Hill Street Blues. It was at the risk of fading but I think The Wire rethrust it back into cultural landscape.
Yeah, but most shows canceled early in didn’t make a “big splash” either or else they wouldn’t have been canceled.
The other day I was thinking about Cagney & Lacey and it occurred to me that I couldn’t say or remember a single thing about it beyond “Had two lady cops” despite it being a fairly big deal at the time. Show ran for seven seasons though between 1981-1988.
On a slightly different tack, In the 90’s, Nickelodeon came out with a string of original, excellent children’s programming like Rugrats, Ren & Stimpy, Rocko’s Modern Life, Aaahh! Real Monsters, Hey Arnold and Angry Beavers which are still remembered fondly and referenced to this day. Then, in the middle of all this was Doug which was a show that got great ratings while it was on but so bland it basically disappeared from the cultural consciousness as soon as it went off the air.
Here Come The Brides. Mail order brides sent to loggers in Seattle, starring Bobby Sherman and Joan Blondell. … Well, it was a big deal to me and other teenage girls back in the day 
- we discussed it in depth the next day at school, if not on the phone right after an airing.
The original CSI was a huge international hit, but I never hear it mentioned these days. (Is it still even on?) I quit watching not long after William Peterson left the series, but ten years ago, I couldn’t wait to see what it was going to be about this week!
I’ve seen every episode of excellent shows like The Sopranos, Crime Story, and Twin Peaks, usually more than once; while I still might watch one occasionally today, I no longer feel any real need to. I guess that’s only natural once you know how things are going to end.
On the other hand, I hate to miss reruns of Columbo and Batman, even though I know virtually each episode by heart. Does this make me weird? :dubious: 
