# Best 1 season tv series that should not have been canceled **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 30, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819 "2004-01-30T20:18:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/81 "2004-02-02T14:57:01Z")
I guess I’ll be the first to nominate [Nowhere Man](http://www.vidiot.com/UPN/NM/), a neat little show that was pulled off after a single season, just as it was really starting to hit its stride. I’m guessing that the only reason it was cancelled was that it was on the then-fledgling UPN. It remains one of the best things they’ve ever done. Maybe we’ll have a DVD of that first season someday… ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/82 "2004-02-02T15:46:41Z")
Dopers never disappoint. The thread gets to page 2 and all of my choices are already mentioned. I never thought anyone would have mentioned Frank’s Place. I think that was the show that taught me at a young age if I really like a show it probably won’t last. I loved Boomtown but it looked like it was bending to pressure from the network. I think i was getting away from the non-linear story lines to try and save it self. Better to die a quick death than sell out. Cupid was a great show. It makes me wonder if the execs watch the shows before they cancel it. EZ streets had a dark, complex, well written plot and great acting from Jason Gedrick, Ken Olin and Joey Pants. You had to watch every week to keep up with the plot. It was doomed from the start. One of my other doomed favorites was Due South. Great writting acting and music. Quirky and funny and unique and doomed. The later Canadian TV only episodes are best forgotten. EZ streets and Due South are enough that I will give anything written by Paul Haggis a shot. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/83 "2004-02-02T15:57:43Z")
Odyssey 5. Didn’t even make it through an entire season and I thought it was pretty darn good… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/84 "2004-02-02T16:02:07Z")
[Coronet Blue](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061242/) ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/85 "2004-02-02T16:16:21Z")
What, exactly, does it mean when a poster called **Evil Death** says “Death to all Firefly fans”? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/86 "2004-02-02T16:43:21Z")
Was I the only one who enjoyed _Cop Rocks_? (I kid, I kid) I second **Leechboy** ’s _Brimstone_ and raise him a _G vs. E_. Same basic premise, only the second was comical and very inventive with the camera work, and just highly enjoyable in the camp. Went to shit when Sci-Fi bought it from USA and turned it into _Good vs. Evil_ and then canceled it. Usually, I like Sci-Fi, but I’ll never forgive them for this. Also, lots of people tended to like it, but I’m glad _The Tick_ died it’s early death. The cartoon and comic were funny as hell, but the live action show completely missed what made it great and created a **Mystery Men** tv show after butchering some wonderful characters. It deserved to die quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/87 "2004-02-02T16:45:18Z")
I second **Undergrads** and I’ll nominate **The Oblongs**. ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/88 "2004-02-02T17:04:22Z")
> [@El Elvis Rojo](#): > > Was I the only one who enjoyed _Cop Rocks_? (I kid, I kid) I thought of mentioning that one. My most vivid memory of that show is my friends and I mimicking one of the songs we had heard the previous night: “Healthy white babyyyy…” ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/89 "2004-02-02T18:32:26Z")
> [@El Elvis Rojo](#): > > Also, lots of people tended to like it, but I’m glad _The Tick_ died it’s early death. The cartoon and comic were funny as hell, but the live action show completely missed what made it great and created a **Mystery Men** tv show after butchering some wonderful characters. It deserved to die quickly. I’m with you on the Tick. I thought Patrick Warburton did a great job of bringing the character to life, but the show seemed to settle quickly into a rut of ambiguously gay jokes and other preditable humor. Lost all its quirk. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/90 "2004-02-02T18:32:34Z")
> [@El Elvis Rojo](#): > > Also, lots of people tended to like it, but I’m glad _The Tick_ died it’s early death. The cartoon and comic were funny as hell, but the live action show completely missed what made it great and created a **Mystery Men** tv show after butchering some wonderful characters. It deserved to die quickly. I’m with you on the Tick. I thought Patrick Warburton did a great job of bringing the character to life, but the show seemed to settle quickly into a rut of ambiguously gay jokes and other predictable humor. Lost all its quirk. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/91 "2004-02-02T19:45:00Z")
My first choices have already been covered, so I’ll throw in a couple no one’s mentioned. **Earth 2** - I thought this one had a great premise and I liked the actors (the two lead female characters were HOT), but I can see why it didn’t last. Some of the episodes were pretty poorly conceived. Still, I wish it had lasted a bit longer. **Something Is Out There** - another science-fiction failure. I watched it first because of the beautiful Maryam d’Abo. Then I discovered it had a pretty cool story and was pretty creepy and well done for a TV alien hunter show. I think I saw a two or three part pilot on one of the networks and was eagerly awaiting the series to start. It didn’t. Until, according to imdb, later when the remaining seven episodes appeared on Sci-Fi. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/92 "2004-02-02T19:57:37Z")
How could **The Prisoner** not\* be in this thread yet??? Yeah, it was a summer replacement series and not a “regular season” deal, but I think it qualifies. \*I didn’t read the whole thread, but the “find in page” function didn’t turn anything up. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/93 "2004-02-02T20:31:13Z")
Sorry, folks, but **Police Squad** doesn’t count. It was never cancelled. It was, from the beginning, designed as a limited-run series. Set number of episodes, then gone. Pity, that. It was one of my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Vezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b38774/32.png) [@Vezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vezer)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/94 "2004-02-02T20:32:17Z")
_Sam and Max: Freelance Police_ ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/95 "2004-02-02T20:51:54Z")
Shout-outs to **Police Squad!** and **Sam & Max** here as well, regardless of what **silenus** wants to quibble over. 😉 And though it doesn’t qualify because it lasted more than one season, **Sledge Hammer!** should have gone on longer than it did, I think. The resolution of the season 1 cliffhanger will never be forgotten… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/96 "2004-02-02T21:31:39Z")
I’ll second “Strange Luck,” which made me a fan of DB Sweeney. Let’s see if anyone remembers this short-lived series from the 80s: Probe. I loved this show! And from 2003, the underwatched and wonderful “Karen Sisco.” _sob_ Julie ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/97 "2004-02-02T23:46:48Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > How could **The Prisoner** not\* be in this thread yet??? Yeah, it was a summer replacement series and not a “regular season” deal, but I think it qualifies. > > \*I didn’t read the whole thread, but the “find in page” function didn’t turn anything up. Do you mean [this](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005NKCQ/qid=1075765531//ref=sr_8_xs_dvd_i1_xgl74/103-0257176-4353451?v=glance&s=dvd)Prisoner? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/98 "2004-02-03T00:02:31Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > How could **The Prisoner** not be in this thread yet??? For the same reason Taken isn’t in this thread - it was a completed story. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/99 "2004-02-03T00:11:47Z")
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who remembers _Frank’s Place_. I started watching this show from episode one, and it was such an intelligent, funny, thought-provoking show. Great writing, no laugh-track. It was so good that I thought it would have a long run, so I was shocked when it was canceled after one season. [Big Arthur] IT WAS MY IDEA TO PUT BANANAS IN THE BREAD PUDDING![/Big Arthur] ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/100 "2004-02-03T01:09:18Z")
> [@Avalonian](#): > > I guess I’ll be the first to nominate [Nowhere Man](http://www.vidiot.com/UPN/NM/), a neat little show that was pulled off after a single season, just as it was really starting to hit its stride. I’m guessing that the only reason it was cancelled was that it was on the then-fledgling UPN. It remains one of the best things they’ve ever done. Maybe we’ll have a DVD of that first season someday… 1st - oh, so many good memories! and bad (when these shows were cancelled) (I can’t believe so many of mine got listed! Yay for the dopers 🙂 ) 2nd - lil nitpick here - Nowhere Man ran for two seasons - at least, I remember two seasons… But the last show finished the plot line, IIRC all the important questions had been answered. Now, for one no one has mentioned, **[Deadly Games](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111937/)**. Cheesy as all get out, but the potential! Plot line nitpick - it was the antimatter experimenting that brought the game to life. (How do I remember this, and not my american history book?) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819.md?page=6)