# 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:** 14\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![moi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@moi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moi)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/161 "2004-02-07T15:09:40Z")
Have no nominations of my own, but I opened the thread to see if my roommate’s and husband’s pet peeves ( **Key West** and **Nowhere Man** , respectively) got mentions. Roommate, in particular, is still incensed: BEST TV show ever, he says. He recently received copies of the series someone made and has been slowly introducing me to it. Additionally, he has the huge-o **Prisoner** box set mentioned earlier by **Mr. Blue Sky**. I haven’t made my way through that series either, and let me be the first to say, they’re a little odd to watch back to back. **moi** , who also remembers **My So-Called Life** ,the “new” **Dark Shadows** and **Covington Cross** –and learned at an early age that any show she watched was bound to receive the pink slip… ---
**Author:** ![Kantalooppi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a5b964/32.png) [@Kantalooppi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kantalooppi)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/162 "2004-02-07T15:45:12Z")
**Stark Raving Mad.** ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/163 "2004-02-07T18:24:35Z")
Nobody has mentioned **My World And Welcome To It** , probably because it aired for one season in 1969-1970. (Gawd! It’s lonely bein’ old!) The show was based on the writings and cartoons of James Thurber and starred William Wyndom, who won the Emmy that season for best actor in a comedy. Unlike most comedies if the day (or even now) it possessed real wit. I long ago blocked from my memory which network ran, and then cancelled it. If I could remember I’d still be mad at them. I don’t think anyone has yet mentioned **The Charmings** , with a very funny Paul Winfield as a sarcastic Magic Mirror. Was **Fresno** ever supposed to be more than a mini-series? I would have enjoyed more of that. Another vote each for **SportsNight** and **When Things Were Rotten**. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/164 "2004-02-07T21:02:40Z")
> [@Evil Death](#): > > It doesn’t - it frees up the money to make the new show. Futurama was horribly expensive to make, even for an animated show. > > Because - and this is a widely-known fact - Futurama was cancelled in _May 2002_. Fox fucked around with the show so much that it took more than a year to show the remaining episodes. Right, okay, makes sense. For some reason, I read **prisoner** as saying _Futurama_ had been cut to free up more _time_ for _Firefly_, which was stupid of me. Still, there’s no evidence that I’ve seen that suggests that _Futurama_ was cut specifically to free up funding for _Firefly_. It might have been cut to free up money for new programming, and some of that money might have gone to _Firefly_, but that doesn’t mean that if Joss Whedon had never pitched _Firefly_ to Fox, we’d all be watching new _Futurama_s today. ---
**Author:** ![Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c67d28/32.png) [@Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weird_AL_Einstein)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/165 "2004-02-08T12:53:47Z")
> [@mug](#): > > :smack: I can’t believe I forgot one of my all-time favorite shows, even though it’s going pretty far back. Anyone else remember **Voyagers!** with Jon-Erik Hexum and Meeno Peluce? I think this only lasted one year, one and a half, tops. But great show. I remember it. I liked that the kid was my own age. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/166 "2004-02-08T21:00:35Z")
There was a **very** short-lived comedy called _The War Next Door_. Anybody catch that? Which reminds me of another short-lived show, _Spy Games_. Had the coolest fight scenes. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2004, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/167 "2004-02-23T00:42:23Z")
CBS had late night series that featured: A vigilante judge–_Justice_ something. Two cops on the best assignment ever: sex murders–\*Silk Stalkings. \* Shannon Tweed as an airplane owner. _Fly by Night_ But the best of them was _Raven_ about a ninja who can’t be called ‘ninja’ because he did kempo karate. ---
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2004, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/168 "2004-03-12T14:20:12Z")
**Wasteland** , which came out the same time as **Jack & Jill** (another good show). And did I mention **It’s like…you know?** ---
**Author:** ![laura8080](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@laura8080](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laura8080)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2004, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/169 "2004-03-12T17:06:06Z")
Firefly, and because I love Josh Whedon, [Ripper](http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-4548/) and [Buffy the Animated Series](http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-16283/) should have been given a chance. To those who don’t like Firefly, what episodes have you see? Because IMHO ‘The Train Job’ is the worst episode of the series, and it was unfortunately aired first. If you haven’t seen ‘Out of Gas’ or ‘Safe’ then you haven’t seen Firefly. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2004, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/170 "2004-03-12T17:26:40Z")
A third vote for **Undergrads!** Oh god, how I wish this would come back. For a show with only 13 episodes, I can keep watching them and never get sick of them. Even the first season of South Park and the Simpsons had some stinkers. And I discovered the show in my first year of university living in residence so I loved it since so much of it I could relate to. Damn you MTV for not wanting to bring it back. There are so many open questions still: Will Gimpy ever meet She-Prime? Did Nitz and Kimmy do “it” in the last episode? Will Nitz ever realise how Jesse feels? What’s Rocco’s second year in the frat like? And will Cal set a new world’s record for STDs? Oh yeah and at the end of the finale, they even commented only “x” more hours to sophmore year. I say boo for the tease and no follow-up. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2004, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/171 "2004-03-12T17:37:37Z")
> [@Odinoneeye](#): > > I don’t think **Best of the West** lasted a full season, but I do remember laughing hysterically every time it came on. > > [singing]In days of yor, in western lore, a man returned from Civil War. His heart beat true, beneath his vest, his name was Best, Best of the wahwahwahwah [/singing] Even today, when the word “Frog” comes up unexpectedly in coversation (hey, it happens), either my wife or I will respond “Waallll, gee, Boss!” ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/172 "2004-03-13T01:09:38Z")
\*\*Firefly :mad: Space:Above and Beyond :mad: Brimstone ☹ Brisco County jnr :mad: Strange Luck :mad: Now and Again :mad: \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/173 "2004-03-13T01:18:42Z")
oh I forgot **Miracles** :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819/174 "2004-03-13T02:25:17Z")
I’m not sure how long it ran, but **Forever Knight** , the show about a vampire cop, just because it was my daddy’s favorite TV show. He enjoyed it so much before he died. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-season-tv-series-that-should-not-have-been-canceled/226819.md?page=8)