# Great Shows Cancelled after \<20 Episodes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 19, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965 "2009-08-19T16:46:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/21 "2009-08-19T19:12:56Z")
[_Star Cops_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088613/), 9-episiode British attempt at hard-sci-fi drama set in and around the multiple space stations established by the year 2037. _[Brimstone](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165564/)_, 13-episodes about a damned cop hunting down 113 souls that broke out of Hell. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/22 "2009-08-19T19:13:00Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > [Spy Game](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118478/). I’ve got just a bit of a mancrush on Linden Ashby. Oooh, yeah, I remember that one! The female lead was a cutie. I was astonished to see it even lasted 11 episodes. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/23 "2009-08-19T19:16:28Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Agreed, good show, but does it make the "under 20 episodes "cutoff? I could have sworn this show ran for at least a full season, maybe two… According to Wikipedia and IMDB it ran 19 episodes (1 season), so just makes it under the wire. ---
**Author:** ![bleach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bleach/32/3106_2.png) [@bleach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bleach)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/24 "2009-08-19T19:19:58Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > [Spy Game](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118478/). I’ve got just a bit of a mancrush on Linden Ashby. Was that the one where the male lead refused to use guns but he knew some martial arts that turned any household object into a weapon (a jacket, an ashtray, or a toilet plunger)? Another Fox one: **Danger Theater**. Hosted by Robert Vaughn, it was an anthology comedy series featuring a half-hour of camp, akin to **Police Squad** and **Airplane!**. Diedrich Bader starred as The Searcher. It also had Adam West in a Hawaii 5-0 spoof called Tropical Punch. Seven episodes. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/25 "2009-08-19T19:43:33Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers;11462389\*[Brimstone] ([http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165564/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165564/))\*, 13-episodes about a damned cop hunting down 113 souls that broke out of Hell. [/QUOTE] I loved that show ! The actor who played the devil (and how the writers had the devil behave) was great. And I dont typically like that kind of show. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/26 "2009-08-19T19:53:17Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > 1. Police Squad (6 frickin’ episodes!) > > Hey, at least it spawned a whole bunch of Naked Gun movies and kept OJ Simpson out of trouble. Here is the intro: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4hZmKj-CiM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4hZmKj-CiM) > > You gotta love a 1982 show that brags that it is filmed IN COLOR! One episode never aired, and is on the DVD. As for IN COLOR - you must be too young to remember the Quinn Martin series (like The FBI) that the opening was parodying. About the time of Police Squad, there was a show called [No Soap Radio](http://www.tv.com/no-soap-radio/show/4273/summary.html) that lasted only five episodes. I think I only saw one, but it was very weird, breaking into some surrealistic stuff from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/27 "2009-08-19T19:55:24Z")
I loved The Job!! In my opinion, it was much, much funnier than Rescue Me, which is more of a drama than a comedy, IMO. I also loved Andy Richter. Another Fox one: [Greg the Bunny](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_the_bunny). God, I loved Count Blah ("aiiiggit!). I can’t find how many episodes it lasted, but it was less than one season. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/28 "2009-08-19T20:52:39Z")
David Lynch’s [_On The Air_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103505/). What a great show! I fecking loved it; it was the funniest show on TV at the time. ABC pulled the plug on it after only seven episodes, but they were seven episodes of pure, shining brilliance. It was equal parts _Mary Tyler Moore_ and [_Hellzapoppin’_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033704/). I guess it didn’t play too well in Peoria. Hurryup… hurryup… hurryup… hurryup… hurryup… hurryup… hurryup… hurryup… hurryup… ETA: I loved _Action!_ ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/29 "2009-08-19T21:00:59Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > No love for The Prisoner? The OP question refers to _cancelled_ shows. _The Prisoner_ was never intended to run longer than it did. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/30 "2009-08-19T21:05:48Z")
[The Unusuals](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1240976/). A modern day Barney Miller with great actors (Jeremy Renner!) and hilarious plot lines, it only got a mere 10 episodes before ABC pulled the plug. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/31 "2009-08-19T21:11:19Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > I loved The Job!! In my opinion, it was much, much funnier than Rescue Me, which is more of a drama than a comedy, IMO. Oh, I agree. The episode where they all secretly get drunk in the back yard b/c Pip’s wife didn’t allow alcohol at the BBQ was one of the funniest episodes of TV ever. To the OP, I was also really getting into _Journeyman_ when it was cancelled. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/32 "2009-08-19T21:14:51Z")
Anyone remember a show from a few years back “Knights Of Prosperity” about a bunch of misfits who were planning on robbing/kidnapping Mick Jagger? It was way better than 90% of the horseshit that passes for comedy lately, but of course was killed after a handful of episodes… (Its lead was Donel Louge, who has been in some decent feature films) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/33 "2009-08-19T21:22:03Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > [The Unusuals](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1240976/). A modern day Barney Miller with great actors (Jeremy Renner!) and hilarious plot lines, it only got a mere 10 episodes before ABC pulled the plug. I meant to watch that, I swear it. Was Amber Tamblyn as Tamblycious as I think in it? ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/34 "2009-08-19T21:28:41Z")
Many of my favorites have already been mentioned, but not [Kings](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1137462/), which only had 12 episodes before it was canceled. I love Ian McShane and was sad to see this go, but I knew no one else who was watching it. Carnivale doesn’t qualify because it had 24 episodes, nor Rome because it had 22, but I would have loved to see more of both series, esp. Rome. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/35 "2009-08-19T21:42:24Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I meant to watch that, I swear it. Was Amber Tamblyn as Tamblycious as I think in it? Oh yes she was. I couldn’t figure out who she was until I looked her up in IMDB. Hey it’s that Joan of Arcadia gal! Knights Of Prosperity, The Job, Action, Wonderfalls, Firelfy… These were all great. I was going to add Galaxy Rangers as well, but then I looked up their episode list and they had a lot of eps. Man, I loved that show. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/36 "2009-08-19T22:09:05Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I meant to watch that, I swear it. Was Amber Tamblyn as Tamblycious as I think in it? Very much so. Including her in an undercover vice operation. Brian ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/37 "2009-08-19T22:35:51Z")
I thought the recently cancelled **Harper’s Island** was fantastic, and it only had 12 episodes. But I’m blood-thirsty that way. I’m not sure what they would have done with additional seasons, though, because who would stay on an island where a serial killer struck in 2002 _and_ 2009? Kill us off twice, shame on you. Kill us off three times… okay, the rumor was that the writers would have changed locales as well as casts. I’m not sure how that would be the same show, then. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/38 "2009-08-19T23:36:38Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Oh yes she was. I couldn’t figure out who she was until I looked her up in IMDB. Hey it’s that Joan of Arcadia gal! > [@N9IWP](#): > > Very much so. Including her in an undercover vice operation. Guess I’ll have to watch for the DVD to come out, then. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/39 "2009-08-19T23:50:50Z")
More “enjoyable” than great, but all mine have been taken. The [Middleman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Middleman)from ABC Family ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965/40 "2009-08-20T00:07:44Z")
Every time I watched _The Tick_ (the live action one), I laughed like an idiot. What did it last? Six episodes? Maybe not _great_, really, but damn it was funny. [Quote=Christopher Llyod as Arthur’s boss] …and now he needs a machine… _to poop_!! [/quote] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-shows-cancelled-after-20-episodes/506965.md?page=3)