# In praise of "Wonderfalls" (and other unjustly short-lived series) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374 "2007-12-17T20:03:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/41 "2007-12-18T17:15:30Z")
[QUOTE=sciurophobic] [Now and Again](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212395/). Considering how popular action/comedy/warm-hearted dramas are this year (e.g., Chuck, Pushing Daisies) this would have been a huge hit had it come out now. [/QUOTE] Oh, yes. I’d forgotten about that one. Man, that was a fun show- and it had one of the best season finale cliffhangers I’ve ever seen. “Run! They’re right behind me!” “Who?” “Men with guns!” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/42 "2007-12-18T17:30:30Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] I dunno if “screwed around” is the way to describe it. Fox wanted to air baseball on Sundays and they didn’t care if the games ran over _Futurama_’s 7:00 pm timeslot. They chose their priorities and _Futurama_ suffered. [/QUOTE] That was absolutely the wrong timeslot for that show. _Futurama_’s an adult comedy (not in the sense of being particularly raunchy, but because so much of it is over children’s heads) and should have been marketed as such. I’ll vote for _Greg the Bunny_. Watching the episodes in order on the DVD release, it was the later episodes that were the funnier ones (and there is some hilarious stuff there), and I believe it would have gotten even funnier if it had been allowed to live. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/43 "2007-12-18T17:39:58Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] I agree with **Eerie, Indiana** … [/QUOTE] I never watched the show but I meant to mention that I lived in Eerie, Indiana’s official sister city throughout the series’ run: Normal, Illinois. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/44 "2007-12-18T19:13:22Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Yes! I knew there was one I was forgetting. Actually I think it’s a defense mechanism, forgetting about “Starved,” because every time I think about it I’m brutally reminded that it was killed after a handful of episodes while the horrifyingly bad “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” is in it’s what, third or fourth season now? Ugh. [/QUOTE] Yeah, the fact Sunny in Philly is still on is salt & vinegar on a deep open wound. But at least I don’t watch that stupid show. Regarding Dark Angel: C’mon. It _was_ getting pretty silly towards the end there. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/45 "2007-12-18T19:36:32Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] I never watched the show but I meant to mention that I lived in Eerie, Indiana’s official sister city throughout the series’ run. [/QUOTE] No, the sister city was [Rome, Wisconsin](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103512/) . Both towns had the same school principal, and a kid that looked like Justin Shenkarow. Plus the weatherman from Eerie went to become the medical examiner in Rome. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/46 "2007-12-18T20:49:02Z")
I miss **Action** (here’s a [cast pic](http://www.dvdtown.com/images/displayimage.php?id=4428)), a scathing satire of Hollywood, set at a production company, starring Jay Mohr as producer Peter Dragon. I think Dragon was modelled at least in part on a young Joel Silver; the scuttlebutt was that the studio head was modelled on Barry Diller. The dialogue was often screamingly funny and in _horribly_ poor taste, reflecting the real crassness of that subculture, and as a result the show was [reviled by much of the public](http://www.angelfire.com/movies/oc/action.html) – who couldn’t relate to a show whose characters were obsessed rat-racers with few redeeming qualities. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/47 "2007-12-18T20:50:47Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] No, the sister city was [Rome, Wisconsin](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103512/) . Both towns had the same school principal, and a kid that looked like Justin Shenkarow. Plus the weatherman from Eerie went to become the medical examiner in Rome. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I’m not talking about TV sister cities here. I’m talking about how the producers actually in reality selected the real city of Normal, Illinois to be the sister city of the fictional Eerie. [This story](http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BL&p_theme=bl&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F21D5C09127B7B9&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM) (which, I’m sorry, but The Pantagraph has no business charging anyone 3 bucks for anything) shows enough in its preview to confirm it. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/48 "2007-12-18T20:57:02Z")
[QUOTE=The Scrivener] I miss **Action** (here’s a [cast pic](http://www.dvdtown.com/images/displayimage.php?id=4428)), a scathing satire of Hollywood, set at a production company, starring Jay Mohr as producer Peter Dragon. I think Dragon was modelled at least in part on a young Joel Silver; the scuttlebutt was that the studio head was modelled on Barry Diller. The dialogue was often screamingly funny and in _horribly_ poor taste, reflecting the real crassness of that subculture, and as a result the show was [reviled by much of the public](http://www.angelfire.com/movies/oc/action.html) – who couldn’t relate to a show whose characters were obsessed rat-racers with few redeeming qualities. [/QUOTE] There’s a show on IFC called [The Business](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Business_%28TV_series%29) which is in a similar vein. It’s not as nasty as I remember “Action” being but I think it’s pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/49 "2007-12-18T21:14:30Z")
Suprised no one mentioned the **Dresden Files** as well - ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/50 "2007-12-18T21:16:13Z")
Chris Elliot’s **Get a Life** was brilliant (to me anyway, he cracks me up). The live action **The Tick** never got a fair shake. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/51 "2007-12-18T21:19:40Z")
[QUOTE=simster] Suprised no one mentioned the **Dresden Files** as well - [/QUOTE] Some wounds are too fresh to examine… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/52 "2007-12-18T21:21:24Z")
[_Quark_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_%28TV_series%29) wasn’t the greatest show ever, but it deserved more than one season, at least. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/53 "2007-12-18T21:25:12Z")
[Key West (TV Series 1993) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106045/) I liked the one called Key West. Went off too soon. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/54 "2007-12-18T21:29:55Z")
[_Over There._](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_There_%28TV_series%29) I guess it was just too painful to watch with the war still going on. [_Kolchak: The Night Stalker_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Stalker) was a pitiful abortion compared to the original concept (you can read the sad story in Stephen King’s [_Danse Macabre),_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danse_Macabre_%28book%29) but still a rare and fine enough thing of its kind and its time to earn cult status. Hard to believe, now, it only lasted one season. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/55 "2007-12-18T21:30:14Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] [_Quark_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_%28TV_series%29) wasn’t the greatest show ever, but it deserved more than one season, at least. [/QUOTE] I remember watching it when it was on. I did not miss it much when it went off. Are you sure this show deserved a longer run? I don’t recall it fondly. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/56 "2007-12-18T21:32:31Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106045/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106045/) I liked the one called Key West. Went off too soon. [/QUOTE] Meh. Shameless ripoff (eccentric characters in remote location) of [_Northern Exposure_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Exposure) (however vigorously the producers denied it). ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/57 "2007-12-18T21:34:19Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] [_Kolchak: The Night Stalker_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Stalker) was a pitiful abortion compared to the original concept (you can read the sad story in Stephen King’s [_Danse Macabre),_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danse_Macabre_%28book%29) but still a rare and fine enough thing of its kind and its time to earn cult status. Hard to believe, now, it only lasted one season. [/QUOTE] Now this one was a good example. For all its camp and Dr. Who worthy effects, it was a fun show. I saw it mostly in syndication in the late 70s but I remember one of the movies and watching it with my older sister who was watching me and my brother while my parents were out. Good show. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/58 "2007-12-18T21:35:06Z")
The half-season wonder [_When Things Were Rotten_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Things_Were_Rotten) was so much funnier than [_Robin Hood: Men in Tights_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood:_Men_in_Tights) that it’s hard to believe both were Mel Brooks projects; I guess he lost something along the way. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/59 "2007-12-18T21:37:25Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] I remember watching it when it was on. I did not miss it much when it went off. Are you sure this show deserved a longer run? I don’t recall it fondly. [/QUOTE] I do, but I was just a teenager. _Quark_ provided timely sendups of all the space-opera cliches in _Star Trek_ (then still living in memory yet green) and _Star Wars._ No doubt if it had lasted they would have taken on the _Planet of the Apes_ franchise. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374/60 "2007-12-18T21:40:46Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] Now this one was a good example. For all its camp and Dr. Who worthy effects, it was a fun show. I saw it mostly in syndication in the late 70s but I remember one of the movies and watching it with my older sister who was watching me and my brother while my parents were out. Good show. [/QUOTE] The [2005 series,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Stalker_%28TV_series%29) OTOH, richly deserved its early cancellation. (Hint, guys: Kolchak is not **sexy.** Kolchak must never be **sexy.** Kolchak is **crusty.)** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-wonderfalls-and-other-unjustly-short-lived-series/430374.md?page=4)