# short-lived sitcoms **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559 "2009-02-12T17:40:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/41 "2009-02-13T14:25:44Z")
Does anyone remember a show that aired in the late 80s or early 90s about two ghosts who inhabited a suburban house and only one member of the family who lived in it could see them. I think it aired on NBC. I remember liking it as a kid, but it only lasted a couple of episodes. I also enjoyed a sci-fi series called “Hard Time on Planet Earth” that aired circa 1989 and featured an alien who traveled to Earth and assumed the form of a human named Jesse. He was accompanied by a floating orb. He’d help someone out of a jam each week and do cool stunts like fling a demolition ball. I was pretty disappointed when it was cancelled. ---
**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 13, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/42 "2009-02-13T14:39:00Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > If it makes you feel better, I didn’t remember the title either. But I did remember Wendy Jo. She is always unforgetable. Was. She died a few years ago. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/43 "2009-02-13T14:39:01Z")
**The Texas Wheelers** starring Jack Elam, Mark Hamill (before **Star Wars** ) and Gary Busey. Weirdly, they used as a theme song John Prine’s “Illegal Smile” – about smoking marijuana. **Wish You Were Here** , a strange little sitcom about a guy who got a video camera, was fired from his job, and spent his time touring Europe and sending tapes back to his friends. The tapes were done in “real time” – no editing – and you’d see both his adventures and how the others reacted to them. Also ran six episodes. **Arresting Behavior**. A **Cops** parody. Hilarious stuff. There was also **Bakersfield PD** , also a parody of **Cops**. My favorite moment was when one of the cops in it is delighted when his restraining order has been reduced to allow him to now get within 100 feet of his two sons. They go out to a baseball diamond and he hits fly balls to them, but is so abusive that they run away. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/44 "2009-02-13T14:39:15Z")
Anyone else remember [Double Trouble](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Trouble_(TV_series))? Starred real life identical twin sisters Liz and Jean Sagal (sisters to Katy). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Frink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Mr.Frink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Frink)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/45 "2009-02-13T16:41:54Z")
Agree with **Jackie Thomas** …it was very inside hollywood–probably what did it in…(either that or show-killer Alison La Placa) Mine is [The Associcates](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Associates_(U.S._TV_series)) (1979). Very classy MTM comedy about Wall Street lawyers starring a young Martin Short. Made by the guys behind **Taxi** & **Cheers** , and with the sense of humor & tone. Nominated for two Emmys and two Golden Globes…and cancelled after 13 episodes. Wonder when it’ll pop up on the interweb? ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/46 "2009-02-13T16:51:39Z")
**Lots of Luck** , **Diana** as in Diana Rigg. ---
**Author:** ![Seeker\_of\_Truth\_and\_Beauty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Seeker\_of\_Truth\_and\_Beauty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seeker_of_Truth_and_Beauty)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/47 "2009-02-13T17:21:56Z")
> [@lawoot](#): > > [Hot L Baltimore](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072512/fullcredits#cast) - 1975, ran for 13 episodes. Had James Cromwell and Charlotte Rae, and also featured an early gay couple, and characters that were prostitutes and illegal immigrants. A little ahead of its time, to say the least. Memorable quote - from Charlotte Rae, as Mrs. Bellotti, referring to her son (who was one of those ‘never seen, but often referred to’ characters): “Moose is upstairs, buttering the hallway.” Don’t forget Conchata Ferrell, who, coincidentally, was also in E/R. Love that woman. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/48 "2009-02-13T17:30:30Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > There was also this screwy comedy back in 1982, only ran for 6 episodes. But I think a few of us might remember **Police Squad**. The best thing about that show was that it was In Color! I don’t remember the name, but there was a show in the mid-70s about a prison in the American southwest. Much like Hogan’s Heros, the inmates were in charge and the guards were a bunch of morons. One of the prisoners was a big dumb moosey guy. That actor later appeared on an double episode of MASH, in which he played a wounded soldier who was also a lawyer. He promised to get Klinger a section 8. As it turns out, he was trying to get his own section 8 by masqerading as a lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/49 "2009-02-13T17:35:00Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Does anyone remember a show that aired in the late 80s or early 90s about two ghosts who inhabited a suburban house and only one member of the family who lived in it could see them. I think it aired on NBC. I remember liking it as a kid, but it only lasted a couple of episodes. Yep, that was **Nearly Departed** with Eric Idle. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/50 "2009-02-13T17:35:00Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I don’t remember the name, but there was a show in the mid-70s about a prison in the American southwest. Much like Hogan’s Heros, the inmates were in charge and the guards were a bunch of morons. One of the prisoners was a big dumb moosey guy. That sounds like some bastardization of _Cool Hand Luke_, especially the big dumb moosey guy (sounds like Dragline in the movie). I’m simultaneously horrified and intrigued. ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/51 "2009-02-13T17:40:23Z")
Any love for [The Slap Maxwell Story](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slap_Maxwell)? It ran for a single season in 1987-88 and starred the great [Dabney Coleman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabney_Coleman) and the scrumptious [Megan Gallagher](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_Gallagher). **tdn** , I think I recall the show you mean but can’t for the life of me think of the title. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/52 "2009-02-13T17:50:28Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I don’t remember the name, but there was a show in the mid-70s about a prison in the American southwest. Much like Hogan’s Heros, the inmates were in charge and the guards were a bunch of morons. One of the prisoners was a big dumb moosey guy. That actor later appeared on an double episode of MASH, in which he played a wounded soldier who was also a lawyer. He promised to get Klinger a section 8. As it turns out, he was trying to get his own section 8 by masqerading as a lawyer. Any chance it was [On the Rocks](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072553/)? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/53 "2009-02-13T18:20:33Z")
> [@Lunar\_Saltlick](#): > > T The least successful short-lived sitcom had 130 awful episodes packed into one season: _The Trouble with Tracy_. 130 episodes sure doesn’t sound like a short-lived series to me. And all in one year? Even if there were no repeats, that’s 3 episodes per week. (I know, I know. Typo.) Anyway, does anybody remember “the Nielsens” - Nick-at-Nite’s first & only (SFAIK) original sitcom. The premise was that a 1950s sitcom family’s show has been in reruns for ages, but now aren’t being shown, and the characters have to go live in “the real world.” They had a device that made the world turn black & white. I think it lasted two episodes at best. Alice from “the Brady Bunch” made a cameo. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/54 "2009-02-13T18:23:11Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > 130 episodes sure doesn’t sound like a short-lived series to me. And all in one year? Even if there were no repeats, that’s 3 episodes per week. > > (I know, I know. Typo.) [No typo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trouble_With_Tracy) ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/55 "2009-02-13T18:31:09Z")
Yeah, 130 episodes. But all in one year, so in my opinion, it was short-lived. In fact, I think they crammed all 130 episodes into one September-to-April viewing season. It hit so hard and so fast and it was so bad that it took a few months before anyone got their breath back and started the scramble to cancel the thing. I still remember those cardboard sets shuddering and swaying everytime somebody closed a door. ---
**Author:** ![Ultraviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@Ultraviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ultraviolet)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/56 "2009-02-13T20:33:35Z")
Does anyone else remember [Keen Eddie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318390/)? I loved that show. It was a lot like **Snatch** or **Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels** - that sort of British action / comedy Guy Ritchie style. ---
**Author:** ![Flang\_Dang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@Flang\_Dang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flang_Dang)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/57 "2009-02-13T23:43:03Z")
“Committed” was a great show on just a few years ago. My wife is still enraged they cancelled it. It had the late Tom Poston as a former clown that sublet his apartment to the female lead and lived in its walk-in closet. Also, a while back there was a medical sitcom starring the Max Headroom guy that was pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/58 "2009-02-13T23:47:50Z")
> [@Flang\_Dang](#): > > Also, a while back there was a medical sitcom starring the Max Headroom guy that was pretty funny. [Doctor, Doctor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Doctor_(1989_TV_series)). It lasted two seasons, though, so I’m not sure how short-lived it was. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/59 "2009-02-14T00:19:15Z")
> [@ColonelDax](#): > > Any love for [The Slap Maxwell Story](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slap_Maxwell)? It ran for a single season in 1987-88 and starred the great [Dabney Coleman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabney_Coleman) and the scrumptious [Megan Gallagher](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_Gallagher). Even better was Coleman’s **Buffalo Bill**. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559/60 "2009-02-14T00:57:07Z")
One I wished stayed on the air was [Filthy Rich](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083415/), a kind of _Dallas_ parody. Slim Pickens is Big Guy, the billionaire patriarch who dies before the show’s beginning, but he hasn’t dictated the terms of his will yet. He posthumously releases snippets of who gets what, only it depends on how his beloved family members behave. Nearly all of his family are greedy backstabbing pigs who are constantly trying to exploit each other, before they find out that Big Guy anticipated their actions and gloats at them in his next video and informs them they still don’t get jack. Then he sings Happy Trails as they prepare to rip each other apart. Dixie Carter and Delta Burke starred in this show before they hit it big with _Designing Women._ They got to practice their bitchness in this show. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-lived-sitcoms/485559.md?page=4)