# Tell us about your favorite failed TV shows. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 30, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743 "2015-12-30T18:04:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/61 "2015-12-31T01:45:28Z")
**Don’t Trust the B\_\_\_\_\_ in Apartment 23** Yeah, loved that one! I recently watched the whole thing again on Netflix. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/62 "2015-12-31T02:00:37Z")
I really liked Carnivàle. Concept was cool, Clancy Brown was great in it, and the conclusion to the two episode Babylon arc was the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen, film or television. They’re a traveling carnival, so they set up in this mining town, but all the miners turn out to be ghosts who died in a mine collapse, but there’s one living Irish guy who kinda finds souls for them to take. One of the troupe’s girls is killed, and the last scene is her ghost in the town, looking longingly at the carnival manager, as the ghost of one the miners puts his arm around her and takes her away into the darkness, and they have to leave her restless spirit behind. ---
**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:** [December 31, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/63 "2015-12-31T02:05:49Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > “[Covington Cross](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103391/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1).” The stars of “Excalibur,” Ione Skye at her absolute sexiest and most beautiful and turning the Middle Ages/Arthurian saga on its head. The first 5 minutes of the first episode were worth the price of admission. “How often do I have to tell you not to play in the house?” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/64 "2015-12-31T02:08:44Z")
**Human Target** deserved more than 25 episodes. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/65 "2015-12-31T02:24:23Z")
Am I really the first person to mention **Twin Peaks**? Two seasons… ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/66 "2015-12-31T02:24:59Z")
[_Coronet Blue, Coronet Bluuuuue… Deep inside my brain, I keep hearing that wild refrain…_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronet_Blue) That’s all I knew about it for decades. A disconnected memory from childhood – a summer night in 1967, we were staying up at a sleepover and heard that coming from an old B&W tv. All I remembered was the premise: "Guy gets fished out of river, total amnesia, doesn’t know his name or why people keep trying to kill him. All that’s in his mind is the phrase “Coronet Blue”… Before the internet, I just wandered around with that snippet (and the [jazzy theme song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHZJ0dx7tS4)). Finally found a few scenes of it on YouTube. Oh! There are [episodes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghkOAZjNFEU)! I’ll check those out tomorrow… ---
**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:** [December 31, 2015, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/67 "2015-12-31T02:35:42Z")
Not mentioned yet: **Dollhouse** - I was iffy on this at first but it improved as it progressed. Left me wanting more. **Alphas** - sort of a more grounded version of X-men. David Strathairn and the rest of the cast were excellent. Guest appearances by Summer Glau were a bonus. ---
**Author:** ![FallingLeaves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/54ee81/32.png) [@FallingLeaves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallingLeaves)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/68 "2015-12-31T02:40:02Z")
Forever - which lasted just the 2014-15 season. Sure, it was yet another police procedural, but with the added twist of the main character having been alive for 200 years and unable to die. I liked his character, I liked his son, who was now decades older than him and the back story of their lives. Also, Tru Calling. Another show that was only a tiny bit fantasy, having the little twist of repeated days and the ability of the main character being able to prevent bad things from happening. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/69 "2015-12-31T03:10:41Z")
My addition would be _ **“Hot L Baltimore”** _ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072512/?ref\_=nm\_flmg\_act\_169](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072512/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_169) My guess is that about 99% of you have never heard of this show or were even alive when it first (and only) aired in 1975. This is one of these shows I can only trust on my memories, since I was only 14 when it aired and it’s never been run or collected and shown anywhere else. The show was created by Norman Lear when he was at his creative peak and it’s main characters were prostitutes, homosexuals and a bunch of riff faff that hung out at a seedy hotel in New York. It was very funny, from what I remember, and **WELL** before it’s time. The audiences weren’t ready for a show like this, but I read recently that the head of the network was a fan of the show, and made it a point to attend every taping, even though he knew it could never last. It only lasted 13 weeks. And since it’s brought up several times on this post, I have to chime in. **“Firefly”** , IMO, has got to be the most overrated show of all time. Yeah, it was a cute little sci-fi adventure show, but it’s devout fanatics have been moaning and whining since it’s cancelation. Enough already. Yeesh. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/70 "2015-12-31T03:18:47Z")
\*\*\*Boss \*\*\*with Kelsey Grammar was a good series. I was very disappointed that they ended it on a cliffhanger and wouldn’t even do a special episode to wrap things up. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/71 "2015-12-31T03:22:08Z")
I’ll second (or third) Misfits of Science. I’ll also add the anime [The Big O](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_O). The first season, giant [mecha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecha) fighting aside, had a lot of heart and soul, mood and atmosphere, and great music. I also loved all of the characters. The second season wasn’t nearly as good as the first, but it had such a confusing ending I really wanted a third season to tie everything up. Poor ratings and DVD sales kept that from happening though. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/72 "2015-12-31T03:25:21Z")
> [@crypto](#): > > Am I really the first person to mention **Twin Peaks**? > > Two seasons… _ **TP** _ suffered from the same flaw as _ **Crime Story** _ in the mid-'80s: It had one big story and wrapped it up at the end of the first season. After that, things went downhill reeeeeeeeal fast! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/73 "2015-12-31T03:28:05Z")
> [@Cyros](#): > > My two contributions are: > > [Undergrads](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undergrads) - A wonderful little animated show about the trials and tribulations of a group of friends as they start their university careers. A single glorious season that left me wanting more. > > [Clone High](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clone_High) - Clones of famous historical persons all attending high school together. Again, cancelled after one season. STAMOS! I loved Undergrads, too, **Cyros**. I didn’t watch Clone High, but it’s a good reminder for me to do so. My obvious contribution is Freaks and Geeks because…well, how could it not be? But I also wanted to add the MTV animated series [Downtown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_(TV_series)). About 20somethings living in New York City, but it had a genuine feel to it. Loved the dark/gritty palette. But at the same time it had a sweetness. Very funny, witty even. Would have loved to see where they went after season one. Ah, if only! ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/74 "2015-12-31T03:36:55Z")
“Homeboys in Outer Space” crass and funny especially when James Doohan was on. Then Paramount got mad and forced him off. In 2002 there was a pilot for a re-imagined version of Irwin Allen’s 1960s “The Time Tunnel”. Instead of having normal present day people travel in time, an experiment has gone awry, the future has been changed and is changing. Only a few people know what today should be. The pilot does with the bubonic plague turning up in a World War II battle. But then I like the fact one American disguised as a German identifies himself as Colonel Klink to a German patrol. Lee Grant’s mid 70s show “Fay” might have worked better if NBC wasn’t so uptight about a 45 year old divorcee. But hey, let’s schedule it in the family hour opposite “The Walnuts” juggernaut and bowdlerize it. But at least NBC was clueless enough to cancel it hours before Grant went on “The Tonight Show” so she could rant about “the mad programmer” with Johnny. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/75 "2015-12-31T03:38:22Z")
I almost forgot “The Oblongs” and “Mission Hill”. Two animated series getting just 13 episodes each. For each show I loved the characters and story lines. Unfortunately the ratings weren’t that great. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/76 "2015-12-31T03:51:31Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > **Q.E.D.** , an update of a Sherlock Holmes-type scientifically minded investigator in the present day. With Sam Waterston? That was set in the period prior to the outbreak of WWI. And an excellent series it was, too! ---
**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:** [December 31, 2015, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/77 "2015-12-31T03:59:00Z")
My only familiarity with **The Tick** is the 2001 live action series starring Patrick Warburton, which lasted 9 episodes. ISTR that fans of the comic book and animated series were mostly unhappy with the live action series. But I thought the series was fucking hilarious. One of my buddies and I watched every episode and laughed till we cried. I don’t want to re-watch them, because in my memory they are the funniest thing ever, and I don’t want to disturb that little bit of joy. The appearance of Christopher Lloyd in the first episode is a stroke of genius. “And now the poor bastard needs a machine…to poop!” God, that show was funny. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/78 "2015-12-31T04:02:11Z")
> [@crypto](#): > > Am I really the first person to mention **Twin Peaks**? > > Two seasons… The third season airs in 2017. Still, it ended too soon in its original run. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/79 "2015-12-31T04:13:55Z")
John Doe and Daybreak. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/80 "2015-12-31T04:27:57Z")
I liked all the time travel flops — Forever, New Amsterdam, Journeyman, etc. And dittoes on Firefly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743.md?page=5)