# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/81 "2015-12-31T04:34:56Z")
[ul] [li]_Twin Peaks_[/li][li]_Pushing Daisies_[/li][li]_[Now and Again](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212395/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_87)_[/li][/ul] The first two have already been mentioned. _Now and Again_ was a good show. IMDB gives it a rating of 8.3. It was cancelled after 1 season and ended with a cliffhanger. IIRC it was on at 7:00 Friday nights, which probably explains its untimely demise. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/82 "2015-12-31T05:09:40Z")
Lou Grant ran for five seasons. I’m not sure if it was cancelled by the network or if the producers decided to pull the plug after five seasons. My question is, “Is five seasons enough to be considered a success”? How long does a show have to run in order to be considered a success? I once read that a TV show has to run for seven seasons before the actors and other behind the scenes people would get residuals and the show could be sold in syndication. I don’t know the truth. ---
**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:** [December 31, 2015, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/83 "2015-12-31T05:42:50Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I once read that a TV show has to run for seven seasons before the actors and other behind the scenes people would get residuals and the show could be sold in syndication. > > I don’t know the truth. 100 episodes is (or was) the convention. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/84 "2015-12-31T05:52:38Z")
My top picks have already been mentioned: Firefly, Freaks and Geeks, and Pushing Daisies. The Crimson Field was a BBC period drama about nurses at a field hospital during WWI. I think it was intended to last 4 or 5 seasons, one for every year of the war. Unfortunately it was cancelled after just one series of 6 episodes. The Dana Carvey Show was a sketch comedy show that lasted only 8 episodes. It was funny but in retrospect not a good fit for broadcast primetime TV. It probably would have been better and more successful if it had aired on HBO or cable. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/85 "2015-12-31T05:52:50Z")
Another 70s time warp for me… **Life on Mars**. I know it was a remake, and apparently a pale imitation at that, but Michael Imperioli rocks. It only had 17 episodes, but as time traveling shows go, I liked it anyway. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/86 "2015-12-31T05:54:20Z")
One. season of Kolchak: The Night Stalket is enough to rank it as the best tv series of the 70s. More entertaining than The X Files, no moral conflicts like breaking bad, great acting by the cast and guest stars. The somewhat campy villians that marked the age before digital enhancement was forgivable. Oh yes, I didn’t think it was a failed show. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/87 "2015-12-31T05:55:16Z")
I think that contractually they can get residuals any time an episode runs (or is watched, sold, etc.). The problem is that a show with too few episodes generally doesn’t go into syndication, so no residuals. Of course all of that may have changed now that there are so many ways to view old episodes. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/88 "2015-12-31T05:59:58Z")
And what’s the deal with Sherlock (Cumberbatch and Freeman)? It fails after three episodes, then they bring it back for another try and it fails after three episodes AGAIN. And then it comes back a THIRD time, and AGAIN only lasts for three episodes. And now I hear they’re going to be bringing it back for a FOURTH try? WTF, Brits? It’s an awesome show; just keep it on the air, all right? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/89 "2015-12-31T06:06:41Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > John Doe and Daybreak. I thought of that, but I’m pretty sure that [Day Break](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_Break) was never intended to last more than a single season of 13 episodes. Only 6 episodes were aired but the rest were available on the ABC website shortly after the cancellation, so I didn’t feel cheated. I thought of another. [James at 15](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_at_15). I was pretty young when it first aired, but I seem to recall that it was good. I don’t think it has ever been released on DVD ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/90 "2015-12-31T06:13:09Z")
[Alien Nation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Nation_%28TV_series%29) was one of my favorite series back in the day. It lasted only one season. ---
**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, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/91 "2015-12-31T06:20:39Z")
I kind of had mixed feelings about it, but I thought that [Time Trax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Trax) deserved more than two seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/92 "2015-12-31T06:41:49Z")
ABC has been really stupid in recent years. They cancelled two good shows. 1. Take the Money & Run (2011–only 6 episodes) The show gave a team of 2 people a suitcase containing $100,000. They had one hour to hide it. Then they were taken into “custody” and 2 real-life police interrogators had 48 hours in which to figure out where the suitcase was hidden. If the officers succeeded, they got the money. If they failed, the team that hid the money got to keep it. 2. No Ordinary Family (2010-2011–one season) This family was on a plane that crashed in the Amazon, and they were exposed to a previously unknown chemical that gave them superpowers. It co-starred the wonderful Julie Benz, and it also had Kay Panabaker. If I ever come across the idiots responsible for cancelling those shows, they’re going to get a tongue-lashing they’ll never forget. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/93 "2015-12-31T07:25:32Z")
The Prisoner - 17 episodes (1968-1969). McGoohan went off the rails at the end but the episodes earlier were fascinating. ---
**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, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/94 "2015-12-31T07:41:59Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > I thought of that, but I’m pretty sure that [Day Break](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_Break) was never intended to last more than a single season of 13 episodes. Only 6 episodes were aired but the rest were available on the ABC website shortly after the cancellation, so I didn’t feel cheated. Daybreak tied up the plotlines for the first day that kept repeating, but they also incorporated backstory indicating that there were _other_ Daybreakers (the screaming homeless guy, for one), and iirc the last ep kicked off another day that started repeating. I liked the show a lot, but I’m a big fan of the time-bounce subgenre. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/95 "2015-12-31T07:50:14Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > And what’s the deal with Sherlock (Cumberbatch and Freeman)? It fails after three episodes, then they bring it back for another try and it fails after three episodes AGAIN. And then it comes back a THIRD time, and AGAIN only lasts for three episodes. > > And now I hear they’re going to be bringing it back for a FOURTH try? > > WTF, Brits? It’s an awesome show; just keep it on the air, all right? This isn’t right, is it? My assumption was that rather than being a weekly profit machine, US-style, the show is intentionally three great episodes per season. ---
**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, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/96 "2015-12-31T07:56:12Z")
he was joking ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/97 "2015-12-31T08:02:08Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > [Wonderfalls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderfalls) was a quirky show about a woman at a Niagara Falls gift shop who experiences conversations with the figurines in the shop. This was from the people who made Pushing Daisies and it had the awesome William Sadler as the main character’s dad. > [@jayjay](#): > > Pushing Daisies and Wonderfalls are mine, although already mentioned. They did release the full anticipated season of Wonderfalls on DVD, and it’s incredible. Wonderfalls was awesome. Pushing Daisies was even better. ---
**Author:** ![sohvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sohvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sohvan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/98 "2015-12-31T08:56:33Z")
There’s been many over the years, but I’d second Carnivàle, Almost Human, Pushing Daisies, Jericho and Firefly as some of the more noteworthy ones. There was a study this year that certain customers can act as harbringers of failure in predicting a products failure. I wonder if I’d qualify for tv. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/99 "2015-12-31T10:02:37Z")
Some of my other picks have already been mentioned (_Carnivale_, _Police Squad_, _Chicago Code_), but here are a couple more: **Push, Nevada** : A bizarre, _Twin Peaks_-like series that lasted for only seven episodes in 2002. The plot involved a nerdy IRS agent investigating mysterious goings-on in a very peculiar small town. There was also a solve-it-yourself mystery, with clues hidden in each episode and a million-dollar prize. The final six unaired episodes have never surfaced. **Nowhere Man** : a 1995-96 series on UPN in which a photojournalist’s life is “erased” (his wife and friends don’t recognize him, his credit cards don’t work, etc). The series follows him as he attempts to unravel the mystery. Fascinating show, although I’m convinced the writers were making it up as they went along. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2015, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/100 "2015-12-31T10:56:58Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > This isn’t right, is it? My assumption was that rather than being a weekly profit machine, US-style, the show is intentionally three great episodes per season. > [@Tangent](#): > > he was joking I am really BAD at this “joking” thing… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743.md?page=6)