# TV Island--shows too good for the main wasteland **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 14, 2002, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806 "2002-08-14T07:23:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806/1 "2002-08-14T07:23:32Z")
TV Land usually features long-running shows now cancelled. I propose a new TV station of shows that were great, but sadly cancelled within three years. These shows were so good they had to be separated from the ‘vast wasteland’. Thus they have their own–TV Island. No mini-series allowed. It would include these shows: Police Squad! Freaks and Geeks My So-Called Life Profit The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. Max Headroom The Tracey Ullman Show VR 5 Alien Nation Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (the pacing of the show alone makes it great) The Prisoner Nowhere Man (best finale ever–shhhh!!!) and of course, the flagship so to speak: Classic Star Trek and from across the ocean: Fawlty Towers Monty Python Not Necessarily the News Prime Suspect (only exception to no mini-series I allow) Any more shows we can add? ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806/2 "2002-08-14T07:37:10Z")
For those who say “Monty Python”: although the show had less than 100 episodes, it did last for 5 years in its original run. ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806/3 "2002-08-14T08:14:19Z")
Oh man… **Not Necessarily the News** : I really miss this one. The MST3K-like bits, with news-footage voice overs by the cast, always cracked me up. Wonder what the odds are of getting HBO to release this stuff on DVD… or have they? **Herman’s Head** : Mrs. Skeezix and I always loved this goofy show. Only ran 2 seasons, I think… **The Young Ones** : This still runs on BBCAmerica, I think, though I keep missing it. (It is being released as a DVD-set next month, though.) ---
**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:** [August 14, 2002, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806/4 "2002-08-14T13:13:24Z")
Good start. I’d watch, and add Once a Hero Wish You Were Here Arresting Behavior Nightmare Cafe (now **that’s** a great series finale) Action (even better finale) Bakersfield PD The New Twilight Zone The Outer Limits No, Honestly NBC Experiment in Television Best of the West The Duck Factory ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806/5 "2002-08-14T14:12:32Z")
Strange Luck Swift Justice The Invisible Man Duckman The Tick (animated) Flash Gordon (animated version) ---
**Author:** ![andrew\_dupont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea666f/32.png) [@andrew\_dupont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrew_dupont)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806/6 "2002-08-14T15:10:36Z")
Sports Night. that is all. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806/7 "2002-08-14T15:54:26Z")
**American Gothic** ---
**Author:** ![Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c67d28/32.png) [@Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weird_AL_Einstein)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806/8 "2002-08-15T02:27:36Z")
Family Guy. ---
**Author:** ![Roadwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@Roadwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadwalker)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806/9 "2002-08-15T02:43:20Z")
Anamainiacs ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806/10 "2002-08-15T07:28:31Z")
The Critic (With the writers from before it moved to fox. Keep “Alice”, though) Cybersix Big Guy and Rusty The Boy Robot Fish Police (Just checking to see if you’re still reading. 😉 ) Mr. Sunshine Crusade (Well, maybe) The “Disney Afternoon” cartoons that Disney stopped producing to keep Fox from airing them. Gargoyles Stark Raving Mad ---
**Author:** ![A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_wizard_song_for_thee)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806/11 "2002-08-15T08:17:12Z")
Sifl and Olly. I think I would watch a network that played them 24/7, and that’s saying something. ---
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806/12 "2002-08-15T10:49:56Z")
Brimstone Forever Knight Brooklyn Bridge and I second: Max Headroom The Tracey Ullman Show Alien Nation ---
**Author:** ![Montezuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3be4f8/32.png) [@Montezuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montezuma)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806/13 "2002-08-15T12:09:58Z")
Ufo cafe ---
**Author:** ![Middlea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@Middlea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Middlea)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806/14 "2002-08-15T13:08:37Z")
Sledgehammer! _Best_cop_show_ever! ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-island-shows-too-good-for-the-main-wasteland/123806/15 "2002-08-15T14:35:15Z")
Remember WENN. Aired on AMC about a 1940s Radio station