BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have

Subject: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: GUEST,Bobby Z
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 08:22 AM

This group seems to be so intelligent, so witty, and so hip. I wonder what cancelled television shows you guys think should have NEVER been cancelled.

I vaguely remember a comedy show called, "Yesterday When Things Were Rotten." It was a spin-off on Robin Hood. Dom Deloise was Friar Tuck but that is all I remember (besides the theme song, of course.) I also remember being terribly disappointed when it was cancelled.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: GUEST,T-tone
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 09:31 AM

Well I'd say Northern Exposure was my favorite of all time. A small town full of endearing wackos who clash on ideas and get on each others nerves. Yet they're forced to get along and accept different ideas because the fictional town Sicily Alaska is so far from everywhere. If only the rest of us could come away knowing each other that much better, the world might be a little more pleasant.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: JedMarum
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 09:36 AM

It'd be fine with me if they cancelled TV. All of it!

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Amergin
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 12:05 PM

don't watch much of the box myself...but I remember a couple of years or so...there was a cartoon prime time series about a fellow who talks to both god and satan....and it had James Garner as the voice of god....

it got cancelled because bible thumpers deemed it sacrilegous....they were protesting about it months before it even aired...

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: catspaw49
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 12:21 PM

"My Mother the Car"

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 12:38 PM

Bottom

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: GUEST,Owain
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 12:40 PM

Yeah Spaw! And how about 'Car 54 where are you?' lol

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Paul from Hull
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 02:00 PM

Amergin, that was 'God, the Devil, & Bob' if I remember right. We had it over here in the UK late on last year. I didnt watch all of them but I was quite amused by what I did see. A shame its been pulled....I just assumed it had finished its 'Pilot run'.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Naemanson
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 02:05 PM

Since there is no border restrictions on this question I'd have to say it was Mulberry. The main character was the son of Death sent to take a lonely old wealthy woman who had never really lived life. He was determined to see tat she enjoyed life before her end. Lovely show.

My girlfriend and I were also talking about the attempt to revive Dark Shadows. That seemed promising but died before its time.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Bullfrog Jones
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 03:07 PM

T-tone, I used to love Northern Exposure too. Apart from the great storylines and ensemble playing it had brilliant music too. If you haven't got them, see if you can find the soundtrack C.D's. The last episode was so moving, with the long sequence at the end over Iris De Ment's 'Our Town'. Anyone remember a comedy, spun-off from the Mary Tyler Moore Show, called Phyllis, starring Cloris Leachman. It used to break me up, but I don't remember it being around for too long.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Little Hawk
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 03:30 PM

Well, Star Trek of course...imagine...we could have had over 30 seasons by now of William Shatner in his harvest gold lycra half-ripped-off-in-a-fight T-Shirt!!! (Control yourselves, ladies!) LOL!

No, seriously, they could cancel ALL TV and I wouldn't blink an eye. The world would be better off without it. Ditto for football games and stock car races. Let me add to that list books by Danielle Steele, and the Democratic and Republican parties. Also, the GUEST(s) who think(s) I'm a female, and accuse(s) other GUESTs of being me. Har! Har! Can you see me sticking my tongue out at you, GUEST?

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 03:45 PM

Northern Exposure AND Picket Fences. The northern shows were always off-kilter. I followed No-where Man through every episode, and felt it died long before it had explored its possibilities. X-factor stayed too long. But, that's another thread. So did Archie Bunker after All In The Family.

Jerry

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Rustic Rebel
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 05:00 PM

I confess I watch one show, Alli Mcbeal, that is going to be cancelled this fall. It has always reminded me of the off the wall style of Northern Exposure. The show has gotten a little funky this season, but I still get good laughs and crys from the show. And so it too shall come to pass.
Rustic

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: SINSULL
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 05:44 PM

"Mary Hartman. Mary Hartman" I still crack up over the guy drowning in his chicken soup.

The original "Smothers Brothers Show" made John Hartford a household name and gave politicians a run for their money. Anyone remember the sword in the stone skit? And "Have A Cup Of Tea With Rosie"?

Car 54? The theme:
There's a hold-up in the Bronx
Brooklyn's broken out in fights.
There's a traffic jam in Harlem
That's backup to Jackson Heights.
There's a scout troop short a child.
Kruschev's due at Idlewild.
"Car 54 where are you?"
Mary, previously from Jackson Heights

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: GUEST,Argenine
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 06:01 PM

Soap.

Funny that it was considered too controversial at the time. Compared to the current TV fare, including MTV and even shows in the "family hour," it was pretty mild--but hilarious!

Speaking of controversial shows getting the axe, how about The Smothers Brothers' Show?

Arge

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Gareth
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 06:04 PM

Then of course there was the British satire - "That Was the Week That Was" - Zaped in 1964 as a General Election was pending ! - Hmmmm!

Gareth

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: CarolC
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 06:11 PM

Another vote here for Northern Exposure. Also Due South. It still pisses me off that that one had such a short run.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: SINSULL
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 06:13 PM

TW3 was great! Makes Mark with the piano look like prime time news.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Deda
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 07:51 PM

I remember TW3 very fondly, it was the last time Tom Lehrer was doing new stuff regularly and getting wide exposure.

I watch northern exposure reruns when I happen to run across them; they hold up well. I liked the show Thirty Something. I also have usually enjoyed Once and Again, which has just been cancelled in spite of critical acclaim for Sela Ward and the rest of the cast. Sela Ward also starred in Sisters, which I enjoyed, too, and which I was sorry to see come to an end. My husband and I used to watch it together once a week. Now I watch reruns of BBC's East Enders, which my husband calls my "open sewer program". I have a shameful weakness for these soapy family "dramas", which are actually a waste of time but I succumb to them anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Thonolan
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 08:19 PM

I liked "Good and Evil", "On the Air", and "The Powers that Be". All of these shows lasted less than a dozen episodes and should have done better.

I absolutely loved "My so-called Life", but that never made it past the first season, either.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Thonolan
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 08:32 PM

I was a HUGE fan of both Northern Exposure and Picket Fences. However, both of those shows had faded badly by the time that they were finally canceled.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: kendall
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 09:18 PM

Barney Miller

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Coyote Breath
Date: 29 Apr 02 - 12:32 AM

Twin Peaks. I taped every episode. I realize one can't have something like that keeping up the pace and level of wierdness for ever but I hated it ending. I taped one episode with a "professional" deck which allowed the tape to be played backward in 'real' time. I thereby learned two really interesting things. One was how they got the strange voice of the dwarf and the other was that Baldamenti's theme played the same forward or backwards!!

TP made me a die-hard David Lynch fan.

CB

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Bert
Date: 29 Apr 02 - 01:51 AM

Seeing as we're going back to TW3 let's start a little further back and then move foward.

Jack Jackson's Record Roundabout.
Robin Hood
William Tell
The Army Game (The original one with William Hartnell as RSM)
The Lonnie Donegan Show
Steptoe and Son
The Val Doonican Show

Cannon Ball
Dad's Army
'Allo, 'Allo
The Lightning Tree
All Gas and Gaiters
Good Neighbors
To The Manor Born
Private Schultz
Maverick
The Rogues
Then there seems to be a big gap. More recently there's
Dead Last
Grace

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: SINSULL
Date: 03 May 02 - 12:39 PM

Lonnie Donegan had a show? Was it ever shown in the states?

Does anyone remember the name of the PBS series about women in Japanese prisoner of war camps? Similar to Paradise Road but far more brutal.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Pseudolus
Date: 03 May 02 - 12:53 PM

Kendall,
Do you get the station "TV Land" where you are? They had an entire weekend of Barney Miller some time back. You couldn't get me to leave the house. They must have had some great writers, Lots of turnover in that cast and it was always, always funny......loved it!

Anyway, I forget the time of day it's on but they run Barney Miller on a regular basis. I still try to catch it whenever I can.....

Frank

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: 53
Date: 03 May 02 - 01:16 PM

Hee Haw.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: The Walrus at work
Date: 03 May 02 - 01:22 PM

Sinsull

"...Does anyone remember the name of the PBS series about women in Japanese prisoner of war camps? Similar to Paradise Road but far more brutal..."

Could that be the BBC Series "Tenko" by any chance? It's the only female POW camp series I can think of.

Regards

Walrus

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Mrrzy
Date: 03 May 02 - 02:15 PM

CarolC, Due South was definitely one of the greats. Especially for 'catters, since it always had one long set-up scene with a ballad in the background, I recall the episode with Henry Martin especially fondly. I assume Star Trek is too obvious to mention - Barney Miller, what a GREAT show, and it still works today!

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Thonolan
Date: 03 May 02 - 03:17 PM

Soap deserved more than four seasons; it was one of the funniest comedies ever.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: GUEST,Mike Billo
Date: 03 May 02 - 04:25 PM

Michael Moore's "TV Nation", Mystery Science Theater 3000, Brisco County Jr. The Lone Gunmen.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Joe Offer
Date: 03 May 02 - 06:44 PM

There was a show for half a season called "Nothing Sacred," that gave a very realistic portrayal of life in a Roman Catholic parish in a U.S. city. Catholic right-wingers hated it and barraged the network with protest letters. I don't think they could handle the idea that real Catholics might have shortcomings, and that Catholic priests are (and should be) human beings.
-joe Offer-

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Lepus Rex
Date: 03 May 02 - 06:51 PM

Another vote for MST3K. I think Sci-Fi Channel almost HAD to cencel it, though: in a few years, MST3K woudld've had to start mocking some of the horseshit movies that their parent network produces. >:) But for a longtime fan of the show like me (back to it's local Twin Cities, UHF days), that cancellation was a sad day.
---Lepus Rex

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Lepus Rex
Date: 03 May 02 - 06:54 PM

(that last sentence made no sense, but you get the idea. :P)

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Thonolan
Date: 03 May 02 - 06:55 PM

I'll add another vote for "Nothing Sacred". Even though I watched only one or two episodes, I liked what I saw.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Mickey191
Date: 03 May 02 - 07:28 PM

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman & Soap. When ever I see a Great Dane I think of MH MH. Had to do with (Oh how do I phrase this?) transference of body parts from the dog, to an underendowed gentleman. It was a howl! I'll add St. Elsewhere.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: SINSULL
Date: 03 May 02 - 07:53 PM

Thanks, Walrus. I believe "Tenko" is it. It was shown on Canadian TV so I had to see it n bits and pieces when I travelled/sold in the Buffalo area.

Confession - I still watch MST in re-runs on Saturday AM.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Genie
Date: 04 May 02 - 02:40 AM

Joe, I was about to post this:

"'Nothing Sacred.' This show, about a young priest wrestling with issues [as opposed to choirboys] was cancelled after about four or five episodes, due to protests from viewers [and/or from folks who may have never seen it but protested based on what htey had heard about it.] Anyway, I liked it."

Then I noticed you'd already mentioned that show and made a similar point. So I second what you said.

Genie

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Amergin
Date: 04 May 02 - 02:46 AM

red green....well they don't show it around here anymore...pisses me off...just when I was going to learn how to make a microwave dish using sheet metal and duct tape....

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 04 May 02 - 03:28 AM

Police Squad! It was only on for six episodes, around 1982. It was the precursor to the Naked Gun movies, and started the second career of Leslie Neilson, this time as a comic actor, a deadpan parody of himself, really. Hilarious stuff!

Gareth - I remember That Was The Week That Was. My parents, sister, and me used to watch it every week. It made David Frost a household name in the U.S., but despite that, it was a great show! :-).

chanteyranger

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Metchosin
Date: 04 May 02 - 04:13 AM

The Prisoner
Max Headroom
Barney Miller
Fraggle Rock
Have Gun, Will Travel
This Week Has 7 Days and
Dave Allan at Large

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: GUEST,Fogie
Date: 04 May 02 - 05:36 AM

Many of the above I agree with ... in addition

Johnnie Morris in Animal Magic. You know no-one ever really talked up for caged beasts like he did. The men in room 17-- what was that show about? always playing Go!too clever for the viewers they said. Quatermas and the pit ! lord help me my dad always made me go down the cellar to fetch coal when it was on, I was terrified The avengers with Diana Rigg, I could have watched that for ever. The six-five special.. I fell in love with guitars and had to have one

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Thonolan
Date: 04 May 02 - 08:56 AM

Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular was a lot of fun- I wouldn't have minded a few more seasons of it.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: GUEST,Cigilteach still w/out cookie
Date: 04 May 02 - 11:33 AM

This is a little off-thread but Father Ted was by far the best sitcom ever made. Dermot Morgan was brilliant. I still can't believe he's gone.

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Genie
Date: 05 May 02 - 02:45 AM

Well, ABC recently toyed with the idea of cancelling Nightline (and they probably would have if Letterman had come over to their side). I'm not convinced they won't cancel it before too long, just because its ratings don't consistently rival Letterman's or Leno's.

Also, rumor has it that "Politically Correct" is on its way out, mainly because--well, because Bill Maher had the audacity to say something politically incorrect after Dubya called the 9-11 hijackers "cowards." This is one of the few talk shows I really hate to miss. [If it weren't on so late, I'd watch it every night.] Anyway, don't be surprised if this show soon joins the ranks of others that have been cancelled because their humor offended someone's sense of propriety.

----------

A great daytime show that was cancelled -- or at least dropped by our local stations--was the Martin Short Show. He did many of his great characters on the show, in addition to interviewing guests as himself, sprinkling the conversations with his usual funny shtick. I see that Jeremy Glick has survived in cable with his own show, but what about those of us who don't have cable? Networks, bring back Martin!

Genie

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Deda
Date: 05 May 02 - 06:58 PM

Hill St. Blues

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Lepus Rex
Date: 06 May 02 - 10:45 AM

Cigilteach, Father Ted re-runs are playing on PBS in the US right now, and I've been enjoying the Hell out of it. Was the show cancelled when Dermot Morgan died?

Metchosin, technically, I don't think The Prisoner (the BEST SHOW IN TELEVISION HISTORY. I have all 3 soundtrack albums, muaha) was actually "cancelled." They orignally only wrote a small number of episodes (I forget how many), and had to be convinced to add several more to bulk up the series. So, we're actually lucky we have so many. :)

---Lepus Rex

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: GUEST,aldus
Date: 06 May 02 - 01:14 PM

Hallo Hallo As Time Goes By One Foot In the Grave(one of the best ever) Ab Fab ..my all time favourite Mr Bean

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Little Hawk
Date: 06 May 02 - 02:12 PM

I've been reminded of a couple of old favourites...

The Avengers (with Diana Rigg)....YEAHHH, BABY!!!

The Smothers Brothers (cancelled in its prime by the long arm of Tricky Dicky, the rat!) What a great show it was!

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Cancelled TV Shows, that shouldn't have
From: Kim C
Date: 07 May 02 - 10:54 AM

Northern Exposure and Twin Peaks. There was another odd show, I think it had the word Gothic in the title, that only ran for one season. It was supposed to be spooky, the sheriff was the devil or some such. I don't even remember now.

Did I ever mention I had a huge crush on Tommy Smothers when I was in kindergarten?