I was going to start a thread on one-season wonders but here this is. So this is my list of top five shows that didn't even get renewed (with descriptions in case people aren't familiar with the shows - some of the shows mentioned above, I'm not familiar with).
- American Gothic (1995): Is the sheriff of a small South Carolina town the devil? Is a little orphan boy actually his son? Will the ghost of the boy's sister be able to save him from the sheriff's corrupting influence? Is this the satanic horror version of The Andy Griffith Show? Whatever it is, it's entertaining.
- Braindead (2016): You had me at Mary Elizabeth Winstead. But throw in Tony Shalhoub as a right-wing nutjob senator who is one of the many people in Washington who have had their brains eaten by alien bugs and now stagger around being insane, keep it working on both a very satirically funny and very scary level, and you have a show that needs to be running today.
- Firefly (2002): Well, I don't think this one needs any introduction.
- Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000): After her grandmother dies, high school honor student Lindsay Weir goes through an existential crisis and starts hanging with the freaks while her little brother is entrenched in the geeks. Despite the death-and-angst premise (which does work on a dramatic level), this may be the funniest show I've ever seen.
- Space: Above and Beyond (1995-96): If you don't like gritty gung-ho space marines, you probably won't like this but if you're neutral to positive, this may work. The two-hour pilot isn't so great but once it really gets started, it's a blast. Be warned, it reaches a new-level with some story-arc developments in the human-alien war that would have made a great second season and even ends on a cliff-hanger just in time to be canceled.
Anyone have any older shows (especially B&W-era) that didn't run long? Those tend to be harder to find out about or notice unless they're something like
The Honeymooners but that show wasn't even exactly a one-season or short-lived show, as there were skits in variety shows for years before and after its one season as an independent show.
And what does it say that TV shows that are cancelled immediately are usually one of two things: really awful or really great? Why do so many of the good die young?
