|
Post by callipygias on Jul 12, 2010 12:31:37 GMT -5
Any you liked, or any you've since heard of and wish you could see? I remember being disappointed back when I was a kid that Square Pegs was cancelled. It was amazingly stupid, but it was so perfectly stupid for its time. Plus, Bill Murray was on it once -- it's the only scene from the show I remember -- he sang a song I haven't heard in almost 30 years but will sometimes still catch myself humming. One I wish I could see was called The Texas Wheelers, from 1974. I read a description of a typical episode: " Eldest son goes out back to beat the sh*t out of daddy over all sorts of neglectful acts, while the rest of the family has a funeral for a dead baby duck." And check out the cast. Mark Hamill (pre-Star Wars), Garey Busey, and the dad was Jack Elam. Beat that.
|
|
|
Post by siamesesin on Jul 12, 2010 14:19:34 GMT -5
Good topic idea, calli! A lot of my one-hit wonders are from the UK, but I can think of a few home-grown shows. FireflyFor however much Whedon can please/annoy me, this show was such an amazing combination-an fairly original concept, good writing, great casting. It had so much potential. My So-Called LifeOkay, teeny angst. But it was on the air when I was an angsty teen, so it fit. Some remarkable performances coupled with an unusual amount of honesty (for the show's demographic). I was very bummed that it only survived the one year. Freaks and GeeksA bit past my age, but all of the same compliments from MSCL, with the added benefit of having some Brains involved. I'm very glad that so much of the cast has moved on to bigger and better things.
|
|
|
Post by Beautiful Mind on Jul 12, 2010 14:46:43 GMT -5
When Things Were Rotten(1975) Was a Mel Brooks sitcom. It was very funny but before its time.
|
|
|
Post by spackle on Jul 12, 2010 15:12:26 GMT -5
I kind of liked Strange Luck from the mid-90s. I definitely wasn't ready to say goodbye to it when it was pulled.
I also liked The Visitor, with John Corbett.
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Atari on Jul 12, 2010 15:57:07 GMT -5
Wow, Calli. That Texas Wheelers looks OUTSTANDING!
At the top of my list would be The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. Bruce Campbell as a cowboy in a show produced by a pre-LOST Carlton Cuse. The sci-fi elements and mysterious orb were clear predecessors to that island show. This one was the perfect balance of western, comedy, serial, mystery, and well, just darn good TV.
I'll bring up Police Squad before someone else beats me to it. Even though they recycled most of the gags for the films, it was still a great 6 hours of television.
Then there's Voyagers. I remember a few years after it was cancelled that a new "fix history through time travel" show was coming out. I remember thinking, "Boy, I hope this "Quantum Leap" show is as good as "Voyagers"."
Finally, I've been hoping for a DVD set of The New Adventures of Beans Baxter for a long time. It was one of the first shows on the fledgling FOX network back in 1987. Not only was it created by Savage Steve Holland (writer/director of classics like "Better Off Dead" and "One Crazy Summer"), but it featured Elinor Donahue, to boot.
|
|
|
Post by CBG on Jul 12, 2010 16:42:18 GMT -5
I will second both Freaks and Geeks, and Brisco County. A great one-season show I loved was "What's Alan Watching?". A show waaaaay ahead of it's time. Oh, and, check out some of those cast names.
|
|
|
Post by Captain Hygiene on Jul 12, 2010 17:59:21 GMT -5
I'll bring up Police Squad before someone else beats me to it. Even though they recycled most of the gags for the films, it was still a great 6 hours of television. I bring this up all the time, but this is my favorite one-season series. Unfairly short, but at the same time it probably couldn't be sustained that much longer than six episodes.
|
|
|
Post by davidbeegah on Jul 12, 2010 18:10:39 GMT -5
I also like Police Squad, The Adventures of Brisco County, and Strange Luck. One show not mentioned yet was "Key West" with Fisher Stevens and Jennifer Tilly with a few others. I remember the trailers for Texas Wheelers but I do not remember ever watching it. I know that Jack Elam was one of my dad's favorite charter actors. But I do not remember watching it. Too bad it looks like a good fun show...
|
|
|
Post by crowschmo on Jul 12, 2010 19:55:48 GMT -5
Used to love Briscoe County, Jr., and Square Pegs - "totally".
There was a show, I'll have to look it up - don't remember much about it. The name of the show was the name of the main character, played by Alan Arkin, and Richard Lewis was on it. (How come you're "on" a TV show, but "in" a movie? - that's some comedian's gag). I remember thinking it was funny at the time, but all I remember was one of Richard Lewis' lines. It was Alan Arkin's birthday or something on the show and Richard's character said something to the effect of: "We were going to throw you a suprise party, but - they put me in charge." He shrugs. "Just didn't happen."
Am I remembering correctly, but - I think there was a comedy with George Carlin and Bernadette Peters. Could that be possible? Or am I having acid flashbacks? I'll have to look that one up, too.
|
|
|
Post by siamesesin on Jul 12, 2010 20:48:27 GMT -5
Am I remembering correctly, but - I think there was a comedy with George Carlin and Bernadette Peters. Could that be possible? Or am I having acid flashbacks? I'll have to look that one up, too. I remember Paige French on the George Carlin Show, but not Bernadette Peters. *checks IMDB* Well, they both did Carol Burnett. Was that maybe what your thinking of?
|
|
|
Post by Mod City on Jul 12, 2010 23:44:44 GMT -5
I'll bring up Police Squad before someone else beats me to it. Even though they recycled most of the gags for the films, it was still a great 6 hours of television. Then there's Voyagers. I remember a few years after it was cancelled that a new "fix history through time travel" show was coming out. I remember thinking, "Boy, I hope this "Quantum Leap" show is as good as "Voyagers"." Police Squad! is a classic, but Voyagers! is a blast from my childhood. I remember watching this with my mom when I was probably six or seven. I can still clearly see scenes from the episode where they help Thomas Edison with the light bulb. I would love to see it again. By the way, the official title of those two both appear to have exclamation points. For some reason I like that. A couple others that came and went quickly in my youth: AutomanThink Tron meets cop show, with Desi Arnez Jr. in the programmer-whose-creation-comes-to-life role. I remember bits and pieces but no full show. Whiz KidsThink WarGames meets cop/spy show, as I remember it, and that's about all I remember. I remember watching it a few times and liking it because it had to do with computers. I was definitely a budding computer nerd. And yeah, I definitely want to see The Texas Wheelers.
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Atari on Jul 13, 2010 0:52:11 GMT -5
Was Whiz Kids like a younger version of Misfits of Science?
Which reminds me...Misfits of Science.
|
|
|
Post by ElectricPeterTork on Jul 13, 2010 1:12:59 GMT -5
a pair of canceled too early shows from ABC...
Maximum Bob - don't remember much, except that I enjoyed it, and it starred Beau Bridges and Liz Vassey.
Fantasy Island '98 - Malcolm McDowell as Mr. Roarke? A Darker tone to the show? Madchen Amick? This show deserved more than 13 episodes.
|
|
|
Post by Mighty Jack on Jul 13, 2010 1:18:36 GMT -5
Great subject -
Lets see there was this Bob Newhart show where he was a comic book creator that was drop dead, doubled me over with laughter hilarious. It actually went to a 2nd season, but they changed the concept (to greeting card creator) and many of the characters - completely ruined it. They never rerun the comic book show and I'd give near anything to see it again (I wonder if it would hold up?)
Best of the West Western comedy that my dad loved, I can remember him howling with laughter.
Raines Quirky, murder mystery show that starred Jeff Goldblum (who sees dead people). Their were so few episodes and they have never released it on DVD.
Wonderfalls Completely delightful and strange romantic comedy about a gal who is guided by inanimate objects that come to life and give her cryptic instructions. Thankfully they released a great DVD set with wonderful extras so I can watch this whenever I watch. Like Firefly it's a great show, one of my all time favorites, that the network screwed over.
|
|
|
Post by Mod City on Jul 13, 2010 1:50:58 GMT -5
Was Whiz Kids like a younger version of Misfits of Science? Which reminds me...Misfits of Science. I remember Misfits of Science, but I never watched it due to a scheduling conflict (darn choir practice). That show was a little deeper and more far out than Whiz Kids, as far as I recall. I mean, those characters had powers, the Whiz Kids had...a computer. Right now I'd rather see an episode of Misfits, now that I think about it. And how could I forget about Street Hawk! The Knight Rider of motorcycles. Kind of.
|
|