Who deserved more then this?

[johnbasalla]

Which TV shows that ran one or two seasons do you or did you wish would've been renewed for more seasons?
Here are mine:

THE TIME TUNNEL. A way cool concept that had some really neat episodes (particularly for boys). The producer's could have gotten even more creative with a few more seasons. Still, they did some way-out things. There's an episode set in the late 1800s during a war between Arabs and British forces. The two time travelers, "Tony Newman" and "Doug Phillips", in dodging bullets, take refuge around a corner of a large hill or rock. There they suddenly encounter space aliens with a ray gun who takes them hostage. Totally unexpected and real cool.
Just think what they could have done as the seasons progressed.

OH, THOSE BELLS. This early 1960s sitcom lasted less then a season. It's been described as "very 3 Stooges-like". Since I'm a 3 Stooges fan, I'm intrigued. If it would have lasted at least a couple of seasons, maybe it would be out on DVD. I've never seen it, but this is at the top of my want list.

 

[johnbasalla]

Here are two season shows that I wish would have had a longer life:

The original "THE OUTER LIMITS". Mostly good scripts and stories produced very well under the time and budget constraints of series TV.

THE MONKEES. It would have been very interesting to see how the show evolved thanks to the dual happenings of the groups desire to take more control over their product, as in be more "relevant", and doing so in the morass that was the psychedelic late 1960s.

POLICE SQUAD!. Six episodes wasn't enough for this silly, but unique and clever show which was a comedy, but not a sitcom.

 

[WMC2006]

This has been done in other threads but my past answers remain the same:

The Lazarus Man, starring Robert Urich. It was a western that aired on TNT in 1996, cancelled after Urich was diagnosed with synovial cell sarcoma.

And Nowhere Man, also airing in 1995-1996, on UPN, starring Bruce Greenwood.

 

[deltas69]

Peacekeepers with Tom Beringer only nine episodes I think..

 

[cd637299]

Police Squad! is my #1 alltime favorite show. But really---how long could Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker keep a plot like that going? It was either me, or a relative, thinking---Remember at the end, they would review ALL the criminals they sent to the Stateville Prison from prior eps; the "epilogue" would be much too long, if the show ran 4-5 seasons!

Some others I liked:

"Run, Buddy, Run" (1966) - only 13 episodes
"Lotsa Luck" (1973) - 1 season
"The Paper Chase" (1979-80?)

cd

 

[rnigma1]

"The Paper Chase" ran on CBS in 1978-79, and was revived by Showtime in 1983-86.

The similarity of "Oh, Those Bells!' to the Three Stooges was no accident: the show was produced by Jules White, who directed many of Moe, Larry and Curly/Shemp/Joe's misadventures. White, a veteran of decades of two-reelers, could not get accustomed to the rushed schedules of television.

One show that was pulled way too soon was "American Fighter Pilot," a reality show CBS ran in the early 2000s, which followed the training of pilots at Tyndall AFB (where my dad had been stationed years ago). Only two episodes ran before CBS yanked it and replaced it with more "JAG" reruns.

Not long before, CBS killed "That's Life" in the middle of its second season.

 

[Markxxx]

Jason Bateman's "It's Your Move," should have been a hit and renewed.

 

[ajc_trw]

Re: Who deserved more than this?

Star Trek - Enterprise! They finally got it right in season 4 and I'm sure with the bugs worked out seasons 5 + would have been just as good.

 

[benwolf]

Re: Who deserved more than this?

Star Trek - Enterprise! They finally got it right in season 4 and I'm sure with the bugs worked out seasons 5 + would have been just as good.

How interesting...I thought in was the season 4 changes (more battle, less plot) is what killed that show.

 

[deltas69]

Two other westerns come to mind..A man called Shanandoah starring Robert Horton as a man who lost his memory and wanders the West in search of who he is..ran for one season..and perhaps the most gritty western of all...Deadwood..so much left hanging..no pun intended..

 

[anotherguyTN]

The original WKRP deserved to run longer. If CBS had kept it on Monday nights instead of shuffling it all over the schedule it could have lasted longer.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

The Weird Al Show, a victim of a lack of promotion and a channel kids didn't watch (it was only promoted on CBS during Saturday mornings), good while it lasted

 

[Ultimajock]

...Date with the Angels, the May 1957-January 1958 ABC sitcom with Betty White and Bill Williams. Only 33 episodes were filmed; Mill Creek has issued most of them on DVD between a Betty White package that also includes episodes of Life with Elizabeth (both sitcoms were Don Fedderson productions) and a holiday TV package. The original idea was to follow the daydreams of newlywed Vickie Angel (White) and their complications on her home life with husband Gus Angel (Williams), but sponsor Plymouth insisted on eliminating the fantasy sequences and turned it into a standard domestic sitcom, a circumstance which White strongly disliked (she claims it was the only time she wanted to get out of her commitment to any series). Although the end result often looks like a retread of Life with Elizabeth with a studio audience (the series was filmed at Desilu), it did have a solid recurring supporting cast (Burt Mustin, Richard Deacon, Nancy Culp, Jimmy Boyd and Hanley Stafford all made multiple appearances on the show) and a good director (James V. Kern) and writers (including George Tibbles)...

...then there's She Spies, the Natasha Henstridge adventure/comedy of 2002-04; that series went through an unnecessary formatting and supporting cast change during its second season that led to a sharp downturn in ratings and eventual cancellation...

 

[RadioMan203]

How about the original Gidget series with Sally Field and Don Porter? If the scripts were more encompassing they could have carried it on to her college years and perhaps her married years - sort of like how the "new" Gidget with Caryn Richmond and William Schallert ended up.

 

[cd637299]

[deleted]

cd

 

[kirkiefan]

THE TIME TUNNEL. A way cool concept that had some really neat episodes (particularly for boys). The producer's could have gotten even more creative with a few more seasons. Still, they did some way-out things. There's an episode set in the late 1800s during a war between Arabs and British forces. The two time travelers, "Tony Newman" and "Doug Phillips", in dodging bullets, take refuge around a corner of a large hill or rock. There they suddenly encounter space aliens with a ray gun who takes them hostage. Totally unexpected and real cool.
Just think what they could have done as the seasons progressed.

Sadly,there was no second season for The Time Tunnel. As a 13 year old,this was one of my favorite series (aside from The Monkees) which was dissed by the ever arrogant and snooty Cleveland Amory in TV Guide.
After the last episode was aired,the preview for the next episode was for the first one..the "Titanic" debut episode.

Classic camp from the pen of Irwin Allen who gave us Voyage to The Bottom of The Sea.

 

[Tim L]

...Date with the Angels, the May 1957-January 1958 ABC sitcom with Betty White and Bill Williams. Only 33 episodes were filmed; Mill Creek has issued most of them on DVD between a Betty White package that also includes episodes of Life with Elizabeth (both sitcoms were Don Fedderson productions) and a holiday TV package. The original idea was to follow the daydreams of newlywed Vickie Angel (White) and their complications on her home life with husband Gus Angel (Williams), but sponsor Plymouth insisted on eliminating the fantasy sequences and turned it into a standard domestic sitcom, a circumstance which White strongly disliked (she claims it was the only time she wanted to get out of her commitment to any series). Although the end result often looks like a retread of Life with Elizabeth with a studio audience (the series was filmed at Desilu), it did have a solid recurring supporting cast (Burt Mustin, Richard Deacon, Nancy Culp, Jimmy Boyd and Hanley Stafford all made multiple appearances on the show) and a good director (James V. Kern) and writers (including George Tibbles)...

The Christmas episode of Date With The Angels was one of the first store bought VHS tapes I ever owned..I paid something like $3.99 for itt when getting classic and obscure TV shows on VHS was a new thing..All the supporting cast mentioned above were in this episode..

 

[Ultimajock]

...Date with the Angels, the May 1957-January 1958 ABC sitcom with Betty White and Bill Williams. Only 33 episodes were filmed; Mill Creek has issued most of them on DVD between a Betty White package that also includes episodes of Life with Elizabeth (both sitcoms were Don Fedderson productions) and a holiday TV package. The original idea was to follow the daydreams of newlywed Vickie Angel (White) and their complications on her home life with husband Gus Angel (Williams), but sponsor Plymouth insisted on eliminating the fantasy sequences and turned it into a standard domestic sitcom, a circumstance which White strongly disliked (she claims it was the only time she wanted to get out of her commitment to any series). Although the end result often looks like a retread of Life with Elizabeth with a studio audience (the series was filmed at Desilu), it did have a solid recurring supporting cast (Burt Mustin, Richard Deacon, Nancy Culp, Jimmy Boyd and Hanley Stafford all made multiple appearances on the show) and a good director (James V. Kern) and writers (including George Tibbles)...

The Christmas episode of Date With The Angels was one of the first store bought VHS tapes I ever owned..I paid something like $3.99 for itt when getting classic and obscure TV shows on VHS was a new thing..All the supporting cast mentioned above were in this episode..

...actually, Jimmy Boyd doesn't appear in that Christmas episode (which, curiously enough, ABC ran on 13 December 1957, with another non-holiday episode run on December 20th). But, indeed, all of the other recurring cast members I mentioned do appear in it...

 

[Mitchell H]

THE TIME TUNNEL. A way cool concept that had some really neat episodes (particularly for boys). The producer's could have gotten even more creative with a few more seasons. Still, they did some way-out things. There's an episode set in the late 1800s during a war between Arabs and British forces. The two time travelers, "Tony Newman" and "Doug Phillips", in dodging bullets, take refuge around a corner of a large hill or rock. There they suddenly encounter space aliens with a ray gun who takes them hostage. Totally unexpected and real cool.
Just think what they could have done as the seasons progressed.

Sadly,there was no second season for The Time Tunnel. As a 13 year old,this was one of my favorite series (aside from The Monkees) which was dissed by the ever arrogant and snooty Cleveland Amory in TV Guide.
After the last episode was aired,the preview for the next episode was for the first one..the "Titanic" debut episode.

Classic camp from the pen of Irwin Allen who gave us Voyage to The Bottom of The Sea.

Can't remember the source, but a book I read many years ago mistakenly suggested that the time travelers had actually wound up back on the deck of the Titanic at the end of that episode, doomed to repeat their adventures over and over like some sort of Flying Dutchmen. Now that would have been an intriguing way to end the series, with an episode that suggested the series never really ended.