Your Favorite Series No Else Heard About...

[Scoody Boo]

Have you ever been a fan of a television series that just never garnered a fan base? One that was cancelled after a few episodes or hung on in some ungodly time slot and when you tell your friends about it they look at you like, what?

I was a huge of three series like that. One was Our Family Honor. About a family of three generations of cops that were blood enemies of a family of three generations of Mafia mobsters. It was very well written. Shot in a Miami Vice cinematic style. One of the stars was a young Michael Madsen. It played for a couple of months then just quietly disappeared.

Next was Sable about a gun for hire problem solver who carried a big Desert Eagle Magnum with a laser site, but no bullets. He had murdered four men in Africa in cold blood and could not deal with the guilt. He had sworn to never kill again and used the Magnum only to intimidate. It that did not work he would beat the shit out of you with mad martial arts skills.

Last but not least, Friday 13th: The Series probably one of the best written television series ever. This series had nothing to do with Jason Vorhees, but was about some cursed objects that had been sold from an antique shop and had to be found and returned to a vault. Every episode dealt with one of the objects. The main characters of the series really had little to do with the stories, basically just showing up at the end to collect the objects. What the series really dealt with was with the people who had the cursed object in that episode and how it affected their lives. The writers were given great leeway and they came up with some great stories. This series languished in syndication for a couple of seasons and then disappeared.

I have met very few people that ever saw one of these. I have never come across anyone who ever saw all three.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

1. Nice username ...

and nice Faye Valentine picture.

[Scoody Boo]

2. Scoody Boo...

Is how my grandson says "Scooby Doo."

As for Faye...she is my perfect woman. I am holding out until I find someone just like her. :)

[jjmalonejr]

3. Police Squad

I LOVED that show, but it didn't last long.

After The Naked Gun came out, suddenly everyone though Police Squad was cool.

Wish they had just watched it when it was on so it could've STAYED on!

[Zookeeper]

10. Police Squad was hilarious!

It's available on VHS, but not yet on DVD. :(

[jjmalonejr]

11. Yeah, it was definitely a riot.

Wish it had lasted longer and that there would be more TV comedies like it.

Ah, if only...

[ForrestGump]

30. As was "Sledge Hammer," though I don't think that one was as obscure

as some of these listed. Brilliant stuff.

[vireo]

126. No Soap Radio

It preceded Police Squad and was much more bizarre! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083457/

[Ivan Sputnik]

4. Wonderfalls

Excellent (IMO), quirky "dramedy" that was cancelled after four episodes, though 13 were produced. All 13 were eventually released on DVD, thankfully.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderfalls

[IntravenousDemilo]

21. "Wonder, wonder why the wonder falls,

Wonder why the wonder falls on me."

The full-length song is a great extra on the DVD. The guy who wrote it was in XTC, I think -- don't feel like checking now, though.

The show was ace, and all 13 episodes are mine, all mine! Well, to watch, anyway....

[flamingyouth]

51. That was a great show

I have the DVD set too.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

52. I just watched the last episode this morning!

Wonderful little show. Next up is Dead Like Me from the same guy.

[ghostsofgiants]

5. Riget

It was a Danish miniseries by Lars Von Trier. There were two seasons, four episodes per season. It should have gone to a third, but one of the lead actors and I believe a couple of the supporting actors died, so von Trier decided not to continue.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108906
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127392

[China_cat]

14. Isn't that the one they based Kingdom Hospital on?

[ghostsofgiants]

16. Yep, that's the one.

Far superior to Kingdom Hospital.

[u4ic]

85. Riget was amazing

Just...amazing...:thumbsup:

[Floogeldy]

6. You haven't heard about it.

It was a series that I, and only I, saw. No one else heard about it. I'm the only one that viewed the series.

[Oeditpus Rex]

7. Bay City Blues

Wasn't even really a "series." Steven Bochco created it in the shadow of "Hill Street Blues"s popularity, and NBC ran four "test" episodes at like 11:30 p.m. or so. It didn't get picked up.

It was about a Double-A baseball club in the fictional Bay City, Somewhere.

Pretty good cast, including a young Sharon Stone. And I remember one great line by Dennis Franz, the pitching coach, teaching a kid how to load up a pitch: "You got your spit, you got your snot, you got your hair oil..."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084982/

[Deja Q]

8. Quark, Blake's 7, 704 Hauser, Sapphire and Steel...

[Brigid]

9. Perfect Strangers

It lasted several seasons, but was never much of a ratings hit. I can't find it anywhere, even in reruns or on DVD. But Larry and Balki used to make me laugh till I cried. Literally.

Another series I remember was "To Have and to Hold," 1998. It didn't last long, but I thought it was charming. It was about a young married couple in Boston. He's a prosecutor, she's a defense attorney. They have just bought an old house, and were fixing it up. It was full of terrific small moments. The one I remember best is one in which they were painting a room one night, and the doorbell rings. They play "rock, paper, scissors" to determine who would answer. Nothing was said, they just did it. That would be much too subtle for TV today.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

40. I'm sure there are lots of people who know "Perfect Strangers"

It was shown in Australia for six years after the time that I moved there (although I suspect the latter shows were reruns) and I even viewed it in Singapore during the late 1980s. It had a considerable international following so I'm sure it had one domestically as well. I too loved Larry and Balki and Jennifer and Mary Anne

[Mojambo]

45. Self Delete

Sorry. Replied to the wrong post.

[CBHagman]

54. I recall that was a hit in France.

Perfect Strangers was pure silliness on the surface, but actually the comic performances were rather remarkable. I remember the entire cast pulling off a terrific Honeymooners take-off one night. The body language, delivery, and comic were spot-on.

Frankly, if they put Perfect Strangers on DVD, I'd probably consider buying it.

What I did see on DVD at the store recently was Margaret Cho's series, All-American Girl. That came out about 1994 and was originally a family comedy. It was off-beat and entertaining. Then someone started tinkering with it, eliminated Cho's on-screen Asian-American family and recast it with her and a bunch of male roommates. Just what TV needs -- eliminating roles for ethnic minorities, women, and mature actors. :sarcasm:

They did the same thing with Davis Rules, which starred Randy Quaid and Jonathan Winters (and had Patricia Clarkson in a recurring role). It switched networks, and the show was drastically altered (and the writing plummeted).

Oh, and I watched I Married Dora back in its single season.

I was also a Home Front fan, but that had a pretty vocal and loyal following, and thus doesn't qualify as obscure.

[AmericanaAustraliana]

69. Get owt of the city!

Now we do the dance of joy.:bounce::bounce:

[CBHagman]

72. That can be arranged.

Notice I didn't come back with "Don't be ridiculous!"

[AmericanaAustraliana]

91. ha:) -

What are the rules about posting images from other websites in forums like this?

[Left Is Write]

122. I don't think I've known anyone who was around in the 80s...

who DOESN'T know Perfect Strangers.

[BrotherBuzz]

12. Rescue 8

The experiences of two rescue specialists with the L.A. County Fire Department, whose job is to rescue people from dangerous, life-threatening situations (car accidents, cave-ins, stranded hikers, capsized boaters, etc.). This crappy 1958 B&W series predates the better known "Emergency!" by almost 15 years but was pretty exciting when I was a kid. I think it lasted one season.

[China_cat]

13. I've seen Friday the 13th, the series

It was a little over the top at times but fun to watch.

[Zookeeper]

15. Eerie Indiana...

The original 18 episodes which were aired in the early 1990s.

It was a Saturday morning series for kids, but it's so witty and weird that it's really for everyone.

It was created by Joe Dante.



(I hope this address will end up as an image.)

[ghostsofgiants]

17. I loved that show!

[Zookeeper]

18. I found the complete series on DVD...

last year.

It holds up very well. :thumbsup:

[ghostsofgiants]

19. Cool!

I haven't seen it in years. I was 11 or 12 when I used to watch it.

[Zookeeper]

22. Well, my oldest child was a year old when it aired...

but, it still gave me an excuse to watch it...:blush: ;-)

[sakabatou]

99. I remember that show

The reason I think it got canceled was because of either low viewership or a complete copy of Goosebumps. Or both.

[Zookeeper]

100. The first episodes were before Goosebumps....

They were aired in 1991 and '92.

There were a few episodes made like five or six years later, but I read that they were pretty bad. (I never saw them.)

[driver8]

20. Byrds of Paradise

Took place on Hawaii. Tim Busfield played a college professor who moved his family to the island after his wife died. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Seth Green were the kids. Arlo Guthrie played the slightly eccentric hippy neighbor.

It was a good show but just never caught on. I spent four years on Guam as a kid and this show reminded me of living there.

[dysfunctional press]

24. beat me to it...

nt

[greatauntoftriplets]

64. I watched that program!

Who was the beautiful Hawaiian woman who played the love interest?

On edit: I googled, she was Elizabeth Lindsey.

[SeattleGirl]

74. I really liked that show!

Was disappointed when it ended.

[SeattleGirl]

75. Deleted. Reposted down the thread.

[texanwitch]

23. My favorite show would be Shewolf of London.

I missed this show when it first came out, but found it later. The show was on for 2 years, the first season was better then the second.

[dysfunctional press]

25. Sports Night & Buffalo Bill

a GREAT one-season sitcom with peter krause and felicity huffman that went on hiatus, and never returned.

at least i've got the dvd set.

Buffalo Bill was a before-it's-time show with dabney coleman as an insufferable local tv personality in buffalo ny.

[driver8]

27. Sports Night is, without a doubt, the greatest show that nobody

saw. I missed it the first time around but borrowed a friend's DVD set. I developed a huge crush on Sabrina Lloyd, too.

From IMDB:



The show was finally canceled when Aaron Sorkin decided to concentrate on his other show, "The West Wing" (1999). Low ratings on ABC also contributed to its demise. But it did receive several attractive offers to continue on cable TV. However, all the deals included Sorkin as a writer but Sorkin declined.

[CPMaz]

28. I first caught it on DVD, too

Great, great, show. Definitely a sign of things to come with Sorkin's writing in The West Wing.

[BrklynLiberal]

131. Excellent show! Virtually everyone in it went on to bigger and better.

Josh Charles >> Not seen as much as the others
Peter Krause >> Six Feet Under
Felicity Huffman >> movies
Joshua Malina >> West Wing
Sabrina Lloyd >> I remembered her from "Sliders"
She went on to appear in "Ed" and "NUMB3RS"

Directed by Timothy Busfield who did some acting on "West Wing" and is married to Joshua Malina's wife's sister IE They are brothers-in-law.

[deadparrot]

94. Yep, Sports Night is great.

I've got the DVD's too. :)

[peekaloo]

101. I love Dabney Coleman.

Funny guy. I think BB is on DVD now.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

118. What was that other...

Coleman sitcom where he was some sort of reporter/trombone player?

[Patsy Stone]

139. Slap Maxwell. n/t

[Patsy Stone]

140. What's not to love?

And, for those of you playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon at home, Dabney was in The Trouble with Girls, with Elvis.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065125/

:)

[Patiod]

103. Buffalo Bill was a favorite

such an amazing cast

[Patsy Stone]

138. I watched it in real time

and thought it was the best show ever. Lord love Aaron Sorkin. So happy when they put out the DVD. It ran for two seasons.

[dysfunctional press]

141. that's right- it was two seasons...it's been so long ago.

i kept holding out faith that it was really going to come back after an actual hiatus...

[Patsy Stone]

142. Me too...

:( Loved Felicity Huffman's character. And the whole Jeremy/Natalie thing. Didn't Robert Guillaume have a stroke during this?

[dysfunctional press]

143. yes, he did have a stroke...

and they left the series go with a bit of a cliff-hanger, in that the british(aussie?) guy had just purchased the network.

[IntravenousDemilo]

26. "On the Air", a sitcom from 1992 created by David Lynch and Mark Frost

Yes, that's right, a situation comedy by David Lynch -- with music by Angelo Badalamenti, of course (great, funny, "noirish" theme music).

Starring: Ian Buchanan (Lester Guy), Nancye Ferguson (Ruth Trueworth), Miguel Ferrer (Buddy Budwaller), Gary Grossman (Bert Schein), Mel Johnson Jr. (Mickey), Marvin Kaplan (Dwight McConigle), David L. Lander (Gochktech), Kim McGuire (Nicole Thorne), Marla Rubinoff (Betty Hudson), Tracey Walter (Blinky Watts).

It's 1957 and a new TV show is about to premiere. It's "The Lester Guy Show" starring Lester Guy, a washed up film star who couldn't get a job anywhere until he's hired by the president of the Zoblotnick Broadcasting Network (ZBC) to star in his own show. Unfortunately, the show is hindered by Lester's ego; an incompetent director (Lander) who got the job only because his uncle owns the network even though no one can understand him; a producer (Kaplan) who's constantly nervous; the spacy blond costar named Betty Hudson (Marla Rubinoff) who has no experience in TV; and an equally dysfunctional crew. Things seem to go well in the rehearsal, but of course the actual show is a disaster. Props break, sound effects get mixed up, and cues are missed. Betty ends up saving the show by singing a song her mother taught her, stealing the show. The phones light up, and of course, the show ends up being a hit.

The above summary is at http://www.lynchnet.com/ontheair/ep.html.

Everybody is freaking hilarious. Miguel Ferrer is great as the vitriolic, abusive network rep. David L Lander is priceless and almost impossible to understand as the director, who speaks into the wrong end of his megaphone. And Marla Jeanette Rubinoff is so sweet and unbelievably stupid as starlet Betty Hudson. Then there are the Hurry-Up Twins who do nothing but occasionally drift through scenes saying "Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up". Oh, and I have a special fondness for Blinky the sound-man. "Blinky is not blind. He has Bozeman's Simplex and can actually see 57 times better than you. If you were Blinky, this is what you'd see..." And then we see some weird, freaky, utterly sidesplitting shit composed of absolutely everything in the episode all at once, as if it's being seen by the Man with X-Ray Eyes. This is a recurring bit.

Only three of the seven episodes made it "on the air". It was a summer replacement for something or other and proved to be just too whacked-out and absurd for most folks. I managed to rent the entire season on one VHS tape, but for some reason it's not available on DVD. Oh, I wish I wish I wish I wish I wish...

[CPMaz]

29. The Job

With Denis Leary, Diane Farr, et. al.

One of the few recent sitcoms with laugh-out-loud bits.

[ForrestGump]

31. "M*A*S*H*"

What? Some of you have heard of that one? :shrug:

[Bucky]

128. Was that the prequel to After-MASH?

Loved that After-MASH

[951-Riverside]

32. Mythbusters!

[NMMNG]

33. I remember "Friday the 13th"

It was fairly good as I recall.

[AmyDeLune]

34. Strange World

ABC aired all of 3 episodes, then shelved the series till their option ran out and it was rescued and finally run in it's 13 episode entirety on the SCI-FI Channel.

[CanuckAmok]

38. I worked on that one... and Harsh Realm.

Both series were incredibly expensive to produce, and therefore had to be smash hits in order to continue.

IIRC, Harsh Realm was $2.5m per episode. Whatever the exact figure, it was the most expensive tv production ever made.

[AmyDeLune]

60. Expensive = Series Death :-(

For some bizarre reason, ABC decided to air Strange World in the NYPD Blue time slot and barely advertised it. It was gone in two weeks.

Harsh Realm was building a following as I recall, that was when the network decided to start playing musical time slots to kill it off...

*sigh*

Cool that you got to work on them though. :)

[CanuckAmok]

70. Harsh Realm was a bit of a fiasco...

It was greenlighted when Chris Carter was having a major falling-out with Fox over their cancellation of "Milennium".

Although this idea borders on a Mulder level of paranoia, there are some people who believe Fox spent the money on HR, promoted and aired it poorly, just to take Carter down a peg. After all, they did debut the series against the MLB playoffs, a timeslot even Jesus Christ himself couldn't make profitable, even with all his card tricks.

[Robeson]

35. When I was young, "Longstreet"....

...don't know how that would play to me as an adult, but when I was a kid, I loved it.

[taterguy]

36. Action

It lasted a few episodes a few years ago on Fox. Jay Moir played a Hollywood producer. There was a scene where he appears before a Congressional Committee that’s one of the funniest and most thought provoking things I’ve seen on TV:

Senator: Mr. Dragon, you have a young daughter, do you not?
Peter Dragon: Let's not go there...
Senator: Her name is Georgia, she's about 10 years old I believe.
Peter Dragon: Don't do this.
Senator: Has little Georgia seen your film entitled "Ripcord"?
Peter Dragon: She can't get in Senator, it's rated R.
Senator: Which contains 357 acts of violence, 175 profanities, and four scenes of lesbian sex. She proud of her daddy for that one?
Wendy Ward: I think we should just go.
Senator: How can you look that sweet little girl in the eye?
Peter Dragon: I manage. I never voted to subsidize the growing of tobacco, while turning my back on food programs for starving kids. I've never vetoed a gun control bill; all MY guns are fake, Senator. I've never rushed to the defense of Kuwaiti oil fields, while ignoring genocide in Africa, because big oil companies that line your fat pockets aren't concerned with black Africa. Those are all productions of YOUR company Senator, this company right here!

[Starbucks Anarchist]

37. Great show.

I remember the exchange between Peter and his assistant:

- "She's my prostitute."
- "She's your whore?"
- "No, she's my prostitute. You're my whore." :rofl:

Did you know the whole series (one season) is on DVD for $16.99 at Amazon.com?

[Duer 157099]

47. I remember this one, but had forgotten the name

And yes, it was one of my favorites too -- I really like Jay Mohr in everything he does, but this was one sharp show, and it never made sense that it wasn't extended.

Thanks for reminding me about it

[CanuckAmok]

39. Profit:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115323/

The write-up on this show makes it sound like a bad soap, but it was actually a very well-written series.

The only way I can describe it is as Oedipus Rex meets American Psycho meets Richard III meets Blue Velvet.

Lots of good fun with murder, incest (the lead character is having an affair with his own mother), and paranoia.

Adrian Pasdar was the lead character, and at the end of each episode he stripped-down and broke the fourth wall, delivering a Shakespearian-themed monologue before climbing in the little box he liked to sleep in, for the night.

I worked on the last two episodes. While we were shooting it, I thought it was typical Fox crap, but seeing the completed episodes was a whole other experience.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

53. I've got this on my wish list

I happened upon it's IMDB page and the highlighted review said that it was even better than Homicide: Life on the Street which really piqued my interest.

[Patsy Stone]

135. This is one of my answers

Great show, so strange. That box!?! I got the DVD of the series recently -- just thrilled they released it.

Not to mention, Adrian Pasdar is HOT and he's Natalie Maines' husband to boot.

:loveya:

[BlueJazz]

157. I LOVED Profit...and then it was gone. Sigh.... nt

[Va Lefty]

41. Dead at 21

Show was on MTV in 1994. Premise was that a super secert government agency implants a computer chip in little kids heads. Kids become super smart but die at 21. Government decides to shut project down and wants to kill all implanted kids. The main character finds all this out on his 18th birthday and goes on the run.

[lizziegrace]

42. Brooklyn Bridge

Wonderful stories, characters and nostalgia.

[Left Is Write]

155. That had Marion Ross in it, right? I think I watched it a couple of times.

If it's the show I'm thinking of, my mother enjoyed it.

[lizziegrace]

156. Right

Marion Ross played the matriarch. She truly shined in that show.

[maveric]

43. My Living Doll.

It was a dumb show but it starred Julie Newmar, of Catwoman fame. HOT!!!

[Bunny]

44. Frank's Place and Buffalo Bill.

Some info on Frank's Place:

http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/F/htmlF/franksplace/franksplace.htm

And some on Buffalo Bill:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084992/

[Patiod]

106. Frank's Place was remarkable - my favorite of the short-lived series

I think it was before its time - maybe it would have done better now.

[Mojambo]

46. Kenny vs Spenny.

It's still airing. It's one of the only reality shows I've ever liked, but no one I talk to has ever heard of it!

Hilarious show. It's kind of like Jackass meets the Odd Couple, filmed documentary style.

[BrklynLiberal]

48. "Flying Blind" with Tea Leone & Corey Parker

This short-lived FOX sitcom featured Neil, a shy repressed guy who meets the girl of his dreams, Alicia, who is gorgeous and wild. Amazingly, they begin to date and the striking contrast between their personalities provides the basis for ongoing slapstick comedy. Neil's embarrassing family and Alicia's crazy roommates and friends play supporting roles.

The original "Dharma and Greg", only better.

[Kat45]

92. Yes, I loved "Flying Blind."

It was on after "Herman's Head," my favorite show at the time.

[BrklynLiberal]

130. "Herman's Head" was another really great show that too few people

appreciated.
It was a great hour watching those 2 shows.

[xmas74]

49. Friday the Thirteenth was on every Friday at 1 am

when I was in high school. I'd come home at around midnight (curfew), take a shower, change into my jammies and watch it.

I remember it quite well.

[Nikia]

50. Wildfire, the cartoon

I think that's what it was called anyway. I remember watching it when I was a child on Saturday mornings. It was about a girl who was a ranch with her uncle, but she was really a princess in another world. There was a horse, Wildfire.
I mentioned remembering it to several people my age who didn't remember it.

[ContraBass Black]

55. Exo Squad.

[YankeyMCC]

104. Hey Me too

There are a couple of others I'll list but this was a 'guilty pleasure' of mine in the early-mid 90s. I would watch it in the mornings before going to work.

But only the fact that it was a cartoon scheduled during kids morning cartoons made it a 'guilty pleasure' it was a smart show with some complex characters and interesting plots.

[ContraBass Black]

110. Nothing guilty about it.

I don't think I even noticed the deeper issues until I read a synopsis of it years later. It wasn't for children at all.

[YankeyMCC]

129. You're right

it just felt guilty because it was aired along with other kid cartoons. :)

[CanuckAmok]

56. Greg the F***ing Bunny

Best. Show. Ever.

Greg: "I left cookies and milk three nights in a row for God and he hasn't taken them. Why am I so forsaken!"


Greg: "Look at me, I'm a drunken cliché!"


Gil: "When I'm out for blood, I never let sex get in the way."
Susan the Monster: "That's funny, for me it's just the other way around."


Warren: "What do humans see in these things, anyway? If I wanted someone to lick my face and poop on my lawn I'd get back together with Farrah Fawcett."


Greg: "Careful with that, you're gonna burn my dick!"

[Scoody Boo]

59. I loved that show! n/t

[Xipe Totec]

67. Dude! My dishes are in there!

Blah me!

The green ones make me horny!

Loved the series.

[Left Is Write]

123. I saw that show a couple of times in late-night reruns...

when my daughter was an infant.

I swear that for a while, I thought I'd dreamed it!

[GOPisEvil]

57. Sports Night - Aaron Sorkin's work pre- West Wing.

Some of the same actors, same great writing...

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

58. "Seinfeld"

No one ever heard of it, right? :rofl:

[Arkham House]

61. "Nowhere Man"

Bruce Greenwood as a guy whose identity is stolen from him by a mysterious organization. It was cancelled after a season--and we never had a resolution to the series!!! Arghh!!! Still infuriates me...

[Kat45]

93. I liked "Nowhere Man." It was fascinating, and the lack of

resolution pissed me off too.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

119. Sounds kinda like Lazerus Man and Coronet Blue.

[Ravenseye]

62. Firefly

Probably one of the most amazing series I ever have seen. 13 episodes, only 10 of which i think aired and all of them out of order. The pilot, which introduced all the characters and the storyline, was aired last. Great acting. Great Writing (even though I'm not a Joss Whedon fan). Great Effects.

Just a tremendous series that should still be on the air.

They treated it like garbage. I wonder if Lost would be on the air today, if they chose not to air the pilot episode, and immediately ran the second episode without introducing anyone. Then not airing another episode for 3 weeks, at which time they air the show at a different time on a different day. Rinse and repeat, and move it around the schedule each time. Never on the same day or time three times in a row, bumped more often than not in the first 2 months because of baseball playoffs...

Lost would have never gotten past 13 episodes either.

Such crap. Fox sucks.

[cmd]

63. Captain Video and His Video Rangers

It aired a loooooooog time ago, kiddies. The Ranger was my first crush.

[greatauntoftriplets]

65. Beacon Hill.

A sort of Upstairs, Downstairs copycat about an upper-crust family in Boston post WWI. It was on for less than a year in the early 1970s. Extremely well acted and scripted, despite its lack of popularity.

[Xipe Totec]

66. Gregg The Bunny

With Seth Green. Only lasted half a season, but what a ride!

[Vidar]

68. VR 1

[NoPasaran]

71. Fernwood Tonight

After "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" went off the air, Martin Mull's sleezy character lived on as the host of a talkshow with sidekick Fred Willard. It lasted into a second season, still sleezy but somewhat better production values as "America Tonight".

[patsimae]

73. MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN

Never really watched it but I can still hear the theme music in my head and picture Mary with her braids.

[peekaloo]

102. Never missed it.

Hilarious. Kenneth Mars never failed to steal the show with his appearances.

[MrBenchley]

76. Coronet Blue

CBS aired it as a summer replacement series in 1967 or thereabouts....Frank Converse was a Man from U.N.C.L.E. type secret agent meeting a contact on a Circle Line tour around Manahattan; the bad guys beat him up, steal the secret, and dump him in the water. He washes ashore in NJ, and when the cops find him, he shouts "Coronet Blue" at them before passing out....

...and when he wakes up he has no memory, no money and no identity. He starts wandering around Manhattan, ends up working a a janitor in coffee shop in the Village, becomes a hippie, and struggles to find out who he is and what "Coronet Blue" means...

and every once in awhile guys show up and try to kill him....

One of the episodes was a thinly disguised account of Dylan's motorcycle crash, with Dick Clark as the evil head of the record company...

[greatauntoftriplets]

78. And Frank Converse was absolutely gorgeous then....

I :loveya: him at the time. It was the year I got thrown out of high school (graduated).

[MrBenchley]

79. You remember that show!

There's damn few who do...although at the time I thought it was great!

Wonder how it would hold up now?

Converse is the villain in my favorite episode of Law & Order, as a guy who murders a woman because she questioned a bad showhorse he sold her....

[greatauntoftriplets]

82. Oh yes, I remember it well.

Frank Converse is now playing a bad guy???

:(

I bet he doesn't look as good either. I was watching it as an 18-year-old female. He was damn hot back then.

[MrBenchley]

83. Jerry Orbach and Benjamin Bratt are called to a stable

where somebody has killed a show horse...and Frank Converse arranges such things for a living....It's an excellent episode.

[SeattleGirl]

77. "The Closer" on USA Network, starring Kyra Sedgwick

Love that show! New season starts in June.

[Redstone]

80. Hec Ramsey. I'd pay BIG to find that one tape or DVD.

Redstone

[Redstone]

81. Oh, and also EZ Streets. I'd pay big for tapes of that one, too.

Redstone

[BreweryYardRat]

84. Titus.

Which almost nobody knows about. Dark, dark comedy, and one of the funniest shows I've ever seen. Lasted about two and a half seasons on Fox. Each episode is about 2/3 "real life" and 1/3 inside the main character's head with him monologuing.

"Uh, excuse me. Christopher Titus; my brother's been arrested."
"Who's your brother?"
"You must be new here."

"Cain slew Abel... oh happy happy Cain."

"My dad's third heart attack, he'd gotten so good at them, he decided to drive himself to the hospital because 'They won't let me smoke in the ambulance!' and 'You can't make a burger run.'"

"Hey! Don't you ever call me again and tell me that you love me and you forgive me!"
"Hi, Dad."
"I would rather a highway patrol officer show up on my doorstep with your head in a bag!"

"Growing up, road trips with Dad were something I hated. Sitting still for hours, singing that stupid song, "100 bottles of beer on the wall. 100 bottles of beer..." Dad, you know, keeping up with the song."

[u4ic]

86. Drop the Dead Donkey

Our English friends would know about it, but it was on CBC here in the early 90's. Either before or after was Mr Bean, and everyone was telling me to watch Mr Bean, and I kept telling them to watch Drop the Dead Donkey.

Nobody did, and I haven't met anyone from Canada who's ever heard of it. I was smart, after I loved the first episode, I taped the rest (I think it got to the end of season 3). I still have them, and watch occasionally when I need a good laugh, though the John Major jokes are a bit outdated. :7

[RFKHumphreyObama]

113. Drop the Dead Donkey was shown here in Australia

It was shown on SBS -which is essentially a station which has a predominantly multicultural and multi-lingual audience -so it probably didn't develop as greater a following as it would have if it were on one of the more mainstream channels. But it nevertheless had a solid following and was shown over quite a few years. I was too young to appreciate most of the jokes then but it was still good

[NanceGreggs]

87. Good God, thanks for all the wonderful memories, guys!

May I add:

"Bakersfield" - a no-laughtrack comedy, way ahead of its time

"American Gothic" - just gave the husband the entire series (which didn't last very long) in a DVD set. We're enjoying watching it over again.

I remember when my son was a kid in the late-70s/early 80s, he was NUTS for "Manimal" with Simon McCorkindale, a crime-fighter who could turn into any animal. He soon lost interest, though, when he realized that Maninal turned into the same animal (a panther) week after week after week - until the show rolled over and played dead permanently.

And I can't forget "Grounded for Life" with Donal Logue!

Does anyone here remember 'Civil Wars', about two divorce attorneys? Mariel Hemingway and - damn, can't remember the actor's name.

Anyone?

[khashka]

88. American Gothic

'Nuff said. If you saw it you know why, if you didn't more pity.... American television started taking risks - some pretty heavy ones

Pilot episode - a sheriff (Satan really) breaks a girl's neck because she might be able to identify him as the man who raped her mother. And he's the main character! The hero, almost!

It wa brilliant and disgusting and it was cancelled.


Khash.

[MuseRider]

90. That was a great show.

My entire family loved it. I am waiting to get the DVD's. Very strange and very cool I thought.

[XemaSab]

98. That show was the bomb

It was basically the forces of good and evil battling for the soul of the kid from Sling Blade...

The intrepid reporter cousin, the slutty teacher, and the sheriff played by the dude from Office Space... and of course the cousin and the teacher are ALL OVER the sheriff.

The kid's only moral guide is the ghost of his dead sister, who the sheriff tries to corrupt and undermine at every turn.

What's not to like?

"What'd you do? Bite out his tongue in a fit of passion?"

[BrklynLiberal]

132. Superb show. Watched it all the time!

The kid in it was in "Sling Blade"

EDIT:
from IMDB
1995
American Gothic is a horror/drama/thriller series set in the heart of South Carolina in a small town called Trinity. In this town not everyone is as they seem and everyone seems to follow their leader, Sheriff Lucas Buck. Lucas's son, Caleb Temple, was brought up by another family and was lead to believe that a man called Gage was his father. The local doctor, Matt Crower, gets curious when suddenly the Sheriff wants everything to do with Caleb. Then Caleb's cousin, Gail Emory, comes to town to protect Caleb in every way she can, but that is extremely difficult when she falls in love with Lucas. Then Caleb's school teacher, Miss Selena Coombs, becomes jealous. But also on Caleb's side is his dead sister, Merlyn. She is an angel prepared to do ANYTHING to keep Lucas away...

Gary Cole .... Sheriff Lucas Buck
Paige Turco .... Gail Emory
Jake Weber .... Dr. Matt Crower
Brenda Bakke .... Selena Coombs
Sarah Paulson .... Merlyn Temple
Lucas Black .... Caleb Temple
Nick Searcy .... Deputy Ben Healy

[Kire]

89. The Lyon's Den

Rob Lowe's first starring vehicle after he left the West Wing

He works at a law firm when the lead partner is murdered in the pilot episode. The rest of the series is trying to figure out whodunnit. It was great. Had a great cast, but it was cancelled after four weeks.

Friday the 13th: The Series fucking rocked!

[Kat45]

95. "When Things Were Rotten"

An unusual comedy about Robin Hood, I believe, that I watched in college. IIRC, Mel Brooks was involved in writing the show.

[Brigid]

148. I had forgotten about that one!

I was in high school, I think. I remember thinking that Richard Dimitri was cute. :)

[rucky]

96. Freaks & Geeks; Arrested Development

not really obscure but criminal that they didn't stick around longer.

[qwertyMike]

97. Banyon = Robert Forster

"Miles Banyon was a tough but honest private detective operating out of Los Angeles during the '30s. For $20 a day plus expenses, Banyon would take almost any case, ranging from missing persons to theft to murder. Since his office was located in the same building as Peggy Revere's secretarial school, Banyon found himself with a different pretty receptionist almost every week. His police contact was Sgt. McNeil"

Robert was nominated for best supporting actor for 'Jackie Brown'
Lost to Robin Williams (Good Will Hunting)

He told me it changed his life, just as Tarantino changed the career of Travolta and others

[YankeyMCC]

105. The Invisible Man on SciFi channel

and as mentioned earlier in the thread Exo-squad.

Also, I used to watch the Tracey Ulman show just to see the Simpson's shorts long before they too off on their own.

[Patiod]

107. "The Games" from Australia - played here on our PBS station

Amazing, acerbic, no laugh track, funny as could be. Introduced us to John Clarke, who is brilliant.

[Giant Robot]

108. Manimal!

Auto Man!
I kid! I kid!

I remember Friday the 13th the Series, as well as Sable. Sable was based on a comic book character BTW (and done very poorly IMO).

[LostinVA]

109. A Year in the Life

It was criminal they took that off after one season...

[newcriminal]

111. Herman's head

I loved that show! I watch kenny vs. Spenny, but don't tell anyone.

[Left Is Write]

152. I loved Herman's Head too.

Lisa Simpson was on that show. :D

[acmavm]

112. Brimstone, When Things Were Rotten and Greg the Bunny (both

previously mentioned), The Agency

[bertha katzenengel]

114. Temperatures Rising. An early 70s sitcom starring Cleavon Little --

who also portrayed the sherriff in "Blazing Saddles." I barely remember it - I was somewhat younger than ten years old.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

120. Lasted for 2 years and 2 "incarnations"

The first year Little was the happy-go-lucky young doctor always dodging trouble with the chief of surgery. Not a bad if inconsequential little sitcom. 2nd year: ABC was heavily invested in Paul Lynde, who's own sitcom ate sh** and died, so they changed Little's character into the humourless head doctor & straight man and inserted Lynde as the bumbling chief administrator.

[BrklynLiberal]

133. Deleted. posted in wrong place

[alarimer]

115. There was one called "Otherworld"

About a family that was somehow transported from world to world. I can't remember how. But they somehow had to fit it. It aired somewhere around 1986, I think. I watched every episode they aired, which wasn't very many.

There was also a series about an American dolphin trainer/marine scientists who moves to Australia. I can't remember much else about it.

[ok_cpu]

116. "Murder One" and "Ed"

Both hung on for a couple years but I don't know too many people who watched them.

[Lefty48197]

117. When things were rotten.

With Dick Gautier as Robin Hood.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

121. Maximum Bob & The Tick (live version)

They only aired about 6 episodes of Tick but I heard long before it went on air that Fox was stocking up episodes in anticipation of a writers union strike.

[Left Is Write]

124. Apple's Way.

[Giant Robot]

125. I think it was called Unhappily Ever After

Essentially a Married with Children clone, but with Bobcat Goldthwait as the voice of a stuffed bunny. Hillarious.

And of course, The Adventures of Briscoe County Junior. Bruce Campbell's short lived TV series. Great stuff.

[newcriminal]

137. I use to watch that

muted because the show was terrible but that beautiful girl was on it. Can't think of her name. She is on that vegas show now.

[Bucky]

127. Max Headroom: a sort of TV-fied "Brazil"

Before Tim Burton made future-retro cool, Terry Gilliam's Brazil did the same shtick. "Max Headroom" was a made-for-tv Brazil.

[BrklynLiberal]

134. "Mysterious Ways". A very cool show that just disappeared very

suddenly . I caught some reruns intermittently on TBS or one of those channels. I was very disappointed when it disappeared.

He is an anthropology(?) professor at a college in the Great Northwest somewhere. She is a psychiatrist. He is always getting pulled into investigating mysterious things. She is always skeptical.

Adrian Pasdar .... Declan Dunn
Rae Dawn Chong .... Dr. Peggy Fowler
Alisen Down .... Miranda Feigelsteen

[Wetzelbill]

136. Playmakers was pretty cool

about a pro football team and all their travails over the course of a season. The had an aging running back, a young, cocaine addicted start RB, a womanizing QB, a gay fullback etc. It was interesting.

I also like "Resurrection Boulevard" quite a bit too. About a Hispanic family of boxers. Very good stuff, great cast.

[Nailzberg]

144. Cupid

Starred Jeremy Piven. Had really great writing and a really horrible time-slot. Friday nights at 10/9 central? That's not a time-slot to put Jeremy Piven ranting and raving. I knew a few other twenty-somethings that taped this show and watched it Saturday morning, as did I. But the audience it was seeking was out at bars trying to pick up girls when it was on the air. I think if it had any other weeknight, it would have survived.



Here's the IMDB summary: Trevor Hale (Jeremy Piven) is attractive, witty, uncommonly intelligent - and he may be Cupid, the Greco-Roman god of erotic love. Probably not, but he thinks so. Trevor's insistence that he is Cupid lands him in a mental hospital, where he meets psychologist Claire Allen (Paula Marshall), a renowned authority on romance. Trevor tells Claire that he has been stripped of his godly powers by Zeus, and exiled from Mount Olympus as a punishment for arrogance. To win his way back among the gods, Trevor must unite 100 couples in everlasting love, without his bow and arrows. Claire does not believe in Cupid, but she risks her career by releasing Trevor from the hospital, assuming responsibility for his behavior. Trevor finds work as a bartender, and regularly disrupts Claire's group therapy sessions. All the while, he plots his campaign to promote romance, and earn his way back to Olympus. While encouraging sexual abandon in others, Trevor remains celibate; he believes sex with a mortal will confine him to Earth forever.

[chaska]

145. T.H.E. Cat. A James Bond/Batman kind of thing I guess...

He used a grappling hook to climb stuff a lot, and dressed all in black.

[chaska]

146. Well, I'll be damned. Link below (w/ pic).

http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/cat.htm

[chaska]

147. couldn't agree more about Friday the 13th. I still have a fave episode....

on VHS tape. WHO WAS THAT HOT REDHEAD???? And where is she now?

[Nickster]

149. Father Ted, Voyagers, Vicar of Dibley, Fawlty Towers

[Left Is Write]

151. Voyagers!

You mean with Jon-Erik Hexum? I LOVED that show!

[Nickster]

153. Yup, To this day, I have not actually met a person who knows that show.

[Left Is Write]

154. I know, and my oldest, dearest friend knows it -

we used to watch together. I was a freshman in college when Jon-Erik Hexum died, and my friend called me up to tell me about the accident.

I've talked to lots of people over the years who watched/remember the show. It's good to know it's not forgotten.

[chaska]

150. FRIDAY THE 13TH WEBSITE (link below)

http://f13seriespages.tripod.com/

[bridgit]

158. Sledge Hammer...

http://www.phrank.com/sh