Too Good to Last: Difference between revisions

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An intelligent, well written show, usually a subtle blend of comedy and drama, beloved of a devoted [[Fandom|group of fans and critics]]. So why did it never have a chance? (Or at best, struggled in the [[Ratings]] for a couple seasons.)

If the show is lucky enough to be shown on a cable network in reruns, it may build up a bigger following there than it ever had in its first run.

 

 

 

 

For those shows that manage to pull out a few seasons with plenty of network problems before going under, check out the ''Exception'' section at the bottom of this page. The main entries are about shows that barely managed to get out a single season, if that. Incidentally, some shows end up being canceled only to be [[Uncanceled]] by the network or do a [[Channel Hop]].

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Best Of The West]]''. Parody of all things Western by the creators of "Taxi" and "Cheers".

* ''[[The Brendan Leonard Show]]''

* ''[[Complete Savages]]''

* ''[[The Critic]]:'' Poor Jay Sherman.

* ''[[Day Break]]''

* ''[[Dirty Sexy Money]]'', a sharp show that was caught in the crossfire of the 2007 writers' strike.

* ''[[Duel (TV series)|Duel]]'', a great quiz show that fell victim to the [[Friday Night Death Slot]].

* ''[[8 Simple Rules]]''. In spite of [[John Ritter]]'s untimely death, it still managed to pull in solid ratings (at least compared to the rest of the TGIF lineup), but ABC cancelled it anyways, citing its inability to sell it in syndication as a reason for its cancellation.

* ''[[Eli Stone]]'', also a late casualty of the 2007 strike.

* ''Freddie''

* ''GCB''

* ''[[Samantha Who|Samantha Who?]]''

* ''[[The Slap Maxwell Story]]''

* ''[[Sonic Sat AM|Sonic the Hedgehog SatAM]]'': Was intentionally killed by [[FOX]] scheduling ''[[Power Rangers]]'' into the same time slot to steal its ratings. Twice. That's right; Fox got its start killing ''other'' networks' shows. That was until Kids' WB fought back, and Fox's plans backfired.

* ''[[Sports Night]]''

* ''[[The Nine]]'': Like the title invokes, it involves nine people who were stuck inside a bank during a 52-hour robbery. After one episode, it went from a tense Dog Day Afternoon-esque thriller into a slow burning psychological drama. It lost many viewers before the show REALLY started getting warmed up, mostly because of that abrupt [[Genre Shift]].

* ''[[Traveler]]'': A show about two men on the run, with a smart conspiracy after them, that not only lacked padding, but did not treat the audience like idiots. Ended on a painful cliffhanger that was never resolved.

* ''[[The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat]]'': A wonderfully surreal cartoon with a [[Max and Dave Fleischer]] feel. Only lasted 36 episodes.

* ''[[Twin Peaks]]''

* ''[[Arnie]]'': This satirical early-'70s comedy starred Herschel Bernardi as a loading-dock foreman who suddenly and unexpectedly found himself promoted to corporate management. Poor ratings doomed it after two seasons despite critical acclaim.

* ''Bette''

* ''[[Bridget Loves Bernie]]'': This 1972 sitcom about the marriage of a Jewish cabdriver and an upper-class Irish Catholic actually got decent ratings, but CBS canceled it after one season anyway after both Jewish and Catholic groups [[Values Dissonance|objected to the premise]]. (The show did, however, lead to [[Romance on the Set]] and eventual marriage between stars David Birney and Meredith Baxter.)

* ''[[Brooklyn Bridge]]''

* ''[[Western Animation/Family Dog|Family Dog]]'': The replacement for Fish Police. Not as good, and definitely more crude. Still deserved to last more than 10 episodes.

* ''[[The Famous Teddy Z]]'': Created by ''[[WKRP in Cincinnati|WKRP]]'''s Hugh Wilson, this series starring Jon Cryer and Alex Rocco (who won an Emmy for his character Agent Al Floss) was set in a Hollywood talent agency and was thought in some circles to be too 'inside' to appeal to middle America.

* ''[[Franks Place]]''

* ''[[Gary Unmarried]]''

* ''[[The Honeymooners]]'': incredibly, only ran one season as a stand-alone sitcom, although the characters admittedly were used for many years on Gleason's variety show.

** This one is a bit murky simply because Gleason didn't like the grind of a sitcom, which is the reason why the show ended.

* ''[[Jericho]]'': Was famously resurrected by a [[Sending Stuff to Save the Show]] fan campaign, but the respite would last only a season before the ax fell again.

* ''[[Joan of Arcadia]]'': popular, but in the [[Periphery Demographic|wrong demographic]].

* The U.S. version of ''Coupling'', though your mileage greatly varies on whether or not it was considered "Too Good to Last," as the reason it was canceled was because it was a watered-down ''Friends'' rip-off in comparison to the UK version.

* ''[[The Downer Channel]]'': Despite being produced by [[Steve Martin]] and having Mary Lynn Rajskub and Wanda Sykes in the cast, NBC canned it after four episodes.

* ''[[Father of the Pride]]''

* ''[[Freaks and Geeks]]'': Possibly the archetypal example; adored by critics and fans alike, but being shuffled around in the lineup didn't help its ratings, and it got canceled halfway through its first season.

* ''[[Journeyman]]''

* ''[[Kath and Kim]]'' The U.S. version

* ''[[Law & Order: Trial by Jury]]''

* ''[[Law and Order]]: ''[[Los Angeles]]''

* ''[[Misfits of Science]]''

* ''[[My Own Worst Enemy]]''. They ended it [[Cut Short|on a cliffhanger]]! [[Big No|AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGHHH!!!!]]

* ''[[Nightmare Cafe]]''. Ran for only 6 episodes in 1992.

* ''[[Outsourced (TV series)]]'' Mostly due to the controversial subject of the show, it developed a sort of [[Love It or Hate It]] fanbase. Could also be attributed to [[Political Correctness Gone Mad]].

* ''[[The Adventures of Brisco County Jr]]''

** The Friday night block in which ''[[The Adventures of Brisco County Jr]]'' led in ''[[The X-Files]]'' was one of the best one-two punches in TV history.

* ''[[Alien Nation (TV series)|Alien Nation]]'' was an epic level example of this. Only one season, though it did manage to resurrect itself in the form of 5 made-for-TV movies... and, in [[The New Teens]], talk of a remake.

* ''[[Andy Richter Controls the Universe]]''

* ''[[Ned And Stacey]]''

* ''[[New Amsterdam]]''

* ''[[Past Life]]''

* ''[[The Pirates of Dark Water]]''

* ''Drew Carey's Green Screen Show''

* The ''[[Earthworm Jim (animation)|Earthworm Jim]] cartoon'' Sadly only lasted 2 seasons, which was only 23 episodes. Possibly cancelled due to [[Creator Backlash]].

* ''[[Greetings From Tucson]]''

* ''[[Histeria!]]'': Reports of [[Executive Meddling]] abound.

* ''[[Home Movies]]'', season one. Thank God for [[Adult Swim]].

* ''[[Invasion America]]''

* ''[[Jake 2.0]]'': The first season was cut short, leaving both fans and international distributors irked.

* ''[[Lazarus Man]]''. Addictive, well-written, genre-busting Western (and mystery/fantasy/horror/romance, likely a few others). Took a hiatus in its first season and was never seen again. (In fairness to the network, the lead actor, Robert Urich, had contracted cancer and was no longer able to work... although he sued the producers for that decision, and in fact did continue to work, becoming a regular in ''two'' more series - ''Love Boat: The Next Wave'' and ''Emeril'' - before he passed away in 2002, six years after ''The Lazarus Man'' did). Died with its boots on.

* ''[[Loonatics Unleashed]]'': Has a loyal fanbase in spite of the huge amount of [[Internet Backdraft]] and got pretty solid ratings, so its cancellation is a bit of a mystery.

* ''[[Mission Hill]]''

* ''[[Pepper Dennis]]''

* ''[[Popular]]''

*** The low ratings were likely a result of [[Executive Meddling]]. The show didn't have a consistent time slot (much like [[Futurama|another sci-fi cartoon]] which coincidentally featured Zim's original voice actor [[Billy West]]). New episode releases were also inconsistent.

** It has been said that another cause of the show's cancellation was due to the Nick executives getting complaints left and right from parents saying it was too terrifying for their kids.

* ''[[Kappa Mikey]]'': More for comical randomness and being able to blend cartoons and anime together. Sadly, it only received 2 seasons.

* ''[[The Adventures of Pete and Pete]]'': Like the broadcast examples above, it only lasted as long (3 seasons) due to its critical acclaim, but poor ratings, executive shuffling, and a show that didn't quite mesh with the little-kid demo helped kill the show far too soon, according to various bits of the DVD commentaries.

* ''[[Teamo Supremo]]'': Like with Darkwing (see below), ''Teamo'' had some planned storylines that never came to fruition.

* ''[[The Weekenders]]''

 

 

* ''[[Megas XLR]]''

* ''[[Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones?]]'': Got screwed over when the reruns redubbed Robot Jones's voice with a real child's voice instead of using a computer program.

* ''[[Frisky Dingo]]'': Not only did the series [[Cut Short|end on a cliffhanger]], but...

** ...a spinoff series, ''[[The Xtacles]]'', was cancelled only a few episodes in. *sob*

* ''[[The Life and Times of Juniper Lee]]'': Heavily screwed by CN with a bouncing timeslot and neglect of advertising. Ironically as a [[Follow the Leader|rival]] of American Dragon, both shows wound up suffering the same problems from their respective networks. Even ending on a total of three seasons.

* ''[[Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil]]'': Seems to have underperformed SO badly that it's not even going to get a DVD release.

* ''[[Moral Orel]]'' : Sadly cancelled after only 3 seasons because it got too dark and depressing (which ''is'' what [[Adult Swim]] [[Be Careful What You Wish For|wanted]]). The only claymation able to make you cry.

* The [[FUNimation]] dubbed edit of [[One Piece]], aired after the 4Kids dub ended its run.

* ''[[Stroker and Hoop]]'': Another [[Cliff Hanger]] ender.

* ''[[Swat Kats]]'': Painful because it ''was'' a ratings giant. It was the best-rated Saturday morning cartoon of its time, but killed quite explicitly by [[Ted Turner]] for being too violent.

* ''[[Time Squad]]'': Surprisingly, it wasn't canceled because someone complained about the rampant [[Ho Yay]] and [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|innuendo that seemed to fly past the radar]]... [[Refuge in Audacity|on a stealth bomber ...painted white]]. In fact, [[Noodle Incident|there really isn't a definite story]] about why it was canceled. One story goes that Dave Wasson (the show creator) had lost creative control, with his wife being removed from her position as a producer and replaced by season two and had a falling-out with his storyboard crew and the tensions threw production in a loop. Another story is the common "the show got low ratings, its timeslot kept getting shuffled [though, considering [[What Do You Mean It's for Kids?|its content]], airing it at 10pm before [[Adult Swim]] ''is'' actually a good idea], and it didn't get the audience that the other Cartoon Cartoon shows got" story, which is probably the more believable of the two stories.

* ''[[Titan Maximum]]'', despite being a ratings juggernaut when it first aired (often beating out new episodes of ''[[The Venture Bros]]'', [[Adult Swim]]'s most popular original show), was unceremoniously canned when creator [[Seth Green]] stated he'd rather focus his time and effort to his [[Cash Cow Franchise]], ''[[Robot Chicken]]''. Some fans may tell you that the [[Seasonal Rot|subpar-at-best fifth season]] of that show (with steadily-slipping ratings to match) may be [[Laser-Guided Karma]] at its finest.

* ''[[Code Monkeys]]'': Arguably the best show [[G 4 TV]] ever had, and they didn't sink for a third season.

* ''[[Series/Portal|Portal]]'': Not canceled due to ratings, as the creator was not shy about letting fans know, but rather due to personal differences between himself and the network head.

** Oh god, agreed. Very very agreed. Arena, Judgement Day, Filter, Cinematech, Cheat... the list just goes on and on and on...

*** Technically, Judgment Day did last, but only in Canada, and under the name Reviews on the Run.

 

=== BBC ===

 

=== PBS ===

* ''[[Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat]]''

* ''[[Wishbone]]''

 

 

* ''[[Da Vinci's Inquest|Da Vinci's City Hall]]'': A sequel series to ''[[Da Vinci's Inquest]]'' (one of the highest-rated and most critically-acclaimed series to ever air in the network's history), ''City Hall'' moved the title character (and former coroner) Dominic Da Vinci from the medical office to the political field. The show was critically acclaimed (and unusually [[Continuity Lock Out|continuity-heavy]]) - critics and some viewers loved it, but others tuned out, and the network dumped it after a single season (with many loose ends still remaining).

* ''[[Intelligence]]'', made by the creator of ''[[Da Vinci's Inquest]]'', won a Gemini Award for Best Dramatic Series during its debut season in 2007, then got unceremoniously canned at the end of its second season. Supposedly, CBC killed it for political reasons.

* ''[[The Border]]''

* ''[[This Is Wonderland]]'' lasted three seasons, but got no promotion and wildly varying timeslots by the network, and got canned with plot threads [[Left Hanging]].

 

 

=== Teletoon ===

 

 

* ''[[The Critic]]'': Ran reruns, with the promise of new episodes. Never happened.

* ''[[TV Funhouse]]'' - Only ran one season with eight episodes. The reason behind its cancellation was because Comedy Central was disappointed at how each episode went over budget.

* ''Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy'': Ends on a "To be Continued." But with the Midway Lawsuit a sequel really looks unlikely.

* ''[[Jet Moto]]''.

** Them making the action only gameplay ridiculously hard, also didn't help matters.

* The ''[[Ogre Battle]]'' series was intended to be a seven-episode game series, but only episodes V, VII, and VI (released in that order) were made. [[Yasumi Matsuno]], the series' creator, left Quest during the development of ''Ogre Battle 64'' to work for Squaresoft, where he worked on ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]''. Even after [[Square Enix]] purchased Quest, he refused to work on any ''Ogre Battle'', choosing to concentrate on the so-called "Ivalice series". Now that Matsuno left Square Enix, it seems unlikely we'll ever see any of the first five ''Ogre Battle'' episodes. It might be on its way to revival, however, with the announcement of a remake of [[Tactics Ogre]] headed by [[Yasumi Matsuno]] himself. Keep your fingers crossed!

* The ''[[System Shock]]'' series. Both were commercial failures but were critically acclaimed and ''System Shock 2'' in particular is widely regarded as one of the greatest [[FP Ses]] in history.

* ''[[Anachronox]]'' ended with a huge cliffhanger that thanks to producer ION Storm imploding will never get resolved.

** There are rumors that a third game ''might'' be in the works, though...

 

* Husker Du

* JJ72

* Josef K

* [[Joy Division]], though they lived on, in a way, as [[New Order]].

* [[Zoids]] models

* [[Transformers]]: The Alternators were Hasbro's finally giving the adult [[Periphery Demographic]] (the [[Trope Namer]] for [[Ruined FOREVER]]) what they had been begging for since the 80s: big, complex, show accurate "collector" toys. Adult fans loved it, but it turns out they didn't make up as much of the audience/buyers as they thought and the Alternators didn't sell well enough to continue. The Alternators continue to rack up impressive sums of money on eBay, though, and they are pretty sweet.

* [[Barbie|My Scene]] dolls, had a small but devoted fandom. Now it's not even didtributed out of South America.

 

* ''[[Exo Squad]]'' (USA): Note that they DID finish off a couple story arcs before the cancellation hit, so it could also count as a counter example. Its later cousin, ''[[Wing Commander Academy]]'', fared far worse (13 eps, cut off right in the middle when [[USA Network]] pulled all of their Saturday morning cartoon lineup.)

* ''[[For Your Love]]'' <ref>(perhaps the most unusual example on this page as despite airing for 4 years on a major network not all that long ago, hardly anyone seems to have even heard of this show let alone remember it)</ref> was first aired on NBC and cancelled after six episodes, it was then picked up by ''[[The WB]]'' and managed to last for another four seasons. It was renewed in spite of suffering a 70% drop in ratings during the third season, though it's final years on the network were a bit spotty, as it frequently shifted schedules and came very close to being cancelled after the fourth season, and six episodes episodes of the fifth season(including the series finale and one christmas-themed episode that was held back from the fourth season) were unaired in the original run, though [[TV One]] later picked up ''[[For Your Love]]'' for reruns and the missing episodes were finally aired.

* ''[[Friday Night Lights (TV series)|Friday Night Lights]]'': A rather unusual example. After airing on NBC for two seasons, the acclaimed but low-rated show was saved from cancellation by moving to DirecTV's "101 Network" channel for three more seasons, with NBC itself re-airing the show each spring after the 101 Network run had ended.

* ''[[Futurama]]'': Vindication was had at last in 2007, when the show was [[Uncanceled]].

[[Category:Too Good to Last]]

[[Category:Depressing Tropes]]