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{{trope}}{{page should be category}}
[[File:good cancel it 2353 1642.jpg|frame]]
{{quote|''"We made a land where crap is king and the good don't last too long."''
|'''''[[Spock's Beard]]''''', "The Good Don't Last"}}
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.)
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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.
The observant reader will note that the vast majority of '''Too Good to Last''' shows are from the
There's always been an emphasis on ratings in television, but it seems to have become much more pronounced since the early 1990s. It is widely commented upon that ''[[Cheers]]'' was ''dead last'' in the ratings among all regular series in its first season (1982–83), and that a show doing that badly today would almost certainly be
Another theory is that the advent of the Internet and the explosion of cable channels has made it harder for these too-soon
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]].
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{{examples}}
== Live
=== [[
* ''[[Best Of The West]]''. Parody of all things Western by the creators of "Taxi" and "Cheers".
* ''[[The Brendan Leonard Show]]''
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* ''[[Complete Savages]]''
* ''[[The Critic]]:'' Poor Jay Sherman.
* ''[[Cupid]]'': the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[Dramedy]], not the [[CBS]] reality show. The remake was too good to last, as well.
* ''[[The Dana Carvey Show]]''. Apparently too edgy for [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] executives at the time, who canceled it after seven episodes (and an unaired eighth). A very, very good example of a show being ahead of its time... and why you shouldn't lead off your first episode with [[Bill Clinton]] [[Squick|breast-feeding puppies]].
* ''[[Day Break]]''
* ''[[Defying Gravity]]'' (co-developed by ABC, [[The BBC]], [[CTV]] and [[Pro Sieben]]) had been canceled and its sets destroyed ''before all the episodes had even been aired''. That does not even consider that [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] had all summer to buy and advertise the show, but only purchased the show 3 weeks before the first episode aired.
* ''[[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]].
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* ''[[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.
* ''[[The Flash (TV 1990)
* ''[[Fish Police (animation)|Fish Police]]'': The best of the first three shows made to compete with ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]''. Also the shortest lived at only
* ''[[Franks Place]]''
* ''[[Gary Unmarried]]''
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* ''[[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.
* ''[[Ivan the Terrible (TV series)|Ivan the Terrible]]'': Lasted five episodes in 1976; those who remember it at all remember it fondly.
* ''[[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]].
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* ''[[Journeyman]]''
* ''[[Kath and Kim]]'' The U.S. version
* ''[[Kings]]'': ambitious alternate-history retelling of the Biblical story of Jonathan? Say it with me: {{
* ''[[Law & Order: Trial by Jury]]''
* ''[[Law and Order]]: ''[[Los Angeles]]''
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* ''[[Misfits of Science]]''
* ''[[My Own Worst Enemy]]''. They ended it [[Cut Short|on a cliffhanger]]! [[Big No|AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGHHH!!!!]]
* ''[[My World... and Welcome
* ''[[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]].
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* ''[[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.
* ''[[Alcatraz]]'' - Another JJ Abrams
* ''[[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]]''
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* ''[[Home Movies]]'', season one. Thank God for [[Adult Swim]].
* ''[[Invasion America]]''
* ''[[Jack
* ''[[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.
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* ''[[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]]''
* ''[[
* ''[[Nowhere Man]]'' Not only was it critically praised, it was UPN's highest rated show. They replaced it with ''[[Homeboys in Outer Space]]'' and ''[[Moesha]]''.
* ''On The Spot'' was a partially improvised sitcom that had only half of a script and was cancelled after
* ''[[Pepper Dennis]]''
* ''[[Popular]]''
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* ''[[Teamo Supremo]]'': Like with Darkwing (see below), ''Teamo'' had some planned storylines that never came to fruition.
* ''[[The Weekenders]]''
* As stated on ABC, [[WITCH (animation)|W.I.T.C.H.]] suffered a similar fate to other Disney animated action/adventure shows, ending after two seasons and with a massive hint at a third season to boot. The reason, according to this [https://web.archive.org/web/20101206112614/http://www.tv.com/w.i.t.c.h./show/29931/w.i.t.c.h.-faq/topic/13689-485279/msgs.html FAQ] from tv.com, is there was "little to no interest both from the investors’ and the producer’s side" to continue the series. Coincidentally, [[Greg Weisman]] was brought on board for the second season which was widely regarded as an improvement over the first. Check the man's page to see how [[Screwed by the Network|the network has ''regularly'' treated him like a two dollar call girl]].
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* ''[[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.
* ''[[Evil Con Carne]]'' (originally combined with ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy
* ''[[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*
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* ''[[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.
** There must have been a resurgence of interest in the show, as it is [https://web.archive.org/web/20101212022507/http://www.adultswimshop.com/cat/Lucy-The-Daughter-of-the-Devil-Season-One.html now available on DVD]
* ''[[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.
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* ''[[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.
* ''[[Sym-Bionic Titan]]'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20111212012512/http://www.toonzone.net/news/articles/36712/pr-cartoon-network-upfront-programming-announcements#post3802894 appears to be] [
* ''[[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.
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* ''[[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.
* The cable station itself could qualify. It was originally meant to be a station solely based around video games and technology. However, the station has since [[Network Decay|gotten far away from its original concept]] in order to survive. In fact, many of the original personalities were fired with only Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb of ''[[X-Play]]'', and a few others, keeping their jobs.
** 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 ===
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=== [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] ===
* ''[[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.
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* ''[[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]].
* Radio-Canada, the french arm of the network, is no stranger to the trope either. A particularly [[Egregious]] case was ''Les Aventures de Jack Carter'', a quirky, witty, fun detective show that pulled in both great reviews and ratings, was cancelled after just one season because the network "wanted to make room for new shows". Even given the shorter runs of Quebec-made shows, it doesn't make much sense.
=== Teletoon ===
* ''[[Cybersix]]'' (Teletoon) was a brilliant series with lots of action, fun characters, and surprisingly mature content (among other things, episodes alluded to the death of a child and Nazism). It was very well received and even won an award, "Special Mention for the Best Science Fiction Program". Yet it only got one season of thirteen episodes (the original
=== Comedy Central ===
* ''[[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.
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* Husker Du
* JJ72
* Jellyfish. Two commercially ignored [https://web.archive.org/web/20101003032225/http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg
* Josef K
* [[Joy Division]], though they lived on, in a way, as [[New Order]].
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* [[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.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100722003231/http://64.207.161.176/indexFlash.html Stan Winston Creatures], makers of, amongst other things, the [[Furry Fandom|Furry-friendly]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20121213173443/http://gofigureactionfigures.com/page167.html Realm of the Claw] action figures. Thanks to a dispute with Toys 'R Us, the exclusive distributor of the company's toys, they were forced to put a hold on further toy development. After languishing in [[Development Hell]] for years, [[Artist Existence Failure|once Stan Winston died...]]
* [[Barbie|My Scene]] dolls, had a small but devoted fandom. Now it's not even didtributed out of South America.
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[[Category:Too Good to Last]]
[[Category:Depressing Tropes]]
[[Category:Short Runners]]
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