I stumbled across a show in my TV book called-"Take Five" and it premeired on CBS, on April 1, 1987 and was cancelled after the April 8, 1987 airing. I can't think of no other shows that was cancelled so quickly.

Take Five was aired either after or before a show called Roxie. Both were cancelled after only two episodes. A few years ago CBS aired two episodes of the sitcom Charlie Lawrence in the summer (a handful of additional episodes were filmed but never aired). Technically I suppose Charlie Lawrence was cancelled before it premiered, but it can still be counted alongside Take Five and Roxie.

There are several shows that have been cancelled after only one episode, including South of Sunset, You're In The Picture and Co-ed Fever. And, of course, the show that was supposedly cancelled by ABC half-way through the initial broadcast, Turn On. I believe there have also been some game shows and, more recently, some reality shows, that were canned after one episode.

And then there are those shows that are never aired, like Snip, Manchester Prep and The Grubbs. These shows were picked up, episodes were filmed, and then they were canned before they could premiere. I believe there were thirteen episodes of The Grubbs filmed back in 2002. Manchester Prep was a television sequel/prequel to Cruel Intentions and three episodes were filmed in the late 1990s. The show was pulled and the episodes were turned into a movie. As for Snip, back in 1976 NBC pulled the plug on the series only days before it was set to premiere. Seven episodes were completed and aired overseas but the show never saw the light of day in the States.

what was take five and who was in it?

what was take five and who was in it?



Everyone who was in this show was a NOBODY-LOL Irene do you recognize any of these actors? These were the Five that were in it

George Segal
Severn Draden
Derek Mcgrath
Bruce Jarchow
Jim Haynie
Melanie Chartoff
Todd Field
Eugene Roche

George Segal is the only one I recollect. That Chartoff actress, her name sounds familiar, but would have to see a pic. I never heard of the show. That's crazy. It must have been real bad. How could they cancel something so fast???

i know who george segal is but thats it and also i think i heard about a show that was cancelled in the middle of the 1st ep

George Segal is the only one I recollect. That Chartoff actress, her name sounds familiar, but would have to see a pic. I never heard of the show. That's crazy. It must have been real bad. How could they cancel something so fast???


The show could not compete with Highway to Heaven.

Actually the Jackie Gleason show YOU"RE IN THE PICTURE had 2 episodes to air!

The first was the Game Show episode that the show was supposed to be---
the 2nd one, the next week, was still called YOU'RE IN THE PICTURE but Gleason spent the whole 30 minutes apologizing for the show and telling us how bad it was! It was hilarious!

The network had allready filmed a 2nd of the Game Show episodes, and Gleason was SUPPOSED to give a monologue and tell the audience how the show would be retooled and come back in a few weeks, they wanted to salvage the game show idea and just fix it up a little... but Gleason knew it was a stink bomb... so he gave a 30 minute monologue that buried the show so badly, the network had no way of salvaging it!!!!!

By the way, I have both aired eps on dvd if u want em!!!! Apparently, the film master of the 2nd Game Show filmed appears to be lost forever!


www.freewebs.com/nmboye

There is actually a second episode of Turn On as well, at the UCLA Film & Television Archive.

I remember "Take Five" as that show that reunited two of the guest stars in the "Homicidal Ham" episode of "Cheers" -- Severn Darden and Derek McGrath. It also had a pretty kickin' Dixieland theme song (whose lyrics were almost completely unintelligible) and lots of nice banjo music courtesy Segal.

What I remember about "Roxie" (which aired before "Take Five") was that even Andrea Martin thought it was garbage.

"The Grubbs" had a 13-order, but they only shot 8. I have the pilot on tape. Woof!

"Public Morals" was another one-episode-and-out wonder. Unlike "Snip" and "The Grubbs," they shot their entire 13, too.

Another sitcom that was cancelled days before its debut and never ended up airing was CBS' "The Dictator" with Christopher Lloyd. It was scheduled to premiere on March 15, 1988. 3 episodes were shot.




The episode of Roxie that you have, are the commercials included?

the mike o malley show lasted 2 eps in the fall of 99 i remember it had tons and tons of promos over the summer nbc thought they had the next seinfeld with it instead the got the next supertrain

[QUOTE=Riff]Mike O'Malley wrote those promos, apparently. I feel bad saying this, because Mike said my name on TV and I've spoken to his father in email, but most of those spots were something else and probably killed the show's chances of ever getting sampled.

Based on what I've heard, NBC didn't think they had anything with this show. Garth Ancier (who was then pres of entertainment) reportedly hated it, and they changed the time slot after the upfronts so that it was on after "Will & Grace" instead of before it -- and I've long suspected that was because they knew it was a horrible fit with "Will & Grace." Not that it was a really good fit with anything on NBC. It was an ABC show on the wrong network.[/QUOTEyou might be right about that]riff .the strange thing is i watched the 2 eps that did air and they really werent too bad ive seen much worse on tv the last couple of seasons

Actually the Jackie Gleason show YOU"RE IN THE PICTURE had 2 episodes to air!

The first was the Game Show episode that the show was supposed to be---
the 2nd one, the next week, was still called YOU'RE IN THE PICTURE but Gleason spent the whole 30 minutes apologizing for the show and telling us how bad it was! It was hilarious!

The network had allready filmed a 2nd of the Game Show episodes, and Gleason was SUPPOSED to give a monologue and tell the audience how the show would be retooled and come back in a few weeks, they wanted to salvage the game show idea and just fix it up a little... but Gleason knew it was a stink bomb... so he gave a 30 minute monologue that buried the show so badly, the network had no way of salvaging it!!!!!

By the way, I have both aired eps on dvd if u want em!!!! Apparently, the film master of the 2nd Game Show filmed appears to be lost forever!


www.freewebs.com/nmboye

The episode is at the Museum of TV & Radio and New York. I saw it in 1991 and it was hilarious.

The episode is at the Museum of TV & Radio and New York. I saw it in 1991 and it was hilarious.



I would love to be locked inside that musuem by an accident-lol

you & me both!!!!

George Segal is the only one I recollect. That Chartoff actress, her name sounds familiar, but would have to see a pic. I never heard of the show. That's crazy. It must have been real bad. How could they cancel something so fast???
Melanie Chartoff is a comedian who was a regular on an ABC series in 1980 or 81 called "Fridays". It was a clone of "Saturday Night Live" exept it aired on (where else?) Fridays!

She'll turn up in a TV show or movie every once in a while.

George Segal is the only one I recollect. That Chartoff actress, her name sounds familiar, but would have to see a pic. I never heard of the show. That's crazy. It must have been real bad. How could they cancel something so fast???Melanie Chartoff was on the ABC late-night comedy/music program Fridays in the early 80's, which critics complained was ripping off NBC's Saturday Night Live. She now is the voice of
Tommy's mother on Rugrats.


http://odysse.fatcow.com/graphics/may/chartoff3.jpg

http://www.nndb.com/people/830/000022764/chartoff.jpg

:p

I am surprised that no one else remembers the Paula poundstone show. I heard it was cancelled 15 minutes into the half hour show. It was pretty bad. :o

:p

I am surprised that no one else remembers the Paula poundstone show. I heard it was cancelled 15 minutes into the half hour show. It was pretty bad. :o


What year was it on?

What year was it on?

Paula Poundstone's show was on in the fall of 1993 I believe. I remember being at a neighbor's house and she had it on the night it premiered. It was on a Saturday night I believe. It was a variety show gone wrong lol I remember there was an annoying barbershop quartet that would sing in between the skits lol Another show that was quickly cancelled was "Lush Life" starring Karyn Parsons & Christine Taylor. It was taken off after the second episode. It aired in the fall of 1996 on Fox.

Melanie Chartoff is a comedian who was a regular on an ABC series in 1980 or 81 called "Fridays". It was a clone of "Saturday Night Live" exept it aired on (where else?) Fridays!

She'll turn up in a TV show or movie every once in a while.

Melanie Chartoff also played Ms. Musso on Parker Lewis Can't Lose!

girls club, that was on fox in 2000, was cancelled after 2 episodes

and manchester prep, also from fox in 1999, never even got to air an episode before fox cancelled it.

Lori Petty co-starred on "Lush Life," although Christine Taylor was on the show they aired during the same hour, the tv version of the movie "Party Girl." I watched both of them, but I can't remember which one started the hour off (I suppose it doesn't really matter now anyway). Both of them were gone pretty fast.

:p

I am surprised that no one else remembers the Paula poundstone show. I heard it was cancelled 15 minutes into the half hour show. It was pretty bad. :o


I was about to say it, but came across your post. Dang it! You beat me to the punch! There were two eps that aired the other show I remeber was "The Trouble Wtih Larry" Starring Bronson Pinchot. It was deemed as truly offensive and did not pan well with critics. The first epsosde did get a rating of 29 though. Dave Chappele's sitcom "Buddies" was to air. There were even promos but it never made it and when it did, it was pulled.
BTW, "Party Girl" kicked off the 9pm schedule of FOX then "Lush Life." Melrose Place was the 8pm lead in.

Melanie Chartoff also played Ms. Musso on Parker Lewis Can't Lose!
thanx to those of you for the Melanie pics, answers abt where I know that name from. Now that I have seen her pic, and of course, with theshark mentioning Parker Lewis, I now know who she is.

"South of Sunset" with Glen Frey, anyone?? Open and closed on the same saturday night on CBS.

In 1998, Scott Baio had a series called Rewind for FOX, but was cancelled before it even aired.

on [URL="tvparty.com"] they talk about a show in 1976 called "Snips" that was canncelled before it even aired.

1978? CBS was all set to air a show by Norman Lear, but, again, it was yanked from the schudle at the last second.

I am surprised no one mentioned it, but I guess no one realized that CBS had a reality show last January 2005 almost a year ago, titled "The Will" in which about 10 people competed to get the estate of some Texas billionare, the people were relatives and other friends the man knew. Anyway it aired on CBS Saturday Night at 8 PM Eastern and debuted the second week in January, and delivered from what I have read the worst rating in Prime Time history and was quickly cancelled the following Monday when ratings came out. CBS took the show off there website immediately and never made mention of it again, they also never considered burning the episodes off on the internet or a sister cable channel, or never revealed who one the Will.

Can anyone clairify if THE WILL was the lowest rated show ever???

Here is the link:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=129504&highlight=CBS

Anyone curious about this one? These were hilariously gross trading cards which were scheduled to be a Saturday morning animated show in the mid 80s. But protests were at such a fever pitch that the network (CBS I think) scrubbed the show just days before the premiere. But I'm sure there would be a season's worth of episodes at least simply because it's animated and you've got to be way ahead of the air-date in the production of the eps. But I've never seen hide nor hair of this show.

Anyone curious about this one? These were hilariously gross trading cards which were scheduled to be a Saturday morning animated show in the mid 80s. But protests were at such a fever pitch that the network (CBS I think) scrubbed the show just days before the premiere. But I'm sure there would be a season's worth of episodes at least simply because it's animated and you've got to be way ahead of the air-date in the production of the eps. But I've never seen hide nor hair of this show.the cosby show once did a minor paroddy of the garbage pail kids it was where clair caught rudy and her friends watching a forbidden movie called the gross out gang and clair had a hissyfit

GPK animated was shown outside the us (sweden)
and is now coming to DVDin april

SHOWS THAT LASTED ONLY ONE EPISODE

Who’s Whose (CBS, 06/25/51)
You’re In the Picture* (CBS, 01/20/61)
Turn-On** (ABC, 02/05/69)
Co-Ed Fever (CBS, 2/4/79)
South of Sunset (10/27/93)
Public Morals*** (CBS, 10/30/96)
Lawless (Fox, 3/22/97)
Dot-Comedy (ABC, 12/12/00)
The Will**** (CBS, 01/05/05)
Emily’s Reasons Why Not (ABC, 01/09/06).

* You’re In The Picture did have a second airing, but the original format was scrapped and host Jackie Gleason used the half hour to apologize for the show the week before.
** Two episodes were filmed. One aired and the other did not.
*** 13 episodes of Public Morals were filmed but only one aired.
**** The Will did end up airing in July of 2005 on the cable channel Fox Reality.

SHOWS THAT LASTED TWO EPISODES

Roxie, CBS. 4/1–4/8/87
Take Five, CBS. 4/1–4/8/87.
The Paula Poundstone Show, ABC. 10/30–11/06/93
Love and Marriage, Fox. 9/28–10/5/96.
Prince Street, NBC. 3/6–3/12/97
Four Corners, NBC. 2/24–3/3/98
Push, ABC. 4/6–4/13/98
Wind On Water, NBC. 10/17–10/24/98
The Mike O’Malley Show, NBC. 9/21–9/28/99
Ryan Caulfield: Year One, Fox. 10/15–10/22/99
Wonderland, ABC. 3/30–4/6/00
Clerks, ABC. 5/31–6/7/00
Danny, CBS. 9/28–10/5/01
That Was Then, ABC. 9/27–10/4/02
girls club, Fox. 10/21–10/28/02
Charlie Lawrence, CBS. 6/15–6/22/03

SHOWS CANCELLED BEFORE THEY AIRED

Snip, NBC. 1976.
Star Trek: Phase II, 1979.
The Dictator, CBS. 1988. *
Secret Service Guy, Fox. 1996.
Rewind, Fox. 1997
Manchester Prep, Fox. 1997.
Hollyweird, Fox. 1998.
Schimmel, Fox. 2000.
Fling, Fox. 2001.
The Grubbs, Fox. 2002.**
The Ortegas, Fox. 2002. ***
Still Life, Fox. 2003. ****
Septuplets, Fox. 2003.
Domestic Goddess, ABC Family. 2003.
Fearless, WB. 2003.
The Mayor, WB. 2003.
Commando Nanny, WB. 2004.
Welcome To the Neighborhood, ABC. 2005.

* eight episodes filmed
** 13 eps filmed
*** six eps filmed
**** three eps filmed

SHOWS CANCELLED BEFORE THEY AIRED

Star Trek: Phase II, 1979.
Fearless, WB. 2003.


Not sure you can count either of these. Star Trek: Phase II never got past the pre-production phase; countless shows get that far. The only unusual aspect of Star Trek: Phase II were the thirteen scripts written and a bit of test footage.

As for Fearless, as far as I know only a pilot was shot. Every season dozens of shows go to pilot. I believe The WB added it to a tentative schedule, but again, that happens occasionally.

Love your site, by the way.
I can get on board with Trek: II maybe not being considered as I'm not even sure a network was going to air it. However, I do feel Fearless warrants mention because actually two pilots were shot (I've seen the both), and the WB did include it in its season launch information for that year and handed out pilots to critics at the Television Critics Association meeting in L.A. that summer. I think that Rewind, Manchester Prep and a host of other shows on the list had the same treatment given to them. So I strongly vote for Fearless to be included.

Love your site, by the way.

Thanks. I plan on updating it eventually. Shocking, eh?


I can get on board with Trek: II maybe not being considered as I'm not even sure a network was going to air it.

Paramount was trying to launch its own network and was planning on using Phase II as its cornerstone (shades of UPN).

However, I do feel Fearless warrants mention because actually two pilots were shot (I've seen the both), and the WB did include it in its season launch information for that year and handed out pilots to critics at the Television Critics Association meeting in L.A. that summer. I think that Rewind, Manchester Prep and a host of other shows on the list had the same treatment given to them. So I strongly vote for Fearless to be included.

Was Rachel Leigh Cooke in both pilots? I have only seen a promotional trailer for the series, which was probably from the second pilot. I have never figured out if that particular trailer was actually aired or not. In any case, given how close it came to airing, I reckon it falls into the same category as Manchester Prep. Only without the other two episodes that were shot.

I still want to see Snip, personally. Of all the shows in the list, Snip seems like the oddest one to be pulled.

I have a book that tells the history of "STAR TREK" up until-I think-1996? (it was written after the first season of VOYAGER) and it includes outlines of the 13 shows that were planned for "STAR TREK: PHASE 2". It's a shame they never made it, as a lot of those episodes sound good!

There's one that's a time-travel episode that has Kirk going back to Dec. 7th, 1941 and wittnesing the Jappanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

I have a book that tells the history of "STAR TREK" up until-I think-1996? (it was written after the first season of VOYAGER) and it includes outlines of the 13 shows that were planned for "STAR TREK: PHASE 2". It's a shame they never made it, as a lot of those episodes sound good!

There is an entire book just about Phase II, including a complete script for the premiere, and in-depth outlines for the other episodes. It also has production material, sketches and stills from test footage. A great read.

OKay I have one that beats this-


Seriously- this is a real show-

Heil Honey I'm Home!
UK, BSB (Noel Gay Television), Sitcom, Colour, 1990
Starring: Neil McCaul, DeNica Fairman, Gareth Marks

Adolf Hitler and his wife Eva live somewhere in 1930s American suburbia, next door to a Jewish couple, Arny and Rosa Goldenstein, and their dour niece, Ruth.

This most infamous of all British sitcoms attracted controversy out of all proportion to the number of people who saw it. Naturally, the hullabaloo was built on the shocking notion that anyone would mount a comedy about Hitler and the Jews - seemingly the definition of poor taste. In reality, the show was no more than a spoof - and not of 1930s Germany but of the kind of 1960s/1970s American sitcoms that would embrace any idea, no matter how stupid. The title, the corny dialogue, the applause when anyone arrived on set, the acting (McCaul's Hitler was more reminiscent of Chaplin's The Great Dictator than your actual Fuhrer) - all were clear signposts of parody. Mel Brooks had already explored the concept of pantomime Nazis in his masterpiece movie (and eventual stage musical) The Producers. In case anyone should have missed the point, an opening caption card explained that Heil Honey I'm Home! was a long-lost US sitcom created by one Brandon Thalburg Jr, just re-discovered in archives in Burbank, California.


Having said all this, the show really wasn't very good - at most, the idea might have made for an interesting sketch. And hardly anyone saw it because it was broadcast in the earliest days of the short-lived British Satellite Broadcasting, on its Galaxy channel, when the total number of viewers - those who had installed the company's famous-for-15-minutes 'squarial' (square aerial) - could be counted on just a few hands. Although Heil Honey was partly fashioned in order to attract media attention the project was soon considered too hot to handle; seven additional recorded episodes remain unseen, for when Sky took over BSB, remodelling the joint company British Sky Broadcasting, they wished no part of it."

There was a show called Melba starring Melba Moore. It was axed after one episode in '86. Btw, everytime I hear "Melba" I think of toast. :lol: