Most Popular Short-Lived Show Ever - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 01-21-2002, 03:47 AM

I know that this sort of sounds like a total oxymoron but there also always has to be some sort of cult following type of angle and/or aspect to like at. The first one that comes to mind is the Honeymooners which only made 39 episodes but continuted to air in syndicated reuns up through the 1980s. It even inspired animated parodies (i.e. involving rats) and the Flintstones. But in a way, it's still a bit unclear to say since the whole thing started and pick up as a string of sketches on various variety shows. Another show is Police Squad which spawned the Naked Gun movies even though the TV show itself only made about six episodes.

Jimbo · 01-21-2002, 05:23 PM

I don't know if the word "popular" applies in the case of "My Mother The Car", but this short-lived series has become the benchmark against which all other bad TV comedies are measured.

DJM77 · 01-21-2002, 06:40 PM

Briget Loves Bernie (1972-1973)
Joanie Loves Chachi (1982-1983)
That's My Mama (1974-1975)
Fish (1977-1978)
Hello, Larry (1979-1980)
My Sister Sam (1986-1988)
The Munsters (1964-1966)
The Charmings (1987-1988)
Just The Ten Of Us (1988-1990)
Angie (1979-1980)

LucyFan · 01-25-2002, 05:12 PM

"The Brady Brides" (1981)

MacLeaper · 01-28-2002, 01:20 PM

Automan (1983-1984, ran for 13 episodes)
Manimal (Sep. 1983- Dec. 1983, ran for 8 episodes)
Street Hawk (1985-1986, ran for 13 episodes)
The Powers of Matthew Star (1982-1983, ran for 22 episodes)
Starman (1986, ran for 22 episodes)

This wasn't really short-lived, it went for 44 episodes and an unsold spin-off pilot, but i really wish The Greatest American Hero would have lasted longer, (so I could have seen it when I was older than 1 or 2). By the way, the spin-off pilot was for a new show to be called The Greatest American Heroine.

dannoz · 01-30-2002, 01:15 AM

I guess it doesn't qualify as a true sit-com, but I'm sure you remember "Turn-On," a "Laugh-In" spin-off. The head writer was a George Schlatter associate, Digby Wolfe, and the first/last guest-host was Tim Conway. As folklore reports, this show was cancelled halfway through its premiere via a phone call from a network executive. I actually saw this show...live. Never saw another one ;-).

Tiger32 · 02-06-2002, 12:06 AM

What about the Greatest American Hero? That show did not seem to last for very long. However ABC was patient with this show, it actually lasted 45 episodes.

I liked the theme song "Believe IT or Not", but I only watched the show a couple of times. I think maybe a couple of times too many.

I know technically this may not have been classified as a sitcom, but the portrayal was very comical in nature.

AKA · 02-07-2002, 05:07 AM

The Critic (1994-1995)
The Dana Carvey Show (1996)
Freaks And Geeks (1999-2000)

boechsner · 02-11-2002, 03:18 AM

Gidget has to be one of the most popular short-lived shows ever. It lasted one year and ABC? jumped the gun by cancelling it too soon. Then during the reruns in the summer of 1966, the show became very popular but it was too late, it was already cancelled. It was so popular that in the 1980's you could actually see it in syndication.

Sitcomwriter · 02-15-2002, 03:41 PM

Fawlty Towers! Only 12 episodes but it's a VERY popular show!

bb · 02-20-2002, 08:19 PM

The Alice spinoff Flo. Didnt last very long but it was popular enough to put Polly Holiday on the cover of TV Guide ( and many other magazines ). CBS moving it around to different time slots
I heard was what killed that show.

The Ropers was another show that was fairly popular but didnt last long either.

Back in the late 70s - early 80s when Real People became popular
( I believe it was NBC's most popular show at that time besides Little House ) many shows copied their format and many are still remembered today.Some were popular enough to last a full season and more while others didnt last a month. Examples like Games People Play, Speak UP America, The World of People, and Bob Barker's Thats My Line and of course Thats Incredible and PM Magazine.

Pink Lady and Supertrain lasted only weeks and to this day they are both remembered for being so bad.

Tiger32 · 02-20-2002, 08:53 PM

Interesting comments bb. I had forgotten about Flo, she was a very popular character on Alice. Some will say that her humor is what kept Alice on the air. She would be a natural choice to star in her own series.

Your comment on Real People had got me thinking back to that series. I am not sure but I believe that former Minnisota Vikings Quarterback Fran Tarkington was on that show as well as Byron Allen. It was a great show.

bb · 02-22-2002, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tiger32
Interesting comments bb. I had forgotten about Flo, she was a very popular character on Alice. Some will say that her humor is what kept Alice on the air. She would be a natural choice to star in her own series.

Your comment on Real People had got me thinking back to that series. I am not sure but I believe that former Minnisota Vikings Quarterback Fran Tarkington was on that show as well as Byron Allen. It was a great show.

Fran Tarkington was on Thats Incredible. As with John Davidson Cathy Lee Crosby.

Real People was hosted by Byron Allen, John Barbour, Bill Rafferty,
Fred Williard ( later shows ) , the late Skip Stepheson, and of course..Sarah Purcell ( my first major crush ).

Speak UP America didnt last long but it starred Jayne Kennedy
and Marjor Garter, dont know the spelling but he was a former child preacher.

Games People Play was hosted by Bryant Gumbel ( before Today )
and was famous for featuring Mr. T before A-Team and even Rocky.

The World of People didnt last long , at least not where I lived at. It was soon replaced by Bullseye ( the game show ). PM Magazine- who hosted it varies from city to city.

Interesting thing about Thats Incredible was that the people behind Real People tried to sue ( they may have ) ABC as they felt TI was a rip off.

John Barbour on one ep. of Real People actually bashed ABC for airing Thats Incredible. That one show was even included in the reruns of People , though it wasnt rerun-ed very much. The now defunct CBS Eye on People channel til early 1999 carried Real People reruns and the "anti-ABC" ep. was one they shown.

CBS Eye also carried Thats Incredible too- even featured in a marathon one holiday ( just like TBS and many other channels ).

Needless to say neither show aged very well so its doubtful they will be re-runed again anytime soon. Glad I got a bunch of those shows on tape.

Tiger32 · 02-22-2002, 07:02 PM

Thanks bb, I got the two shows mixed up.

bweir · 02-23-2002, 12:48 PM

My very FAVOURITE short lived show was the Powers That Be with John Forsythe, David Hyde Pierce and Peter McNichol. CLASSIC!!!

01-21-2002, 03:47 AM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,437	Most Popular Short-Lived Show Ever I know that this sort of sounds like a total oxymoron but there also always has to be some sort of cult following type of angle and/or aspect to like at. The first one that comes to mind is the Honeymooners which only made 39 episodes but continuted to air in syndicated reuns up through the 1980s. It even inspired animated parodies (i.e. involving rats) and the Flintstones. But in a way, it's still a bit unclear to say since the whole thing started and pick up as a string of sketches on various variety shows. Another show is Police Squad which spawned the Naked Gun movies even though the TV show itself only made about six episodes.

01-21-2002, 06:40 PM	#3
DJM77 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: May 15, 2001 Location: Missouri Posts: 5,553	Briget Loves Bernie (1972-1973) Joanie Loves Chachi (1982-1983) That's My Mama (1974-1975) Fish (1977-1978) Hello, Larry (1979-1980) My Sister Sam (1986-1988) The Munsters (1964-1966) The Charmings (1987-1988) Just The Ten Of Us (1988-1990) Angie (1979-1980)
	__________________ Marge: There are only 49 stars on that flag. Abe: I'll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognize Missouri! Last edited by DJM77; 01-21-2002 at 06:42 PM.

01-28-2002, 01:20 PM	#5
MacLeaper Child of the 80s Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 20, 2001 Posts: 3,355	Okay, these aren't sitcoms, but some of my favorite short-lived shows are... Automan (1983-1984, ran for 13 episodes) Manimal (Sep. 1983- Dec. 1983, ran for 8 episodes) Street Hawk (1985-1986, ran for 13 episodes) The Powers of Matthew Star (1982-1983, ran for 22 episodes) Starman (1986, ran for 22 episodes) This wasn't really short-lived, it went for 44 episodes and an unsold spin-off pilot, but i really wish The Greatest American Hero would have lasted longer, (so I could have seen it when I was older than 1 or 2). By the way, the spin-off pilot was for a new show to be called The Greatest American Heroine.
	__________________ "Oh boy!" - Dr. Sam Beckett "You can do anything you wanna do if you put your mind to it." - MacGyver "Have mercy!" - Uncle Jesse "Ha, I kill me!" - ALF "I am The Way, The Truth and The Life. No man comes to The Father but by Me."- Jesus Christ (John 14:6)

01-30-2002, 01:15 AM	#6
dannoz Member Forum Hawk Join Date: Jan 29, 2002 Posts: 4	Short Lived I guess it doesn't qualify as a true sit-com, but I'm sure you remember "Turn-On," a "Laugh-In" spin-off. The head writer was a George Schlatter associate, Digby Wolfe, and the first/last guest-host was Tim Conway. As folklore reports, this show was cancelled halfway through its premiere via a phone call from a network executive. I actually saw this show...live. Never saw another one ;-).

02-07-2002, 05:07 AM	#8
AKA Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 17, 2001 Posts: 15,746	The Critic (1994-1995) The Dana Carvey Show (1996) Freaks And Geeks (1999-2000)
	Last edited by AKA; 02-07-2002 at 05:09 AM.

01-21-2002, 05:23 PM	#2
Jimbo Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 29, 2001 Location: United States of America-One Nation UNDER GOD! Posts: 471	I don't know if the word "popular" applies in the case of "My Mother The Car", but this short-lived series has become the benchmark against which all other bad TV comedies are measured.

01-25-2002, 05:12 PM	#4
LucyFan Still Loving Lucy! Forum Fanatic Join Date: Sep 23, 2001 Location: In the Wonderful World of Lucy! Posts: 8,198	"The Brady Brides" (1981)

02-06-2002, 12:06 AM	#7
Tiger32 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 14, 2002 Posts: 624	What about the Greatest American Hero? That show did not seem to last for very long. However ABC was patient with this show, it actually lasted 45 episodes. I liked the theme song "Believe IT or Not", but I only watched the show a couple of times. I think maybe a couple of times too many. I know technically this may not have been classified as a sitcom, but the portrayal was very comical in nature.

02-11-2002, 03:18 AM	#9
boechsner Member Senior Member Join Date: Oct 18, 2000 Location: Green Bay, WI Posts: 2,212	Gidget has to be one of the most popular short-lived shows ever. It lasted one year and ABC? jumped the gun by cancelling it too soon. Then during the reruns in the summer of 1966, the show became very popular but it was too late, it was already cancelled. It was so popular that in the 1980's you could actually see it in syndication.

02-15-2002, 03:41 PM	#10
Sitcomwriter Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 27, 2001 Posts: 7,354	Fawlty Towers! Only 12 episodes but it's a VERY popular show!

02-20-2002, 08:19 PM	#11
bb Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 30, 2001 Location: Martinsburg, WV usa Posts: 276	The Alice spinoff Flo. Didnt last very long but it was popular enough to put Polly Holiday on the cover of TV Guide ( and many other magazines ). CBS moving it around to different time slots I heard was what killed that show. The Ropers was another show that was fairly popular but didnt last long either. Back in the late 70s - early 80s when Real People became popular ( I believe it was NBC's most popular show at that time besides Little House ) many shows copied their format and many are still remembered today.Some were popular enough to last a full season and more while others didnt last a month. Examples like Games People Play, Speak UP America, The World of People, and Bob Barker's Thats My Line and of course Thats Incredible and PM Magazine. Pink Lady and Supertrain lasted only weeks and to this day they are both remembered for being so bad.
	Last edited by bb; 02-20-2002 at 08:21 PM.

02-20-2002, 08:53 PM	#12
Tiger32 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 14, 2002 Posts: 624	Interesting comments bb. I had forgotten about Flo, she was a very popular character on Alice. Some will say that her humor is what kept Alice on the air. She would be a natural choice to star in her own series. Your comment on Real People had got me thinking back to that series. I am not sure but I believe that former Minnisota Vikings Quarterback Fran Tarkington was on that show as well as Byron Allen. It was a great show.

02-22-2002, 07:02 PM	#14
Tiger32 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 14, 2002 Posts: 624	Thanks bb, I got the two shows mixed up.

02-23-2002, 12:48 PM	#15
bweir Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 23, 2001 Posts: 293	My very FAVOURITE short lived show was the Powers That Be with John Forsythe, David Hyde Pierce and Peter McNichol. CLASSIC!!!
	__________________ Lucy: Oh Mr. Mooney! You scared me half out of my wits! Mooney: Oh never give me an opening like that.