20 of the most epic failures in network science fiction TV

Blastr.com ^ | 09/21/10

[KevinDavis]

The new TV season starts in earnest this week, and as usual it brings with it the promise of all kinds of new sci-fi, fantasy and horror treats for us to watch. And all too soon it will also bring with it an inevitable round of cancelations as shows that seemed like they were just getting going get cut short when the ratings take a sudden downturn (or maybe a slow decline).

Before we fall in love with too many new darlings only to lose them too soon, we thought it was a good time to look back over some of the most promising new network shows in the last 10 years that also seemed fresh and young ... only to flame out spectacularly.

The list could go well past 20 of course, but all of these stood out in some way during their brief time in the sun, either because so many viewers tuned in at first that cancelation seemed impossible, or because creatively they seemed a cut above the average TV fare.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

I’m a Browncoat and surprised that some see Firefly as a failure.

I, too, cannot believe Firefly is even on a list of SciFi flops. It rocked!

[camle]

what about LEXX? not THAT was a failure!

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Misfits of Science?

Yes! Courtney Cox. Wifey and I loved that series.

[Political Junkie Too]

Yeah, I remember "Nowhere Man." Every time a glass would break, his life would erase, or so it seemed.

How about "Seven Days," with Jonathan LaPaglia?

-PJ

[Question_Assumptions]

Dean Martin's son Dean Paul Martin also starred in Misfits of Science. He died in 1987, the year after Misfits went off the air, in an F-4 crash while flying for the National Guard. According to Wikipedia (link at name), he married both Olivia Hussey (Juliet in Zeffirelli's 1968 Romeo and Juliet) and skater Dorothy Hamill. The main thing I remember from the show is the character "Johnny B" and the six million dollar man parody.

[Question_Assumptions]

Another show that I really liked that ultimately failed was the second season of they syndicated US/Canadian/UK/German Starhunter, released on DVD as Starhunter 2300 (you can watch the second season without the first, which started Michael Pare, and the quality is much better). It's pretty amazing given the shoestring budget it was made on but it's odd syndication schedule guaranteed it was going to fail.

[Flag_This]

"Anybody remember “Quark” from the late 70s or early 80s."

It was the first series that I thought of when I saw this thread. I can still remember a promo where they got man-on-the street comments about the show: "I've seen the future and it's funny."

Yeah, I remember that... I can't balance a chemical equation, but I have lots of room in my head for useless information like that.

[who knows what evil?]

It seems in the back of my mind there was some attempt to do a remake of “The Invaders”, but then maybe I am wrong.

No...you are correct. There was a short 'mini-series' a while back (mid 90's?) that starred Scott Bakula...Roy Thinnes made an appearance in that series, as well...

[Bat_Chemist]

I watched one episode of Fringe. When the super-genius guy injected the giant virus with antihistamine...I changed the channel and haven’t watched it since.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

And the guy who played Elvin “El” Lincoln (he could shrink himself) was the same actor who played the Bigfoot Harry in “Harry and the Hendersons”.

[chaosagent]

On 29 September 2009, it was announced that a deal had been struck between ITV, Watch, Impossible Pictures, German broadcaster Pro7 and BBC Worldwide to produce two new series of the show for transmission in 2011.

The first of the two new series will start airing in January 2011 on ITV1. Series 5 is currently being filmed and will air later in 2011 on Watch then will be shown on ITV1 in 2012.

Don’t know when we’ll see them here in the US.

[Yorlik803]

Firefly was a great show. I have both the movie and the TV show on DVD.
Anyone here remember” Space: Above and Beyond”?