Frank Soyke
Screenwriter
I was thinking about a lot of the one season shows many of us clamor for when we post in this forum and I began to wonder about how many of these shows the networks whiffed on when they were aired. My own conclusion surprisingly was not too many. I found that of the 1000+ shows that the networks have aired over the years, there were really only a handful that they gave up on prematurely IMO. Truthfully, despite the extensive lists we sometimes put on here of short run shows we would like to see released on DVD, many of these are quite awful shows, no-one watched them, and they deserved cancellation.Here's a short list of my own from the 60's, 70's and 80's of shows that actually were given the shaft after one year IMO:
60's - He&She, Love On A Rooftop, THE Cat
70's - Gemini Man, When Things Were Rotten
80's - It's Your Move, Open All Night, Police Squad, Best Of The West, Bret Maverick
Feel free to add your own. The point being, even if every person on the forum contributed a handful more to this list, it would still pale in comparison to the total number of one season shows cancelled throughout that 30 year period. For every When Things Were Rotten, there are hundreds of OK Crackerby's. For every St. Elsewhere that got saved from the one season scrapheap by a letter writing campaign, there are oodles of shows like The Hathaways
So the final question becomes, if the shows were so bad, why are always bringing them up on here saying we want them released so bad. I can't speak for everybody but I think it's either for nostalgia sake such as remembering these wretched shows from our childhood, or maybe it's that collector mentality (guilty as charged) that some of us have telling us that we "have to have everything". It also could be the thrill we collectors experience by chasing something super rare, no matter what it is.
Bottom line - I hate to say it, but the major networks get it right most of the time IMO.
60's - He&She, Love On A Rooftop, THE Cat
70's - Gemini Man, When Things Were Rotten
80's - It's Your Move, Open All Night, Police Squad, Best Of The West, Bret Maverick
Feel free to add your own. The point being, even if every person on the forum contributed a handful more to this list, it would still pale in comparison to the total number of one season shows cancelled throughout that 30 year period. For every When Things Were Rotten, there are hundreds of OK Crackerby's. For every St. Elsewhere that got saved from the one season scrapheap by a letter writing campaign, there are oodles of shows like The Hathaways
So the final question becomes, if the shows were so bad, why are always bringing them up on here saying we want them released so bad. I can't speak for everybody but I think it's either for nostalgia sake such as remembering these wretched shows from our childhood, or maybe it's that collector mentality (guilty as charged) that some of us have telling us that we "have to have everything". It also could be the thrill we collectors experience by chasing something super rare, no matter what it is.
Bottom line - I hate to say it, but the major networks get it right most of the time IMO.