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short-lived shows-related stories

Short-Lived Shows: UNSUB

Posted Aug 20th 2009 8:02PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Short-Lived Shows, Reality-Free

Now here's a show that was before its time.

UNSUB was a show that ran for a few months (eight episodes) on NBC in 1989. It was about an FBI forensics team that investigated murders and other serious crimes. Sound familiar? This was CSI and Criminal Minds before there was a CSI or a Criminal Minds.

Continue reading Short-Lived Shows: UNSUB

Shows we need to see on DVD (from A to Z)

Posted Jun 30th 2009 3:05PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Programming, TV on DVD, Reality-Free

We've talked a lot about this before, the shows we love that haven't been released on DVD for one reason or another. Now PremiumHollywood.com has chosen the 26 shows, A to Z, that they bought on the shiny little discs.

It's a great idea, though I don't understand why they call the list "cult TV" when it has shows on it like L.A. Law and Eight is Enough. Some good choices here though. I would have chosen Ed, Private Eye, Something So Right, Shannon's Deal. A lot of shows that I never thought would be released on DVD are now getting released, so every year my dream list gets smaller and smaller.

You?

What's the greatest short-lived show of all-time?

Posted Mar 24th 2009 3:03PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free

We've talked a lot about great short-lived shows here at TV Squad. We even have a whole category for them. But it's always good to revisit the topic to see what you readers think.

Over at Entertainment Weekly, they've chosen the 25 great TV shows that got a quick hook, the shows that got canceled (way) before their time (we're talking really short runs, so Arrested Development and Sports Night aren't on the list). There are several shows on the list that you would expect to see (Freaks and Geeks, My So-Called Life, Firefly), some surprise entries that made me happy to see on there (The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr, Frank's Place, Karen Sisco, Now & Again), and a few head-scratchers (Malibu Road? Really?). It's slightly heavy on the current side, with Journeyman and Life on Mars on the list. I mean, Life on Mars is still running new episodes.

Continue reading What's the greatest short-lived show of all-time?

The Nine, Smith, and Eyes coming back to TV

Posted Mar 24th 2009 1:01PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, Programming, Reality-Free

Sometimes a short-lived show will vanish from the schedule and you'll have to wait until the DVD comes out (maybe). Other shows show up on some cable network and are run for a while but then go away forever. These three shows were so short-lived you didn't think you'd see them anywhere ever again. But DirecTV has other ideas.

The company is going to start showing three short-lived shows again: ABC's Eyes and The Nine and CBS' Smith. Specifically, they've made a deal with Warner Brothers to show the three shows on their 101 Network and DirecTV on Demand. They'll be shown in HD, unedited, and episodes you've never seen before will be part of the package too (Eyes has seven unseen episodes, while The Nine and Smith each have four).

Continue reading The Nine, Smith, and Eyes coming back to TV

Short-Lived Shows: Mission Hill

Posted Mar 28th 2006 1:05PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Short-Lived Shows

Despite twenty-somethings making up a large part of its fanbase, The Simpsons has never really been about that particular demographic. Rather, the show focuses on the baby boomer generation Homer and Marge more or less belong to, given the ambiguous concept of "time" on the series. After the first few seasons, which were helmed largely by people born in the 1950s, some younger talent was brought in, such as Conan O'Brien and the writing/producing duo of Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein. While this added a welcome new dimension to the series, it still remains largely indifferent to the twenty-something zeitgeist. Young adults aren't absolved from the series' satirical jabs, but the heart of the show has always been about the nuclear family and its many struggles.

Continue reading Short-Lived Shows: Mission Hill

Short-Lived Shows: Turn Ben Stein On

Posted Jan 24th 2006 10:34AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Cable, Late Night, OpEd, Short-Lived Shows

Ben Stein was not the first person to try and reinvent the celebrity talk show, and he's also not the first to have failed. Whoopi Goldberg and Chevy Chase each had spectacular failures in the world of late night gab fests before Ben Stein followed his successful game show Win Ben Stein's Money with Turn Ben Stein On in 1999.

Continue reading Short-Lived Shows: Turn Ben Stein On

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