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Pick: What was the greatest one-season wonder in TV history?
Did Kato and Kolchak deserve more love?
Television is a competitive business. The pressure is on from the first episode. It seems as if half of the shows made last a single season.
This is not always a knock on their quality. Perhaps a series received a tough time slot. Maybe it was too ahead of its time. In some cases, it might have just been too high quality — too expensive to produce.
There are many single-season shows with rabid fanbases. In fact, we show several such shows on MeTV. We call them one-season wonders.
Below, we gathered some of our favorite one-season wonders from the 1950s through the 2000s. They range from sci-fi to drama to Westerns. Which one is your favorite?
Of course, there are too many to list. Did we not include your favorite? Tell us in the comments!
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Which is your favorite television show that only lasted one season?
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Pick: What was the greatest one-season wonder in TV history?
Your Result...
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100% similar. Loved Kolchak and them goofy monsters.
You left off Patrick McGoohan's "The Prisoner" (1967-1968). It's my favorite one-season wonder, followed by "Kolchak the Night Stalker" at 2nd place. Is it because "The Prisoner" was a British show?
The Jetsons or Top Cat
How about the tv series, The Honeymooners (1955-56)…. one season, 39 episodes, shown over and over and over again to generations of new fans and old. Great comedy. It inspired the Flintstones and the King of Queens.
As a Kid, I Never Watched any of those Programs.
You left off my 2nd favorite one-season wonder, American Gothic.
There are at least 5 I could pick...to hard to pick just one.
Forgot Surface (2005 - 2006)
One of my favorite one season TV shows was NBC's "SEARCH" (1972-1973) that "OUTER LIMITS" creator, Leslie Stevens created for Warner Bros.Television. This was TV's first "spy-fi" series, where its technology was decades ahead of its time! "World Securities Corporation" was a private firm that used its "Probe Control" division and its agents, equipped with miniaturized TV scanners and neural-dental implants, while being monitored by "VCR Cameron" (Burgess Meredith) at Probe Control, Unite One, a NASA like mission control room with computers and computerized councils, while these telemetry specialists monitor the Probe agents, like "Hugh Lockwood"-Probe One, played by Hugh O'Brian, Tony Franciosa as "Nick Bianco"-Omega Probe, and Doug McClure as "CR Grover"-Stand By Probe. The TV series was launched in Fall 1972, and the TV pilot, "PROBE", aired on NBC World Premeire on February 21, 1972, which Russ Mayberry directed. overall, a great TV series, but the NBC people didn't have patience with its ratings, and canceled the series in March 1973, with a total of 23 episodes. Robert H. Justman, associate producer of "STAR TREK" produced the series, and in its mid-season, former "MAN FROM UNCLE" producer Anthony Spinner took over in early 1973. In 2014, Warner Archive released the series onto the Made on Demand format, where it has enjoyed a re-popularity ever since! Cheryl Ladd, known in those days as Cheryl Stoppelmore, appeared as Probe Control technician, "Amy Love", and Angel Tompkins appeared in the TV pilot and earlier episodes as "Gloria Harding", a somewhat jealous Probe Medical Telemetry specialist who would nag on Lockwood while on assignment in the field.
I would have picked Voyagers!, a 20 episode show from like 1983.
Where's "The Rogues" TV show?
0% similar
I'm apparently the first person to like The Powers of Matthew Star. The only other show on this list that I watched regularly was Square Pegs, the rest I either saw just once or never. I vaguely remember the opening opening credits to The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., but being only 3-4 years old I had no clue what the show was about. Same with The Man From U.N.C.L.E., which I finally rented through Netflix a couple of years ago out of curiosity.
I'm apparently the first person to like The Powers of Matthew Star. The only other show on this list that I watched regularly was Square Pegs, the rest I either saw just once or never. I vaguely remember the opening opening credits to The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., but being only 3-4 years old I had no clue what the show was about. Same with The Man From U.N.C.L.E., which I finally rented through Netflix a couple of years ago out of curiosity.
How about Dan August??
The one season show I liked that isn't on the list was Code Red.
How about Automan or Space Rangers?
While there are some good ones there, I have to go with one not listed: The Middleman.
A quirky, Man in Black type spoof, it had an amazing number of SF easter eggs through every show, and characters that were witty and fun to watch. Sigh.
A quirky, Man in Black type spoof, it had an amazing number of SF easter eggs through every show, and characters that were witty and fun to watch. Sigh.
You would think that the hollyweird powers, who seem to lack creativity, would bring some of these old shows back. I'm not talking "re-envision" them, but add too them. The concept is there. The audience is there. Duuuhhhh!!!!
I picked the one that it seems NO ONE else picked- The Powers of Matthew Star. I think that show had great potential, if only they didn’t try changing the whole style of it halfway through… that, and it was up against some pretty stiff competition when it originally aired, I believe. Another one that I LOVE that wasn’t on this list, and that I think would’ve been an absolute HIT if it were on any other channel, was that show titled Jake 2.0, starring Christopher Gorham.
Very old one season favorites of mine are The Buccaneers with Robert Shaw, and The Last of the Mohicans with John Hart and Lon Chaney Jr. The Last of the Mohicans featured character actor John Vernon a couple of times.
Still remember some of the gags on “Police Squad”... “sorry, Champ, no sax before a fight.” It was a hilarious show!
Loved Coronet Blue show and theme song. I was sad when it ended. Only on for the summer of 1967.
