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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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The Coronet Blue actor was Frank Converse. I haven't seen it but I'd like to. The best one year wonders were Hondo and Brisco County. Phenomenal programs!
Tales of the Gold Monkey, Hondo and Shane are old favorites of mine.
Voted for Battle Star Galactica but in 1984-1985 Cover-up a spy show was good starring Jon-Erik Hexum, Jenifer O'Neil, Richard Anderson and after Hexum's accidental death on the set Antony Hamilton who is no longer with us R.I.P. The bad press and death of Hexum an upcoming star ended the series that was quite good.
Was a huge fan of Kolchak!
Does anyone remember "Coronet Blue?" LOVED the theme song!
Yes!! I loved that show, was so mysterious & that actor was so different & handsome! Always wondered what happened to him, never heard from him again. Thanks for reminding me, I couldn't remember the name of it
Voted for Firefly, but have to give a shout out to Profit starring Adrian Pasdar. Amazing pilot, rest of the short season was great too.
One of the other commenters mentioned Strange Luck, also an amazing pilot and great 3rd episode.
One of the other commenters mentioned Strange Luck, also an amazing pilot and great 3rd episode.
Kolchak was unforgettable.
He and She. Great sitcom 67-68. Dick Benjamin, Paula Prentiss, Jack Cassidy and Peter Boyle.
It was a tough choice for me between Firefly, Freaks & Geeks and Alien Nation, but in the end, I had to go with Alien Nation. One that wasn't listed that I loved was Fox's Fastlane. I was also a fan of Fox's Key West. Others that I saw mentioned in other people's comments that I also miss were Legend and Strange Luck.
Oh wow. This was hard to pick.
That's mean of you to make me choose between Firefly and The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. :-)
I almost went with Brisco County, Jr. or Firefly, but nothing in TV history compares to Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
20% similar. And Brisco County Jr. deserved more love.
Loved many of these, but I'd have to contend that Brisco County Jr even at a single season outlasted its premise. They wrapped up what was intended to be a lingering mystery about halfway through (the origins of outlaw John Bly and the sphere), and just sort of coasted from there on out.
One single-season series not listed was another quirky western: Legend, starring Richard Dean Anderson (between McGyver and Stargate: SG-1) as a pulp novelist who is forced to step into the shoes of the character he writes about because everyone assumes he really is the hero. Co-starring Trek's John de Lancie and canceled when *every* series on the UPN network with the exception of Star Trek: Voyager was axed.
One single-season series not listed was another quirky western: Legend, starring Richard Dean Anderson (between McGyver and Stargate: SG-1) as a pulp novelist who is forced to step into the shoes of the character he writes about because everyone assumes he really is the hero. Co-starring Trek's John de Lancie and canceled when *every* series on the UPN network with the exception of Star Trek: Voyager was axed.
It wasn't a choice, but Domestic Life with Martin Mull was the best by far.
Kolchak
Personally I picked "Battlestar Galactica".
It was a choice between that or "The Time Tunnel".
It was a choice between that or "The Time Tunnel".
I picked Kolchak, but one of the reasons it was cancelled was because the star wanted out.
100% with Kolchak. I thought it was a cool show. Most of the others I never heard of. When they were on originally, I was probably watching old re-runs like I do now...
20% similar.There were at least 4 on the list that surprised me,including the one I Picked."The Time Tunnel".I LOVED this show when I was a kid.I remember I use to draw the tunnel and the computer screens on the back of my school note books.Good Times!
