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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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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!
I had to vote for Kolchak as my favorite, but my second choice would have been Briscoe County Jr.! That was one strange show. And years later, his sidekick Socrates Poole turned up playing the medical examiner on CSI:Miami.
V was the best at the beginning, but fizzled when the cast started to fade out! The new version of v was ok, but Diana should have been Diana!
This is one busy a $$ site
Add The Magician series to Me-TV Bill Bixby was great as a magician helping people with no guns.
I went with Kolchak. Wish they had allowed us to list maybe 5? in descending order.
I picked: Kolchak: The Night Stalker! got: 100% similar!
There were 3 or 4 I could have voted for, but I chose Kolchak.
