SCI-FI shows that were cancelled...due to their suckage.

[Dr. Strange]

Come, contribute to the heap.

[Gogi]

1. Space:1999

In darkest space it was always well-lit!

[Dr. Strange]

6. I loved that show when I was a kid.

But I haven't seen it in years. I fear that if I watch it, I'll experience that same feeling of trauma that I get when I watch the old Battlestar Galactica.

[theredpen]

29. I loved it, too

But the old BSG is spectacularly good in comparison. At least Martin Landau and Barbara Bain gave us Juliet Landau to make up for it.

[LeftCoast]

47. Same here. I had this little B&W TV

I would stay up late and watch Space 1999 in bed. I would love to see some of those old episodes again. I haven't seen any in years either.

[YankeyMCC]

51. Exactly my feelings

I also used to have the really excellent toys...the Eagle and action figures

[YankeyMCC]

52. Exactly my feelings

I also used to have the really excellent toys...the Eagle and action figures

[mondo joe]

57. I did too. I just couldn't understand why they were all so unsexy.

I had a serious thing for Captain Kirk at the time.

[Dr. Strange]

62. Please tell me you got over it!

[mondo joe]

63. Mostly.

;-)

[TheMightyFavog]

53. The first season was OK.

IMHO, the first season was no worse than Star Trek: The Next Genereation's first season. Unfortunately, the whole series sort of fell straight into the shit-abyss in the second season. They brought in new producers and writers because Gerry Anderson's wife abandoned the project and the whole thing went downhill from there.

[arenean]

118. Season 1 good; Season 2 almost a different show

Season 1 on DVD still looks fantastic. Great spaceships (Eagles), and you can tell it was the most expensive thing on TV. Interesting metaphysical storylines too - OK, there wasn't much humour in Season 1, but then they didn't have much to laugh about. Highlight had to be the episode "Dragon's Domain", which gave me the collywobbles when I was a kid, I can tell you.

However....Season 2 was a pile of pants.

[Steve-O]

70. I thought it was creepy...

[mainegreen]

2. Mutant X

Don't know why I thought of that, but that was major suckage right there.

[DarkTirade]

14. Before I had cable that was the only thing on when I got home from work at 3 or 4 in the morning.

So I actually saw a few episodes. A few decent actors. Horrible everything else.

[laconicsax]

3. Enterprise

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. I actually liked it. It got better towards the end

[laconicsax]

10. Yeah, once they started writing episodes that

didn't violate established franchise continuity and didn't suck.

[theredpen]

37. It was Rick Berman'ed

After the first two lack-luster seasons, they brought in new management and the show finally hit its stride... with no audience left to see that. :(

[laconicsax]

45. Do you mean the first three seasons?

[theredpen]

71. Yeah, probably

I actually have the complete series on DVD and watched it all the way through, but the first few seasons were that forgettable.

My old classmate Mike Finke got to do a cameo on the last episode just because he'd just returned from six months on the ISS. His Russian colleague is next to him and doesn't have any lines. ISS and "Enterprise." Man, I want to kick his lucky space-traveling ass.

[Tindalos]

16. I like the first season

I preferred it early on. My interest waned as they made it more Trekkish, but then I've never been a big Trek fan.

[laconicsax]

19. Funny

[BlueIris]

18. "Enterprise" sucked like few things have sucked before.

[MilesColtrane]

27. Yes, and the cheezy power pop ballad theme song only helped establish it's suckatude.

If it doesn't have a Alexander Courage or Jerry Goldsmith sweeping, epic orchestral score it ain't really Star Trek.

[theredpen]

30. Faith of the... excuse me...

:puke:

Sorry.

[BlueIris]

43. Yeah, the theme song was just WRONG. It had lyrics.

Lyrics.

[Cabcere]

44. The theme song really made me want to vomit.

:puke:

However, the captain's dog was adorable (yay beagles! :)), and some of the episodes were kind of funny/interesting. :shrug: I don't know, I didn't see that much of it, but my dad would have it on a lot when I was home over break and so I caught bits and pieces of it. :hi:

[Frank Cannon]

50. The Dubyaesque engineer with the cornpone Hee Haw accent...

didn't help matters either.

[Orrex]

83. He was a much better character than was suggested by his accent

The series as a whole is much better than is commonly acknowledged IMO. It had its warts, but not so many more than any other Trek series.

[Cabcere]

89. IIRC...

he also had a nice ass. :evilgrin:

/shallowness

[Orrex]

91. I don't remember his ass, particularly

But I found him to be quite a handsome fellow, yes.

[kentauros]

76. Did you know that

the song was used at the end of Patch Adams? I was watching that a few months back and realized that Enterprise took an ending-credits song from a movie as their opening-credits theme. Seems kind of like the wrong thing to be thinking for placenment, other than the obvious "What were they thinking?!" in picking it in the first place.

[MilesColtrane]

81. I didn't know that.

I haven't heard the Rod Stewart version, but it's just got to be better than whoever sings it during Enterprise's opening credits.

The composer, Diane Warren, is nothing if not prolific. She's known in L.A. as the "queen of the ballad".

More like the "queen of cheese" if you ask me.

This is the same woman who inflicted "How Can We Be Lovers", recorded by Michael Bolton, and "If I Could Turn Back Time", recorded by Cher on the world.

I'm sure the jukebox in Hell has plenty of Diane Warren tunes on it.

[Frank Cannon]

108. I actually thought the singer WAS Rod Stewart

Until I found out that it was actually a world-class opera star doing what is essentially a cheesy Rod Stewart impersonation, which only adds to the song's what-the-fuck-were-they-thinkingness.

Cocaine is a hell of a drug.

[GreenPartyVoter]

88. I loathed the theme song. Go orchestral, or go without

[Fire Walk With Me]

4. I'll second Logan's Run. I was a child at the time, but I'll never forget someone

going down into a stream to wrestle some aquatic animal that they could as easily as simply stared at from a distance.

[Dr. Strange]

Logan's Run had one thing going for it:

[kentauros]

5. I don't know if it's been canceled yet, but it should be:

Flash

[ceile]

7. Definitely!

Flash has to be one of the worst shows ever made.

[NewJeffCT]

9. is Flash Gordon still on the sci-fi channel?

that one sucked big time.

[Lady Freedom]

49. yep, one of their biggest hits so far.

[Xithras]

90. Odd. I tried to like that show, but it's just...bad

Poor acting, repetetive sets, and a storyline that can be predicted several episodes ahead. It's low budget sci-fi at its worst.

[Richard Steele]

61. The most disappointing series to come along in years.

That show sucks so loud, I can hear a faint "whooshing" noise
when I'm watching something five channels down.

[sarge43]

11. Manimal

Only four episodes - that's major suckage

[AllegroRondo]

12. Sliders

eegads.

[DarkTirade]

15. Sliders lasted for a while

even though it jumped the shark around episode 2 or 3. :P

[theredpen]

38. I think they jumped a whole parallel shark dimension or something

I say a few (early) episodes and it was OK. I was surprised how long it lasted, though.

[Xithras]

92. Sliders was very good early on. One of my favorites, but it wouldn't die and got stupid.

When a Sci-Fi show jumps the shark so badly that its lead characters start quitting and you have to start replacing them with "friends" and "imprecise genetic clones", its producers need to comprehend that it's time to shut the show down. Sliders' producers refuses to do that and dragged the show out well beyond its expiration date.

Still, the first few seasons were very good. Good writing, good acting, and a novel concept based on real science. If they'd canned the show at the end of the third season, it would probably be remembered as fondly as Firefly.

[AllegroRondo]

13. Misfits of Science

back when Sci Fi channel first started, it was one of the only shows they had.

[mondo joe]

17. The Fantastic Journey (and I'll be surprised if anyone other than me remembers it)

[theredpen]

39. Vaguely remember that

Although writer Katharyn Powers did go on to work on Stargate SG-1, so there was some talent in the mix somewhere.

[mondo joe]

54. I've always been good at detecting non-evident talent.

;-)

[zingaro]

20. M-m-m-m-max Headroom. BUT

I didn't think it sucked. Au contraire! I loved it, but not many shared my enthusiasm.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

25. I LOVED Max Headroom!

[zingaro]

26. Yay! It was totally one of those formative years shows

for me. And I can barely find a single person who remembers it lol.

I stopped using blipvert in speech, even though it's SO appropriate quite often, because I got SO tired of having to explain it, only to have the listener just gape at me. *sigh* Thank you for sharing my enthusiasm. :)

[MrCoffee]

65. Max Headroom was so far ahead of it's time...

If it aired today, I'm positive that it would be a huge hit.


Man, that show was great!

[zingaro]

66. I've thought that as well.

It would be huge - a total cult giant. Matt Frewer would be a god.

Dammit now I need a Max Headroom tshirt. OK off to search teh internets to find one.

[supernova]

87. Here's one for ya!

Max on Security Guards.

How disturbingly accurate.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSvAWOFdNJk

[Canuckistanian]

21. Starlost - Canadian Sci-Fi

You'd think that a series conceived by Harlan Ellison, promoted by Twentieth Century Fox and starring Keir Dullea (the guy in 2001: A Space Odyssey) would be good.

But you'd be seriously mistaken.

[China_cat]

48. So bad that Ellison had himself credited as

Cordwainer Bird.

[yourout]

22. Seven Days....

Time travel seven days into the past to fix things like terrorist attacks.

[Zavulon]

34. I liked that one, actually.

Especially the way Parker constantly screwed with that anal-retentive security chief.

[pokerfan]

23. Homeboys in Outer Space

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeboys_in_Outer_Space">Homeboys in Outer Space

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra_2525">Cleopatra 2525

[Fire Walk With Me]

24. NOES! DO NOT INCLUDE CLEOPATRA 2525 IN THE LIST OF SUCKAGE!!

It's badness results in the perfect television show. It was why television was created. There can be no show more perfectly suited for television.

[Doc_Technical]

28. Captain Nice Mister Terrific

n/t

[Zavulon]

31. Starhunter.

Michael Pare being hired as the series lead doomed that show. I can't believe it lasted as long as it did.

Oh, and Enterprise was sixteen separate types of suckage.

[Zavulon]

32. Lest I forget: Odyssey 5.

Not as bad as Starhunter, but bad enough.

[DarkTirade]

55. Odyssey 5 had some potential

but they never lived up to it. :shrug:

[badgerpup]

99. Michael Pare wasn't hard on the eyes...

I remember him from "The Hooded Man" or whatever that British Robin Hood series was...

That was pretty cool.

[Zavulon]

114. Be that as it may, the man can't act.

I absolutely defy you to sit through a movie called Strip Search, in which he played the lead. You may be able to pull it off, but whether or not you do you'll probably take out a contract on me for even suggesting it.

As you watch the movie, please understand that I have nothing against you and don't want to cause you pain, I'm just trying to prove a point :)

[dancing kali]

115. You are thinking of a different actor

Robin was played by Michael Praed.

[jobendorfer]

120. I don't know this to be true --

-- but I'd bet it's pretty close to a real conversation among some TV executives, circa 1979:

Exec #1: Costs of battlestar galactica are KILLING us. It's too much money per episode.
The ratings aren't real good either. And the ratings to dollars ratio just SUCKS.
< Aside: this is basically the argument that killed ST:TOS >

Exec #2: CHIPs is a big hit!

Exec #3 (who is probably related to Kent McCord): I know! Let's make a science
fiction version of CHIPs!

Frankly just amazed Galactica 1980 never made it onto MST3K.
(the earlier show did, if only indirectly)

J.

[theredpen]

33. Galactica 1980

Oh. My. Fucking. God.

There are no words to describe the utter craptacularness of this ill-fated follow-on to the "pretty OK" original Battlestar Galactica. Maybe some words. Here's a review from IMDB:

Good GOOGALEEMOOGALEE It Stinks!, 25 July 2002
Author: crooow64 from Virginia

You know, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA was an ambitious show that had some problems due mainly to the fact that it was very expensive to produce. So rather than address that, the TV execs in their usual brilliance decided to fire most of the cast and crap on the fans. The result, GALACTICA 1980!

Horrid, putrid and eye-bleedingly wretched are terms that only begin to describe this odious obscenity that was obviously cobbled together in the wee hours the morning of it's premiere.

The surviving cast members from BG (Lorne Greene and Herbert Jefferson) both appear in old age make-up (did the producer's think they could connect with the 80-something viewers?). Seems that after years in space (gosh, seems just like last year.) that the Colonial Fleet has finally found Earth, BUT, they decide it's better if they don't actually land on Earth because that might alert the Cylons who want ot destroy all humans. Makes sense...for about 10 seconds until you realize that the Cylons cost too much to appear in this series! Enter Warriors "Troy" and "Dillion" who make many scouting missions to Earth. They don't really do anything much, they stand around and talk, and worry and fret. Meanwhile Adama and Col. "Boomer" stand around and talk, and worry and fret about whether Troy and Dillon will survive their latest mission. I think if they're so worried, maybe they should send someone else, seems these two warriors are the only two who ever see any action, if you can call it that. There's also some earth-chick they pal around with for some reason that I can't remember. They also now have on board "Dr. Zee", a supposedly brilliant child who gets to tell Cmdr. Adama what to do, when he's not getting beat up by the cool kids over on "The Rising Star" I mean. Seems to me they had some flying motorcycles, HELL they probably had flying monkeys too! It's just that BAD!

Word is that there's a revival of Battlestar Galactica in the works and that it continues the series from the first series and ignores the GALACTICA 1980 continuity, as it should.

GALACTICA 1980 is the worst series since SUPERTRAIN!

Worse. Than. Supertrain.

Ouch.

[jojo54]

56. I was just searching to see if anyone mentioned this show!!

I so totally agree with you theredpen. That show was hokey, hokey, hokey. It was embarrassing to watch.

[theredpen]

35. Starlost

Three things:

• Low-budget
• 1973
• Canadian

Diagnosis: crap!

EDIT: I missed post #21. Two votes for Starlost. I'm surprised that anyone remembers it, but it's like a bad odor that won't go away, I guess.

[baldguy]

36. Quark

starring Richard Benjamin as captain if an interstellar garbage scow

[theredpen]

40. I thought Quark was funny

Then again, at the age I was when it came out, I also thought farts were the most hilarious thing ever.

Quark was loosely based on the film Dark Star, which is funny.

[yourout]

41. Time Tunnel

[yourout]

42. The Invaders

[deucemagnet]

46. The Man from Atlantis

Bobby Ewing in a speedo. :scared:

[davidinalameda]

60. I liked that show

of course it had Patrick Duffy in a speedo!

:bounce:

[Giant Robot]

58. What?

No one has said Automan yet?

Very disappointing.

[Dr. Strange]

64. Hold on...

[Giant Robot]

73. ....

:rofl:

[NoPasaran]

59. Lost In Space

Even as a ten year old I could see that Dr. Smith was a sniveling coward who needed to be marooned on some alien planet, preferably one covered with an ocean of molten lava.

[laconicsax]

113. But then you would have had to deal with a burnt Hayden Christensen

[momophile]

67. Earth 2

god that was bad.

[theredpen]

69. And yet...

I actually found Earth II fan fiction on the net. Someone liked it that much. I still wake up screaming at night from nightmares about Earth II fan fiction.

[hunter]

94. Earth 2 is on DVD

http://www.amazon.com/Earth-2-Complete-Janet-Davidson/dp/B0009JE6G6

There are a number of fan fiction stories I've suffered that will wake me up screaming in the night, and a shocking number of these have made their way onto the internet.

They were horrible enough when they were on paper and some so-called friend made you read them. To know that they available on the internet... horrors!

:scared:

Mandatory Warning Notice
Do the following at your own risk:

Google "Spock licked"

[NewJeffCT]

96. I liked the concept

but, you're right, the show basically sucked.

[Steve-O]

68. BUCK ROGERS!

[Dr. Strange]

72. You used your first post to declare the suckage of Buck Rogers?

Awesome! :thumbsup:

Welcome to DU!

Here's a gift for joining:

[Giant Robot]

74. Hey back off there bub!

First season Buck Rogers was not bad!

I forget...did they do a second season? Cause I have no memory of Hawk, or the Searcher, or anything else there. None at all.

[Dr. Strange]

78. From the Wiki:

The series ran for two seasons on NBC. Broadcast of the second season was delayed until 1981 due to a writers' strike in 1980. When the series returned it had been retooled in a manner which was strikingly similar to a previous Glen Larson produced series, Battlestar Galactica. Now rather than defending Earth, Buck and Wilma were on a mission to track down the lost colonies of humanity aboard the deep-space exploration vessel "Searcher." The series was cancelled at the end of the 1980-1981 season, but remains a cult favorite 25 years later.

On the one hand, the second season extended the level of suckage. On the other hand, the very last episode did have a nice Twilight Zone twist at the end. http://www.buckrogers.org/episode.cfm?episode=37

[TZ]

79. Hey, I liked Buck Rogers

I had a big girl crush on Gil Gerard too....:D

[Dr. Strange]

80. I had certain...

not quite pure thoughts about Erin Gray.



Of course, it didn't really change the level of suckitude of the show.

[Giant Robot]

82. Her and

The Draconian princess whose name escapes me right now. Something about being wicked and gorgeous goes a long way with me sometimes.

[mondo joe]

93. Oh are you in luck today....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcfnRl0Gwcc&feature=related

[Giant Robot]

95. Except for the whole Buck Rogers

getting jiggy part of that...I loves me some Ardala.

:loveya:

[Dr. Strange]

102. Oh wait...I have DEFINITIVE PROOF that season one did in fact suck:

Four words: Guest Starring Gary Coleman.

[NewJeffCT]

75. I saw a sci-fi channel movie made in 2007 - with Gil Gerard, Bruce Boxleitner & Walter Koening

Boxleitner was the "star" - Gerard & Koening only had bit parts. Gerard was pretty bald and a bit chunky. I haven't seen him in anything in years, though.

[mondo joe]

77. Yeah - Gil has chunked out.

But I have fond memories of him in a different era.

[NewJeffCT]

86. It wasn't Shakespeare

But, I enjoyed Buck Rogers back in the day. Of course, I was 13-14 year old at the time, so I was right in line with their target audience.

[Frank Cannon]

109. That's Gil Gerard??!! You gotta be kidding me!!

And he's holding a d20!!

Erin Gray, on the other hand, is still smokin' HAWT.

[NewJeffCT]

117. You're right, she has

Time has not been kind to Buck Rogers, however.

[geardaddy]

101. "beedee-beedee"

God, I hated that show.

[Orrex]

84. The Powers of Matthew Star

It bothers me that no one has suggested this one yet. Could it be that the Lounge is a haven for closeted Matthew Star fans?

[Dr. Strange]

85. Ah yes, I had forgotten that gem.

I like it...now that it's called "Smallville."

[TZ]

97. You know...

These shows were probably cancelled for good reasons. I haven't heard of many of these..Including Matthew Star...And

[Orrex]

98. I'm starting to doubt that you're really a geek

You're probably some super-hip society chick masquerading as a scientist to bring down Big Pharma from the inside.

[TZ]

100. Trust me. I'm a geek

I have several scrapbooks worth of sci-fi/star trek signed photos from all the conventions I've been too. Not to mention the framed picture of one William T. Riker hanging in my bedroom.....:)

[JTG of the PRB]

103. No way... Nobody's mentioned it? FIREFLY!!

I unfortunately got into Firefly several years after it had been canceled. One of my favorite sci-fi series of all-time!

[Greyskye]

104. Firefly was not cancelled due to suckage of the show

It was canceled due to suckage of the Network!



I'll be in my bunk.

[JTG of the PRB]

105. Ahh... I completely and entirely misread the last part of the OP.

Oh, the shame! Oh the deep, deep, horrible shame! :blush:

[Greyskye]

106. That's OK. Here...

...to help you through this troubled time:

[Dr. Strange]

110. Off Topic, but...

have you seen/heard the news:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x7508809

[JTG of the PRB]

111. I hadn't seen that thread, but I have indeed heard the news!

I'm hoping these moves pay off the the Avs... I'm excited, I can say that much for sure!

[laconicsax]

107. Ok, I'll mention it

Firefly

:hide:





:sarcasm:

[NewJeffCT]

116. I love Joss Whedon

but, I didn't like the show Firefly.

[cemaphonic]

112. Manimal

I win the thread

[arenean]

119. Salvage 1

(shudder)....I HATED that show. I remember I felt particularly incensed when they went to the moon to "salvage" bits of Apollo landing craft - SACRILIGE!!

[Dr. Strange]

121. I remember that one!

Nothing says sci-fi quality like Andy Griffith.