I want to apologize for not responding to your comments but once the A to Z is finished I will have more time...famous last words. So since we are at the last Thursday of the month, it is all about TV and this is about 1 season shows. I love Freaks and Geeks but I think it will be popular this week so I chose 3 others. Check out Wandering Through The Shelves to find out what the others have chosen. Here are my 3....
1. THE PRISONER-1967-1968
This is an excellent science fiction(?), cat and mouse, prison tv show starring Patrick McGoohan as #6. He was a secret agent who wanted to quit which resulted in him being sent to “the Village”, a quaint place where everything is given to the people who live there except their freedom. He can trust no one and is determined to attain his freedom despite the rogue...a big bouncy white ball that comes out of the sea and subdues anyone who tries to escape. He often matches wits with #2 a fellow inmate that changes people in most shows and has the information as to why #6 is in the village. A brilliantly written show and well acted that has gained a huge cult following with many people feeling it is Patrick McGoohan’s character from Secret Agent-another tv show he starred in and was quite successful. One quirk is that Patrick McGoohan had it written in his contract, and stopped any plots, involving a romantic interest.
2. ADVENTURES OF BRISCO COUNTY JR.-1993-1994
I love Bruce Campbell so, when this show came on, I had to watch and I loved it. It is a very quirky western with Sci-Fi elements placed in and just when it was getting interesting, they pulled the plug. Brisco is hired to apprehend a gang who happened to kill his famous dad. He is aided by a former rival and together they encounter strange people including some albino freak and an orb from another planet. It was a funny show, with tongue in cheek style and very fun. I would love to see this series again because it was, again, well written, nicely acted and the music was great.
3. FOREVER-2014-2015
There are some people who hated this show but I really liked it. It is about a coroner for the police dept. who helps solve cases since he has a vast knowledge of just about everything. The reason for this incredible knowledge is because he is over 200 years old and can’t die. Every time he is killed he ends up in the water naked and must get back to his place before he is found out...sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t. You learn about his past with the only person knowing about his issue is his son who is now older than he is..well, you know what I mean. I found this show engaging without the heavy handed dark plots of so many shows. I enjoyed the other characters from his geeky helper in the lab to the vivacious lead cop whom he helps and her partner-a tough jock type but who I thought was quite funny. Despite people writing in to save this show, it was yanked.
Which 3 would you choose?
Adventures of Brisco County Jr. was great. Never did see The Prisoner. Couldn't get into Forever.
ReplyDeleteThreshold and Tales of the Golden Monkey come to mind.
Hi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteOf the three short lived series you reviewed, the only one I ever heard of is The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., but I didn't watch it.
The cast of Forever includes an actress I admire - Alana De La Garza - whom I enjoyed on Law & Order. Seems all three series were inspired by or designed to capitalize on existing hit shows in a range of genres that includes drama, mystery, action, sci-fi, fantasy and adventure. Series axed after one season leave devoted fans angry and bitter, but that's how is goes in show business, the emphasis being on the word business.
Thanks, dear friend BB!
I'm usually a little late to the party. By the time I hear about a show, it is passed it's first, or second, season. So, don't think I've ever watched a show that only lasted one.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any of your picks.
ReplyDeleteI liked the few episodes of The Prisoner I've seen, love Patrick McGoohan, but it doesn't get shown very often to be able to give it a binge view.
ReplyDeleteAgain the few eps of Brisco Jr. I saw I thought were okay but it was on the wrong night for me to watch it back in those pre-DVR days.
We Match!!! I LOVED Forever! I don't watch much regular programming and this is a perfect illustration of why, almost every time I invest in a show it gets the boot after a season. Grrrr! Anyway I never missed this one.
As I said I don't watch many regular shows and the cancellation of these three after one season are some of the reasons why.
Awake (2012)-LAPD Detective Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs) is involved in a serious car accident with his family and when he awakes finds himself in two different realities. In the first his wife Hannah has survived the crash, in the second his son Rex but Michael can’t tell which is his true waking life. To try and help him place himself he wears a red wristband in the first and a green in the second and consults a different therapist in each. They are the only ones aware of his problems which leads to issues with his team at work. But Michael has become extraordinarily good at solving crimes since he is able to use details and clues he gleans from both realities. Complex, sometimes disorienting (there are times where Michael is dreaming within a dream and so forth) series had a great performance by Isaacs in the lead but required an attention investment that might have been too much for viewers.
Forever (2014)-In 1814 35 year old Dr. Henry Morgan (Ioan Gruffudd) is killed while trying to free slaves from a slave ship but something happens whilst he’s in the water and he reemerges alive, unharmed, naked and immortal-a pattern that is repeated whenever he dies. Jump forward 200 years and Henry is now a New York City medical examiner who uses his centuries of accrued knowledge to help solve crimes while he searches for the key to his immorality. A widower he lives over an antique shop owned by his 80 year old “son” Abraham (Judd Hirsch) who he and his late wife rescued from a concentration camp as a child. But Henry has an enemy-Adam (Burn Gorman) a 2000 year old immortal who thinks he might have found an answer to releasing them from their plight and tries to force Henry to help him. Not as complicated as it sounds this was a fun show full of quirky characters and a fantastic team in Gruffudd and Hirsch who played off each other so well.
Rake (2014)-Keegan Deane (Greg Kinnear) is a criminal defense lawyer and reprobate whose self-destructive behavior cause him no end of troubles leading to him battling wits and owing money to everyone he knows, including his ex-wife, judges, an assistant district attorney, his bookie, a brothel owner, and the IRS. His saving grace is that when he gets around to it he’s a very good attorney. Ramshackle comedy/drama was driven by the charismatic Kinnear who obviously was having a hell of a good time. Had the misfortune to air on Fox who moved it around too many times.
Birgit,
ReplyDeleteI have not seen any of these but the TV series sounds good. Too bad it got pulled. I wonder if it was just a time slot issue that failed to gather a stable viewing audience as is often the problem with a good series.
The first program that comes to mind to fall in today's prompt is 'Night Court' and that's only because of Harry Anderson's recent passing. My brain isn't working so I'll just stop there for now. Have a good day!
Of these I've only seen The Prisoner and that was when it first came on television--don't know how I'd respond to it now. At the time I liked the show a great deal.
ReplyDeleteThere are probably a number of shows that I liked that only made one season. That's been the story of my TV life.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
I have never heard of The Prisoner, but I think I may have heard of Brisco County Jr, since like you, I love anything by Bruce Campbell (think Burn Notice), but this one might have been off my radar.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the last one, Forever, I got into quickly and was sad when it was pulled from the schedule.
The one that hurt me the most to see pulled was Vegas (2012) with Dennis Quaid as the sheriff, Michael Chiklis as the Chicago gangster who wants to run the town, and Jason O’Mara as Quaid's younger brother and deputy, among other characters. Too bad it was on Friday night, because it would have fared better on a different night, I think.
My sister liked the Prisoner years ago; I was younger than her so I really couldn't get into it. Haven't heard of the other 2 series and I'm drawing a blank on series that have only lasted a season, probably because I'm not too much of a TV watcher.
ReplyDeletebetty
Hi Birgit - loved the Prisoner series ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteNot surprising that I don't know any of these, too short lived.
ReplyDeleteYes! I have seen The Prisoner.
ReplyDelete"The Prisoner" was excellent. They would show reruns of it on Sunday nights in Chicago, and we would watch it. IMDb says that George Markstein, the creator of the show, always claimed #6 was John Drake while Patrick McGoohan insisted it wasn't. Mary and I are huge fans of "Columbo," and since McGoohan was in many episodes of the show and directed several of them, we're fans of his also.
ReplyDeleteSide note: The episode of "The Prisoner" the clip comes from had Leo McKern as #2. One time (back when we rented VHS tapes from Blockbuster) we rented "Shoes of the Fisherman," "Help!" and several episodes of "Rumpole of the Bailey" and had a Leo McKern film festival without knowing the connection...
Bruce Campbell was great in "Burn Notice," a TV series that ran on USA Network for several seasons, and believe it or not that was the first time I can recall seeing him in anything. Had no idea he had the resume he did.
Can't say I even remember "Forever."
Shows I can think of off the top of my head that only ran one season (or less) are "Quark," a space comedy starring Richard Benjamin as an interstellar garbage collector (I don't even think it lasted a full season), "VR.5," a show that ran on Fox that starred Lori Singer as a phone company employee who plays around with virtual-reality equipment her father (who she believes is dead) built, and my favorite, "The Green Hornet," starring Van Williams and Bruce Lee, an attempt by William Dozier, creator of "Batman," to get lucky with a more-or-less serious series about another masked avenger (I liked the Hornet more than the Bat).
I haven't heard of these, but if you like them, I like them:)
ReplyDeleteI only saw a few episodes of the sitcom Best of the West, starring Joel Higgins, but it really cracked me up when I did get to see it.
ReplyDeleteThe Prisoner sounds pretty good.
ReplyDeleteI loved Forever. And there was another similar show that was on a season or two before that I think was called New Amsterdam or some such.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many great one season shows. I'm sure Firefly is also a popular choice.
I bought the box set of The Prisoner a few years back on impulse (it was super cheap) and LOVED IT. It's kind of "of its time", but I really enjoyed the concept and the twistiness of it.
ReplyDeleteYou've stumped me on these. I haven't heard of any of these.
ReplyDeleteI may have seen The Prisoner but that was long ago, and I may be mixing it up with The Avengers. Loved that show. I wanted to be Emma Peel, of course.
ReplyDeleteI really liked Forever, it was fun and interesting!
ReplyDeleteThe only one I've heard of is Forever but I didn't watch it.
ReplyDeleteForever was brilliant, I was so annoyed when they cancelled it!
ReplyDeleteForever was ok but not memorable for me.
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen the original the Prisoner, only saw a little of the recent remake.