BoD: One-season wonders

As we all know, the television industry is fickle. Most of the time, the good programs stay on the air while the bad ones die off. But other, painful times, networks and even audiences make the wrong decision, leading to the cancellations of programs that are creatively stellar. With the various technologies pushing down ratings, quick hooks were even more prevalent in the aughts. The following are some of our favorites that lasted only one season.

“Freaks and Geeks” (NBC, 1999-2000) – It made our list for a reason. As one of the most honest, realistic and sharp-written looks into the lives of high school outcasts, “Geeks” remains fully enjoyable and relatable to this day. It doesn’t hurt that it features a slew of current stars (James Franco, Jason Segel and Seth Rogan). Canceled after 18 episodes.

“Firefly” (FOX, 2002) – Perhaps the most unceremoniously canceled program in network television history, this Joss Whedon product was innovative, smart, action-packed and entertaining – just like all his programs. Canceled after 14 episodes.

“Journeyman” (NBC, 2007) – NBC’s quasi-“Quantum Leap” remake ended up being so much more thanks to the writers’ ability to mix science with science fiction. Much better than it’s lead-in, “Heroes.” Canceled after 13 episodes.

“Invasion” (ABC, 2005-2006) – This intelligent re-imagining of the classic “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” story had the bad luck of being the first program to follow “Lost,” and even worse luck of prominently featuring a hurricane just weeks after Katrina. But by season’s end, it was consistently compelling. Canceled after 22 episodes.  

“Jack and Bobby” The WB, 2004-2005) – Greg Berlanti is known for his earnest family dramas (“Everwood,” “Brothers & Sisters”) and this was perhaps his finest. Featuring a superb adult cast (Christine Lahti, John Slattery and Bradley Cooper) and strong performances from up-and-comers Matt Long and Logan Lerman, “Jack and Bobby” portrayed the relationship between two brothers pretty damn well. Canceled after 22 episodes.

“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” (NBC, 2006-2007) – Aaron Sorkin’s foray into late night television started off so strong – until he decided to show the comedy skits. Even 2006 classmate “30 Rock” knew better than that. Canceled after 22 episodes.

“Wonderfalls” (FOX, 2004) – The quirkiest product to come from Bryan Fuller’s fun factory of quirk, “Wonderfalls” saw a Ivy League slacker start to talk to inanimate objects – that give her missions. We never found out why Jaye had been given this responsibility, but it was sure fun to watch while it lasted. Canceled after 13 episodes.

“Kings” (NBC, 2009) – Another missed opportunity for NBC came with “Kings,” a program that was overwhelmingly detailed, creative and well-acted – just the kind of program NBC needs to save its reputation. So of course they moved “Kings” around on the schedule a handful of times before killing it. Canceled after 13 episodes.

"Day Break" (ABC, 2007) – Sure, it was basically a poor man's "Groundhog Day" with more drama, but who doesn't love "Groundhog Day," or for that matter Taye Diggs? Canceled after 13 episodes.

“Drive” (FOX, 2007) – This one was full of pure-action fluff, but Nathan Fillion (dude couldn’t catch a break for a while) led this intriguing program about a mysterious cross-country race that involved some conspiracy that we never really a thing about. Come to think of it, we didn’t learn much at all – but it was still cool. Canceled after 4 episodes.

“Undeclared” (FOX, 2001) – Judd Apatow’s more light-hearted college cousin to “Freaks and Geeks” still did a great job of realistically portraying the lives of college students. Though it wasn’t as charming as “Geeks,” it still deserved more than it got. Canceled after 17 episodes.

“The Tick” (FOX, 2001-2002) – Near-genius Ben Edlund’s comic book series “The Tick” had translated well into an animated series, but audience’s weren’t ready for the live-action version. With Patrick Warburton as the gregarious title character and Nestor Carbonell (“Lost”’s Richard Alpert) as Batmanuel, this weirdo was probably too far ahead for its time. Canceled after 9 episodes.

“Traveler” (ABC, 2007) – ABC chose to burn this one off in the summer, but the ominous scheduling couldn’t keep it from being like a weekly (and obviously much lower-budgeted) “Bourne” entry. Matthew Bomer and Logan Marshall Green went on to other things, but we still want to know what the hell was going on. Canceled after 8 episodes.