top tv shows NEVER MADE...
- Thread starter katipunero
- Start date
The Glove Boat:
1970s comedy-drama series about a cruise ship where everyone receives cashmere gloves and wears them all the time. It was not a great success.
1970s comedy-drama series about a cruise ship where everyone receives cashmere gloves and wears them all the time. It was not a great success.
The Wander Years (1988-1994)
A coming of age comedy following a teenage boy's travels with his widower biker father.
The show was widely praised for its sympathetic portrayal of biker culture. The final shows the
protagonist starting at college, using his own bike to get around the "no cars for freshmen" rule.
The character would go on to form part of the ensemble cast of the sitcom "Kappa Epsilon Gamma"
the earliest example of the colloge comedy sitcom, also referred to as "unicomedies", "fratcom", or, less
commonly, "fratulence commedy" due to the much cruder humour of later examples.
A coming of age comedy following a teenage boy's travels with his widower biker father.
The show was widely praised for its sympathetic portrayal of biker culture. The final shows the
protagonist starting at college, using his own bike to get around the "no cars for freshmen" rule.
The character would go on to form part of the ensemble cast of the sitcom "Kappa Epsilon Gamma"
the earliest example of the colloge comedy sitcom, also referred to as "unicomedies", "fratcom", or, less
commonly, "fratulence commedy" due to the much cruder humour of later examples.
The Stuarts (2012-2015)
The Stuarts is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 1600s England, produced for American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration between American, British, and Canadian producers, and filmed mostly in Ireland. It ran for four seasons, with season 1 portraying the life of James VI/I, with an emphasis on the 1605 gunpowder plot, season 2 the life of Charles I with an emphasis on the English Civil War, culminating with his execution in the last episode of that season, season 3 the life of Charles II with the first part of that season portaying his life as a hunted exile and the second part the restauration era and the forth season the lifes of James VII/II, Queen Mary and William of Orange and finally of Queen Anne with an emphasis on the Glorious Revolution.
The Stuarts is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 1600s England, produced for American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration between American, British, and Canadian producers, and filmed mostly in Ireland. It ran for four seasons, with season 1 portraying the life of James VI/I, with an emphasis on the 1605 gunpowder plot, season 2 the life of Charles I with an emphasis on the English Civil War, culminating with his execution in the last episode of that season, season 3 the life of Charles II with the first part of that season portaying his life as a hunted exile and the second part the restauration era and the forth season the lifes of James VII/II, Queen Mary and William of Orange and finally of Queen Anne with an emphasis on the Glorious Revolution.
Some Kind of Wonderful (1987-1989)
1986, John Hughes whilst creating a new movie with Howard Deutch after the success of Pretty in Pink, NBC called John Hughes asking if he had any idea's for a TV show. Inspired by his films NBC wanted a show that could capture the teen audience. Taking inspiration from the script that John Hughes decided to expand it to allow more characters and arcs with Howard Deutch directing the pilot. Set in Shermer High School it stars Mary Stuart Matherson, Ally Sheedy, Laura Dern, John Cusack and Ilan Mitchell-Smith as they get ready to finish High School and get ready for College whilst dealing with various problems which come from both home and high school. It's famous for it's very New Wave/ Synthpop soundtrack (several late 80s band/artists would become famous in the USA because of the show like Martini Ranch, Blancmange and November Group), for it's random cameos from other John Hughes films ranging from appearance from Ferris and Cameron from Ferris Bueller to Claire from The Breakfast Club and also being rather adult for a show aimed at teenagers with various references to things like teenage pregnancy and sex which only just made it past the censors.
Two seasons would be made before low ratings meant the 3rd season was cancelled but the show has gained a large cult fan following especially in Britain and Germany and would eventually get a comic adaptation in 2013 created by Faith Erin Hicks and Grace Ellis which would attract more teenagers to the show. Attempts to remake the show in 2015 with scripts by Duffer Brothers where cancelled just as production was about to start but in 2017 an animated series version (similar in tone to the comic) would begin production with Noelle Stevenson and Patrick McHale writing with it planning to be released in Summer of 2018.
1986, John Hughes whilst creating a new movie with Howard Deutch after the success of Pretty in Pink, NBC called John Hughes asking if he had any idea's for a TV show. Inspired by his films NBC wanted a show that could capture the teen audience. Taking inspiration from the script that John Hughes decided to expand it to allow more characters and arcs with Howard Deutch directing the pilot. Set in Shermer High School it stars Mary Stuart Matherson, Ally Sheedy, Laura Dern, John Cusack and Ilan Mitchell-Smith as they get ready to finish High School and get ready for College whilst dealing with various problems which come from both home and high school. It's famous for it's very New Wave/ Synthpop soundtrack (several late 80s band/artists would become famous in the USA because of the show like Martini Ranch, Blancmange and November Group), for it's random cameos from other John Hughes films ranging from appearance from Ferris and Cameron from Ferris Bueller to Claire from The Breakfast Club and also being rather adult for a show aimed at teenagers with various references to things like teenage pregnancy and sex which only just made it past the censors.
Two seasons would be made before low ratings meant the 3rd season was cancelled but the show has gained a large cult fan following especially in Britain and Germany and would eventually get a comic adaptation in 2013 created by Faith Erin Hicks and Grace Ellis which would attract more teenagers to the show. Attempts to remake the show in 2015 with scripts by Duffer Brothers where cancelled just as production was about to start but in 2017 an animated series version (similar in tone to the comic) would begin production with Noelle Stevenson and Patrick McHale writing with it planning to be released in Summer of 2018.
Iron Fist: The newest Marvel show, they approached the show with a messege of confronting the source material's questionable materials and playing with it to force critical thinking. Daniel Rand is, for all intents and purposes, a Chinese citizen. He was raised by the mystical monks of Kun-Lun after he was found from a plane crash, being the only survivor of the crash. He speaks only in Mandarin Chinese and Tibetian with only the basics of English in terms of reading and writing (he understands it pretty well though). He is somewhat ostrasized by his peers in the mystical city yet his determination has endeared him to some. He ends up being forced to confront his past when, during a visit to a city on an errand, his name is discovered and he is forced into the spotlight. Now he must discover what really happened to his parents along with the dark secrets of the people who now run his parents' companies.
The show went with confronting people with racial biases. He was not accepted by everyone back home in Kun-Lun yet when he ventures to the US, he feels very out of place. He speaks little English and has very different customs and cultures compared to the people. Furthermore, people have different ideas of how he is supposed to act; many have problems with him for not "acting white" while others try and help him yet without understanding him. Furthermore, the show worked an effort to present how traditional Chinese culture worked through a western character, such as how Danny went to the US to begin with out of "filial piety," the duty bound to his parents and his grandparents despite not having met them. At the same time, it presents a respectful reconstruction of the source material with the buddy cop dynamic of him and Luke Cage being set up wonderfully in the middle of Season 1 and showing Danny's journey to truly becoming the Iron Fist, because out of a duty and willingness to help people.
The show went with confronting people with racial biases. He was not accepted by everyone back home in Kun-Lun yet when he ventures to the US, he feels very out of place. He speaks little English and has very different customs and cultures compared to the people. Furthermore, people have different ideas of how he is supposed to act; many have problems with him for not "acting white" while others try and help him yet without understanding him. Furthermore, the show worked an effort to present how traditional Chinese culture worked through a western character, such as how Danny went to the US to begin with out of "filial piety," the duty bound to his parents and his grandparents despite not having met them. At the same time, it presents a respectful reconstruction of the source material with the buddy cop dynamic of him and Luke Cage being set up wonderfully in the middle of Season 1 and showing Danny's journey to truly becoming the Iron Fist, because out of a duty and willingness to help people.
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The American Sportsman ABC. 1971-74
Follows the life and times of a New York womaizer and his struggles with sexual dysfunction, alcohol, drugs and three ex-wives.
The Farmers Daughter
The story of Lena Olson. The daughter of a major Humbolt County grass farmer who joins the DEA.
Mayberry DOA.
A small town North Carolina homocide detective and his genius partner Barnaby Fife.
Rich Man, Poor Man
Looks at lottery winners who went bankrupt
Follows the life and times of a New York womaizer and his struggles with sexual dysfunction, alcohol, drugs and three ex-wives.
The Farmers Daughter
The story of Lena Olson. The daughter of a major Humbolt County grass farmer who joins the DEA.
Mayberry DOA.
A small town North Carolina homocide detective and his genius partner Barnaby Fife.
Rich Man, Poor Man
Looks at lottery winners who went bankrupt
Thanks! I figured more could be done. It'd kinda deconstruct the notion of identity politics to an extent while also reconstructing it, which would be seen in his bromance with Luke Cage and his romance with Misty Knight.
Twist this around and Barney is the more knowledgeable and competent of the partners.
Twist this around and Barney is the more knowledgeable and competent of the partners.
That was the imlpied idea
Monster (2015-)
This award winning show on Netflix is probably one of their biggest successes after House of Cards and spawned a variety of psychological thrillers set in the 80s/90s. Based on the Manga by Naoki Urasawa and brought to TV by filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro this rather dark tale follows Dr Kenzo Tenma (Derek Mio), a Japanese surgeon living in 1990s Germany as his life goes into turmoil after getting himself involved with a former patient called Johan Liebert (Anton Yelchin) . The series became famous for taking a Wallander approach to the story with the story still being set in Germany but mostly starring English and American actors as the main characters with various German actors filling out side characters with a surprise appearance from Udo Kier as Udo Heineman (mostly because Del Toro asked him if he could and being very passionate about it).
The show was praised for it's strong use of visuals (in particular the art design and cinematography) as well as it's soundtrack by Mica Levi (with various collaborations from artists like Trent Reznor and Ben Frost) although some criticism was given to Derek Mio's acting at certain points and the awkward nature of certain scenes due to various non-English actors speaking English. The show would help increase the profile of certain creators from Naoki Urasawa himself, to Del Toro regular Guy Davis (who drew and created various pieces of art around the world as well as help create the opening animation), NINA (German Synthwave act that performed in one episode) and Baran Bo Odar who would work with Netflix to create Pleasure to Kill the first German Language program there in 2017. Netflix would give Monster a Second Season before it even aired in 2015 and Season 2 would come out at the end of 2016 with a third season due in early 2018.
This award winning show on Netflix is probably one of their biggest successes after House of Cards and spawned a variety of psychological thrillers set in the 80s/90s. Based on the Manga by Naoki Urasawa and brought to TV by filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro this rather dark tale follows Dr Kenzo Tenma (Derek Mio), a Japanese surgeon living in 1990s Germany as his life goes into turmoil after getting himself involved with a former patient called Johan Liebert (Anton Yelchin) . The series became famous for taking a Wallander approach to the story with the story still being set in Germany but mostly starring English and American actors as the main characters with various German actors filling out side characters with a surprise appearance from Udo Kier as Udo Heineman (mostly because Del Toro asked him if he could and being very passionate about it).
The show was praised for it's strong use of visuals (in particular the art design and cinematography) as well as it's soundtrack by Mica Levi (with various collaborations from artists like Trent Reznor and Ben Frost) although some criticism was given to Derek Mio's acting at certain points and the awkward nature of certain scenes due to various non-English actors speaking English. The show would help increase the profile of certain creators from Naoki Urasawa himself, to Del Toro regular Guy Davis (who drew and created various pieces of art around the world as well as help create the opening animation), NINA (German Synthwave act that performed in one episode) and Baran Bo Odar who would work with Netflix to create Pleasure to Kill the first German Language program there in 2017. Netflix would give Monster a Second Season before it even aired in 2015 and Season 2 would come out at the end of 2016 with a third season due in early 2018.
The Love Goat:
From the makers of The Glove Boat. The premise of this show was that couples fell in love while riding on the backs of goats in the mountains of Greece. Unfortunately, like the previous show, it did not do well.
The Running Man: Live-action bounty hunting with lethal force applicable! Convicted criminals have 7 days to reach a transcontinental objective - if they win, they get a commuted sentence and $100,000, but if they don't get to their objective or are caught...
Mortal Combat: Live martial arts tournaments with various styles competing for top billing, somehow now in its 11th season.
AlternateHistory.com: Considered esoteric by some and groundbreaking by others, the website allows live posters to determine the direction of some characters. In essence, a series of history fans are given carte blanche to reimagine historical outcomes under different scenarios. Its host Jennifer Lawrence may leave soon but with a new hostess audition underway...
Chop-Chop Kitchen: Zombie genre meets Hell's Kitchen, accused of actually using human flesh...if only as a marketing gimmick...as contestants vy to serve man (thanks Shadowrun: Hong Kong!)
Barney and Friends: A serial killer drives his victims insane with bizzarre music before feeding them to his pets and hears their voices (the "friends") in his head while working as a commercial mascot for a day job.
Batman: Escapades of a butler from the city of the same name in the central Ottoman Empire not related to the brief and failed comic from the 1940s. Misteress of the household is in love with him, as he is with her, but their love can never be open as her four children believe her now-dead husband, the youngest of the former Sultan's brothers, was their father...but was he...?
Mind Your Language: Prim and proper lady British detective played by Angela Lansbury teamed with NYPD detective played by Andrew Dice Clay. Won 12 Academy Awards in 8 seasons with the final episode regarded as one of the best series finales in the whole of film history.
Hawaii 5-0: Dating adventures for the seasoned crowd in and around Pearl Harbor at the outbreak of the Korean War.
Laverne and Shirley: Two female engineering graduate students sharing an apartment contend with sexism, deadlines, dating, family concerns, and career aspirations, not necessarily in that order.
Checkpoint Charlie: Cold War saga about an American serviceman getting to know his Russian female counterpart over three years. As they are both promoted their superiors take notice leading to interesting escapades.
This Old House: Four New York antique store owners cruise the country insulting the locals and swindling them along the way. We still do not know what happened go Tony from Season One after he went to Osborne Hollow...
The Office: CIA front company acting as a software development firm with romanyic tensions afoot.
Knott's Landing: Attempted chronicle of a skydiving school that fell flat aftet only one season
Mortal Combat: Live martial arts tournaments with various styles competing for top billing, somehow now in its 11th season.
AlternateHistory.com: Considered esoteric by some and groundbreaking by others, the website allows live posters to determine the direction of some characters. In essence, a series of history fans are given carte blanche to reimagine historical outcomes under different scenarios. Its host Jennifer Lawrence may leave soon but with a new hostess audition underway...
Chop-Chop Kitchen: Zombie genre meets Hell's Kitchen, accused of actually using human flesh...if only as a marketing gimmick...as contestants vy to serve man (thanks Shadowrun: Hong Kong!)
Barney and Friends: A serial killer drives his victims insane with bizzarre music before feeding them to his pets and hears their voices (the "friends") in his head while working as a commercial mascot for a day job.
Batman: Escapades of a butler from the city of the same name in the central Ottoman Empire not related to the brief and failed comic from the 1940s. Misteress of the household is in love with him, as he is with her, but their love can never be open as her four children believe her now-dead husband, the youngest of the former Sultan's brothers, was their father...but was he...?
Mind Your Language: Prim and proper lady British detective played by Angela Lansbury teamed with NYPD detective played by Andrew Dice Clay. Won 12 Academy Awards in 8 seasons with the final episode regarded as one of the best series finales in the whole of film history.
Hawaii 5-0: Dating adventures for the seasoned crowd in and around Pearl Harbor at the outbreak of the Korean War.
Laverne and Shirley: Two female engineering graduate students sharing an apartment contend with sexism, deadlines, dating, family concerns, and career aspirations, not necessarily in that order.
Checkpoint Charlie: Cold War saga about an American serviceman getting to know his Russian female counterpart over three years. As they are both promoted their superiors take notice leading to interesting escapades.
This Old House: Four New York antique store owners cruise the country insulting the locals and swindling them along the way. We still do not know what happened go Tony from Season One after he went to Osborne Hollow...
The Office: CIA front company acting as a software development firm with romanyic tensions afoot.
Knott's Landing: Attempted chronicle of a skydiving school that fell flat aftet only one season
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Highlander
Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul), of the Clan MacLeod, is exiled from his home in 17th century Scotland after an accidental killing. On the advice of his parents he seeks out his uncle Connor (Christopher Lambert), a former soldier for hire who now runs an antiques shop in Paris. Together the pair of highland Scots embark on a series of globe-trotting adventures involving the court of the young Louis XIV, legendary antiquities and frequently their own romantic affairs. During the first season the duo were often sent into action by the Spanish Ambassador Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez (Sean Connery) or by people seeking to appeal to him as he was known to have a fascination with ancient Egypt. The Season 1 Finale killed off Ramirez (as Connery hadn't renewed his contract) in a duel with the Russian swordsman Kurgan, who would be a persistent adversary of the two Highlanders through Season 2.
The show was mostly carried on the chemistry between the two bickering leads and the fan appeal of Adrian Paul (contrary to fan belief, his contract didn't require him to be shirtless once every episode). While many of the foreign locations were filmed in studio with props and bluescreen, there were two or three location shoots per season, unusually including the opening and final episodes. Christopher Lambert's decision to leave the show after three seasons led to consideration of continuing the show centred on Duncan MacLeod only or by pairing him with another character so three of the episodes towards the end of Season Three experimented with bringing in possible characters to adventure with Duncan while Connor took a secondary role (and Lambert filmed footage for the season finale). However, none of these episodes was popular and Highlander ended with the well-regarded multi-parter The Source, where a drunken bet sent the pair of Scots to Egypt in a race against Jacob Kell, a fellow highlander working for the English Crown, to find the source of the Nile.
Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul), of the Clan MacLeod, is exiled from his home in 17th century Scotland after an accidental killing. On the advice of his parents he seeks out his uncle Connor (Christopher Lambert), a former soldier for hire who now runs an antiques shop in Paris. Together the pair of highland Scots embark on a series of globe-trotting adventures involving the court of the young Louis XIV, legendary antiquities and frequently their own romantic affairs. During the first season the duo were often sent into action by the Spanish Ambassador Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez (Sean Connery) or by people seeking to appeal to him as he was known to have a fascination with ancient Egypt. The Season 1 Finale killed off Ramirez (as Connery hadn't renewed his contract) in a duel with the Russian swordsman Kurgan, who would be a persistent adversary of the two Highlanders through Season 2.
The show was mostly carried on the chemistry between the two bickering leads and the fan appeal of Adrian Paul (contrary to fan belief, his contract didn't require him to be shirtless once every episode). While many of the foreign locations were filmed in studio with props and bluescreen, there were two or three location shoots per season, unusually including the opening and final episodes. Christopher Lambert's decision to leave the show after three seasons led to consideration of continuing the show centred on Duncan MacLeod only or by pairing him with another character so three of the episodes towards the end of Season Three experimented with bringing in possible characters to adventure with Duncan while Connor took a secondary role (and Lambert filmed footage for the season finale). However, none of these episodes was popular and Highlander ended with the well-regarded multi-parter The Source, where a drunken bet sent the pair of Scots to Egypt in a race against Jacob Kell, a fellow highlander working for the English Crown, to find the source of the Nile.
Hellboy (1996-2004)
A HBO animated series based on the acclaimed comics of the same name is often considered the catalyst of the rise in adult animation on TV in the late 90s. Starring Ron Pearlmen as Hellboy (mainly based on his appearances in Beauty and the Beast and Cronos) and produced by Sam Rami and Mike Mignola and this show would be a mixture of Mike Mignola's stories and new ones created specifically for the show (including a script written Joss Whedon who became a fan of the show) mainly created so Mike Mignola could continue advancing the story of the comics. The show would become popular with horror, fantasy and action fans due to the nature of the program helped by the casting of various horror and fantasy legends (Bruce Campbell frequently appeared in later seasons as Lobster Johnson and Christopher Lee briefly appearing as Trevor Buttenholm).
This series would become one of the many comic based animated series produced and broadcasted by HBO during the 90s and 00s with shows like Spawn, Astro City, Catalyst, Sandman, Hellblazer, Sandman:Mystery Theatre and rather controversially Love and Rockets each achieving varying critical and commercial acclaim. The Hellboy universe would expanded 2010 with B.R.P.D and Lobster Johnson each getting a series which would be critically acclaimed and enjoy good viewing figures.
(I wrote the Bruce Campbell thing before reading that in real life Guillermo Del Toro actually wanted Bruce Campbell to appear as Lobster Johnson. Strange minds think alike)
A HBO animated series based on the acclaimed comics of the same name is often considered the catalyst of the rise in adult animation on TV in the late 90s. Starring Ron Pearlmen as Hellboy (mainly based on his appearances in Beauty and the Beast and Cronos) and produced by Sam Rami and Mike Mignola and this show would be a mixture of Mike Mignola's stories and new ones created specifically for the show (including a script written Joss Whedon who became a fan of the show) mainly created so Mike Mignola could continue advancing the story of the comics. The show would become popular with horror, fantasy and action fans due to the nature of the program helped by the casting of various horror and fantasy legends (Bruce Campbell frequently appeared in later seasons as Lobster Johnson and Christopher Lee briefly appearing as Trevor Buttenholm).
This series would become one of the many comic based animated series produced and broadcasted by HBO during the 90s and 00s with shows like Spawn, Astro City, Catalyst, Sandman, Hellblazer, Sandman:Mystery Theatre and rather controversially Love and Rockets each achieving varying critical and commercial acclaim. The Hellboy universe would expanded 2010 with B.R.P.D and Lobster Johnson each getting a series which would be critically acclaimed and enjoy good viewing figures.
(I wrote the Bruce Campbell thing before reading that in real life Guillermo Del Toro actually wanted Bruce Campbell to appear as Lobster Johnson. Strange minds think alike)
Re LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY in M79's post above:
It starred as L & S Mila Kunis & Laura Prepon, with Ted Raimi playing their bumbling-but-likeable gay next door neighbor & Katey Sagal their overbearing boss(its one of those "characters you love to
hate" roles.) Lucy Lawless, as a recurring
guest star, played Laverne's mother. Mem-
orable episode: Robert Downey Jr. as a
married professor who gets involved with
Shirley(Downey is good friends with the
show's creators & agreed to do this one
episode as a favor).
It starred as L & S Mila Kunis & Laura Prepon, with Ted Raimi playing their bumbling-but-likeable gay next door neighbor & Katey Sagal their overbearing boss(its one of those "characters you love to
hate" roles.) Lucy Lawless, as a recurring
guest star, played Laverne's mother. Mem-
orable episode: Robert Downey Jr. as a
married professor who gets involved with
Shirley(Downey is good friends with the
show's creators & agreed to do this one
episode as a favor).
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