Wednesday, June 20, 2012

PEOPLE ALWAYS SAY HOW YOU SHOULD BE YOURSELF. LIKE YOURSELF IS THIS DEFINITE THING, LIKE A TOASTER OR SOMETHING. LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS, EVEN: Matt Zoller Seitz couldn't help but wonder which one-season tv series folks most wish had continued, and he and I (and many here, I imagine) will agree with his conclusion.

49 comments:

  1. BeeFan4:15 PM

    I'll go with "Wonderfalls", if four episodes counts as "one season".

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  2. Adam C.4:19 PM

    For me, it's Freaks and Geeks (though that first and only season wrapped things up pretty damn perfectly), and Firefly.  I'm sure I won't be alone.

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  3. Randy4:21 PM

    For now and for always, the correct answer to that question for me is "Firefly". Nothing against Matt's choice - which I'm a little ashamed to say I've never seen - but Firefly arrived fully formed and showed Whedon at the peak of his powers.  And, yes, the manner in which it got screwed over by Fox still stings, 10 years later.

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  4. Saray4:23 PM

    My response was of the "duh, MSCL" variety.

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  5. Eric J.4:29 PM

    Much as I love Firefly, given that we got the movie, I have to agree with MSCL.

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  6. Automan!

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  7. Firefly is one of my favorite shows (and I've seen the series at least five times, which, admittedly, is quite easy to do), but Book, Simon, and Inara were all less-than-stellar characters.  They either lacked a purpose, lacked a charming trait, or lacked acting skills, respectively, and though these could have been fixed going forward (though Dollhouse suggests maybe not), a large part of our enjoyment comes from the endless charm of Nathan Fillion, the wonderful coupling of Zoe and Wash, and Whedon's whippy quips ("We're too damn pretty to die.").

    MSCL, on the other hand -- perfect.  Every aspect of that show is perfect.  Even the grating Sharon has her place in the narrative, and it covered real topics (i.e. not contrived) that all females could relate to.  MSCL and Firely have different tones, of course (Freaks and Geeks is a better comparison), but MSCL had fantastic dialogue, a great cast, forward momentum in the script and growth with the characters, not to mention Brian's letter to Angela.  The show succeeded, remarkably, on all fronts.

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  8. Andrew5:03 PM

    Firefly is a series that arrived fairly fully formed (especially relative to Whedon's other serieses) but still seemed to have a lot of angles and corners of the universe that it was setting out to dig into. In particular, I suspect, Book and Inara who it seemed we had backstory aplenty to be learning on.*

    But besides Firefly or Freaks and Geeks (which I actually haven't finished yet, so for me it's still going), I would pick Terriers. Even overlooked by MZS in his list, it has to rank up among F&G, MSCL, Undeclared, and Firefly among the best one and done shows of all time. BTW, Terriers is available on Netflix Instant.

    *Non-grammatical not-quite-English intentional, to capture some folksy Space Western charm.

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  9. I know at least with Book there was an entire background they wanted to get to in the show they didn't have time to execute. I'm sure it would have been similar with the pasts of the rest of the cast as well.

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  10. Andrew5:05 PM

    And I, for one, consider Homeland to be the continuation of MSCL. Angela Chase grew up to be Carrie Matheson. http://videos.nymag.com/video/Angela-Chase-Reacts-to-Carrie-M;TV#c=VRK87B2SS0GL8DHJ&t=Angela Chase Reacts to Carrie Mathison's Potty Mouth

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  11. Add "Terriers" to your list and it's my top three. As much as I love "Freaks and Geeks," I think I'm happy with the amount of TV we got and the tremendous way it ended. The other two could have been seasons-long epics, makes me very sad.

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  12. Watts5:07 PM

    Freaks and Geeks for me.

    In high school, I rode the bus with the freaks and sat in class with the geeks, so I related to it way more than I did MSCL. I also always felt alienated by MSCL because I have never in my life gone through the "bad boy" phase, so I never got the appeal of Jordan Catalano.

    It may also have something to do with timing - MSCL aired when I was a sophomore in college so I felt just that touch old enough that I was all, "Oh. High school."  Whereas Freaks & Geeks came on when I was old enough to look back at a high school show with the adult eyes that can evaluate the experience critically.

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  13. Maret5:10 PM

    MSCL for me too. And the quote used to title this post is one of my favorite quotes from anything anywhere. The updated box set that came out in 2007 has a booklet in it with an essay from Winnie Holzman about the series, that includes some of the ideas she had for the characters if the show had continued. Sharon would have gotten pregnant is the only one I can remember off hand.

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  14. Watts5:15 PM

    Also on the list of "One Season Wonders" - if "Maximum Bob" had waited 10 years and been on USA, it would probably have made six seasons at least.

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  15. bill.5:18 PM

    Firefly
    Kings
    Better Off Ted (only 26 episodes, I'm counting that as one season)
    Undeclared
    Now and Again
    Kitchen Confidential
    Action!

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  16. La Binsk5:19 PM

    I've had my heart broken by many one-season TV shows - Karen Sisco, Equal Justice, Earth 2, etc. But the one I still really miss is A Year in the Life.

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  17. Yes, Book definitely had a backstory, and I don't understand why they weren't forthcoming with that story in the movie before he... well, you know.  Where'd he learn to fight?  And why's he have all that hair?  And where'd he get those strawberries?

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  18. Agreed.  Quote selected for the post was excellent.

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  19. kd bart5:41 PM

    I wish Action had continued.  BUDDY HACKETT!!!!  I own the one season on DVD but haven't watched it in a while.

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  20. Joseph Finn5:51 PM

    Since Freaks and Geeks was already, appropriately, mentioned, I'll go with Journeyman.  Why was he jumping?  Was his son a jumper as well?  How would he and his wife weather the jumping?  There's some fascinating questions and I still regard that show as the biggest casualty of the Writer's lockout.

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  21. Given all of the great shows already mentioned, this seems kind of wrong, but for me it's Keen Eddie.  Loved the characters, the style, the slightly skewed sense of humor.  It isn't my favorite show of all time by any means, but if ever a show were created just for me, it would probably be a lot like Keen Eddie.

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  22. If you like "Wonderfalls," I strongly encourage you to seek out the DVD set, which contains the remaining 9 episodes produced but not aired, and which resolve a lot of the story arcs.  (There's also, on Wiki, the plot outline for Seasons 2 and 3, which are insane in a good way.)

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  23. Book's backstory is revealed in the graphic novel "The Shepherd's Tale."  He, as a young man was recruited by the Browncoats to be a double agent within the Alliance, and served there for years until he sabotaged a major Alliance mission, leading to him being drummed out of the Alliance and joining the Abbey.

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  24. I'll offer two recent CW shows, both of which were very much in the mold of the pre-CW WB--"Privileged," with JoAnna Garcia as a tutor with bitchy young rich charges (one of whom was Lucy Hale), and "Related," which featured Jennifer Esposito, Kiele Sanchez, and Lizzy Caplan as feuding sisters, with Tom Irwin as their father.

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  25. Paul Tabachneck6:51 PM

    I have a DVD set where Winnie Holzman states pretty clearly what she would have done in Season Two: She would have made Angela pick Jordan, and somebody would have gotten pregnant ("probably Sharon.")<span> </span>

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  26. AndreaJ7:29 PM

    I always had a soft spot for "Relativity," which was from the producers of thirtysomething and MSCL.

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  27. Meghan7:30 PM

    1. Freaks and Geeks
    2. MSCL

    But barely.

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  28. isaac_spaceman7:44 PM

    <span>The only reason why I would possibly understand any answer other than Freaks & Geeks is Alan's "beautiful corpse" theory -- something that is perfect in its sole season could only get worse. That show hit its comedic stride immediately -- "Beers & Weirs" and "Kim Kelly Is my Friend" are two of the first four episodes, I think. It never slowed down on that count, and it added layers of depth throughout the season: Bill's loneliness and weirdness when he's alone (stuffing his mouth while watching TV; reenacting the Bionic Woman); Neal's and Kim's distress at their respective households' turmoil; Sam's discovery that Cindy was never who he thought she was; Lindsay's aimlessness; the paternal root of Nick's neediness; Ken's identity-struggle-by-proxy issues with his girlfriend. The show was tender toward its characters and treated them all (even bit players like Millie, Gordon, Coach Fredericks, and Mr. Rosso) with a dignity they wouldn't get in a less adept comedy.  To me, F&G is like The Wire of comedy.  It's not my favorite comedy ever (Arrested Development), but it's close, and it's the richest and deepest.  </span>
    <span></span>

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  29. isaac_spaceman7:46 PM

    I did really like Kitchen Confidential.  It premiered the same week as something else that got a ton of buzz, and I couldn't figure out why there was no love for it.  I thought it landed the jokes and got the tone just right, and I didn't understand the reviews that thought that those two things were forced.   

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  30. Dave S8:21 PM

    Profit.

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  31. bill.8:28 PM

    All 13 episodes are available on Hulu, Kitchen Confidential.

    I agree. It probably wasn't going to be a TV classic, but in just these few episodes it was smarter and working harder than most shows. If I had to recommend just one...probably Freddie Takes Off. Watching someone be tortured has never been funnier.

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  32. Stark Raving Mad.

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  33. J. Bowman9:17 PM

    Work It.

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  34. The Pathetic Earthling9:29 PM

    Ark II.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ark_II

    Genetically engineering monkeys and jet packs from the mid 1970s when the future was approaching energy independence at a breathtaking 55 miles per hour!

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  35. BeeFan10:22 PM

    Got the DVD when it first came out. 

    The good part was that the remaining episodes are excellent.

    The bad part was - why would such a great show be cancelled??!!  (Because the PTB in TV are evil.  No other explanation is possible.)

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  36. Eric J.10:25 PM

    I remember watching this as a very young child. It has scarred me for life.

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  37. J. Bowman10:39 PM

    Or possibly, Young Guy Christian.

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  38. KarenNM10:40 PM

    Thank you!  I've been wracking my brain trying to think of this show...  I don't remember many details, but I do remember thinking it was lovely.

    I'll add my support for Better off Ted.  Love it, miss it.

    Also on my list - The Job, with Denis Leary.  It's been a while since I've watched the DVDs but I remember it being hysterical.  I might have to break them out this weekend to be sure I'm remembering correctly.

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  39. One more, if they could keep the quality up: Police Squad!.

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  40. There's no better answer than My So-Called Life, but I (like Alan Sepinwall) will take the opportunity to mention EZ Streets as often as possible.

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  41. Slowlylu11:12 PM

    Yup Journeyman is definitely there though it has meant a different career path for Kevin McKidd.
    I wish Luck had continued despite the horse deaths. 

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  42. I loved MSCL but more recent, I wanted Detroit 1-8-7 to live longer.  50% because I loved the show, 25% because I got to see my mom's hometown and 24% that they were bringing jobs to Detroit.  The 1% was for the hot cop.

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  43. I spent 7 years hunting down a bootleg copy of this series. Still as funny as I remembered it. Nice choice.

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  44. A couple I haven't seen yet:
    Eyes (Tim Daly, 10 years too early for Leverage with story arcs)
    The Unusuals (Tamblyn for me. Renner for my wife. Goldberg for errybody.)
    Chicago Code (What's wrong with story arcs and character development in a police procedural?)

    I suspect in a few years I will add (would add? will have added? What is this, Future Conditional?) Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays, if it holds up as well as I expect.

    I was coming here to say Terriers, but Tim reminded me to change my vote. Stark Raving Mad - NPH and Tony Shaloub were hysterical together. Shows ending too soon doesn't have to mean they have stories you want to continue- here it just means that I would have laughed a few years more.

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  45. Marsha1:02 AM

    I also liked Kitchen Confidential. Great cast, very funny. Couldn't understand why it didn't catch on.

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  46. Marsha1:09 AM

    I saw MSCL way too late for it to resonate w ith me the way it did for all y'all - yes, I liked it, but not in the same way I liked F&G. Firefly takes a close second.

    Better Off Ted got two seasons, and that second season was clearly a gift to the ALOTT5MA community from the network, so out of respect for that gift, I'm not putting my vote in for it here. (but can we please have the season 2 DVD?)

    Two shows I want to put on the table- Aliens in America and Huge. One could argue that they are the heirs to F&G and MSCL (the latter that much more so as a Winnie Holzman production). They werent perfect, but they were very, very good, and they showed me people I don't usually see on TV. They deserved a much longer life.

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  47. Terriers!

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  48. Devin McCullen11:11 AM

    Given that we got the Firefly movie, I'd probably vote for Terriers.  But I also want to mention The Middleman, which was just so, so much fun.  And let me plug the appropriately named tumblr:

    http://goshyesthemiddleman.tumblr.com/

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  49. mikeski3:56 PM

    In the late 80s, David Chase created a show called Almost Grown. It starred Tim Daly and Eve Gordon as a couple that were high school sweethearts who ended up getting divorced after havinga couple of kids. It was the kind of thing where they were "still friends" and lived near each other and still co-parented. The hook was that in every episode, something would remind one of them of some event in their past, and there would be a lengthy flashback of how they met and fell in (and then out) of love.  I've never seen this show put out on DVD or rerun, and I'm not even sure that anyone else but me ever saw it. I remember it as being really good, but that could be because I had a huge crush on Eve Gordon.  Yes, Eve Gordon.

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