Shows get axed every year, but these TV shows were canceled after the first episode.
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00:00What could possibly go wrong?
00:02Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 20 TV shows that were canceled after their first episode.
00:10Battledozer is my fish!
00:14Take some crickets and go sub them!
00:18Urban Christie's how I love em!
00:21If you weren't the bloke in my town, you wouldn't be known as The Woodman.
00:26You'd be the bloke with all the tattoos.
00:28For this list, we're looking at shows that never got a second chance.
00:32We'll include shows that tried to continue somewhere else, and those that went on hiatus after episode 1, but didn't return under the same name.
00:40Do you think one or more of these shows got axed prematurely?
00:43Sound off in the comments.
00:46Number 20, The Hasselhoffs.
00:48I've been called a lot of names in my life.
00:51One that means the most to me now is Dad.
00:54We open our list with a bit of fudge, as this 2010 reality show actually aired back-to-back episodes during its premiere before getting the ax.
01:02The Hasselhoffs was an attempt by A&E to create a reality hit, following former Knight Rider star David Hasselhoff and his family.
01:09I'm just a regular dad, trying to raise two kids. I'm tearing my hair out just like everybody else.
01:14Only 718,000 viewers tuned in to watch the pilot, however, while the subsequent episode dropped the numbers down even further, to just over 500,000.
01:24The series was cancelled, and David Hasselhoff never did anything again.
01:28We're kidding, obviously, as the Hoff continues to appear in just about any aspect of pop culture that will have him.
01:35Hey, this is who we are. I'm proud of these girls. They're fantastic children.
01:40Number 19, Osbournes Reloaded.
01:43Even for fans of the Osbournes, Osbournes Reloaded was not a welcome return.
01:48Weak signal, that's a bad one. What's that? Oh, f*** it, that weak signal.
01:53In fact, it wasn't even really a reality show, but rather, a variety show?
01:58It's just fun, it's goofy stuff.
02:00That's why it's called Osbournes Reloaded, because we're back, but we're different.
02:04It combined taped skits with live comedy routines and musical performances, a la a really terrible version of Saturday Night Live.
02:16Wanna hear how bad Fox thought it was?
02:18The one and only aired episode was supposed to be an hour long,
02:22but after it was edited down to almost half that length,
02:25an episode of American Idol was actually made longer to fill in the rest of the time slot. Yikes.
02:32Number 18, Ford Nation.
02:34Former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford made international headlines
02:38when footage surfaced of him using illegal substances and acting erratically.
02:43Am I an addict? No. Have I tried it? Probably in one of my drunken stupors.
02:48Sounds like a perfect candidate to host an off-the-cuff talk show, right?
02:51Well, someone thought Ford Nation was a great idea because that is exactly what happened in 2013.
02:57You've heard the criticism and the counselors. Now tonight, I want you to listen to me.
03:03The show, which was hosted by Ford and his brother Doug, aired on November 13th to a decent amount of viewers.
03:09There are more poor people than rich people in this city. I take the side of the poor people that have been neglected.
03:16However, not even the morbidly curious could save Ford Nation from being cancelled less than a day after it hit the airwaves.
03:23I'm an average guy who fights for the little guy in life. That's the bottom line.
03:27The high production costs and Ford's, let's call it advertiser, unfriendly persona led to its doom.
03:33I'm happily married. I've got more than enough to eat at home.
03:36Although the host tried to continue a series on YouTube, the revival was short-lived.
03:41Number 17, Ahora La Mundial.
03:44If you're going to produce a post-game analysis show, be sure to staff your panel with actual sports journalists.
03:50That seems like a no-brainer.
03:51It is Russia's party and the party goes on.
03:56Spanish-language sports show Ahora La Mundial seemed to miss this all-important step when they debuted their first and only episode in 2018.
04:05The show intended to offer deep commentary on Spain's progress in that year's FIFA World Cup.
04:10But instead of hiring sports writers, Ahora La Mundial employed gossip columnists and entertainment journalists.
04:16This caused the show to face swift backlash from critics and coaches almost immediately.
04:21The show was cancelled by its parent channel, Telecinco, after only one episode.
04:27You're fired.
04:28You can't fire me! I got a contract!
04:31Number 16, Bubsy.
04:33What could possibly go wrong?
04:36For those who were lucky, or is that unlucky enough to have caught this failed pilot, it may have seemed like a fever dream.
04:42Back me!
04:45But don't worry, you're not crazy.
04:47A Bubsy cartoon did indeed air its only episode on November 28th, 1993.
04:53Uncle Bubsy, we're bored!
04:55Yeah, can we play with a helmet now?
04:58Absolutely not!
05:00The show was an attempt to spin the fledgling video game franchise off into the animated world,
05:05and was bizarrely sponsored by Taco Bell.
05:08Ready?
05:09Free fall!
05:11Information is scarce as to why Bubsy never aired again,
05:15but we do know that Bubsy creator Michael Berlin liked the show's take on the characters.
05:20Judging on the pilot's relative obscurity, he was one of the few.
05:24Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Success!
05:28Number 15, Rosie Live.
05:30Just because a celebrity finds success in multiple mediums,
05:34doesn't necessarily mean they'll be good at everything.
05:37Case in point, Rosie O'Donnell.
05:39People ask me why NBC gave me my own show, and quite frankly, it's part of the bailout.
05:45By 2008, she had a solid stand-up comedy career,
05:48had received acclaim for movies like A League of Their Own,
05:51Don't you start with me! Don't start!
05:53and had a strong talk show run with The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
05:56It's the Rosie O'Donnell Show!
05:58But when she tried to revive the variety show genre with Rosie Live,
06:02the results were disastrous.
06:04Marcia, what are you doing here?
06:06What do you mean, what am I doing here?
06:07I'm here to do a big, splashy opening number with you,
06:10because you're the best and I love you.
06:13Despite featuring guests like Alanis Morissette and Liza Minnelli,
06:16the show couldn't sing or dance its way into the hearts of audiences or critics.
06:21Take jump crickets and go shove them!
06:25Urban crises, how I love them!
06:28An extremely negative response resulted in Rosie Live being axed
06:31after its one and only episode on November 26th, 2008.
06:36Number 14. Battletoads
06:39It seems like a slam dunk, right?
06:41It sounds cosmically cosmic.
06:44If the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a hit,
06:46why not adapt another popular video game into a Saturday morning cartoon?
06:51Well, it seems like not even a major ad campaign in magazines
06:55like GamePro could save Battletoads.
06:56Battletoads, kiss my fist!
07:01It only managed to muster a single pilot episode
07:04that aired over the 1992 Thanksgiving holiday,
07:07and this syndicated debut was poorly received by viewers at the time.
07:10You'll never defeat us cosmic super toads!
07:14You insolent toads!
07:16I'll destroy you!
07:18Fire!
07:20And honestly, it doesn't seem to have aged well either.
07:23However, if you just have to scratch that itch of morbid curiosity,
07:27it is available on VHS.
07:32Number 13. The Melting Pot
07:34Sometimes it's fairly easy to figure out why a particular television series was cancelled.
07:38There is serious tension behind the scenes and an internal review is underway.
07:45A TV show called The Melting Pot had an obvious casting problem.
07:49The lead character, who is supposed to be a Pakistani immigrant,
07:52is played by British-Irish actor Spike Milligan in brownface.
08:02Although six episodes of The Melting Pot were filmed,
08:05the BBC series was cancelled after airing its pilot on June 11, 1975
08:10due to poor reception over its content.
08:13Not even a major cast overhaul could convince execs
08:16to air the remaining episodes of The Melting Pot.
08:18We certainly can't say that we blame the network.
08:21Number 12. Walter
08:23Easy to see why a network would want to spin off a successful TV series.
08:34MASH was one of those select few that received not one, not two, but three different spinoffs.
08:41I'm Dr. McIntyre, this is Dr. Gates.
08:43How is he, doctor? How's my father?
08:45Well, he's out of immediate danger, but his condition remains critical.
08:48While AfterMASH and Trapper John M.D. managed to find audiences,
08:52the third series only managed to squeak out a single episode.
08:56Gary Berghoff reprises his role as Corporal Walter Radar O'Reilly.
09:00So how do I look? Like a rookie? I hope not.
09:03Hey, not bad for off the rack.
09:05The plot revolves around how depressing his life is.
09:08You keep the ring. I'll keep the pop-up toaster.
09:12Sincerely, your former loving wife, Sandy.
09:17At one point, Radar plans to misuse pills before he has a meet-cute
09:22with future SNL star Victoria Jackson at the drugstore.
09:25Are you on your honeymoon?
09:28Well, I was. She ran hot on me.
09:32He then decides to join the police force.
09:35Um, remind us why this wasn't picked up again?
09:3811. Pactepoen, de show van een miljoen
09:41Some TV shows become bombs for the ages.
09:44A Belgian show titled Pactepoen, de show van een miljoen,
09:48or Take the Cash, the show of one million, is a prime example.
09:57It debuted shortly after the government allowed commercial television on the airwaves.
10:01While contestants tried to win the million Belgian francs on the line,
10:05nothing seemed to work the way it was supposed to.
10:09The show had failing lights, dysfunctional technology,
10:17hilariously wooden hosts, and a finale that was an absolute disaster.
10:25The show didn't even make it to episode two.
10:28Even a retooled version titled The Pactepoen Show
10:31only managed two more episodes before cancellation.
10:3410. The Will
10:36Ever seen a movie where a bunch of sleazy relatives are competing
10:39and conspiring against one another to win a huge inheritance?
10:42Ever wanted to see that scenario in a reality show setting?
10:46No? Well, neither do we.
10:47That's probably why The Will was such a notorious bomb when it debuted in 2005.
10:53The show centered around a group of people
10:55vying to inherit a Kansas ranch from the benefactor.
10:59The usual backstabbing and drama ensued,
11:01only this time marinated in the sort of bad taste
11:04one might expect from a premise this stupid.
11:06Thankfully, The Will qualified for our list,
11:09though some of its banked episodes later aired.
11:22Secret Talents of the Stars was an attempt to replicate the runaway success
11:26of the celebrity competition show Dancing with the Stars,
11:29but ended up a disaster.
11:31The show was set up in a similar fashion to its touchstone,
11:34with celebrities competing against each other in a talent show of sorts.
11:38Each week, viewers at home would have been able to vote forward their favorites,
11:41while three judges would add in their own commentary
11:44as to who should stay and who should go.
11:47Secret Talents of the Stars was the one to go, however,
11:49and didn't even get to air another episode before getting the axe.
12:02Millions of dollars reportedly went into the promotion of Emily's Reasons Why Not,
12:09a hopeful hit that hinged upon its star, Heather Graham,
12:12and that molded itself as ABC's take on HBO's popular Sex and the City franchise.
12:18Unfortunately, the pilot episode,
12:19which was chock-a-block with gay stereotypes and stale humor,
12:23bombed in the ratings department,
12:25and was canceled, you guessed it, after airing just one episode.
12:32Emily's Reasons Why Not did live on afterwards, however,
12:35as all seven of the show's filmed episodes were eventually aired in other countries,
12:39and released on DVD in 2012.
12:50Glenn Frey was a part-time actor but a full-time musician,
12:53and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a founding member of the Eagles.
13:02But forget fame, shame is perhaps a better word to describe Frey's 1993 series,
13:07South of Sunset, which only mustered up one episode before cancellation.
13:11To be fair, audiences on the West Coast didn't even get a chance to see much of the show,
13:16as its debut was largely preempted by news coverage of the Malibu wildfires.
13:21This didn't stop South of Sunset's fate, however,
13:23leaving the four other filmed episodes unseen,
13:26until they were broadcast years later on ABC.
13:29Until they were broadcast years later on VH1.
13:42Our next entry proves that sometimes,
13:44you just gotta roll with the punches and make lemonade out of some damn lemons.
13:49You're in the Picture was a disastrous attempt at a game show,
13:52hosted by The Honeymooner star Jackie Gleason,
13:55which was axed after its first episode.
13:58Gleason owned up to it though,
13:59and appeared in the following week's time slot with a half-hour apology,
14:03complete with live commercials.
14:15Strangely enough, the apology received better ratings,
14:18and Gleason was allowed to replace You're in the Picture with The Jackie Gleason Show,
14:22an interview program that filled out his contractual obligations for the network.
14:28Stephen Boczko was one of those great television writers
14:32who was often ahead of the curve and a trendsetter.
14:39The man's work as a co-creator on Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue
14:43revolutionized the police procedural.
14:45However, nobody's perfect.
14:47Public Morals was a different Boczko production,
14:50that attempted to mix the NYPD vice squad with situation comedy.
14:58But its strong language and offensive humor got the show tons of negative press.
15:18After it made its debut on October 30, 1996, it was cancelled.
15:22A full season of Public Morals was actually produced,
15:25but we'll never know if the show was actually ahead of its time,
15:29or just as bad as Boczko's cop rock.
15:32The NFL career of Brian Bosworth may have been something of a bust,
15:36but that didn't stop the former All-American from trying his hand at acting.
15:40The Boz came up with an awful lot of comedy,
15:43and this does not capture the side of Boczko.
15:46He's the hero of the neighborhood.
15:53The NFL career of Brian Bosworth may have been something of a bust,
15:57but that didn't stop the former All-American from trying his hand at acting.
16:01The Bos scored something of a cult hit with the 1991 action flick Stone Cold,
16:06but still couldn't resonate with the mainstream.
16:09Lawless was an attempt at rectifying this,
16:11and featured Bosworth as a special forces op
16:14who solves crimes and rides a Harley on South Beach.
16:17If this premise sounds flimsy and generic, that's because it is,
16:21and Lawless only got its pilot episode out the door before its demise.
16:25The Bos continues to act though, so don't feel too bad for him.
16:39This sitcom's concept was an all-girls college-going co-ed,
16:43and was a bald-faced attempt at replicating the big-screen success
16:47of National Lampoon's Animal House for a television audience.
16:50Thing is, it barely had a chance to get out of the starting gate.
16:53It feels so good to drop a book and have someone in pants pick it up and hand it back to me.
16:58With his phone number written all over the inside cover.
17:01It aired its sole episode, Pepperoni Passion, as a special preview on February 4th, 1979,
17:08but was then cancelled even before it could start airing on its scheduled night.
17:12Co-ed Fever was eventually put to good use though,
17:15as its dorm set was eventually adapted for The Facts of Life.
17:27This one was ahead of its time.
17:28Turn On was a surreal sketch comedy show that made history
17:32by being the only series to be cancelled partway into its pilot episode.
17:37Yeah, you heard right.
17:38The show was created by the folks behind Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In,
17:41but was yanked due to its psychedelic approach,
17:43wild synthesizer music,
17:45and bawdy sexual humor.
17:47She said it was wonderful, and she thanked me for the big one.
17:51Today, it's known as one of the biggest critical and commercial bombs in history.
17:55Although, its blink-and-you-missed-it existence serves as a tantalizing example
17:59of what could have been for fans of transgressive comedy.
18:02It got cancelled in New York, and when it got to Ohio,
18:06they shut it off after 15 minutes.
18:09Before we unveil our number one pick,
18:11here are some honorable mentions.
18:13Mesmerized.
18:15Look deep into our eyes.
18:16You'll never watch this again.
18:22Dot Comedy.
18:24A show focused on internet humor was way too ahead of its time.
18:27This is what we like to call the excitable cat.
18:32He's alright at the moment.
18:33Oh, he's quite happy.
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18:55Number one.
18:55Pile, Honey, I'm Home.
18:58Pile, Honey, me.
19:00File this one under, what the hell were they thinking?
19:03Well, the intention behind the British Pile, Honey, I'm Home
19:06was to satirize what the creator saw as stupid and stock cliches
19:10of the typical American sitcom.
19:12The results, however, featured Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun
19:16as a Desi and Lucy sort of couple,
19:18who live next door to a Jewish family, the Goldensteins.
19:21You wanted to get out that Adolf Hitler insults his neighbors?
19:25Now relax!
19:27Complaints were swift,
19:29with many accusing the show of trivializing Hitler and the Holocaust.
19:32Despite the existence of other World War II parodies like Hogan's Heroes,
19:36the show was immediately canceled.
19:38Although it has been reported that other filmed episodes do exist,
19:42somewhere out in the mist of bad taste.
19:45Look at my outfit!
19:46I'm just one of the boys, I'm a real fun guy!
19:49Do you agree with our picks?
19:50Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo
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