Every decade has its collection of TV flops—the short-lived series that don’t have the ratings and eventually don’t make the cut. It didn’t matter if they were critically acclaimed or not. Back in the day, networks answered to the advertisers, and if not enough people were seeing the ads, the series was canceled. And unlike now, TV flops of the ’70s didn’t have streaming services such as Prime or Netflix to save them. A television series was given a small amount of time to make a big impression, and if it missed the mark, it was gone for good.
Today, we are going to take a look at some television series from the 1970s that lasted a season or less. In some cases, a lot less.
TV Flops of the ’70s
James at 15/16 (21 Episodes)
This isn’t Lance Kerwin’s first rodeo, here on Recapping the Oldies. We first met him on Little House on the Prairie and really got to know him in The Boy Who Drank Too Much. In James at 16 (or 15), Kerwin played the daydreaming James Hunter—a teen who, in addition to his fanciful daydreams, also dabbled in photography. The series pilot launched as James at 15, a made-for-TV movie that also starred Melissa Sue Anderson. Eventually, James aged up, and so did the show’s title. Despite critical acclaim and a loyal following, the show only lasted one season. (1977-1978)
Man from Atlantis (17 Episodes)
Really, the only thing I can remember about Man from Atlantis, besides the fact that it starred Patrick Duffy (taking a brief hiatus from Dallas), is that my friends and I spent a whole summer trying to imitate Duffy’s distinctive swimming style in our flimsy, metal-walled, backyard swimming pool. This is one of those shows spun off from a couple of popular TV movies. The high ratings of the movies led to the series, which centered around a man who was supposed to be the last survivor of the lost city of Atlantis. (1977-1978)
Salvage 1 (16 Episodes)
My brothers and sisters and I loved Salvage 1. Though it was a Sci-Fi drama, it did have many funny moments, and we were all about the funny moments. The series was about a brilliant but eccentric man named Harry Broderick, played by Andy Griffith, who salvaged junk airplanes and other big items, and recruited an astronaut and a nun to help him try to salvage the debris left behind on the moon. Salvage 1 lasted less than a season and didn’t even air all the episodes that were produced, so I guess other people didn’t enjoy it as much as we did. (1979)
The Quest (15 Episodes)
Be still, my heart. A young Kurt Russell. A young Tim Matheson. My twelve-year-old self knew they were too old for me, but my twelve-year-old heart didn’t care. In the old West, two good-looking men set off to find their long-lost sister after their parents were killed by Indians. One brother was raised by Indians, the other, a doctor, was raised by “civilized” folks. After the pair unite, they set off to find their sister. Did they find her? I don’t remember. That’s not why I watched. (1976)
Planet of the Apes (14 Episodes)
When it comes to TV flops of the ’70s, Planet of the Apes is an enigma. The movies, based on the book by Pierre Boulle, did very well at the box office, so it stands to reason that a television series would also do well. Turns out, people will pay money at the box office to see futuristic talking apes, but watching them at home regularly is a whole other story. (1974)
Logan’s Run (14 Episodes)
The original Logan’s Run was a 1976 dystopian sci-fi film about a society where resources and consumption are maintained because people are only allowed to live to the age of 30. Thus, Logan is on the run to stay alive. The film did well in the theaters, so of course, it was turned into a series with Logan running for a variety of reasons other than his age. Like other films turned into series on this list, Logan’s Run had a short shelf life. (1977-1978)
Born Free (13 Episodes)
Born Free is another ’70s TV flop that I remember watching with my family. To me, the only thing more boring than this series was the theme song. The series was based on a movie from 1966 that I’m going to guess was also boring. The series centered around a couple that lived in Africa with their pet lion, Elsa. They spent a lot of time protecting the local animals from poachers, hunters, and other dangers. My parents found it to be good, wholesome family viewing. Take what you will from that. (1974)
Three for the Road (13 Episodes)
Three for the Road was another trip to Heartthrob City. Starring Alex Rocco as the dad and future pro poker player Vince Van Patten, and future hot mess Leif Garrett as a recently widowed father and his two sons who travel the country in an RV. Why? I don’t remember. I think it had something to do with their wife (and mother) recently passing away, and they were looking for a fresh start. Something interesting I learned when researching for this piece—after Three for the Road was canceled, 60 Minutes moved into its timeslot and has been there ever since. (1975)
Holmes & Yoyo (13 Episodes)
I remember this TV show by name only. I’m not sure if I ever watched it; if I did, it wasn’t very memorable. Holmes was a police detective with a robot partner named YoYo. No, really. Apparently, Holmes was given YoYo as a partner because he kept injuring his human partners. When they weren’t fighting crime, Holmes was teaching Yoyo how to be more human. (1976-1977)
The Fitzpatricks (13 Episodes)
The Fitzpatricks was a decent series, but didn’t stand a chance against sitcom powerhouses Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley. The Fitzpatricks were an Irish Catholic, working-class family living in Flint, Michigan. The show featured two ’70s heartthrobs, James McNichol and Clark Brandon, as well as a young, cute-as-a-button Helen Hunt. This series was based on family values, which meant there were lectures, I mean, lessons to be learned. Despite the morality play, I remember enjoying this series, which, to be honest, I only watched if Happy Days wasn’t on. (1977-1978)
Tabitha (13 Episodes)
I mostly watched Bewitched as daytime reruns. I was so jealous of Elizabeth Montgomery. No matter how much I wiggled my nose, I couldn’t make things happen like she could. When I was a little older and Tabitha, a show about her daughter (played by Lisa Hartman), spun off, of course, I was interested. America, however, wasn’t. Unlike Bewitched, which lasted 8 seasons, Tabitha didn’t even last one. (1977-1978)
Gemini Man (12 Episodes)
Something I didn’t know, probably because I was only 12 when it aired, is that Gemini Man was a continuation of the movie The Invisible Man (which was loosely based on the H.G. Wells book). In this series, Ben Murphy plays secret agent Sam Casey, who was exposed to radiation, which gave him the ability to become invisible. Which, why can’t anything like that ever happen to me? And wouldn’t you know? The spy agency he worked for was able to contain his invisibility so he could turn it on and off with his special digital wristwatch, but only for a total of 15 minutes per day! I can’t imagine why this only lasted a dozen episodes. (1976)
David Cassidy Man Undercover (10 Episodes)
My older sister was madly in love with David Cassidy, so of course, we watched David Cassidy, Man Undercover. The name of the series was obviously meant to capitalize on his name, because David Cassidy was not the man undercover; his character, Officer Dan Shay, was. This series was like the original 21 Jump Street. David Cassidy was a cop who went undercover in high schools to bust crime. Much to my sister’s extreme disappointment, the series didn’t last long. (1978-1979)
A Year at the Top (9 Episodes)
A Year at the Top featured a pair of musicians who wanted to make it big, so they made a deal with the devil to have one good year. It featured Greg Evigan, who later found fame with B.J. and the Bear and My Two Dads, and Paul Shaffer, who later became David Letterman’s band leader. My 13-year-old self loved it. One thing that I always remembered about this show is that when the duo performed, they wore shirts with lights on them that flashed like Christmas lights. Takeaways like this might be the reason it only lasted for 9 episodes. (1977)
The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (9 Episodes)
We’ve discussed The Brady Bunch Variety Hour here before. It is one of the most cringeworthy, awful shows to have ever been brought to fruition. If you thought the Bradys in the TV series were corny, think about the TV series Bradys (not the actors) being offered their own variety show. The skits were bad. The singing was bad. And the dancing was bad. And the guests? The same variety show guests as every other variety show from the ’70s. Of all the TV flops of the ’70s, this should have been the floppiest. (1976-1977)
Dog & Cat (6 Episodes)
Something I didn’t know before researching this post is that “dog and cat” in police terms denotes a working partnership between a man and a woman. In case you haven’t guessed, this is a cop show centered around partners who were, you guessed it, a man and woman. The series starred Kim Basinger and Lou Antonio, and they solved crimes and caught bad guys. Or so says Wikipedia. (1977)
Gibbsville (6 Episodes)
Small-town 1940s Pennsylvania newspaper reporters do small-town 1940s Pennsylvania newspaper things. I don’t know that there’s much to say about Gibbsville, which only lasted a few episodes and wasn’t very memorable. It was based on the stories of author John O’Hara. (1976)
Flatbush (3 Episodes)
Based in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, Flatbush was a series about high school friends and their lives after graduation as they worked and sought fun in and around the neighborhood. Even though six episodes were produced, the show only lasted for three. Do I remember it? No. No, I don’t. (1979)
This piece was a lot of fun to write, and it brought back a lot of memories. I’m actually surprised at how much I remembered with some of these ’70s TV flops. I hope you enjoyed this look back as much as I did.
