'90s TV Flops That Are Actually Worth Watching

Kid-centric horror was all the rage in the '90s, from "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" to "Goosebumps" and beyond. Given the popularity of the subgenre, it's pretty surprising that "Eerie, Indiana" was only a single-season wonder — especially when it was probably the best of its kind to be released during that era. Perhaps it's because it was on NBC and had a prime time slot, so it needed to have major network prime time numbers to survive. Had it been an afternoon show, or on a less-discriminating network, it might have had the longevity it deserved.

Starring Omri Katz, best known as Max Dennison from "Hocus Pocus," "Eerie, Indiana" was about the titular town and all of the bizarre goings-on that seemed to always be happening there. Sometimes the show tackled popular myths like Elvis faking his own death to live a private life, while plenty of other episodes were built around entirely new — and often extremely inventive — scenarios. Critics referenced creators like Stephen King and David Lynch in their praise of the show, while multiple articles compared the vibe to that of the movie "Edward Scissorhands." Sadly, good reviews alone don't keep a show on the air, and "Eerie, Indiana" got only 19 episodes before it was canceled in 1993. 

This one is a lot more well-known than most of the other shows on this list, and has had plenty of subsequent reappraisal and recognition for what a great show it was — and still is. But that doesn't change the fact that "Freaks and Geeks" got a criminally short run of only 18 episodes after its September 1999 debut before NBC pulled the plug. Meanwhile, critics were nearly unanimous in their love for the show, and two different episodes were nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series at the Emmys. 

The Emmy that "Freaks and Geeks" actually won — Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series — shouldn't come as a surprise given that its ensemble included soon-to-be-A-listers Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, and James Franco. Not to mention Martin Starr, Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, Busy Phillips, and Samm Levine, all of whom have remained film and television mainstays ever since. There are no shortage of coming-of-age shows that look back at a previous generation, but "Freaks and Geeks" stood out both for its honest depiction of the less-popular crowd as well as paying tribute to its era without descending into parody. Oh, and its creator and executive producer? That would be Paul Feig and Judd Apatow, respectively, who would become some of the biggest comedic voices in Hollywood a short time later. 

Plenty of cartoons come and go. In fact, it's actually somewhat rare for a kids' cartoon to have more than a season or two, especially during the '90s, because that was usually all that was needed to rerun it for the next five-plus years. But there were still a few that got cut short yet stuck around long enough that they are still looked back upon — and still watched — with the same reverence as the likes of "Animaniacs," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," et al. One of those shows is "The Pirates of Dark Water." 

A Hanna-Barbera production that ran on the now-defunct Fox Kids programming block, "Pirates" hit that rare older kids/younger teens sweet spot flawlessly. A hybrid of old-school swashbuckling pirate adventure with hints of sci-fi and fantasy, the show started with an epic five-part miniseries that told a much bigger story than most cartoons at the time would have even attempted. Only the five-part Phoenix Saga from "X-Men: The Animated Series" came close in terms of ambition and scope. 

But like so many kids' cartoons that tried to tell deeper, more complex stories with elaborate worldbuilding — not to mention having a higher caliber of animation than was typically seen (except for anime) on TV at the time — "The Pirates of Dark Water" was not long for this world and got only a single full season, plus an extremely truncated second season, before being sunk. 

"The X-Files" was a huge series throughout its run, and it had other networks — as well as Fox itself — trying to replicate the show's success. NBC took a crack at it with "Dark Skies," which was dismissed by some critics as a mere clone of "The X-Files" due to just how similar the two series were. On the other side of the coin, there are some, particularly in retrospect, who have made the case that "Dark Skies" is actually the superior of the two shows. 

The truth that was ultimately out there is that "Dark Skies" didn't have the ratings to grant it more than 20 episodes, causing it to suffer the same fate as most "X-Files"-inspired shows. But it was arguably the best, with a unique premise that saw it taking place in an alternate history 1960s in which aliens had been on Earth since the '40s, with the government having kept their existence a secret from the public. It also didn't shy away from depicting real people, including politicians, actors, musicians, and more. It would go on to win an Emmy award for its title design.

Prime time sketch comedy on regular network television is something that rarely works. But that hasn't stopped many from trying it over the years, including a group of young up-and-comers in the early '90s that included a combination of future superstars and hugely influential comedy writers. That group — including Ben Stiller, Bob Odenkirk, Judd Apatow, David Cross, Janeane Garofalo, Andy Dick, and Dino Stamatopoulos — came together to write and star in "The Ben Stiller Show."

After getting its start on MTV, the version of "The Ben Stiller Show" that people are generally more aware of is the one that ran on Fox for only 12 episodes, leaving an unaired episode that Comedy Central later added to its rerun package of the show. Like most sketch comedy, the scenes could be a bit hit or miss, but the talent and chemistry of the cast couldn't be denied. The writing was also worthy of an Emmy win, even though the show had already been canceled by the time the crew took home their trophy. Not all of it has aged well, especially jokes focused on then-current celebrities, movies, and TV shows, but it's still worth looking back at these soon-to-be-stars taking what is, for most of them, their first real crack at an on-screen career.

MTV's "Liquid Television" was a series that ran sporadically during the first half of the 1990s and would feature various clips of animated projects. Some would be one and done, while others became recurring segments on the show. And though the vast majority sadly died with the show, a few did wind up turning into full-fledged series of their own — most notably, "Beavis and Butt-head" and "Aeon Flux." In the same year that "Liquid Television" signed off, MTV launched a series called "Oddities," which expanded the "Liquid Television" format by giving each animated project an entire miniseries of full-length episodes.

The first was the bizarre and ultimately forgettable "The Head," but that was followed by the excellent and certainly before-its-time "The Maxx." Based on the comic series of the same name, its titular character was a homeless man looked after by a social worker named Julie in the "real" world, who also lived in an alternate reality where he was a powerful warrior tasked with protecting the Jungle Queen — who was that reality's version of Julie. He was aware of the two realities, while she was not. 

It was one of the few darker comic adaptations to exist at the time, predating HBO's "Spawn" series by several years. While it was technically only ever meant to be a limited series, had it been more popular it might have gotten the "Aeon Flux" treatment and earned a couple of full seasons. 

In the wake of "The Simpsons" becoming not only a hit television show but an entire pop culture behemoth, a whole new wave of prime time animation kicked off in a big way during the '90s. But for every "South Park" and "King of the Hill," there were dozens of shows that came and went so quickly that barely anyone noticed or remember them. "Fish Police" ring a bell? How about "Family Dog"? To be honest, most of them weren't a huge loss — but there were some that deserved "Simpsons"-level success but were instead unfairly lumped in with the long line of forgettable duds from that decade.

The excellent "Mission Hill" got only a single season and 13 episodes to find its audience. Not bothering to even have kid characters or be about families, focusing instead on the lives of teens and young adults, "Mission Hill" was the unfortunate victim of airing on The WB — the now-defunct network that couldn't even reach its own 12th birthday. Like many gone-too-soon animated shows, it saw increased visibility when reruns hit Adult Swim in 2002, but it wasn't enough to revive the show, as happened with "Family Guy" and "Futurama." Those original 13 episodes are all we'll ever have to enjoy. 

Author Elmore Leonard saw a lot of screen adaptations of his works during his life, the vast majority of which have been films — "3:10 to Yuma," "Out of Sight," "Jackie Brown," and "Get Shorty," to name a few. Of the handful that have been brought to television, most have either been a TV version of a book that was already turned into a movie ("Get Shorty") or were just based around a character from one of his books ("Karen Cisco," "Justified"). So far, only one of his books has ever seen a dedicated adaptation exclusive to the small screen: 1998's "Maximum Bob."

The "Bob" in question is Judge Bob Gibbs (a fantastic Beau Bridges), who earns his nickname via his tendency to always seek the maximum sentence for the defendants in the cases he presides over even when the infractions are minor. But this was no generic courtroom show — "Maximum Bob" was compared to more offbeat shows like "Twin Peaks" and "Northern Exposure" by critics at the time. 

That's because in addition to Bob, there was also his wife, who was not only a former mermaid performer but is now a psychic who communicates with a deceased slave circa the 1850s. The cast of wacky characters goes on from there, all surrounding Bob and challenging his small-minded conservative sensibilities. We probably don't need to explain why this delightfully bizarre show didn't find the audience it needed to last more than seven episodes. 

Another great show that was the victim of running on a network that in and of itself wasn't a huge audience draw was the 1995-96 sci-fi series "Nowhere Man." Airing on UPN, a network that probably wouldn't have lasted the 11 years that it did had it not lucked into two "Star Trek" shows — and got some of the WB's leftovers when that network bowed out — "Nowhere Man" never really had a chance. 

The show followed a photographer named Thomas Veil (underrated character actor Bruce Greenwood), who wakes up one day to find that none of his friends or family seem to know who he is — including his own wife, who now has a different husband. Thomas sets out to discover why his existence has essentially been erased and by whom, theorizing that it might be related to incriminating photos he had taken a year prior. 

"Nowhere Man" got strong reviews, with positive comparisons to "The Fugitive" and "The X-Files." Ratings started off well enough, but they dropped off sharply as the first season went on. That, combined with creative struggles behind the scenes, led to the show's demise after only 25 episodes. As long as you're okay with watching a series that doesn't have a resolution and never will, "Nowhere Man" is one of the most overlooked shows of its kind from that era. 

Another "too weird for prime time" show was Fox's "Get A Life," a surreal comedy starring and co-created by Chris Elliot. Elliot plays manchild Chris Peterson who, at 30, still lives at home, still has the same paper route he had as a kid, and still doesn't have a driver's license. While that might seem like the premise for a fairly standard sitcom, "Get A Life" was anything but, with episodes about everything from finding a vomiting alien — which Chris barbecues and eats later in the episode — to Chris inexplicably discovering he can see a few seconds into the future. Oh, and Chris is also killed in 12 of the show's 35 episodes, typically in a cartoonish, "Looney Tunes"-esque manner.

Ratings were never great for the show, and it's likely only because it was on Fox — still hoping to make a name for itself with more out-of-the-box hits like "The Simpsons" — that "Get a Life" was actually given a second season. But it's easy to see in hindsight how ahead of its time the show was, plus how influential it would be for the blossoming alt comedy movement on TV, and it's a blast to watch today with that perspective.

Like "Freaks and Geeks," "My So-Called Life" has been on so many lists of shows canceled too soon, and has been re-broadcast so many times in so many different places since its initial run, that it almost feels pointless to spotlight it here. But this list isn't only meant to highlight shows that people might have forgotten about or never knew existed. The key angle here is that these shows are still worth a watch, and boy, is "My So-Called Life" certainly still worth a watch.

While its depiction of teen life circa the mid-'90s might feel very much of its time, particularly when it comes to the music, the clothing, and the overall vibe, there is still a timeless quality to the angst depicted therein. Every generation of current or former teenagers can find themselves in one of the show's characters, be it hopelessly lovelorn Angela Chase (Claire Danes), aloof pretty boy Jordan Catalano (Jared Leto), substance-addicted free spirit Rayanne Graff (A.J. Langer), overachiever Sharon Cherski (Devon Odessa), homophobic abuse victim Rickie Vasquez (Wilson Cruz), and so on. That's a big part of the reason why "My So-Called Life" has sustained such a lasting legacy for nearly 30 years, since its cancellation after a run of only 19 episodes.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, may be the victim of child abuse, or has experienced a hate crime, contact the relevant resources below:

• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
• The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.
• The VictimConnect Hotline by phone at 1-855-4-VICTIM or by chat for more information or assistance in locating services to help. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.