10 Most Quickly Canceled TV Shows

These tropes are so overused, they're not funny anymore

(NEWSER) - If you're tired of hearing sitcom characters joke that they just threw up in their mouths or ironically comment, "That went well," after something decidedly didn't, you're not alone. On Vulture , Margaret Lyons lists 10 overused TV situations and lines she'd be happy to never hear again:

• "And by [thing], I of course mean [opposite of thing]." Lyons would say, "Chandler Bing called and he wants his ironic detachment back," except that joke is "even more overdone."
• "He's standing right behind me, isn't he?" Sure, it is plausible that in real life, a person might be caught gossiping. "But no one has ever actually, authentically said, 'She's standing right behind me, isn't she?'"

As Playboy clubs are relaunched, show about clubs arrives

(NEWSER) - Playboy is coming to primetime. NBC ordered the pilot of the imaginatively-titled Playboy, a one-hour drama about the Playboy bunnies working in a Chicago Playboy club in the 1960s. There were once 22 Playboy clubs around the world, but all closed by 1991, Variety notes. The show arrives just as they may be experiencing a comeback, with new locations in Las Vegas and Macau. Also in TV-related Playboy news: Read about how the Playboy channel is reinventing itself by trying to appeal to women. More»

Did we really need the first 'Love Boat,' let alone the second?

(NEWSER) - Hollywood is constantly churning out movie remakes that really should never have been greenlighted, but TV doesn’t get off scot-free. The Huffington Post lists 11 boob-tube remakes we really never needed to see:

• Knight Rider: “The original starring The Hoff is a camp classic,” writes Ross Luippold, but “not even Will Arnett, who was cast as the voice of KITT until being replaced by Val Kilmer, could save this dud.”
• The Love Boat: “The 1970s were encapsulated in The Love Boat: polyester clothes, soft lighting, and a swingin' good time.” Something that time-sensitive should never be remade.

It's sort of like the roommate version of $#*! My Dad Says

(NEWSER) - Fresh off the premiere of its first Twitter-based comedy, CBS is developing another. The network acquired a script deal for Shh … Don’t Tell Steve, based on a Twitter feed about a guy secretly tweeting everything his slob of a roommate does (sample: “Steve, just now, yelling from our bathroom: ‘Total Asparagus pee bro! Come smell!’”). The network's first Twitcom, $#*! My Dad Says , premiered last week. Steve will be produced by Twitter king Ashton Kutcher , according to the Hollywood Reporter . More»

Forget new shows: You're missing out on these old shows

(NEWSER) - This fall, instead of trying to figure out what NBC's sure-to-be-mystifying The Event is actually about, why not pick up a great show that's already on the air? Kevin Fallon gives his 12 picks in The Atlantic :

• Cougar Town: Don't count Fallon among the many Cougar Town haters . He calls the Courteney Cox show one of "television's strongest ensemble comedies," a "sharply written sitcom about a quirky group of friends and neighbors."
• In Treatment: Don't be scared by its unusual format (often, "the screen is shared by just two actors for an entire episode"): Gabriel Byrne 's show about therapy is "one of the finest acting showcases in television."