‘The Fitzpatricks’ was an American drama series that aired on CBS in 1977. The coming-of-age story followed a traditional, Irish-catholic family of six that lived in Michigan. But, despite its moral lessons and cheery actors, viewers weren’t impressed.
After just thirteen episodes, the show was pulled off the air in January 1978, proving a failure against its same time-slot competitors from other networks, ‘Happy Days’ and ‘Laverne & Shirley.’
Firehouse
'Firehouse' was very unsuccessful. It was loosely based on NBC's very popular show, 'Emergency!'. Released in 1974, 'Firehouse' was an adventure drama TV show about a father-like firefighter veteran that takes younger, newly-recruited firefighters under his wing. The cast included James Drury, Brad David, Michael Delano, Richard Jaeckel, and more.
Even though the spin-off was also inspired by the best-selling book, 'Report from Engine Co. 28', written by an actual veteran firefighter, it was extremely unsuccessful as a TV show. ABC canceled the show after 13 disastrous episodes.
Hee Haw Honeys
The 1978 TV show 'Hee Haw Honeys' was released as a spin-off to the original and far more successful, 'Hee Haw.' The original show had featured star-studded guests like Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty, but the show's permanent cast, which also included stars like Misty Rowe and Kathie Lee Gifford, wasn't enough to take the spin-off to hit status.
'Hee Haw Honeys' was listed by TV Guide as one of the worst shows ever made and received plenty of bad reviews. However, a lot of viewers seemed to love it. But, that was clearly not enough, and the show was pulled off the air after just one season.
Supertrain
'Supertrain' was released by NBC in 1979, and it included a talented cast that included Nita Talbot, Robert Alda, Aarika Wells, Michael Delano, Edward Andrews, and more. The story followed a modern, nuclear-powered bullet train that was so advanced it could travel from NYC to California in just 36 hours, which was incredible back in the '70s.
'Supertrain' was one of the most costly American TV shows ever produced, but even that wasn't enough to keep the network from canceling it after just nine episodes.
The New Land
Released on ABC in 1974, 'The New Land' was a unique adventure series that was based on the 1971 Swedish film, 'The Emigrants.' The American adaptation cast Bonnie Bedelia and Scott Thomas as the leading roles, and even though the story was a hit as a film three years prior, the series didn't see the same success.
The acting was fine, including a good performance by the talented Donald Moffat as reverend Lundstrom, the wilderness landscapes were beautiful, and everything was in place to be a success. But after airing only six of the produced 13 episodes, the show got pulled off the air a month after its release.