Obscure TV shows that you like?

I noticed that there weren't really any "obscure whatever" threads on the wiki specifically dedicated to live-action TV shows, and decided since I'm kinda bored right now, why not make such a thread, just for funsies? I guess it turned into an "obscure TV shows in general" thread, though, so I'll accept cartoons and anime here as well.

Anyway, what are some of the obscurest TV shows that you like (or remember liking) and think could use some more love? For me, I'm not actually too sure of any I take a specific liking to, but I think the obscurest show I've made a trope page for is the CBBC series Planet Ajay, which was found in its entirety back in April after being in tape circulation hell for around 8-9 years.

Edited by SparkPlugTheTroper on Jul 14th 2018 at 10:25:08 AM

Profit, a 9 episode wonder starring Adrian Pasdar as a Corrupt Corporate Executive Villain Protagonist with a Dark and Troubled Past.

Ah, thanks. I posted it in the Live-Action TV part of the forums since I mostly had live-action shows in mind.

I barely watch any live-action shows in general but one of the few I do watch certainly counts as obscure (outside of Japan)... Game Center CX. Love seeing Arino play all those different games :D

Kappa Mikey.

If anyone knows/remembers this show, then you gain 50 respect points from me.

I remember it. I only watched a few episodes, though.

I originally intended this thread to be for live-action TV shows. But, since it's now in the Yack Fest, which doesn't really focus on any specific types of TV shows, I guess I'll accept animated shows here as well (that includes anime, too). I've actually heard of Kappa Mikey before, by the way.

Oh, speaking of animated TV shows, Spliced. It's about Mix-and-Match Critters on an island where they have to make their own civilization with what little knowledge they have of the outside world. And it's both pretty good and unfortunately underrated, go check it out on YouTube.

Edited by SparkPlugTheTroper on Jul 12th 2018 at 5:45:12 AM

Since we can include anime here, does anyone know about Ghost Hound? I watched this anime many years ago and really liked it. It was made by Production I.G. and Masamune Shirow. It was a supernatural anime.

Edited by pointless233 on Jul 12th 2018 at 4:04:00 AM

How obscure is the Nancy Drew TV show from 1995? I remember liking that one. :)

• He & She — critically-acclaimed one-season wonder starring Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss. A sort of 60s precursor to the more “sophisticated” sitcoms of the 70s.
• On Our Own — female-fronted workplace comedy from the late 70s. I loved it as a wee one but I recently caught a couple of episodes, and it hasn’t really held up.
• The League Of Gentlemen — does this count? I guess it has a cult following in the UK, but on this side of the Atlantic it was kind of out-shone by the more conventional/less outré Little Britain. I own the entire series on DVD (including the last season, which I don’t think ever aired on American TV and just went straight to home video).

I once binge-watched a old Thames sitcom that only ran one season in 1977 called Odd Man Out. It had John Inman and Josephine Tewson in it. It was about the adventures of a man named Neville who inherits his late father's rock factory. It got released on DVD in the UK but it's pretty much unknown here in the USA. Quite a shame though, because it's as hilarious as AYBS?.

Edited by EeveeGirlChey on Jul 29th 2018 at 4:05:29 AM

Was watching Kong: King of the Apes a while back. It's harmless but painfully cheesy. I really enjoyed myself despite this, I found the pacing was very good.

Edited by ParaChomp on Jul 29th 2018 at 9:20:56 AM

There hasn't been any activity in this thread since July. I might as well say something to see if it gets some activity going here again.

Here is another obscure animated show I'm familiar with: Simple Samosa, which is obscure at least outside of its native India. This show airs on the Disney Channel in that country, and is about the adventures of four friends who are anthropomorphic Indian foods. Finding all of the episodes on YouTube, ESPECIALLY the English versions, is surprisingly challenging (case in point: good luck finding the episodes "Makhi Makhi" and "Jalebi's Birthday" in English; the English versions of those episodes were uploaded to YouTube by Disney Channel India themselves, but it's region-blocked outside of India and the other uploads of those episodes that aren't region-blocked are mostly the Hindi versions UPDATE 9/13/18: The English episodes that Disney Channel India uploaded got un-region blocked!), which is made worse by the fact that there are no lists of all the episodes anywhere online yet.

Edited by SparkPlugTheTroper on Sep 13th 2018 at 7:51:20 AM

The live-action TV show of Animorphs is narmy as all heck, but I still kind of enjoy it for those reasons. It fails as an adaptation, but it's good if you have time to kill and want to laugh at something cheesy. Despite the fact that it's campy and not at all faithful to the books, I can't hate it. It does have a genuinely good theme song, though.

It's never been released on DVD, though, so good luck finding a VHS tape.

Edited by Spottedleaf on Sep 12th 2018 at 10:46:01 AM

Future Cop. Incredibly cheesy, but I really love the titular robot, and Michael J. Shannon is so good in the role. I wish it had lasted ten seasons instead of just a handful of episodes.

Millennium. Maybe obscure is overstating it, but it doesn't get enough love in the popular consciousness.

My grandmother gave me that entire show once. I just have trouble getting into TV shows that I've only seen a couple of episodes.

Ghosted. I always really liked it- there aren't enough paranormal comedies out there, in my opinion, and the chemistry between the two leads was excellent. Its cancellation left a few things unfinished, and the tonal switch halfway through was... something (I personally find the first half better), but it holds a special place in my heart.

Rox, probably one of the most obscure series here. I discovered this show while I was looking through the web series page on Wikipedia. It's really weird and funny and has my sense of humor.

Battle for Dream Island. I would give a quick synopsis, but it's kinda too crazy to explain in just a short paragraph.

I've never personally seen it, but I've heard a lot about it and ran into quite a few fans of it, so I wouldn't exactly call that obscure.

Speaking of "not exactly obscure", I never really hear anyone talk about classic sitcoms very much, although many of them are pretty good. I think the ones I hear about the least are The Burns and Allen Show,^note a sitcom that predated I Love Lucy Dennis the Menace, ^note  based on the American comic strip of the same name Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.^note  a spin-off of The Andy Griffith Show, that I think is actually better, Maude ^note  Frequently overshadowed by All in the Family (which it spun off from), The Golden Girls (which shared two of the lead actresses) and that time Maude got an abortion, What's Happening!!^note which I doubt anyone else on this site has even seen, Gimme a Break!^note I just put this note here 'cause all the other ones have them, Amen ^note which is known for starring Sherman Hemsley post-The Jeffersons and nothing else, Growing Pains^note which is known for the behind-the-scenes drama with Kirk Cameron and nothing else and Head of the Class ^note  which is known for having Dan Schneider in the cast and nothing else.

If we added cartoons to the list, it would grow exponentially.

I consider myself in between mainstream and obscure in terms of taste and Ive never heard of that web animation mentioned above Chill :)

but youve encouraged me to take a look

Sorry, I was referring to Battle for Dream Island, Ive literally never heard of it.

Edited by antenna_ears on Nov 2nd 2020 at 7:10:09 AM

I don't know if I read that wrong, but none of the shows I listed are web animations. They're actual Live-Action TV shows.

If you've checked my suggestion out, I hope you like it! I'll share something: my favorite character is Rocky.