48 years ago, Batman was cancelled after three seasons. What other "cult-favorite" shows were cancelled too soon?

Batman wasn't the only show that ended in the Spring of 1968. The Man From UNCLE ended abruptly after four seasons. Lost in Space, The Monkees and The Prisoner all ended, too. As the '60's ended, there was what was called the "Rural Purge", shows like The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction were all cancelled in favor of landmark shows like All in the Family.

Last Spring, Huffington Post compiled the most watched series finales. The Top 5 included Friends, Seinfeld, The Fugitive, Cheers and M*A*S*H. You can see the complete list here.

It's not easy for a television program to catch on and find an audience. Harder still to keep viewers' attention.

Here are the Top 5 shows were cancelled too quickly and too soon. Have a look at the list. Is there a show that you remember being a fan of that isn't included? Share that one in the comments.

  • Getty Images
    Getty Images
    loading...
    5

    Twin Peaks

    Twin Peaks ran for two seasons on ABC in the 1990's before being cancelled. It was about an FBI agent coming to town to investigate the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer. The crime was solved early in the second season. The show tried to be more about the quirky town than the mystery, but when the show was bounced around from time slot to time slot, viewers gave up. The show is coming back early next year on Showtime with more current stories.

  • Getty Images
    Getty Images
    loading...
    4

    Freaks and Geeks

    Jason Segel, Seth Rogen and James Franco all got their start on NBC's Freaks and Geeks. The show only aired for one season, from 1999 to 2000. Segel moved on to the long-running How I Met Your Mother, and, like Rogen and Franco a successful movie career. It's one of those shows that nobody noticed until after it was gone. The stars have both outgrown and moved on from the high school setting of the show.

  • Michael Buckner
    Michael Buckner
    loading...
    3

    Veronica Mars

    Kristen Bell's Veronica Mars on the UPN/WB network was such a cult favorite, that when a Kickstarter was launched to revived the show - that was cancelled after three seasons - it funded the $2 Million dollars for a feature film in just 10 hours! The 2014 film was more successful than the original series which aired from 2004 to 2007.

  • Jesse Grant/Getty Images
    Jesse Grant/Getty Images
    loading...
    2

    Arrested Development

    Seven years after being cancelled by FOX, Netflix revived Arrested Development for a Fourth Season. 15 episodes were produced and streamed and everyone from series producer Ron Howard to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings would like to produce more episodes for future seasons and possibly develop a film. As Ron Howard put it, it's all about putting the Bluth family on viewers' radar.

  • Getty Images
    Getty Images
    loading...
    1

    Firefly

    Firefly has got to be the number one, top cult favorite. Only fourteen episodes aired on FOX before the show was cancelled in 2002. Legend has it that the episodes were aired out of order, and viewers were left scratching their heads. This was sort of a rough patch for series creator Joss Whedon. He'd had success with Buffy The Vampire Slayer. He's had success with two Avengers films since. Firefly was that one unique, quirky program that just didn't catch on. The series was wrapped up with a film in 2005.

More From Y-105FM