Barely surviving: Great shows with not enough episodes

There are thousands of series of shows out there that none of us have heard.  You'd be surprised to know just how many there are.  Most we will never hear because they are lost forever.  And some just have a few surviving episodes, enough to whet our appetite and make us want more.

Here's my short list of those I have heard but wish there were more:

Dr. I.Q. - The Mental Banker:  There are just 3 known surviving episodes but all are fun to the max.  The silver dollars, the candy bars and "I have a lady in the balcony."



Dear Adolph - All surviving episodes exists - but there were only 6 made. A stirring program about actual letters written to Hitler by people in various walks of life.

Here's an sample of the last episode, "Letter From a Foreign-born American":



Johnny Madero, Pier 23 - Essentially an intentional rip-off of Pat Novak For Hire (they could be twin brothers) by the same writers, using Jack Webb as Johnny Madero! There are only 2 surviving episodes but aside from the name and the opening/closing, this is Pat Novak For Hire, period.



Incredible But True: There are actually quite a few of these available but they are so short (about three and a half minutes long) and zip by so fast, you miss it as soon as it's gone. A really cool show that if they had made a thousand episodes and all were available, it still wouldn't be enough.




©Jimbo 2010/2011