Obscure TV Series from the Past and Where to Watch Them Now

Here’s a list of odd, strange or what-were-they-thinking TV series from the past. From sitcom spin-offs to sci-fi fright fests, some of these shows were very popular at the time, others, not so much. Some shows never quite had a chance of sticking around for more than one season, but they still managed to score a good number of episodes. And for others, well, they were just gems ahead of their time. One thing that they all have in common, most of them are almost forgotten today.

If you’re not old enough to remember these shows, maybe you’ve heard your parents talk about them and thought that they were gone for good. Not so. Here’s a fairly short list with info on where to watch them today.

Alf

Aired on NBC from 1986 – 1990
Lasting longer on the small screen than it should have, Alf (Alien Life Form) crash lands into the home of a suburban family and into the hearts of many. Perhaps the most well-known series on the list but it still begs the question: why was it made?
Notable stars: Max Wright, Anne Schedeen
Where to watch: Crackle, Peacock, Pluto TV, Redbox, Roku, Shout TV, Tubi, Vudu

Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century

Aired on NBC from 1979 – 1980
Poor 20^th century Buck Rogers. He was an astronaut who wakes up after 500 years of suspended animation in the 25^th century. Good thing he didn’t need a nap. He became the Earth’s greatest hero. At least for two seasons.
Notable stars: Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Mel Blanc
Where to watch: Prime Video

Davey and Goliath

Syndicated from 1961 – 1973
Created by the Lutheran Church in America, this stop-motion animated children’s series featured Davey and his dog Goliath and how they learned about God’s love with their friends and even enemies.
Notable star: Paul Frees
Where to watch: Crackle, Hoopla, Plex, Prime Video, Pure Flix, Roku, Tubi

(Alf, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Farscape. Images: Wikipedia)

Fantasy Island (1988)

Aired on ABC in 1988
Reboot of the classic series only this time, it was a bit darker. And no Tattoo.
Notable stars: Malcolm McDowell, Madchen Amick
Where to watch: Tubi, YouTube

Farscape

Aired on Syfy from 1999 – 2003
Talk about your bad days. After a freak accident at an experimental space mission, astronaut John Crichton is thrown across a thousand or so galaxies to an alien battlefield.
Notable stars: Ben Browder, Claudia Black
Where to watch: Apple TV, Crackle, Fubo, Peacock, Pluto, Prime Video, Roku, Shout TV, Tubi, Vudu

Ghost Story / Circle of Fear

Aired on NBC from 1972 – 1973
This anthology series was named both Ghost Story and A Circle of Fear featuring tales of the supernatural. Much like Alfred Hitchcock did on his TV series, the host provided some tongue-and-cheek humor to the scary tales.
Notable star: Sebastian Cabot
Where to watch: YouTube

Gloria

Aired on CBS from 1982 – 1983
All in the Family spun-off quite a few successful TV series including The Jeffersons and Maude. This one, featuring the daughter Gloria Stivic and how she moved on after her divorce from “Meathead”, didn’t fare as well.
Notable stars: Sally Struthers, Burgess Meredith
Where to watch: YouTube

Logan’s Run

Aired on CBS from 1977 – 1978
Based on the 1976 sci-fi movie of the same name, Logan is on the run, because he just turned 30 and apparently in the future, it’s a death sentence. He goes running in search of sanctuary.
Notable stars: Gregory Harrison, Heather Menzies
Where to watch: YouTube

(Man from Atlantis and My Favorite Martian. Images: Wikipedia)

Man from Atlantis

Aired from NBC from 1977 – 1978
This adventures series featured a surviving member of the land of Atlantis. The amphibious man, with piercing green eyes could breathe underwater, could withstand extreme depth pressures and had superhuman strength.
Notable star: Patrick Duffy
Where to watch: Prime Video, YouTube

Max Headroom

Aired on ABC from 1987 – 1988
This Emmy award-winning bizarre comedy adventure takes place in the near future where an investigative TV news reporter is aided by a computerized version of himself.
Notable star: Matt Frewer
Where to watch: Prime Video, Vudu

My Favorite Martian

Aired on CBS from 1963 – 1966
Perhaps the most successful show on this list, it remains fairly forgotten. Exigius Twelve-and-a-half, a Martian crash lands on earth and is befriended by newspaper reporter who pretends the alien is his uncle. His TV “rabbit ears” antennas was his best feature.
Notable stars: Ray Walston, Bill Bixby
Where to watch: Prime Video, Vudu

My Two Dads

Aired on NBC from 1987 – 1990
This “progressive” (and Emmy award-winning) sitcom featured a young teen girl who lives with two straight men, one of which is her father, but it was never revealed which one that was. Neither “dad” knew for sure either.
Notable stars: Paul Reiser, Greg Evigan, Dick Butkus
Where to watch: Fubo, Tubi

Napoleon Dynamite

Aired on FOX in 2012
After the movie Napoleon Dynamite was a surprise hit, FOX couldn’t wait to air a new animated show featuring voices of the original cast. Only six episodes were produced, and the reception was mixed.
Notable stars: Jon Heder, Aaron Ruell, Sandy Martin, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino, Jon Gries, Diedrich Bader
Where to watch: Tubi

No Ordinary Family

Aired on ABC from 2010 – 2011
This comedy/sci-fi/superhero show featured the Powell family who live in Pacific Bay, California but obtained superpowers (including super strength, power walking, telepathy and photographic memory) after their plane crash-landed in the Amazon in Brazil.
Notable stars: Michael Chiklis, Julie Benz, Kay Panabaker, Jimmy Bennett, Stephen Collins
Where to watch: ABC.com

Quark

Aired on NBC from 1977 – 1978
Created by Buck Henry (Get Smart), this sci-fi parody series features the “adventures” of the space crew aboard a garbage-collecting spaceship.
Notable star: Richard Benjamin
Where to watch: Fubo, Philo, Prime Video

(Soap, The Flying Nun and Quark. Images: Wikipedia)

Soap

Aired on ABC from 1977 – 1981
This award-winning soap opera parody sitcom featured multiple characters from two families: The rich Tate family and the middle-class Campbell family. Each episode featured multiple storylines with implausible plot points and every episode was “to be continued.”
Notable stars: Billy Crystal, Cathryn Damon, Robert Guillaume, Katherine Helmond, Howard Hesseman, Gordon Jump, Richard Mulligan, Robert Urich
Where to watch: Prime Video, Tubi, YouTube

Sledge Hammer!

Aired on ABC from 1986 – 1988
Another parody comedy, this time featuring an outrageous cop, Inspector Sledge Hammer. Two writers for The Simpsons are partially responsible for this spoof comedy show.
Notable stars: David Rasche, Anne-Marie Martin, Harrison Page
Where to watch: YouTube

The Flying Nun

Aired on ABC from 1967 – 1970
Yes, there really was a sitcom about a young Sister Bertrille who could fly in order to help others in need. It wasn’t biblically correct.
Notable stars: Sally Field, Madeleine Sherwood, Marge Redmond, Shelley Morrison
Where to watch: Roku, Prime Video, Tubi, YouTube

Three’s A Crowd

Aired on ABC from 1984 – 1985
For some reason, Three’s Company was a huge hit for ABC who didn’t want to see it go when the show ended. This continuation spin-off began one week later with Jack Tripper, his new wife and father-in-law. Believe it or not, it did worse than Three’s Company other spin-off, The Ropers.
Notable stars: John Ritter, Mary Cadorette, Robert Mandan
Where to watch: Tubi

V (2009)

Aired on ABC from 2009 – 2011
A remake/reboot of the original creepy 1983 miniseries that aired on NBC and lasted a lot longer. The premise was about a giant UFO’s hovering over Earth filled with reptilian “visitors” with a human-looking skin covering.
Notable stars: Elizabeth Mitchell, Scott Wolf
Where to watch: Tubi

What’s Happening!!

Aired on ABC from 1976 – 1979
Sitcom about three African American teens, a nosey little sister and one big momma living life in Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles. A syndicated revival of the show, What’s Happening Now!! aired from 1985 to 1988.
Notable stars: Ernest Lee Thomas, Haywood Nelson, Fred Berry, Mabel King, Shirley Hemphill
Where to watch: YouTube