10 Failed TV Shows That Became Cult Classics

7. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

With Terminator 3 being received rather tepidly by fans, it made all the sense in the world for the property to leap to the TV medium, and so Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was born.

Now, the show certainly had some early stumbles: the first few episodes weren't great nor barely even good, and this being a Fox show, it couldn't offer up the R-rated brutality of the three prior movies (yes, even the third one).

But what really kept the show chugging along during those growing pains was the cast, especially a typically brilliant Lena Headey as Sarah Connor and Summer Glau as benevolent Terminator Cameron. Over the course of the show, Thomas Dekker also became a decidedly more interesting and likeable John Connor.

With a reliably terrific supporting cast including Garret Dillahunt, Dean Winters, Brian Austin Green and eventually even Garbage front-woman Shirley Manson, it certainly didn't want for talent.

The first season performed well as a mid-season replacement, though things quickly took a bad turn in season two, tumbling from the first season's ratings low of 7.12 million to a brutal 2.96 million.

A mere three days before the release of Terminator Salvation, Fox announced the show's cancellation, to the frustration of fans who had seen the series grow in scope and nuance over its 31 aired episodes.

Making matters worse was ending the show on a tantalising - and ultimately, frustrating - cliffhanger, and the show's increasing lack of relevance within the extremely muddy Terminator continuity.

Still, given the sorry state the Terminator franchise has been in as of late, it's no wonder fans are still pining for a continuation - one that's definitely never happening.