Every now and then, a sitcom comes along that isn't just forgettable, it's unforgettably bad. We aren't saying we can do better, mind you, we're just saying that it's unbelievable that some comedies progress through multiple stages of development and make it to TV screens while still being irredeemably awful. The latest show to make us shake our heads is The Paul Reiser Show, which is all about Paul Reiser's real life, something that hasn't been very interesting since Mad About You (or even, arguably, My Two Dads). And while there have been bad television shows since the birth of the medium, we're going to focus on the ones that are still freshest (and therefore still painful) in our collective memory. Editor's note: After reading the premise of each of these, insert the words "Hijinks ensue."

With yet another report that Damages has seen its final days, it's probably time to accept its demise as a fact, FX official acknowledgment or not. It's really a shame -- there are few legal shows as thrilling and unique as Damages has been (yes, even taking Season 2 into consideration), but for some reason it never found an audience. Maybe the ads made it look boring, maybe people thought it would be too highbrow and complicated for them to enjoy, maybe people are just freaked out by Glenn Close. We'll never know the reason why people didn't want to watch this fantastic, Emmy-winning show, but we do know that we'll miss it something fierce next season. Here are the main reasons why.

Well, the summer TV season is starting, with a wide slated of scripted, reality and animated shows that are designed to somehow make you want to stay home on a warm, pleasant night, when the sun is still up. And some of them will succeed, but a lot of them will not. Even if they're good -- sometimes when they're very good -- summer shows have a high mortality rate, and for every Mad Men and True Blood there's a long trail of great shows that didn't make it past August, or even June. Here are some of the most disappointing cancellations, and why they don't bode well for this summer's shows.

Jim and Pam are having a baby this week on The Office and, unfortunately that's been one of those TV conventions that tends to send shows on a downward spiral. The Office has already barely survived the marriage of two leads (another frequent show killer), so to now add a baby to the mix is just asking for shark-jumping trouble. While a drama like Friday Night Lights, which is built around familial struggles, or a series like Friends, where characters mostly forget about their kids, can sustain their quality levels postpartum, plenty of other programs haven't fared as well after the stork dropped off its little bundle (or two) of joy. Here's a look back at some of the unwelcome arrivals that put a damper on once-successful shows.

Yesterday, Chuck fans everywhere (including devoted TWoP posters) banded together to participate in one of the grand traditions of TV fandom: the grassroots Save Our Show campaign. How? Since Subway is Chuck's biggest sponsor, fans hope that by purchasing a $5 footlong sandwich at Subway and dropping a note in the comment box imploring NBC not to cancel their beloved dramedy, they can sway network execs who are currently deciding the fate of the on-the-bubble series. But plenty of past about-to-be-cancelled shows have spawned even more creative campaigns by desperate fans -- read on to relive some of the successes, and more of the failures. (Hint: Food-based protests don't always work...)

They're outta here. Over and gone. Last year's news. In the words of Monty Python's parrot sketch, these shows have ceased to be. Kicked the bucket, shuffled off the mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible.

They are ex-shows.

Quirky is a weird thing in a TV show. A good thing. And a bad thing. It's fun for those in-the-know to savor. But it can be off-putting for folks who feel on the outside looking in.

Is that the fate befalling Reaper, the CW delight that remains on the bubble as the struggling netlet prepares to announce its fall schedule Tuesday evening?

Hmm. Boston Legal got renewed in March last year. Here it is May, and still no word if producer David E. Kelley's law-'n'-sex romp will make ABC's fall lineup. Since the network announced renewals of half its current slate in February, one has to wonder if William Shatner will have a place to play this fall.

Oh, wait. Shatner always has a place to play.

Ah, sometimes synergy has its rewards. The much-derided corporate cooperation game may yet give us another season of the hospital comedy Scrubs, despite NBC having "cancelled" it.

Thursday, May 8, 2008 could have gone down in history as the comedy's final telecast if that network had its way. And no wonder. Despite its cult fanbase, Scrubs still draws relatively miniscule ratings in NBC's Thursday comedy lineup. (Which is saying something, considering how not-well most of the other series do.) And there's no upside, right? The show's been on the air for seven years. It's not like it's going to "grow" ratings.