# Bad Sitcom Ideas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 28, 2001, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408 "2001-09-28T23:22:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2001, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/21 "2001-09-29T14:40:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jk1245 \* > \*\*I repeatedly hear about the evil that shall not be named (Small Wonder). I never saw it. > > What made it so bad?\*\* Take a look: [http://smallwonder.hispeed.com/Videos/Video1.html](http://smallwonder.hispeed.com/Videos/Video1.html) –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Waldo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Waldo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waldo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2001, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/22 "2001-09-29T16:16:48Z")
When I was a kid and wanted to work in movies or television, “Small Wonder” was my version of a living nightmare. I’ve started downloading the video file linked above just so I can prove to myself that I was right. ---
**Author:** ![Waldo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Waldo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waldo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2001, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/23 "2001-09-29T17:55:06Z")
Oh, wow, was I right. Exposition done with the subtlety and grace of an anvil dropped on the cartoon villian’s head. Acting that would make most high school drama teachers ashamed. An “F-Troop” quality laugh track. Plot holes you could… well, you know. Somehow an electronic robot-girl is depicted of being made of mostly solid plastic. Where are the wires and motors? Somehow the solid plastic has also transformed into a skin-like pliable surface. Apparently he did a fantastic job on mimicking the human blink rate. Amazing! I wonder how the kids in this show feel about it now. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2001, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/24 "2001-09-30T13:11:27Z")
[The Duck Factory](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0086702) Bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!! I knew that some stuff Carey did was bad but I have NEVER thought anything that he had done could be so boring. [DAG](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0247085) if only because I’ve been to Australia and I know what a dag is. ewwww, RESEARCH!!! Another vote for Small Wonder, with Punky Brewster close behind. Although if there was a reunion show for that I’d watch it. grrrrrrrowow I thought Herman’s Head was a stupid idea for a show but I did end up liking it. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/25 "2001-10-01T02:15:50Z")
Ooh, how could I have forgotten **Kids Incorporated** Disney at its worst. ---
**Author:** ![pezwookiee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@pezwookiee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezwookiee)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/26 "2001-10-01T03:36:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by watsonwil \* > \*\*My all time fave was Oops. It lasted four weeks. It was about a group of survivors after a nuclear war. It was a comedy! They fought off giant cockroaches. It was excellently bad. \*\* . I can’t believe **watsonwil** beat me to it! As soon as I read the title of this thread, I thought of **Oops!**. I especially thought the liberal use of footage of atom bomb explosions in the opening credits was classy. And yeah, anything with Billy Conelly. What happened to him? Wait, nevermind - I don’t care. (oh, by the way, one guy from Head of the Class was one of the detectives on New York Undercover. Does that count for something?) ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/27 "2001-10-01T03:45:29Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by pezwookiee \* \*\* > [@](#): > > \*(oh, by the way, one guy from Head of the Class was one of the detectives on New York Undercover. Does that count for something?) \*\* Yeah. He was a later addition to the class. Definitely counts. Also, Dawn Prior joined the cast. She went on to play Richard Pryor’s daughter. The principal had a bit part in In the Line of Fire. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/28 "2001-10-01T04:14:09Z")
In the area of **Small Wonder** , wasn’t there another show where the daughter was part alien? **After M_A_S_H_** was pretty crappy, if memory serves. Then there’s that show where Bob Cat Goldthwait’s the voice of a rabbit in some guy’s basement. ---
**Author:** ![pezwookiee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@pezwookiee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezwookiee)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/29 "2001-10-01T04:19:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\*In the area of **Small Wonder** , wasn’t there another show where the daughter was part alien? > \*\* **Out of This World** , but I kinda liked this show. She could freeze time but touching her two pointer fingers together! Cool! How many times have a tried that to get out of a situation? And it had a good theme song sequence IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![pezwookiee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@pezwookiee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezwookiee)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/30 "2001-10-01T04:22:00Z")
On the flip side, **That’s My Bush!** was a great idea that was poorly executed. It should have been live so they could keep it topical. And I would have made it more politically biting. Oh well, I guess it’s good it was canceled before the terrorist attacks. That would have been some bad news. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/31 "2001-10-01T05:29:00Z")
I Was A Sixth Grade Alien. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/32 "2001-10-01T17:12:12Z")
[The PJs](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0182621). And why hasn’t [The Hughleys](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0168337) been cancelled yet? ---
**Author:** ![serack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@serack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/serack)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/33 "2001-10-01T19:01:33Z")
PJs got funy after the fist few episodes. What’s so bad about the IDEA behind that show? ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/34 "2001-10-01T19:46:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Smeghead \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by MGibson \* > > **My personal favorite was The Charmings from the late 80’s. It was all about Prince Charming and Snow White waking up in modern day California all all the wonderful hijinks that would occur.** > > I’m so ashamed. I remember this show. At one point, someone says “fiddlesticks,” and someone else gasps at their use of the “F word.” Har dee har har. > > As for the question of bad sitcom ideas, one word will suffice: Emeril. \*\* _cough_ I was looking through old video tapes a while ago and discovered one where I still had about 10 minutes of one episode of the Charmings. It was before a James Bond movie that I, for some reason, felt the need to save. Heck, if you’re desperate enough for bad 80’s sitcoms, I could digitize it with my tv-tuner card and put it up for download, although I have no idea why anyone would willingly go through that pain. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pezwookiee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@pezwookiee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezwookiee)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/35 "2001-10-01T22:07:43Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by slortar \* \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Smeghead \* > Heck, if you’re desperate enough for bad 80’s sitcoms, I could digitize it with my tv-tuner card and put it up for download, although I have no idea why anyone would willingly go through that pain. 😃 \*\* If anyone has any episodes of **Oops!** , I’d dig a copy, just so I can prove to friends that it existed. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/36 "2001-10-01T23:37:50Z")
Proof that it existed, you say? How about [the IMDB entry for “Woops!”](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0103583) (as it was actually called)? That show was the first thing that came to mind when I saw this thread title, as well. Some others from way back when: [Nearly Departed](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0096659) - a deceased British upper-class couple still inhabit their house, which is newly occupied by crass Americans. Only Grandpa can see the deceased. Starred Eric Idle, which was the only reason I watched. And in the same vein… [Jennifer Slept Here](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0085038) - A family moves into a house occupied by the ghost of a movie star, and only their teenage son can see her. Starred Ann Jillian. And what, gentle readers, does the above teach us? **Death don’t make for light comedy!** ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Fool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Green\_Fool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Fool)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/37 "2001-10-01T23:47:14Z")
I’ll be plugging [jumptheshark.com](http://jumptheshark.com) right now. Anyone who loves (or hates) bad TV needs to book mark this site. The Charmings was one of my fanorite shows as a kid. It was Prince Charming, Snow White, their kids, and the evil Queen as the Mother In-Law, and I can’t forget the Mirror, played by the guy who played the Captain of the Reliant in Star Trek Wrath of Kahn. The Queen cast a spell on them which backfired and ended up sending them into the future (present day. Most of the comedy came from the Charming family being so sugary-sweet that they were wholly unprepared for the real world. One scene that sticks out is the Prince gets a job as a used car dealer but is horrible at it becuase he is honest and good. He is leaving for work one day and right outside the front door is a snail crawling across the path. “Oh please hurry little snail, I’m late for work.” So he stands there and is waiting for the snail to pass. Meanwhile the Queen casts a spell on him in order to make him able to do what he needs to do to sell cars. The spell takes affect as he is waiting for snail. He immediately steps on the snail and says, “Time is money pal.” and heads off to work. Another episode that I remember is that the Queen somehow brings Cinderella to the future in order to break up Snow and the Prince, because Cinderella is of course his ex-girlfriend. The show was moved to a timeslot opposite the Cosby Show which still rules the ratings. But they actually joked in the promos announcing the switch that they were going to get killed in the ratings and acutally named the Cosby show. OOPS was another show I foundly remembered. One character survived the nuclear blast because he was in his FIA or some Swedish car, and the joke was that the country with the highest suicide rate made the only car taht could survive armageddon. I remember hearing that the show was doomed because there was now concievable way they could have guest stars. Which is silly since there is always a way you cna right in more survivors. SMALL WONDER is a nother classic. As well as Learning the Ropes, a show about a high school teacher who moonlighted as a masked prowrestler. Lyle Alzado starred. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/38 "2001-10-02T00:53:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lamia \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by SpoilerVirgin \* > > **A classic of the genre is [I Married Dora](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0092377) (“the only sitcom based on a felony!”). It was about a guy who married his housekeeper so she wouldn’t be deported.** > > I don’t think this was the only sitcom based on that particular felony. I dimly remember seeing at least the pilot for a sitcom about a single mother who married a Scottish man to keep him from being deported. I believe the actor playing that role was Billy Connolly, but I couldn’t swear to it. \*\* I remember one called something like “Micky and Mikhail” about a woman living with a Russian ballet dancer to help him stay in the country. Of course, they had to convince the state department that he was worth political asylum, as well as dealing with immigration. The Soviets wanted him back, naturally. Unfortunately, IMDB doesn’t seem to remember it. Maybe it was a bad dream. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/39 "2001-10-02T01:04:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by watsonwil \* > \*\*[hijack] > Has ANYONE from that show gone on to do anything, other than Robbing Tyson…errr…Robin Givens? With a cast that big (and young) it is a suprise that no did anything. > [/hijack] \*\* Why, oh why, do I know the answer to this? The guy who played Eric (the too-cool-for-honors-class guy) is a rather successful director named [Brian Robbins](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Robbins,+Brian+(I)). He directed Varsity Blues, Ready to Rumble, and that Keanu Reeves movie that came out last week, Hardball. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408/40 "2001-10-02T01:07:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Max Torque \* > **[Jennifer Slept Here](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0085038) - A family moves into a house occupied by the ghost of a movie star, and only their teenage son can see her. Starred Ann Jillian.** \*\* WHOA! I remember that one. NBC? It’s amazing how the memories can come flooding back. I thought I’d blocked them out! HAPPY PLACE! I’m IN MY HAPPY PLACE!!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sitcom-ideas/84408.md?page=3)