Here’s the thread to talk about horrendous sitcoms that miraculously made it the air after the pilot episode, which should have kept it from being broadcast if the network execs had any common sense.
Anyone remember that sitcom with Pauly Shore? How long did that last?
“Pauly” 5 espisdoes Summer '97
http://us.imdb.com/Guests?0118423
My nomination would be Life with Lucy (yet another Lucy comeback vehicle)
Horrible. 12 episodes Summer '86 but I saw them on Nick, maybe all 12. The review this page says it all.
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0090473
There was the triple-whammy from just a couple of years ago, when the networks decided to air Bette and The Geena Davis Show as vehicles for Bette Midler and Geena Davis. And, at the same time, a show called Welcome to New York started airing as well, with Christine Baranski. Pathetic, horrible, sad excuses for sitcoms. I don’t think any one of them made it past 10 shows.
There was another from a few years ago involving a May-December romance between an older woman and a younger man; I caught the pilot and was awed at its awfulness. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the title; I only remember that the man worked in a hotel, delivering for room service as I recall (which is how they met).
And a fond “neener neener” to all the Seinfeld supporting actors who tried and failed to have careers after Seinfeld. I believe that The Michael Richards Show, Bob Patterson, and Watching Ellie all failed within 6 episodes.
Small Wonder
I believe that, like the Holocaust, we must remember “Jennifer Slept Here,” so that we can make sure that it never happens again.
Hey, I invoked the Nazis. Does that mean the discussion is over?
Just realized I shoulda named two recent “gimmick” shows that ended quickly: Inside Schwartz and Baby Bob. And the fact that they were billed as the Second Coming of Comedy or something makes it even sadder.
Watching Ellie wasn’t cancelled was it? There were only a few episodes of it made and it’s supposed to come back next year I thought with a few more episodes along with the two left over from this season.
Ellie was definitely better than Bob Patterson or The Michael Richards Show
I can’t remember the title of Joan Cusack’s show, but it was pretty bad. And I so much wanted to like it.
Ellie’s coming back for NBC, and I agree it was good, but I watched Andy Richter’s show instead of it.
What About Joan is the name of Cusack’s old show
Costello was pretty bad.
Does anyone remember that awful show Kristen? About the uptight Christian girl who comes to NYC to work for a slimey millionaire. Man, that was bad.
Wow, I DO remember that and am also totally blanking on the name of it. I don’t even remember who starred in it (if anyone.)
I actually liked the Geena Davis show, but the son looked disturbingly like Joanie Cunningham.
I’m going to be a total witch and say The Andy Richter Show because I thought it was horrible. I know everyone else here liked it though, hehe.
Leslie Nielsen’s Police Squad might fall into this category, but I thought it was great!
"Payne", an awful “Fawlty Towers” ripoff starring John Larroquette and Jobeth Williams, softened up for our more politically correct times; the “Manuel” character’s ethnicity was never specified so he spoke in some sort of bizarre, made-up accent. Oof.
and There It Went…
The phenomenon in general happened with a lot of prime time cartoons hoping to cash in on the Simpsons craze.
For some reason, Fish Police stands out in that regard.
Which reminds me: Stressed Eric. A cartoon about a guy whose life is hideous and stressful. I can get that from my own life, thankyaverymuch. They say it aired for three episodes, but I only saw one, and I don’t remember even seeing it on the schedule after that. Hideously unfunny.
Not to mention God, the Devil, and Bob…
“Turn On”. ABC’s feeble attempt to replicate “Laugh-In”. Two shows were shot, but only one was aired. It was hosted by Tim Conway. I have never seen it. In fact, there’s some debate on whether or not the second show was actually made.
This is the kind of thing I wished Rhino would get a hold of and sell. I can imagine a whole series of one-shot shows and failed pilots.
They DID release a collection of really bad TV shows called “TV Turkeys”. The highlight? DeForest “Bones” Kelly in a show about suicide attempts! In it, he’s a down-on-his-luck guy who loses his job and is about to be evected from his boarding house. He decides to end it all by turning on his gas hot plate. While waiting for Mr. Death to come, his landlady shoves a letter under his door. It’s from the gas company telling him his gas has been cut off due to non-payment!
I’m too lazy to do a google, but whatever that show with “The Diceman”…and Cathy Moriarty?
That was a doozy…
“Bless This House” - 16 episodes. Dice’s attempt to prove he could do “clean” comedy. Worked out real good!
There was a really short-lived show I remember as a kid (1970’s) about a blue collar couple, both fat, I think. The premise was supposed to be, “Look how down-to-earth and poor these folks are, yet happy.” Which I guess has since been done to death since with “Roseanne”, “King of Queens”, and the like.
I remember little about the show except that the opening song began, “Arms and legs / Ham and eggs / Good things come in pairs…”
Yikes. No wonder it didn’t last. Does anybody else remember this show and what it was called, when it aired, etc.?
Worst I can remember, for gimick status especially, was the short-lived early 90’s Fox show “Whoops!” A man survived a nuclear holocaust because he was in his Volvo at the time (!) and everyone remaining on earth (about 6 people) eventually came to live together in this same little house for no apparent reason. The show lasted long enough to have a Thanksgiving episode and a Christmas episode. It was a completely formulaic mix of one-dimensional personalities designed to get an occasional cheap joke out of the rich guy’s arrogance or the smart girl’s proud feminism. Mercifully, Fox cancelled the show after the Christmas episode with still 3 produced episodes they never aired (thanks TvTome.com!)
And I’m with Creaky about the “happy, down-to-earth struggling poor family” genre. It’s been ok in a few of its incarnations, but when it gets too sappy it turns into the subgenre “I’m proud of my values and just because we’re poor doesn’t mean we aren’t valuable people so shut up you wealthy snots with your name brand Mac n Cheese and your daughter that doesn’t have to work as a cheap hooker to support the family!” Prime 90’s example of the sappiest version of this is easily “The Torkelsons.”
Aliens In The Family was the Dinosaurs formula on a much smaller budget with talentless writers. It sucked. Two episodes aired altogether.