# Crappy TV sitcoms that only lasted a few episodes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 27, 2002, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149 "2002-07-27T19:57:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2002, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/81 "2002-07-31T23:43:16Z")
I think the dog sitcom was called \* It’s a Dog’s Life. \* I was just a kid (no more than 11, I believe) but I remember saying, “that’s gotta be humiliating.” - On the Rocks \* had scripts that were barely distinguaishable from other sitcoms, only everyone was in prison. It had, in the role of The Dumb Guy, a heavyset cherub-faced southerner with receding blond hair, who has been on just about every other show on television. He usually plays a preacher or a small town mayor. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2002, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/82 "2002-07-31T23:45:38Z")
> [@](#): > > What was the name of the show PAtrick Duffy took when he left Dallas? > I recall he was a fish or something… Actually, you’ve got it backwards. **Man from Atlantis** , where Patrick Duffy played “the last citizen of Atlantis” was before _Dallas_. I always got the impression that **The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfieffer** was the brainchild of someone who watched the British series _Blackadder_ and thought “How can I translate this to American TV?” > [@](#): > > I once read an article by Ben Stein (in Penthouse I believe), about an extremely ill-conceived show about political people in dog costumes(??). This would have been in the mid '70s, I think. The article was very interesting. Basically, it focused on the workings of Hollywood and how TV ideas (even crappy ones) get green-lighted and how people just plug on ahead with production with everyone knowing how terrible it is, but pretending like everything is just great. This sounds an awful lot like **It’s a Dog’s Life** , a bizarre experiment by Brandon Tartikoff at NBC that aired in the (IIRC) late 70’s. The only noteworthy person in it (and I use that phrase advisedly) was a pre-SNL Joe Piscopo. ---
**Author:** ![Sagasumono](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Sagasumono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sagasumono)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/83 "2002-08-01T01:45:58Z")
I remember a few… When Married With Children first came out,there was a show right after called Open House about Real Estate agents…go figure…I think the show had a SMALL fan base. Another victim of the “After married with children crap show” was Herman’s Head. Basically it was about a guy who worked a regular office job,and every now and then,it would cut away to these four people in his head, basically representing his Intellegence,his Feminine side, His “Id” and his paranoid side.I actullay liked it for a while,but there was one epsoide that offended me (a semi-racist statement was made that in retrospect was actullay kind of funny) and I quit watching it. The guy who played Herman’s boss died in a car crash not too much later (in real life.) Again with Married with Children…there was an episoide that was basically a pilot for a “new” sitcom they were tryung (It was some guy and Matt Leblanc I think) Forgot the name of the resulting show,but didin’t last long. Soon to follow was another show,this time about Carpenters (It stared this guy from a Soap Opera called “Generations” and Matt Leblanc again I think) The show was sorta funny,but once again like 10 episoides later,it was gone. And of course the Flygirl Show and all 5 episoides of it… ☹ ---
**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:** [August 1, 2002, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/84 "2002-08-01T02:57:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sagasumono \* > **Another victim of the “After married with children crap show” was Herman’s Head. Basically it was about a guy who worked a regular office job,and every now and then,it would cut away to these four people in his head, basically representing his Intellegence,his Feminine side, His “Id” and his paranoid side.I actullay liked it for a while,but there was one epsoide that offended me (a semi-racist statement was made that in retrospect was actullay kind of funny) and I quit watching it. The guy who played Herman’s boss died in a car crash not too much later (in real life.)** Whoa, now! Jason Bernard (Herman’s boss) died, but [IMDB says it was a heart attack](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Bernard,+Jason+(I)). He lived not too far from my house for a while, after Herman’s Head ended. > [@](#): > > **Again with Married with Children…there was an episoide that was basically a pilot for a “new” sitcom they were tryung (It was some guy and Matt Leblanc I think) Forgot the name of the resulting show,but didin’t last long. Soon to follow was another show,this time about Carpenters (It stared this guy from a Soap Opera called “Generations” and Matt Leblanc again I think) The show was sorta funny,but once again like 10 episoides later,it was gone.** The Matt LeBlanc show you’re thinking of is a Married With Children spinoff that IMDB says was called **Top Of The Heap** (although I coulda sworn it was called **Puttin’ On The Ritz** ). Matt’s character from MWC and his dad move into a seedy apartment (with a hot jailbait slut neighbor girl) and try to plot their way into money and high society. Seven episodes. Same characters came back a year later in **Vinnie and Bobby**. Again, seven episodes. And I need to contribute something new here, hmm…how about **Chicken Soup** , the sitcom that wanted us to believe that Jackie Mason and Lynn Redgrave could hook up romantically? And how about a couple of recent entries: **The Wayne Brady Show** and **The Colin Quinn Show**. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Frink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Mr.Frink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Frink)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/85 "2002-08-01T03:47:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Max Torque \* > \*\*The Matt LeBlanc show you’re thinking of is a Married With Children spinoff that IMDB says was called **Top Of The Heap** (although I coulda sworn it was called **Puttin’ On The Ritz** ). Matt’s character from MWC and his dad move into a seedy apartment (with a hot jailbait slut neighbor girl) and try to plot their way into money and high society. \*\* Hey Now…you’re dissin’ the only reason I ever watched that dreck! That “hot jailbait slut neighbor girl” was played by none other than ga-ga-goo-goo-HOT actress **Joey Lauren Adams**. Yeah, she’s still incredibley good-looking, but when she was so young & playing a role that dripped with red-hot sexuality…Wow! Why someone didn’t take that character & put her in her own show…I don’t know… ---
**Author:** ![SteverinoAlaReno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@SteverinoAlaReno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteverinoAlaReno)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/86 "2002-08-01T14:08:13Z")
Susan Dey starred in a sitcom on CBS, circa 1992, where she owned a restaurant/bar in New York. This one lasted a few episodes, which is surprising given Susan Dey’s acting talent… ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/87 "2002-08-01T19:50:24Z")
What was the name of George Carlin’s failed sitcom? There’s bottling lightning if I ever saw it. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/88 "2002-08-01T20:36:45Z")
NO, it was Martin Mull and not Beau Bridges. In United States. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/89 "2002-08-01T21:51:23Z")
> [@](#): > > NO, it was Martin Mull and not Beau Bridges. > In United States. [united states](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0080300). Look, Ma, no Martin Mull! [Martin Mull](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Mull,+Martin). Look, Ma, no united states! ---
**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:** [August 1, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/90 "2002-08-01T22:13:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Frink \* > \*\*Hey Now…you’re dissin’ the only reason I ever watched that dreck! That “hot jailbait slut neighbor girl” was played by none other than ga-ga-goo-goo-HOT actress **Joey Lauren Adams**. Yeah, she’s still incredibley good-looking, but when she was so young & playing a role that dripped with red-hot sexuality…Wow! Why someone didn’t take that character & put her in her own show…I don’t know… \*\* I didn’t say being a hot jailbait slut neighbor girl was a BAD thing…hehe. That’s precisely why I watched the show too. She had what seemed like a hundred square acres of flat tummy, and she showed it allll the time. mmm. Aw, hell, now I have to think of another failed crappy sitcom. Um…okay, **Melba** , a sitcom that premiered in January, 1986, on the day the _Challenger_ exploded. They tried to air the already-filmed episodes in August, but the ratings were either CBS’s worst ever or close to it. Disappeared mucho fasto. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/91 "2002-08-01T22:29:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Big Kahuna Burger \* > **Ellie’s coming back for NBC, and I agree it was good** I liked _Ellie_ well enough, and I’m glad it’s coming back. However, I understand that they’re going to do away with the running clock display. This makes sense. After all, why would you want to start a half-hour sitcom off by demonstrating that nearly a third of the air time will be commercials and other clutter? Might make some people question the validity of TV watching as an activity. ---
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/92 "2002-08-01T23:05:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doubting Robert \* > \*\* > > Why is this surprising? Prison should be just as funny as a prisoner-of-war camp. Remember “Hogan’s Heroes”? Silly, and in bad taste, but it ran a long time. \*\* I was under the impression that Hogan and his Heroes were really part of an Allied espionage operation and that they pretended to get caught so as to be able to operate from inside the walls of a POW camp. ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/93 "2002-08-01T23:32:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cmkeller \* > \*\*And someone else mentioned the raft of Simpsons-wannabe animated sitcoms, but inexplicably failed to mention the flop **Fish Police**. \*\* Well ain’t I the proverbial [chopped liver](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=2313954#post2313954)… While we mentioned _Herman’s Head_, we didn’t mention that it was a vehicle for Yeardley Smith, voice of Lisa Simpson. In fact Lisa mentions the show tangetially on one _Simpsons_ ep. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Hell \* > \*\*What was the name of George Carlin’s failed sitcom? There’s bottling lightning if I ever saw it. \*\* That would be, well, _The George Carlin Show_. Two whole seasons. Pah. It’s freaking _Law and Order_ compared to the gems in this thread. _Falcone_ weighs in at an impressive nine episodes. CBS attempted to ride the _Sopranos_ wave with a bad Mob series. It’s bad to blatantly rip off Tony and his crew. Its worse to attempt it while restricted by network obsenity standards. In the animated category i’d like to mention MTV’s _Brothers Grunt_. Stay with me on this one. Five grotesque blue guys with various organs prolapsing from their half naked and contorted frames. Each was named after a Rat Packer for some unknown reason. And none of them spoke. It was all pained grunts, hence the title. I think it was a poor attempt to distill the cartoon gross-out factor that was pulled off more subtely (if you can imagine that) from its contemporaries, Ren, Stimpy, Beavis and Butthead. It was dumb. _edited because apparently I am also dumb. grunt – Alpha_ ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2002, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/94 "2002-08-02T00:02:28Z")
Well, my mind remembers it as Martin. Whaddya know! Maybe I was just trying to forget Beau Bridges, can ya blame me? ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2002, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/95 "2002-08-02T01:02:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mobo85 \* > \*\* > It wasn’t really the Dinosaurs formula, though. On _Dinosaurs_, everyone was a dinosaur. On _Aliens in the Family_, it was a mixed family-part human, part alien. \*\* That’s what I meant by it having a smaller budget. That aside, it was the same formula. Father, mother, teenage son (who sounded like Ajax from Duckman, if I remember this right), teenage daughter, and of course the baby. The adorably cute muppet baby with all the gimicky lines. . . . . . . . and come to think of it, I miss **The George Wendt Show** ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2002, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/96 "2002-08-02T02:12:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vanilla \* > \*\*Well, my mind remembers it as Martin. Whaddya know! > Maybe I was just trying to forget Beau Bridges, can ya blame me? \*\* Well, we’d all like to forget Beau Bridges. Especially that load of crap movie version of _The Hotel New Hampshire_. ---
**Author:** ![Sagasumono](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Sagasumono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sagasumono)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2002, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/97 "2002-08-02T04:13:07Z")
Max,thanks for the correction on Jason Benards death. I read in a source it was a car accident,but it was wrong I suppose. Let’s see,there were some other ones… Homeboys In Outer Space: From the title alone I knew it was dead in the water. Absolutely the worse show I ever had the displeasure of seeing. Dr.Science (I think): I actullay liked the show sometimes, it was sorta funny. Don’t remember exactly how long it lasted though,but mabye not more than 2 seasons. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2002, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/98 "2002-08-02T04:41:43Z")
- Herman’s Head \* was also a vehicle for Hank Azaria, voice of several \* Simpsons \* characters. And don’t forget \* Flying Blind, \* a sitcom about a SoHo performance artist, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/99 "2004-03-31T04:25:11Z")
> [@Kaspar Hauser](#): > > Don’t forget **Women in Prison** , which was on Fox in the late eighties. It co-starred that shortish, roundish woman from **Bosom Buddies**. > > This was back when Fox was just starting out as a netwowk and was desparate to put anything on the air. OK, I HAVE to know … there was a sitcom about women in prison called Women in Prison? I LOVE women in prison movies … how the hell did I miss that? What was it about? How do I start my Nick at Nite campaign for it? ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2004, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149/100 "2004-03-31T04:51:00Z")
Fish Police-4 episodes. Paired with four episodes of Scorch…a 2 foot tall dragon who drops by a meterologist/weather guy’s house after a 300 year nap. Agrees to be portrayed as a puppet on air to spice up the nightly news segments. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-tv-sitcoms-that-only-lasted-a-few-episodes/121149.md?page=6)