# Dimly remembered shows on network launches **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [March 20, 2021, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313 "2021-03-20T18:07:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/1 "2021-03-20T18:07:30Z")
OK, this is gonna take a while to get to the point but stay with me: There is a YouTube video of the most paused Star Trek moments and the thumbnail is Beverly Crusher and Deanna Troi in leotards doing yoga stretches. Hubby takes one look at it and says, “Nah. Better is when Beverly was on that HBO show with the guy who couldn’t get sex.” Ah! Dimly remembered memory tells me this show had this guy have sex with different women almost every episode. In fact, I remember this show launching HBO as the channel where you can watch people having sex on sit-coms. Which brings up FOX channel launch. I very much remember a show called Duets. Or maybe just Duet. And another show with Lisa Simpson in the flesh-- this one was called Herman’s Head. I remember watching FOX’s launch and loving it. Ellen Degeneres and the wonderful Alison LaPlaca together on a show. There may have been more. So here we are at the point. If you are close to being as old as I am you have witnessed more network launches than probably anyone in history ever. Which network launches and their “flagship” shows do you dimly remember? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/2 "2021-03-20T18:54:42Z")
FOX did a soft-start with _The Late Show_, Joan Rivers’ attempt at overthrowing _The Tonight Show_ on NBC. Rivers left the show soon after and there were a bunch of guest hosts before the show finally got pulled. FOX had a stronger prime time opening with _Married…With Children_ and _The Tracey Ullman Show_. From Wiki: " Fox added one new show per week over the next several weeks, with the drama _21 Jump Street)_ and comedies _Mr. President_ and _Duet_ completing its Sunday schedule. On July 11, 1987, the network rolled out its Saturday night schedule with the premiere of the supernatural drama series _Werewolf_ , which began with a two-hour pilot movie event. Three other series were added to the Saturday lineup over the next three weeks: comedies _The New Adventures of Beans Baxter_ , _Karen’s Song_ , and _Down and Out in Beverly Hills_ (the latter being an adaptation of the film of the same name). Both _Karen’s Song_ and _Down and Out in Beverly Hills_ were canceled by the start of the 1987–88 television season, the network’s first fall launch, and were replaced by the sitcoms _Second Chance_ and _Women in Prison_ ." Of all those, I think the only ones I never saw were _Karen’s Song_ and _Mr. President_, and I was a great fan of _Werewolf_. ---
**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:** [March 20, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/3 "2021-03-20T19:20:47Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > And another show with Lisa Simpson in the flesh-- this one was called Herman’s Head. I watched that; I also watched “Tour of Duty”, the show about an infantry platoon in Vietnam. I remember more about the former than the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/4 "2021-03-20T19:35:24Z")
I’m going purely off memory here, but I do remember when Comedy Central launched. I think it was a rebrand/merge situation, but it launched as the channel we see today. I don’t know its very first show, but Short-Attention Span Theater was the show I most associate with that time. It predated Comedy Central, I think, but was a show I watched at launch. It was hosted Marc Maron at one point, but John Stewart hosted it before that. I’ve often pointed out that The Daily Show was Jon Stewart’s second show on Comedy Central. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/5 "2021-03-20T19:42:29Z")
_Herman’s Head_ _Flying Blind_ (the show that put Tea Leoni on the map) _Oops!_ (The lighter side of nuclear Armageddon) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/6 "2021-03-20T20:10:43Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > And another show with Lisa Simpson in the flesh-- this one was called Herman’s Head. Yeardly Smith’s _Simpsons_ co-star Hank Azaria was also in _Herman’s Head_. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/7 "2021-03-20T20:21:08Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’ve often pointed out that The Daily Show was Jon Stewart’s second show on Comedy Central. And he was the second host of The Daily Show. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/8 "2021-03-20T20:22:05Z")
Internet search is your friend! The HBO sitcom with all the sex was named [Dream On.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_On_(TV_series)). It featured the also very terrific Wendie Malik. But I found it because the star’s name, although not very well known, stuck with me. His last name is Benben. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/9 "2021-03-20T21:23:43Z")
Wow, I thought I remembered the launch of Fox pretty well, but I have absolutely no recollection of _Werewolf_, _Karen’s Song_ or _Down and Out in Beverly Hills_. Admittely, the latter two don’t necessarily sound like they would have especially appealed to me, but I can’t even remember coming across an advertisement and thinking they sounded too lame to bother with. And how did I miss on a show about werewolves? I should’ve been all over that one. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/10 "2021-03-20T21:52:32Z")
I remember a lot of those failed shows. Duet morphed into something else that launched Ellen Degeneres’ career. IIRC Hermans Head had other voice actors in it beside Yeardley Smith. There were any number of talk shows in that time where the show Talk Soup turned into a hit just snarking on all the talk shows. Then there were all the failed spin-offs, and they will keep happening, Despite all the ones I’ve seen there are plenty more I never watched even one episode of. Sometimes they were gone before I had a chance to see them. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/11 "2021-03-20T22:36:07Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > this one was called Herman’s Head. I loved that show! But when _Inside Out_ (Disney?Pixar?) came out and I said “It’s Herman’s Head all over again!” no one knew what I was talking about… ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/12 "2021-03-20T22:41:43Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > And he was the second host of The Daily Show. That part I hope people know already, but you are right many don’t anymore. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/13 "2021-03-20T22:53:42Z")
I may have seen all the Fox shows they launched at least once. _Mr. President_ had George C. Scott and only lasted a few weeks. _Duet_ lasted longer, but later spun off into _Open House_ with most of the cast left behind and Ellen Degeneris addes. _Flying Blind_ was an excellent comedy. What stood out was the extremely long punchlines to the jokes. What I’m always talking about was the extremely clever _Once a Hero_, which deconstructed superhero tropes while repecting them. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/14 "2021-03-20T22:53:54Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > And how did I miss on a show about werewolves? I should’ve been all over that one. It was a great show that had Chuck Connors as the Big Bad for most of the series, and the lead (John J. York) went from there to General Hospital, playing “Mac Scorpio” to this day. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/15 "2021-03-20T23:03:02Z")
actually, on our fox station in Indiana which was a UHF station wxin 59 Saturday was beans Baxter the women in prison show Mr president which had Mr. Drummond from different strokes and mona from whos the boss right before that show started the two episodes i remember of Mr president was one where the first lady left him and filed a divorce and the next when the mona actress took over as white house hostess (she was supposed to be his sister ) The woman in prison episode i remember is the protagonist prisoner who worked in the warden’s office found a pair of panties in his desk and everyone assumed he was messing with one of the girls and there were shenanigans with everyone trying to find out who … turned out he wasn’t … seems years before he wanted a divorce from his odious wife so he stashed a pair of panties in his car so she’d find them and get the divorce … he kept them as a memento Then there was a typical episode of the girls finding a map of the sewer system of the prison and trying to dig their way out only for one of the other gangs to steal the map and try to escape … but the map was outdated and they ended up in the guard’s showers … Beans baxter was goofy nonsense in a parker lewis cant lose way …I remember a lot of the Sunday shows moving to Thursday when the simpsons did… but they had some clunkers … like a show about airline flight crew … and a show i thought was smart funny and stupid all at the same time and thought it wasn’t going to last long … That show was family guy … ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/16 "2021-03-20T23:08:45Z")
Oliver Beene was Malcolm in the Middle set in the early 1960s. I kind of liked it. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/17 "2021-03-20T23:12:45Z")
Prime Time Entertainment Network started with two shows- _Time Trax_ and _Kung Fu: The Legend Continues_, both of which I was a fan of. PTEN is also where _Babylon 5_ got its start, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/18 "2021-03-20T23:16:57Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I may have seen all the Fox shows they launched at least once. _Mr. President_ had George C. Scott and only lasted a few weeks. _Duet_ lasted longer, but later spun off into _Open House_ with most of the cast left behind and Ellen Degeneris addes. George C. Scott _and_ Madeline Kahn! I also really enjoyed _Duet_, which was supposedly a vehicle for Chris Lemmon but Alison LaPlaca is the only thing I remember about it. I actually worked at a small startup UHF TV station in southeast Iowa at the time, which was one of the early FOX affiliates, so I have fuzzy memories of a lot of these shows like _Beans Baxter_ and the early Simpsons shorts on _The Tracey Ullman Show_ and the disastrous _Wilton-North Report_. The station also aired syndicated programs like _The New Monkees_ and a barely remembered little show called _Star Trek: The New Generation_, or _Modern Generation_, or _Next Generation_, or something like that, who remembers? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/19 "2021-03-20T23:26:35Z")
I remember a lot of these… I’m going to see if I can find some episodes or clips on Archive dot org or U-chube (as my Asian side of the family calls it). ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313/20 "2021-03-20T23:50:23Z")
I was just quoting KF:TLC yesterday. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimly-remembered-shows-on-network-launches/938313.md?page=2)