# Greatest Cast for mediocre or worse TV show? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 19, 2017, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-cast-for-mediocre-or-worse-tv-show/796769 "2017-09-19T23:01:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-cast-for-mediocre-or-worse-tv-show/796769/41 "2017-09-21T17:18:11Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Bob Newhart with Tom Poston. Both great comic talents, but a terrible series. Are you talking about _Newhart_ ? I’ve never heard that series described as “terrible” (I personally thought it was hilarious once it got past its first season), though Poston did have a few guest shots on Newhart’s later series _Bob_, which I recall was mediocre. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-cast-for-mediocre-or-worse-tv-show/796769/42 "2017-09-21T17:34:42Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Are you talking about _Newhart_ ? I’ve never heard that series described as “terrible” (I personally thought it was hilarious once it got past its first season), though Poston did have a few guest shots on Newhart’s later series _Bob_, which I recall was mediocre. Hopefully, it is _Bob_, which I had never heard of until now, as both of them were great in both _The Bob Newhart Show_ and _Newhart_, and both would probably make my top 100 TV series of all time list. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-cast-for-mediocre-or-worse-tv-show/796769/43 "2017-09-21T19:13:48Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Hopefully, it is _Bob_, which I had never heard of until now, as both of them were great in both _The Bob Newhart Show_ and _Newhart_, and both would probably make my top 100 TV series of all time list. _Bob_ was a great series (at least in the first season). And even better if you knew comic books. It was written by the team that wrote for _Cheers_. The cast was good, but only a couple became big names. But CBS never gave it a regular time slot, and then jettisoned everything as a condition for renewal. The second season was dire, ditching the entire premise. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-cast-for-mediocre-or-worse-tv-show/796769/44 "2017-09-21T19:16:01Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Funny, I never thought Traylor Howard was anything but the much lesser replacement for Sharona on Monk. Her character never worked as well for me. I actually didn’t even know her name until just now. Ryan Reynolds is very successful but I never thought he could act and was just the male equivilent to a starlette. I’ll admit he was pretty good as Deadpool though. Now Nathan is pretty good. And the other “Guy,” [Richard Ruccolo](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0748483/), is prett decent, as well. I’ve enjoyed his appearances on _It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia_, albeit in only a handful of episodes. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-cast-for-mediocre-or-worse-tv-show/796769/45 "2017-09-22T03:56:12Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Whose dumb idea was _Superior Donuts_? And who talked Judd Hirsch into it? Is he hurting for money, or something? It seems to be doing alright and was renewed for a second season. Hirsch has done several failed TV series over the past 40 years. Why would this be any different? ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-cast-for-mediocre-or-worse-tv-show/796769/46 "2017-09-22T04:13:10Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I figure TWO GUYS, A GIRL, AND A PIZZA PLACE deserves mention, since it gave work to nobodies Ryan Reynolds and Nathan Fillion before they’d proved they could carry projects, _and_ before Traylor Howard started fielding her signature role on MONK; add in some bits by David Ogden Stiers after he earned those Emmy nominations on MASH, and ensemble-comedy success should follow, right? I never really watched “Monk” and knew Howard more from the show “Boston Common” prior to “2 Guys, A Girl.” I thought of that show as a star vehicle for her. The Monk mention reminds me of another Shalhoub show I did enjoy - “Stark Raving Mad.” I don’t know if it fits (I thought it was good), but it only lasted 1 season. It had a big profile at the time. I think it was after “Friends” and/or replaced Seinfeld. This was before Monk or “How I Met Your Mother.” So it was a show with that guy from “Wings” and an adult Doogie Howser who hadn’t done much other than TV movies in 6 years. Other cast members Eddie McClintock and Heather Paige Kent (now a “Real” “Housewife”) were getting big pushes on TV at the time and guest starred on just about everything in the late 90s and early 2000s and given their own shows multiple times. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-cast-for-mediocre-or-worse-tv-show/796769/47 "2017-09-22T16:50:24Z")
Plenty of shows listed here that I thought were good. I’ll probably receive a lot of hate for this but as much as I love Danny DiVito, I can’t stand _It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia_. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-cast-for-mediocre-or-worse-tv-show/796769/48 "2017-09-22T17:57:17Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Plenty of shows listed here that I thought were good. > > I’ll probably receive a lot of hate for this but as much as I love Danny DiVito, I can’t stand _It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia_. Same for me, Danny is Genius in everything else but \*Sunny \*is a god-awful show to me with shocking (to me) success. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-cast-for-mediocre-or-worse-tv-show/796769/49 "2017-09-22T20:15:48Z")
Patricia Heaton got nominated for over half-a-dozen Emmys playing Debra Barone, and Kelsey Grammer got nominated for over a dozen playing Frasier Crane; so put 'em together, give a supporting role to Ty Burrell before _he_ earns more than half-a-dozen Emmy nominations, and give another supporting role to Fred Willard in between _his_ third and fourth Emmy nominations, and give the other supporting role to Josh Gad before he goes on to getting plenty of high-profile comedy work in the movies and on Broadway; and so where, in the cast of BACK TO YOU, is the weak link? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-cast-for-mediocre-or-worse-tv-show/796769/50 "2017-09-27T13:33:01Z")
If you do not remember the trainwreck that was [Twins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twins_(TV_series)), consider yourself very lucyk. Mark Linn-Baker, Melanie Griffith, Molly Stanton and Sara Gilbert could not save it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-cast-for-mediocre-or-worse-tv-show/796769.md?page=2)