# "How did anyone think that was a good idea?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2020, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380 "2020-03-13T02:12:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/41 "2020-03-13T23:15:09Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Missed the edit window, but for my nomination, I pick _[The Greatest American Hero](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081871/)_. Years ago there was a bit of a revival in interest in the show, and one of the cable networks (maybe SyFy?) ran a marathon of all the episodes. I tuned in to a few thinking it might be fun in a kitschy, “so bad it’s good” kind of way. It wasn’t. It basically just felt like a bad 1980s cop show that happened to include a superhero. Small aside: back when that show was on the air I happened to sit near the star, William Katt, on an airplane flight. Damn but he was full of himself. He was sitting next to an attractive young woman and he would not stop talking at her, bragging about how he was a glamorous actor. All I could think was “dude, not sure you have that much to brag about. Also, you’re sitting coach, which kind of suggests you aren’t as famous and wealthy as you’re trying to present yourself.” ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/42 "2020-03-13T23:23:00Z")
[Cavemen](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0981216/), a short-lived sitcom featuring the GEICO Cavemen. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/43 "2020-03-13T23:45:04Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Small aside: back when that show was on the air I happened to sit near the star, William Katt, on an airplane flight. Damn but he was full of himself. He was sitting next to an attractive young woman and he would not stop talking at her, bragging about how he was a glamorous actor. All I could think was “dude, not sure you have that much to brag about. Also, you’re sitting coach, which kind of suggests you aren’t as famous and wealthy as you’re trying to present yourself.” Scary that he thought he could pull it off with that haircut sitting on his head. And hey! I _like My Mother the Car._. Check out an episode or two on YouTube and judge for yourself. (Avery Schreiber is always fun to watch) ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/44 "2020-03-14T01:18:15Z")
[Sextette](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sextette), a sex farce about a woman who is irresistable to men played by… a 84 year old Mae West. [Pink Lady](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Lady_(TV_series)), a variety show from 1980. Let’s count the errors here –Variety shows are virtually DOA and hoplessly unhip by this time –Lead artists are virtually unknown in the U.S. –The director hates the show –And oh yeah, the lead artists don’t speak English. At all. ---
**Author:** ![txtumbleweed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@txtumbleweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txtumbleweed)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/45 "2020-03-14T01:42:50Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > The idea that you can just take a successful English show and convert it to an American show while keeping only the jokes, sometimes completely misses the point. [Coupling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupling_(British_TV_series)) was a comedy written by Steven Moffat that ran for 4 series and 28 episodes in Britain. There are several entertaining and innovative episodes. NBC thought it would be great to Americanize the show, shorten the scripts and censor the jokes. [Coupling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupling_(American_TV_series)) lasted barely a month. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/46 "2020-03-14T02:50:10Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > Here’s a clip of it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZapAjjTDbh4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZapAjjTDbh4) , digging up this clip for another thread is what prompted me to post this one. In all fairness, that scene would probably look pretty cool if it were in an anime with a decent budget and art direction. Also in all fairness, the Aegis defense system developed for the US Navy since the 1970s is capable of automatically tracking at least 100 targets simultaneously, and automatically engaging an unstated but “multiple” number of targets. The hovering Kung Fu VR gunner is capable, by my count, of firing at no more than four targets at once. Five if you work in head-banging. Perhaps six, if you work in vigorous butt-shaking. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/47 "2020-03-14T07:16:17Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > In all fairness, that scene would probably look pretty cool if it were in an anime with a decent budget and art direction. > > Also in all fairness, the Aegis defense system developed for the US Navy since the 1970s is capable of automatically tracking at least 100 targets simultaneously, and automatically engaging an unstated but “multiple” number of targets. > > The hovering Kung Fu VR gunner is capable, by my count, of firing at no more than four targets at once. Five if you work in head-banging. Perhaps six, if you work in vigorous butt-shaking. Seven if the gunner was a male ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/48 "2020-03-14T07:32:35Z")
I’d nominate “[Tammy and the T-Rex](https://youtu.be/3XsQD7I3KYA)” since someone else mentioned Theodore Rex. It’s a simple but effective premise done many times before, a hjgh school student literally bullied to death comes back to life and gets vengeance on his killers. The elephant in the room though is for whatever reason the writers thought the hook that would make this different is introducing a mad scientist (Bernie from Weekend At Bernies) who uses the dead student’s brain (Paul Walker) to implant into his T-Rex robot for literally no reason stated in the film. So now a robot T-Rex with Paul Walkers brain decides to both get revenge on his killers and also get with his high school sweetheart (Denise Richards) as well. Not only is the story entirely bizarre and nonsensical, it has GIGANTIC tonal shifts, for example in one scene the T-Rex literally trips some bullies with his comically oversized foot. Then in the immediate aftermath decides to squish the bullies underneath his feet in a scene not played for laughs at all. There’s scenes with Denise Richards and her gay friend doing all sorts of wacky things to hide the fact they’re taking care of a giant dinosaur in their backyard, only to have scenes where the T-Rex gorily dismembers people like something out of the Carnosaurs movies. These shifts were so jarring they wound up significantly cutting down the gore and marketing it as a PG-13 wacky teen comedy as opposed to the R rated blood soaked horror film it had originally been intended as. [They actually re-released](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxSpUz5a9gw) the original R rated cut a few months ago, and seeing the original actual gore makes the opposing comedy bits even more shocking. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/49 "2020-03-14T09:01:12Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > [Sextette](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sextette), a sex farce about a woman who is irresistable to men played by… > a 84 year old Mae West. I attended the premier showing of that with a date in San Francisco. Apparently Mae West in her later years became something of a campy cult thing among the gay community, which is what most of the audience was I think. Mae West herself appeared on stage in person for that. Accompanied by six hulking buff oiled body builders. She and they walked out on stage, she waved to the audience and said hello while the body builders all stood around flexing their muscles. Then she walked off. That was the whole appearance. One may suppose that most of the audience were more interested in seeing the body builders. Both in the movie and on stage, Miss West was heavily, massively, profoundly, almost grotesquely, made-up. I don’t recall the movie itself being particularly bad or good. Just utterly forgettable. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/50 "2020-03-14T09:21:48Z")
_Doctor Dolittle_, the 1998 movie starring Eddie Murphy as Dr. Dolittle. All I really remember from the movie is that it was a compendium of toilet humor and butt jokes. The [Wikipedia article for the movie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Dolittle_(1998_film)) says it was “received warmly by audiences who praised its humor and thematic profundity. It has become a cult classic in recent years due to Murphy’s performance, despite receiving mixed reviews from film critics upon release.” Sorry, I don’t see that. I thought it stank because it was just a bunch of crude humor. It had essentially no connection whatsoever with the Doctor Dolittle of the Hugh Lofting books, beyond being a doctor who could talk to animals. The characterization was utterly unrelated to the Doctor of the Lofting stories; the regular cast of the Doctors animals wasn’t there (no Polynesia, Jip, Gub-Gub, or any of the others); and it was set on contemporary San Francisco. _Time Magazine_ agreed with me. In their annual list of “Top Ten (and one worst)” of everything in the year, they gave it the distinction of being the worst movie. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/51 "2020-03-14T09:24:28Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > _Doctor Dolittle_, the 1998 movie starring Eddie Murphy as Dr. Dolittle. > > All I really remember from the movie is that it was a compendium of toilet humor and butt jokes. The [Wikipedia article for the movie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Dolittle_(1998_film)) says it was “received warmly by audiences who praised its humor and thematic profundity. It has become a cult classic in recent years due to Murphy’s performance, despite receiving mixed reviews from film critics upon release.” Sorry, I don’t see that. > > I thought it stank because it was just a bunch of crude humor. It had essentially no connection whatsoever with the Doctor Dolittle of the Hugh Lofting books, beyond being a doctor who could talk to animals. The characterization was utterly unrelated to the Doctor of the Lofting stories; the regular cast of the Doctors animals wasn’t there (no Polynesia, Jip, Gub-Gub, or any of the others); and it was set on contemporary San Francisco. > > _Time Magazine_ agreed with me. In their annual list of “Top Ten (and one worst)” of everything in the year, they gave it the distinction of being the worst movie. It also made a lot of money. Sounds like a good idea to me. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/52 "2020-03-14T09:36:19Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > [My Mother The Car.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058830/) Probably the most inconceivable, absurd, POS to ever sail across the public airwaves God help me, I can remember every word of the theme song. My first thought when I saw the thread title was casting Seth Rogan as the Green Hornet. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/53 "2020-03-14T09:58:47Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > For every show that makes it on the air, there are literally hundreds of pilots that are written, cast, and filmed, and don’t make it. Hundreds? Literally? Cite? It is my understanding ([from wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_pilot)) that about one in four pilots become a series. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/54 "2020-03-14T12:27:33Z")
> [@txtumbleweed](#): > > [Coupling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupling_(British_TV_series)) was a comedy written by Steven Moffat that ran for 4 series and 28 episodes in Britain. There are several entertaining and innovative episodes. > > NBC thought it would be great to Americanize the show, shorten the scripts and censor the jokes. [Coupling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupling_(American_TV_series)) lasted barely a month. And when it failed did the blame go to the bad acting? The bad production? No. The writing was blamed! What next, blame the failure of a Shakespeare adaption on the author? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/55 "2020-03-14T14:00:54Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Missed the edit window, but for my nomination, I pick _[The Greatest American Hero](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081871/)_. Years ago there was a bit of a revival in interest in the show, and one of the cable networks (maybe SyFy?) ran a marathon of all the episodes. I tuned in to a few thinking it might be fun in a kitschy, “so bad it’s good” kind of way. It wasn’t. It basically just felt like a bad 1980s cop show that happened to include a superhero. … and yet it had not one, not two, but three seasons on TV… ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/56 "2020-03-14T16:39:03Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Hundreds? Literally? Cite? > > It is my understanding ([from wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_pilot)) that about one in four pilots become a series. You’ll see lots of numbers, which also vary over time. Here’s an [article from 2018](https://christopherming.com/2018/05/how-many-tv-pilots-ordered/): > [@](#): > > ``` > 500: The average number of pitches heard by network and studio execs each summer > 70: The average number of pilot scripts ordered each fall > 20: The average number of pilot episodes ordered each January > 5 – 12: The average number of series each network orders each May > > ``` Those numbers are somewhat misleading. Obviously each network can’t order 12 from a total of 20. Those earlier lines should be per network as well. But pitches are normally made to several networks so there’s overlap in the 500 number. Classic Hollywood accounting. An [Entertainment Weekly article from 2014](https://ew.com/article/2014/04/29/networks-pilots-series/) puts the pilot number at 90. There’s been a trend toward fewer pilots in recent years. It’s ridiculously expensive to round up 70-90 casts and crews and throw away 80-90% of them. The networks would rather work with proven talent. Big name showrunners don’t need to audition; they get automatic orders. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/57 "2020-03-14T16:50:29Z")
Here’ a British contribution. For all that Spike Milligan is (rightly) revered, there’s a lot of tumbleweed rolling through his resume. [Curry And Chips](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry_and_Chips): > [@](#): > > Set on a factory floor of ‘Lillicrap Ltd’, it starred a blacked up Spike Milligan as an Irishman named Kevin O’Grady of Pakistani heritage…The series was written by Till Death Us Do Part writer Johnny Speight, but based on an idea by Milligan. The programme was cancelled for its use of crude and racist humour…Screenonline says of the show, “…too much of its humour relied on the use of crude racial abuse and Milligan’s caricatured performance as the charmlessly-nicknamed ‘Paki Paddy’.” I regret to say that full episodes can be found on Youtube. It lasted six episodes, which is five better then another Milligan vehicle, [The Melting Pot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Melting_Pot_(TV_series)): > [@](#): > > Milligan played Mr. Van Gogh (in brownface) alongside John Bird as Mr. Rembrandt, father and son illegal Asian immigrants who are first seen being rowed ashore in England, having been told that the beach is in fact Piccadilly Circus…[the cast] include a black Yorkshireman, a Chinese cockney and a Scottish Arab. j ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/58 "2020-03-14T17:03:39Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > FYI Stuart Saves His Family is another exception: it was directed by Harold Ramis, who also did Groundhog Day and Caddyshack. It’s worth your attention. It has heart and depth behind the comedy. I saw it in the theater and did not think there was a laugh in it. The trailer was funnier. ---
**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 14, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/59 "2020-03-14T17:50:53Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > [Pink Lady](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Lady_(TV_series)), a variety show from 1980. Let’s count the errors here > –Variety shows are virtually DOA and hoplessly unhip by this time > –Lead artists are virtually unknown in the U.S. > –The director hates the show > –And oh yeah, the lead artists don’t speak English. At all. –[Disco music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhD2L9jxDE4&t=3m53s), at least a year too late. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380/60 "2020-03-14T19:29:44Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > I saw it in the theater and did not think there was a laugh in it. The trailer was funnier. I don’t think it was a comedy, per se. It was a dramedy I would say. It’s definitely not the Coneheads. I am a fan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-anyone-think-that-was-a-good-idea/849380.md?page=4)