# Sit-com Rasputins: Worst sit-coms ever to last 5 or more years **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 11, 2005, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365 "2005-05-11T06:46:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/41 "2005-05-11T17:58:54Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > The one I’d mention is _Boy Meets World_. I think they started with the kids in seventh grade and finished with them in grad school or something. The stupidest thing was that they had the same teacher from elementary school to college (Mr. Feeney, who kept getting promoted or transferred [yeah, lots of elementary school teachers become college history professors- same basic field, teaching much younger people, after all]). Of course I’m thankful for the fact it made William Daniels rich (a latter day reward for starring in _1776_ {which is why the school was _John Adams High_) and for the fact that some of the kids grew into jailbait eye-candy by the time they were in their late teens (particularly Matthew Lawrence and Will Friedle), but another show that just wouldn’t die (and I understand Ben Savage was one of the biggest jerks of any age on any television show- btw, when Topanga filled out, girl filled out). ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/42 "2005-05-11T18:11:06Z")
I don’t even think they were jailbait anymore by the time the show ended, **Sampiro**. Anyay, although I didn’t watch it regularly, I thought Boy Meets World was a lot better than a kid-oriented “TGIF” sitcom on ABC had any right to be. –Cliffy P.S. On Friends, Monica and Rachel were illegally living in Monica’s grandmother’s rent-controlled apartment. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/43 "2005-05-11T18:41:59Z")
Hey, I _liked_ **Becker**! ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/44 "2005-05-11T18:48:50Z")
_Gilligan’s Island. Beverlyl Hillbillies. Green Acres._ They speak for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/45 "2005-05-11T19:21:11Z")
> [@Jake](#): > > _Gilligan’s Island_ > … . Hate to nitpick but _Gilligan’s Island_ only last three years. It just seems like it ran longer because it’s been constantly rerun in syndication, Nick at Night, and TV Land since it was canceled. BTW, _Gimme a Break_ was a good example cited in the OP. That show never got high ratings but somehow, year after year, managed to have just enough viewers to avoid being canceled. Also, its survival had a lot to do with the fact that during much of its too-long run, NBC was in such dire straits ratings-wise that even a borderline successful show like _Gimme a Break_ was considered a “jewel” in its line-up. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/46 "2005-05-11T21:39:29Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Well, it did give the world one great thing, that being > > Zack/Slater slash Cite? PLEASE?! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/47 "2005-05-11T21:41:17Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > [Rasputin](http://homepage.tinet.ie/~pbarry/ras2/) was notoriously hard to get rid of (politically) and finally, to kill. _SNL_ did a sketch once, “The Death of Rasputin,” with John Belushi as Rasputin. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/48 "2005-05-11T21:41:59Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > some of the kids grew into jailbait eye-candy by the time they were in their late teens (particularly Matthew Lawrence and Will Friedle) I spent quite a few years waiting patiently for Rider Strong to become legal tender. Or is that legal AND tender? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/49 "2005-05-11T21:51:55Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I spent quite a few years waiting patiently for Rider Strong to become legal tender. Or is that legal AND tender? And he’s [nekkid on film](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0294413/) now. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/50 "2005-05-11T23:06:14Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > We had one in Australia _Hey Dad_ which, during it’s run from 1986 to 1994, was at one time the longest running sitcom on TV anywhere in the world. Longest running in Australia maybe, but it couldn’t have ever held the record for longest running sitcom in the world. Several American sitcoms pre-dated it that ran longer: **Ozzie and Harriett** 1952-1966 **Make Room For Daddy** 1953-1964 **My Three Sons** 1960-1972 **the Beverly Hillbillies** 1962-1971 **All in the Family** 1971-1979 **MASH** 1972-1983 **Happy Days** 1974-1984 **One Day at a Time** 1975-1984 **the Jeffersons** 1975-1985 **Alice** 1976-1985 **the Facts of Life** 1979-1988 **Cheers** 1982-1983 **Night Court** 1984-1992 Come to think of it, a couple of those shows have caused me to wonder why the hell they stayed on the air so long. As **Theodore Sturgeon** once said, “90% of everything is crud”, I guess because there are a lot of people who _like_ the crud. It probably shouldn’t really surprise us then when some of it stays on the air year after year. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/51 "2005-05-12T00:59:29Z")
> [@want2know](#): > > “Good Times”–poverty is _not_ funny; neither is Jimmie Walker! Okay, I’ll give you Jimmy Walker, but on that show, poverty was indeed funny. James & Florida, the economic opposite of the Jeffersons. And wasn’t Janet Jackson on that show? “Oh, _James_!” ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/52 "2005-05-12T01:05:13Z")
Not a sitcom per se, but **Saturday Night Live** was past its prime about 20 years ago. Roseanne sucked hard and long. The networks really need to retain a professional hitman for the odd driveby mercy killing. I’m thinking the latter years of M_A_S\*H, Cheers, and much more. All but the best sitcoms have no more than 3-4 good years in them. After that, they become grotesque caricatures. ---
**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:** [May 12, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/53 "2005-05-12T01:14:40Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > And wasn’t Janet Jackson on that show? Yes. She played Penny, Wilona’s adopted daughter. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/54 "2005-05-12T01:54:40Z")
[Wings](http://imdb.com/title/tt0098948/) appears to have dragged on for seven years. I found that show painful, yet there were actors in it who have gone on to do some interesting work. ---
**Author:** ![buns3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c89c15/32.png) [@buns3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buns3000)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/55 "2005-05-12T02:08:27Z")
I nominate every Australian sit-com that lasted 5 years. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/56 "2005-05-12T03:40:57Z")
**Wings** was one of the worst shows that ever saw the light of day. The first time the idiot Beeyotch Helen decided to slam her car into the building (Hey, how come she was never arrested?) was a warning of major suckitude. It wasn’t funny, it wasn’t cool, and in real life if one did that stuff they’d have to do a lot of explaining to a judge. And then she did it again in a later episode–God, I hope that show didn’t even make 5 seasons. I’m still having nightmares about that horrible excuse for a sitcom. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/57 "2005-05-12T03:55:54Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Yes. She played Penny, Wilona’s adopted daughter. And she recently did a hysterical parody of the show on _SNL_ (she played Wilona). Too bad they didn’t get any of the original cast members to make a cameo as that would have been too cool. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/58 "2005-05-12T04:00:27Z")
> [@KRC](#): > > **Wings** was one of the worst shows that ever saw the light of day… I’m still having nightmares about that horrible excuse for a sitcom. I’ve mentioned this on other threads, but I’ll mention it again: one thing that always drove me nuts on that show is that these characters are all supposed to be barely getting by financially, and yet they all live in spacious well appointed beach houses on Nantucket. Even assuming their houses are a block or two off the beach, these houses IRL would sell conservatively in the very high 6 figures and more likely the low 7s. The answer to their constant money problems is obvious: sell the house, move to lesser digs, and bank the profits, but nooooo… (Helen runs a diner in a tiny indie airport, for Gawd’s sake- how much can she make? Unless, of course, the brothers and Antonio and Helen were all jetting in Colombian drug mules on Sandpiper [but that seems more like something Roy would have done]). ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/59 "2005-05-12T04:04:12Z")
**The Golden Girls** - frankly I’m shocked I’m the first person to mention it. There is no finer example of a show that was a huge hit at the time and is still re-run to this day. And it is unfunny and unwatchable. Blech! ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/60 "2005-05-12T05:10:16Z")
> [@Santos L Halper](#): > > **Cheers** 1982-1983 Ya know, it seemed a lot longer at the time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365.md?page=4)