# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/101 "2005-05-13T00:27:44Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > **Sampiro** -what’s the dirt on Ben Savage? I used to watch BMW religiously in high school because I had a massive crush on Will Friedle. (He’s now doing voice work in cartoons ala Mark Hamill-_Batman Beyond_, _Kim Possible_). I’m a big William Daniels fan (he only plays one character, but he plays it so well) and I read an interview with him in _TV Guide_ or _People_ or some equally hard-hitting scholarly periodical in the last season of the show. When asked if rumors of tension on the set and Savage being a tyrant (particularly in the episode where his older brother guest starred as a teacher who sexually harasses Topanga) Daniels replied (I’m paraphrasing as I don’t have a copy) “Well… this is a business where an 18 year old who makes money for the producers can call the shots, and an 18 year old with a lot of money and a lot of power who’s been in this business since he was in diapers isn’t likely to call them with much professionalism or manners.” He was basically saying “He’s an ass, but I don’t blame him”, and he also said that his fondest memories by far of the show were his paychecks. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/102 "2005-05-13T00:32:03Z")
Ooooh, I just thought of one-how many seasons did _Home Improvement_ last? Good god, an entire half hour of Tim Allen grunting. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/103 "2005-05-13T00:43:11Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Didn’t one of those chicks end up in a porno or something? I checked IMDB for the two women who played the daughters, Deborah Van Valkenburgh and Lydia Cornell. While their careers post-sitcom are awfully depressing, I see no obvious porn. (On the upside, Deborah, the brunette, is apparently featured in the new Rob Zombie flick, which has an appealing 70s-ploitation vibe, while Lydia, the blonde, is a published writer. And according to their bios, both women have classical theater experience. To which I say: Huh.) ---
**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 13, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/104 "2005-05-13T04:24:42Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > You’re right. It falls short, but only by one season. It ran from 1988 to 1992. Let’s see, that’s 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 Yep, only four years. One short. Dang. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/105 "2005-05-13T04:31:21Z")
Is _ **Still Standing** _ eligible? I watched this wretched show once and had to have my memories suppressed by a hypnotist. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2005, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/106 "2005-05-13T04:36:24Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > The reason? The assortment of double-Ds. Didn’t one of those chicks end up in a porno or something?. Could you be thinking of **Family Matters**? The youngest daughter, played by Jaimee Foxxworth, has since had a career in porn. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/107 "2005-05-13T04:36:41Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Ooooh, I just thought of one-how many seasons did _Home Improvement_ last? Good god, an entire half hour of Tim Allen grunting. Methinks that’s a rather unfair characterization of the show. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/108 "2005-05-13T04:59:04Z")
> [@Joe K](#): > > _Charles In Charge_—It was lame-ass. Dull. The co-star was driven to masquerading as a [proselytizing superhero](http://www.bibleman.com/bibleman/home.jsp), for crying out loud! > ? But now I get the theme song stuck in my head because of Family Guy. Never actually seen the show. “Hey, Hey! Ya Crazy Beatle…”-Peter Griffen. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/109 "2005-05-13T05:07:49Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > I’ll give you the first two, but _Green Acres_ was surreal genius. I saw it as a metaphor for a logical engineer-type (which I was) attempting to get along in a non-logical world. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/110 "2005-05-13T05:18:08Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Whoo … taking a look at the 1984 network lineup – … Wow. It seems that you have a site that I must have a link to. Care to share? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/111 "2005-05-13T05:39:47Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Let’s see, that’s > > 1988 > 1989 > 1990 > 1991 > 1992 > > Yep, only four years. One short. Dang. That’s five different years, but it’s four seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/112 "2005-05-13T05:45:22Z")
I am reminded of an article I read in _ **Newsweek** _ or some other news weekly some time in the '80s about the death of the sitcom. The point was that Hollywood was saturated with cocaine at the time and the writers, etc., would sit around thinking that they were producing comedic gold, when, in actuality, they were producing laff-track crap. Another thing was the prevalence of gays in Hollywood. Until _ **Cosby** _ came along, there wasn’t a strong male head-of-household in any recent sitcom. (You can see this today - _ **Raymond** _ isn’t exactly an alpha male.) I suspect that most of these horrible shows date from that period. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/113 "2005-05-13T11:25:30Z")
The \*\* Home Improvment \*\* show was far more than Tim Allen grunting. Although I got tired of that beeyotch Jill whining because Tim wasn’t being supportive if he didn’t go with her to the stupid opera, it was still miles ahead of dreck like \*\*Gimme a Break, Benson, \*\* and **Fool’s House.** (Sorry, I meant **Full House.** ) At least nobody on **Home Improvement** decided to perk up a lame episode by singing “Accentuate the Positive” or “Animal Quackers in My Soop.” ---
**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:** [May 13, 2005, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/114 "2005-05-13T12:07:28Z")
_Mad About You_. Here’s a show that starred the talents(?) of Paul Reisser and Helen Hunt, yet kept Hank Azaria in the background as a minor character. Did anyone realize he had more talent than the two stars put together and magnified? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/115 "2005-05-13T13:50:56Z")
> [@Oslo Ostragoth](#): > > Wow. It seems that you have a site that I must have a link to. Care to share? Yes! I should have given it before – [http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id161.htm](http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id161.htm) > [@KRC](#): > > The \*\* Home Improvment \*\* show was far more than Tim Allen grunting. Although I got tired of that beeyotch Jill whining because Tim wasn’t being supportive if he didn’t go with her to the stupid opera To me, the worst episode was the one in which Jill coerced Tim into getting a _vasectomy_, for Pete’s sake! I think that episode won some awards. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > > [@Cervaise](#): > > > > Okay, how about Too Close for Comfort, starring Ted Knight, a cartoon cow, and an assortment of heaving double-Ds? Believe it or not, this actually ran for five years. > > The reason? The assortment of double-Ds. Didn’t one of those chicks end up in a porno or something? You think that’s bad? What about Knight’s short-lived (six episodes in 1978) pre-_Too Close for Comfort_ star vehicle, _The Ted Knight Show_ (not to be confused with the late-life retitling of _T.C.C._)? Knight played the owner of (I am not making this up) an _escort service_, peddling the charms of characters called Graziella, Honey, and Irma. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/116 "2005-05-13T14:41:35Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > _Mad About You_. Here’s a show that starred the talents(?) of Paul Reisser and Helen Hunt, yet kept Hank Azaria in the background as a minor character. Did anyone realize he had more talent than the two stars put together and magnified? Granted, Hank Azaria should have had a bigger part, but I have to take issue with the rest of your characterization. Until Helen Hunt’s character had the shark, that show was one of the best on TV. Likewise with _Golden Girls_. I can watch that show today, and still laugh my ass off. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/117 "2005-05-13T15:43:26Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Granted, Hank Azaria should have had a bigger part, but I have to take issue with the rest of your characterization. Until Helen Hunt’s character had the **shark** , that show was one of the best on TV. > > Likewise with _Golden Girls_. I can watch that show today, and still laugh my ass off. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/118 "2005-05-13T15:52:28Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > while Lydia, the blonde, is a published writer. And according to their bios, both women have classical theater experience. To which I say: Huh.) If you ask me, [Lydia Cornell](http://www.lydiacornell.com/) is looking better than she did on the show. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/119 "2005-05-13T15:52:52Z")
> [@KRC](#): > > The \*\* Home Improvment \*\* show was far more than Tim Allen grunting. Although I got tired of that beeyotch Jill whining because Tim wasn’t being supportive if he didn’t go with her to the stupid opera, it was still miles ahead of dreck like \*\*Gimme a Break, Benson, \*\* and **Fool’s House.** (Sorry, I meant **Full House.** ) At least nobody on **Home Improvement** decided to perk up a lame episode by singing “Accentuate the Positive” or “Animal Quackers in My Soop.” True, but basically, every episode was that Men are like THIS and Women are like THAT. Tim has to be Mr. Macho, Jill whines about it, the kids are bad, Wilson tells some obscure tale in order to teach Tim something that he mixes up, Al is a nerd, blah blah blah. It was the same thing over and over and over. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365/120 "2005-05-13T15:55:30Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > True, but basically, every episode was that Men are like THIS and Women are like THAT. Tim has to be Mr. Macho, Jill whines about it, the kids are bad, Wilson tells some obscure tale in order to teach Tim something that he mixes up, Al is a nerd, blah blah blah. It was the same thing over and over and over. Everybody Loves Raymond suffers from the same thing. There is only one dynamic between the various characters and every show plays upon that dynamic. Both shows were essentially repeating themselves after the second season. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sit-com-rasputins-worst-sit-coms-ever-to-last-5-or-more-years/303365.md?page=7)