Two shows commonly considered among the worst of all time, My Mother the Car and Joanie Loves Chachi, will soon be released on DVD. What surprises me is that neither show lasted long or was aired in reruns, so the entire audience for these releases is nostalgic for little remembered flops. What is the most obscure or unlikely show/film to make it to DVD? And why do companies decide to release these shows when far better known shows can’t?
I picked up a copy of Wolf Lake in a bargain bin. It was a series about werewolves that was cancelled after just five episodes.
That was part of an early 2000s trend to put every TV show on DVD. It’s the same reason stuff like Firefly and Wonderfalls (and gained sizable fanbases) were released on DVD when today they probably wouldn’t be.
My contribution: The Wizard. It was considered terrible when it was released, and is really only remembered for how ridiculous it is. But it’s on DVD (and I proudly own a copy).
But those shows had a cult fanbase. As far as I recall, Wolf Lake was pretty much ignored when it was on the air.
Wonderfalls was canceled after four episodes and didn’t have the Joss Whedon name behind it. I think the only reason they released it is because they shot all 13 episodes of season 1 before the show ever aired. Making a little money is better than no money.
As for Wolf Lake, it actually had some critical appeal:
A lot of shows are not released or released in a mutilated way because of ‘music rights’.
Plus it starred indie pop star Jenny Lewis, and got swept up in the wave of video game nostalgia.
I was thinking I saw more than four episodes of Wonderfalls on broadcast TV.
A cable channel picked it up at some point and played the entire season but when it was on network (FOX?), it only lasted a few weeks.
I still can’t believe that not only did Hopscotch get a DVD release, but is part of the Criterion freaking Collection. I love that movie, but didn’t expect anyone else to.
So bad it’s good is a genre.
I think there’s also a nostalgia factor. People have fond memories of shows they watched in their childhood. I know I’ve been shocked a few times by how bad some show I recalled loving as a kid actually was when I watch it as an adult.
Conversely, I think it’s interesting to see shows which have held up as being as good as you remember. Parker Lewis Can’t Lose is every bit as good now as it was when I was 13, IMHO.
Yeah, I can get My Mother the Car but not Hill Street Blues.:mad:
The first two seasons have been released. Which I guess sucks if you’re a Ken Olin fan.
Bill and Ted, the animated series. Own it. Hate it. Suffer like I did when I had to see it.
I rarely buy physical media any more, but if I saw My Mother the Car on sale, I would probably buy it. I’ve heard all my life how horrible it was, and I’ve wanted to see for myself. It’s such a surreal concept, especially for mid-60s American television, it feels like it should be of historical interest. Plus, it’s probably really funny while stoned.
Have they released Bill and Ted the live action series yet?
True. My Mother the Car has the same perverse curiosity factor going for it that Plan Nine from Outer Space has. It has such a reputation as “The Worst TV Series Of All Time” that you just have to see it at least once.
Also, regarding your comment about the show probably being funnier when you’re stoned, while the Nielsen ratings for MMTC were mostly mediocre at best, the show was surprisingly popular among younger viewers (not just children but older teenagers and young adults as well). I strongly suspect more than a few of them sparked up as part of their watching ritual. Likewise, I would not be surprised if at least one of the creators of the program had dropped a few tabs before coming up with the show’s concept.
A while back I saw, at Best Buy, a dvd set of the Doris Day Show. I just can’t imagine there would be much of a market for such a thing.