# Tell us about your favorite failed TV shows. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 30, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743 "2015-12-30T18:04:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/161 "2016-01-03T04:05:59Z")
Judy Garland had a variety show from 1963 to 1964. They went thru several different formats, having Jerry van Dyke for comedy bits was a mistake and I don’t know if Garland was really capable of handling the grind of a weekly show. But at least the DVDs exist. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/162 "2016-01-03T04:34:39Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Judy Garland had a variety show from 1963 to 1964. They went thru several different formats, having Jerry van Dyke for comedy bits was a mistake and I don’t know if Garland was really capable of handling the grind of a weekly show. But at least the DVDs exist. I have a station on my cable package called GET TV, which shows Judy Garland, Andy Williams, Merv Griffin, etc. a couple times a week. You might check to see if you have it; it’s in the high numbers where you just come across it by accident. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/163 "2016-01-03T04:48:10Z")
“Boot Camp”, reality show from 2001. Staffed by actual drill instructors, it put regular Joes and Janes in kinda military training situations. I liked it, but it only lasted one season. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/164 "2016-01-03T04:56:31Z")
_Sledge Hammer_ has been mentioned, but that show was huge in New Zealand, to the point where David Rasche did a whole bunch of commercials here basically playing Sledge. It was nice to spot him in _In The Loop_ recently, playing a warmongering right-wing politician. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/165 "2016-01-03T05:58:36Z")
VH1 - [“The List”](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0222583/plotsummary) > [@](#): > > VH1 television show features four celebrity guests and a rotating celebrity host. The guests all present their top three choices on a musical topic. The choices are debated and choices are cut before a final list is determined by the studio audience. I really enjoyed that. It only lasted one season. I’m not sure why. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/166 "2016-01-03T07:46:23Z")
> [@Fir\_na\_tine](#): > > Does anyone else remember [Keen Eddie?](http://http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318390/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) A NYC detective is exiled to England to work with Scotland Yard. Every episode was just hysterical and the sexual aura was intense. I thought I might have been in time to be the first to nominate this, but of course I was wrong. Mark Valley is awesome, but his shows keep getting cancelled. Or he gets kicked of after divorcing the female lead. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/167 "2016-01-03T10:57:42Z")
I will also vote for _Firefly,_ and I think my mother and I must be the only two people on earth who enjoyed _The Michael J. Fox Show._ ---
**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:** [January 3, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/168 "2016-01-03T15:56:47Z")
Another thanks for the mention of _My World… and Welcome to It_. That and [The Farmer’s Daughter](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056755/) (3 seasons) made me a perpetual William Windom fan. The [daughter](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0314761/) on _MW&WtI_ latter played Phyllis’s daughter on _The Mary Tyler Moore Show_, _et seq._ and quit showbiz after that. Yesterday, I watched an episode of [The Mothers-In-Law](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061280/) for the first time in ages. Lasted 2 seasons, but in my mind it only lasted 1 season. The great Roger C. Carmel was booted after the first season by Desi Arnez over money. That hurt his career so he was forced to take crappy jobs like guest starring on an unpopular Sci-Fi series and such. (The character’s first names were the same as the actors. Until Carmel was replaced by Richard Deacon who kept the previous actor’s character name. A fine actor but no Carmel.) Carmel, Eve Arden and the surprisingly still living Kaye Ballard made a great cast. The weakness was their kids who made them the in-laws. Good enough actors but weak characters. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/169 "2016-01-03T16:03:28Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > He was forced to take crappy jobs like guest starring on an unpopular Sci-Fi series and such. So, uhm, was William Windom. 😉😃 ---
**Author:** ![Greekfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@Greekfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greekfreak)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/170 "2016-01-03T18:25:28Z")
Three shows, all from the 80s. “It’s Your Move” Starring Jason Bateman and the dude who played Marcy’s first husband on “Married With Children”. It was right after “Silver Spoons” had been cancelled, and Bateman clearly was talented enough to have his own show–but for some reason it just didn’t click. A few episodes are still on youtube. “The Marshall Chronicles” Starring Joshua Beckett. This show was “Square Pegs” but much edgier, especially considering the decade in which it was released. “Outlaws” from 1986, with a bunch of B-list actors including Richard Roundtree and Charles Napier. About a bunch of cowboy bandits and a sheriff who get magically transported 100 years into the future. It really was a great concept and worked well but again, fell through the cracks. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/171 "2016-01-03T18:49:50Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > _Sledge Hammer_ has been mentioned, but that show was huge in New Zealand, to the point where David Rasche did a whole bunch of commercials here basically playing Sledge. It was nice to spot him in _In The Loop_ recently, playing a warmongering right-wing politician. He has a small but good part in the Coen Bros.’ _Burn After Reading_. Check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/172 "2016-01-03T19:06:31Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > It was only eight episodes, but [Quark](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077066/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) had me on the floor. Richard Benjamin was an outer space garbage collector with an off-beat (to say the least) crew. Star Trek spoof, anyone? Well, when its pilot premiered in May 1977, it was a Star Trek parody, but something big happened before the series started appearing regularly in 1978, which is why the first episode appearing in 1978 was called “May the Source be with You.” Looking at the complete episode descriptions, it looks like there was still a strong Star Trek spoof element, but Star Wars couldn’t be ignored… ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/173 "2016-01-03T19:31:10Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > He has a small but good part in the Coen Bros.’ _Burn After Reading_. Check it out. Yeah, I was surprised and delighted to find out that he’s a legit actor who still gets work. He absolutely sold it as the reality-manufacturing neo-con Linton. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/174 "2016-01-03T21:38:00Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > I thought I might have been in time to be the first to nominate this, but of course I was wrong. Mark Valley is awesome, but his shows keep getting cancelled. Or he gets kicked of after divorcing the female lead. You just reminded me of\* Human Target\*, which I enjoyed. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/175 "2016-01-03T22:59:15Z")
_When Things Were Rotten_ - a Mel Brooks spoof of Robin Hood. 13 episodes in 1975, and I guess is some sort of ancestor of _Men in Tights_. One of the bits that sticks with me is when a character is accused of betrayal. He protests his loyalty, and is told “Tell it to you creator.” He of course immediately starts calling out “Mel! I didn’t do it!”. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/176 "2016-01-04T00:31:29Z")
Has anybody mentioned Herman’s Head? ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/177 "2016-01-04T01:47:48Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > _When Things Were Rotten_ - a Mel Brooks spoof of Robin Hood. 13 episodes in 1975, and I guess is some sort of ancestor of _Men in Tights_. > > One of the bits that sticks with me is when a character is accused of betrayal. He protests his loyalty, and is told “Tell it to you creator.” He of course immediately starts calling out “Mel! I didn’t do it!”. I can still sing the theme song to that. ---
**Author:** ![Zyanthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Zyanthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyanthia)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/178 "2016-01-04T01:52:30Z")
I really wish Dead Like Me had kept going. I really enjoyed it, and there is so much mythology they could’ve started exploring other than just the reaper mythology. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/179 "2016-01-04T02:02:10Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > _Sledge Hammer_ has been mentioned, but that show was huge in New Zealand, to the point where David Rasche did a whole bunch of commercials here basically playing Sledge. It was nice to spot him in _In The Loop_ recently, playing a warmongering right-wing politician. [Give me a bazooka and a wheelchair! I’ll show you even shut-ins can kill!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1umGj-yC700) ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743/180 "2016-01-04T02:15:44Z")
**Working** : A funny workplace comedy starring Fred Savage. I don’t remember much of it at all other than it was really funny and had a lot of literal/cutaway style jokes. **In Treatment** : A show on HBO that only lasted three seasons. I remember explaining the show to a friend who said “so all you do is sit there and listen to them talk?” and I showed her one episode and she was riveted. **Sports Night** : Already been said, but my all-time favorite TV show hands down [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-your-favorite-failed-tv-shows/741743.md?page=10)