# The Graveyard of Television Crib-Death **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2015, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394 "2015-01-31T01:05:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/201 "2015-02-04T17:22:16Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > Quite frankly MOST British shows are short lived . . . Why is that? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/202 "2015-02-04T17:28:21Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > When I was in kindergarten, back around 1966 or 1967, there were TWO shows I loved that disappeared without a trace: > > 1. _ **It’s About Time** _, a sitcom about astronauts who accidentally travelled back in time and ended up living with cavemen… That actually had a full season of 26 shows. But the premise got boring so halfway thru the cavemen came back to the future to live with the astronauts. Hilarity ensued. :rolleyes: But it had a cool theme song. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/J1G-TsdNWGg/hqdefault.jpg "It's About Time TV series open") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1G-TsdNWGg) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/203 "2015-02-04T17:29:55Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Why is that? Well, they have short seasons. And, most of them are\* really \*bad. Yes, i know, us Americans are amazed by the quality of such things as Masterpiece Theater, but we only get the cream of the crop. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/204 "2015-02-04T17:31:40Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation— **“SHADOW.”** Loved it! 🆒 The costumes they had for some of the women were wowzer! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/205 "2015-02-04T17:32:34Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Why is that? It’s not _exactly_ the same question you asked, but we did have a recent thread which is relevant: [Why do British shows have such short seasons?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=747768) I don’t know whether this is a good analogy or not, but I kind of think of it this way: traditionally, American networks adding series to their schedule are like companies hiring employees; British networks adding series to their schedule are like companies giving workers a contract for a specific piece of work. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/206 "2015-02-04T18:00:42Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > That actually had a full season of 26 shows. But the premise got boring so halfway thru the cavemen came back to the future to live with the astronauts. > > Hilarity ensued. :rolleyes: > > But it had a cool theme song. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1G-TsdNWGg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1G-TsdNWGg) It’s about time, it’s about space It’s about time I slapped your face _POW_ (Sister Marie! burpo hit me!) Ooo! Ooo! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/207 "2015-02-04T18:06:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > That actually had a full season of 26 shows. But the premise got boring so halfway thru the cavemen came back to the future to live with the astronauts. > > Hilarity ensued. :rolleyes: > > But it had a cool theme song. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1G-TsdNWGg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1G-TsdNWGg) That’s right- the cavemen moved into a modern apartment, and kept bonking their heads on the windows, because they couldn’t grasp the concept of glass (“Me no see anything, but feel something”) Not the proudest moments of Imogene Coca’s career. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/208 "2015-02-04T18:30:59Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > It’s about time, it’s about space > It’s about time I slapped your face _POW_ > > (Sister Marie! burpo hit me!) > > Ooo! Ooo! Now, now, Gunther! :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/209 "2015-02-04T18:31:43Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, they have short seasons. And, most of them are\* really \*bad. Yes, i know, us Americans are amazed by the quality of such things as Masterpiece Theater, but we only get the cream of the crop. No doubt you are aware this is the EXACT thing the British hear about American TV? Usually from the Americans now I think about it. “_You Brits think US TV is better because you only see the good stuff…_” ---
**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:** [February 4, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/210 "2015-02-04T18:33:08Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > No doubt you are aware this is the EXACT thing the British hear about American TV? Usually from the Americans now I think about it. “_You Brits think US TV is better because you only see the good stuff…_” No, they see things like _ **Starsky and Hutch** _ and _ **Love Boat** _. Ew! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/211 "2015-02-04T18:33:22Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, they have short seasons. And, most of them are\* really \*bad. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I don’t know whether this is a good analogy or not, but I kind of think of it this way: traditionally, American networks adding series to their schedule are like companies hiring employees; British networks adding series to their schedule are like companies giving workers a contract for a specific piece of work. Why is **that?** ---
**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:** [February 4, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/212 "2015-02-04T18:42:09Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Why is **that?** Completely different attitude toward TV. A BBC official once told me that they take pride in offering viewers new programming every few months. They see no need to milk series for more than they’re worth, and they let them run only so long as the quality of writing remains the same. This is why there are only a dozen episodes of _ **Fawlty Towers** _; neither John Cleese nor Connie Booth wanted the series to grow stale. \*\*\* Doc Martin \*\*\*will probably end after its next season for the same reason. And so on and so on. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/213 "2015-02-04T18:57:01Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > No doubt you are aware this is the EXACT thing the British hear about American TV? Usually from the Americans now I think about it. “_You Brits think US TV is better because you only see the good stuff…_” Yes, and both are true, after all- why export the crap & the failures? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/214 "2015-02-04T19:01:52Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Never saw the show, but my dad was apparently a fan, because I had one of these as a kid- the [SHADO Interceptor.](http://www.fab1.net/ufo/351.jpg) Not sure if Dad got it when I was a young boy, or if it’s something he bought from the PX while he was in the USAF. Does anyone even MAKE caps any more? Did you ever hit an entire roll of paper caps with a hammer? Satisfying BOOM! I had [this model kit](http://www.entertainmentearth.com/images/AUTOIMAGES/RT622lg.jpg) once. > [@TCMF-2L](#): > > Eric Idle did **Rutland Weekend Television** (1975) spoofing a small TV station. Managed 2 seasons, the first 6 episodes the second 7 episodes. However one sketch took off. A clear spoof of the Beatles, the Rutles led to a fake TV spinoff film and album with involvement by long time Python fan and supporter George Harrison. > TCMF-2L I have that album on CD; it’s incredible. I’ve played some of those songs live and gotten good response (mostly from drunks). Do I have to spell it out? C-H-E-E-S-E-A-N-D-O-N-I-O-N-S, Oh, no! The film, “All You Need Is Cash” is equally hysterical. I think **BrainGlutton** might be stuck. If he, "Why is that"s once more, give him a nudge. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/215 "2015-02-04T19:09:21Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Barely! Keigh Deigh did not put his name in the credits. He was also on M_A_S\*H once or twice, but I can’t find his listing. _Khan_ was actually a sort of consolation prize. The series Khan was actually a sort-of follow-up to the TV-movie **Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders** , based on Robert H. Van Gulik’s Judge Dee mystery _The Haunted Monastery_, made by the King of TV Movies, Nicholas Meyer\*. It starred Dheigh as the titular Judge Dee, the only non-Asian actor in a cast of Asian actors playing Chinese characters (KD – real name Kenneth Dickerson – despite playing many Chinese and Japanese characters over the years, was African/English), and was obviously intended to "sell’ the idea of a Judge Dee series. The network balked, though, daunted by the thought of an all-Asian cast that they thought the majority of US TV watchers couldn’t relate to, or because of the cost of T’ang dynasty costumes and sets, or whatever. So they “compromised” by only retaining the lead actor and setting mysteries in the present day, in the US. Voila! I’m not surprised it died. It’s like turning _Hamlet_ into a continuing series about a guy of Danish descent living in Minnesota with his wacky neighbor Yorick. \*The same guy who wrote _The Seven Per Cent Solution_ and its two sequels, wrote the screenplay for the movie version and directed it, wrote and directed _Time after Time_, and wrote or directed Star Treks II and IV. Among other things. His TV movies are the best and the most under-appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/216 "2015-02-04T20:23:06Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > No, they see things like _ **Starsky and Hutch** _ and _ **Love Boat** _. Ew! They “see” things like Starsky and Hutch"? I “saw” Starsky and Hutch but it must have been over 30 years ago. (And I liked it!) Love Boat wasn’t something I watched. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/217 "2015-02-04T20:28:16Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, and both are true, after all- why export the crap & the failures? If the Brits didn’t export the crap how come so many Americans seem familiar with **Are You Being Served**? All those Mrs Slocombe “Pussy” jokes… The horror, the horror… ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/218 "2015-02-04T20:38:50Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > This is why there are only a dozen episodes of _ **Fawlty Towers** _; neither John Cleese nor Connie Booth wanted the series to grow stale. \*\*\* Doc Martin \*\*\*will probably end after its next season for the same reason. And so on and so on. John Cleese’s pithy assessment: “Shakespeare only got about 3 hours out of Hamlet, so I think 6 hours of Basil Fawlty is more than enough.” ---
**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:** [February 4, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/219 "2015-02-04T20:49:30Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > They “see” things like Starsky and Hutch"? > > I “saw” Starsky and Hutch but it must have been over 30 years ago. (And I liked it!) > > Love Boat wasn’t something I watched. Yes, that’s right. You saw it back in the '70s, and it’s still representative of the American programming that’s shown all over the world. Diff’rent strokes for diff’rent folks (heh!), but neither _ **S&H** _ nor _ **LB** _ are what I would call “quality programming.” IMHO, they’re right up there with crap like _ **Baywatch** _ (remember _that_?). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394/220 "2015-02-04T20:55:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Completely different attitude toward TV. A BBC official once told me that they take pride in offering viewers new programming every few months. They see no need to milk series for more than they’re worth, and they let them run only so long as the quality of writing remains the same. > > This is why there are only a dozen episodes of _ **Fawlty Towers** _; neither John Cleese nor Connie Booth wanted the series to grow stale. \*\*\* Doc Martin \*\*\*will probably end after its next season for the same reason. And so on and so on. In that case, British programs probably should be excluded from this thread. A brief run is not crib-death in their case, not a sign of creative failure or executive meddling or an audience too ignorant to appreciate the show; it’s just a naturally shorter life-cycle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-graveyard-of-television-crib-death/711394.md?page=12)