# TV series that were never on the rails to begin with **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 16, 2016, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882 "2016-05-16T01:57:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/21 "2016-05-16T12:44:30Z")
Around the time of _Small Wonder_, there was another direct-to-syndication sitcom called _Out of This World_, about a teenage girl who was half-human, half-alien, giving her weird superhuman powers. I watched more of it than I should, because said teenage girl was pretty cute, but objectively it was an absolutely awful show. Notable for using as its theme song the old Bing Crosby hit “Swingin’ on a Star” (the first time I had heard it), and for having none other than Burt Reynolds as the voice of the girl’s alien father. He never appeared, but talked to her over space-telephone at the end of every episode. I am mildly surprise to see that, like _Small Wonder_, it lasted four seasons. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/22 "2016-05-16T12:59:17Z")
A better example is _The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer_. The concept was terrible from the start – the idea that Abraham Lincoln was an oversexed idiot just wasn’t going to fly, and once the NAACP started picketing over its portrayal of slavery, you knew it was a disaster. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/23 "2016-05-16T13:09:51Z")
Harvey Korman attempted an American adaptation of Fawlty Towers. One episode (the pilot) made. I honestly believe he could have done a workmanlike turn as Basil. > **[Snavely (TV Movie 1978) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0777277/)** > > Snavely: Directed by Hal Cooper. With Harvey Korman, Betty White, Frank LaLoggia, Deborah Zon. Henry Snavely is a cynical hotelier that in this pilot is faced with the threat of hotel inspectors. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/24 "2016-05-16T13:47:14Z")
An American version of _Red Dwarf_ was attempted. Never got beyond the pilot episode. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/25 "2016-05-16T14:02:03Z")
Wrong open tab. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/26 "2016-05-16T14:17:57Z")
Other American adaptations failed. I recall Coupling and Absolutely Fabulous were tried and failed utterly. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/27 "2016-05-16T16:19:48Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > **Rusty’s Trail** was pretty dire, especially since all the characters were imitations of the ones on **Gilligan’s Island.** **Dusty’s** Trail. > **[Dusty's Trail (TV Series 1973–1974) ⭐ 5.2 | Comedy, Western](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069577/)** > > 22m Interesting that the Ginger and Mary Ann roles were filled with the original Billie Jo and the second Bobbi Jo from _ **Petticoat Junction** _. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/28 "2016-05-16T16:41:40Z")
I nominate _The Prisoner, Hogan’s Heros_ and to a lesser extent _Teletubbies_. Two acid-fueled fever dreams and a comedy about a Nazi prison camp. Let’s add _BooBah,_ too. > [@DrFidelius](#): > > Harvey Korman attempted an American adaptation of Fawlty Towers. One episode (the pilot) made. I honestly believe he could have done a workmanlike turn as Basil. > > [Snavely (TV Movie 1978) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0777277/) Damn! I’d like to see that! Korman is fucking hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/29 "2016-05-16T17:28:16Z")
> [@txtumbleweed](#): > > I liked _Jennifer Slept Here_ but probably because Ann Jillian was pretty smoking hot. Ann Jillian was my first (that I remember) TV crush. I remember watching the show just for her. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/30 "2016-05-16T17:34:48Z")
> [@txtumbleweed](#): > > Wasn’t there a show where the cast found out they were being cancelled while they were filming an episode and they aired the episode with the cast reacting? Sounds like the final episode of _ **Mary Tyler Moore** _, where everyone except Ted Baxter was fired from their jobs in the newsroom. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/31 "2016-05-16T17:38:02Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Sounds like the final episode of _ **Mary Tyler Moore** _, where everyone except Ted Baxter was fired from their jobs in the newsroom. No it doesn’t. The cast knew it was the final season well ahead of time, and they knew they were filming the last episode. I am afraid you are confusing the actors with the people they are playing. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/32 "2016-05-16T17:40:15Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I nominate _The Prisoner, Hogan’s Heros_ and to a lesser extent _Teletubbies_. Two acid-fueled fever dreams and a comedy about a Nazi prison camp. > > Let’s add _BooBah,_ too. > > Damn! I’d like to see that! Korman is fucking hilarious. I wouldn’t put Hogan’s Heroes in this category. Six seasons, 168 episodes, so per the OP, not so bad that it didn’t last long. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/33 "2016-05-16T17:59:57Z")
The PRinces of Malibu. Brandon and Brody Jenner and Spencer Pratt being over-privileged lazy brats. Two episodes aired. The Hasselhoffs. They aired the 1st and 2nd episode back to back. 700K people tuned in for the first episode. Approximately 30% of those viewers did not stay tuned for the 2nd episode. and that was that. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/34 "2016-05-16T18:26:59Z")
> [@txtumbleweed](#): > > Wow, _Amanda’s_ was pretty awful. Bea Arthur as Basil could have worked, but you have to let her be as petty and nasty and simpering as he was. Instead, it seemed they tried to make her the sane one surrounded by the crazies. > > Wasn’t there a show where the cast found out they were being cancelled while they were filming an episode and they aired the episode with the cast reacting? I’d wager a hundred quatloos you’re thinking of “[I Married Dora](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092377/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1).” [Here’s a clip from the final episode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvVR99yafr8). Elizabeth Peña make my heart go pitter-pat. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/35 "2016-05-16T18:37:37Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > No it doesn’t. The cast knew it was the final season well ahead of time, and they knew they were filming the last episode. I am afraid you are confusing the actors with the people they are playing. No, I did not confuse the two. I said the real-life episode to which the poster was referring sounded a lot like the final episode of _ **MTM** _, in which the players reacted to losing their jobs. If there was such a real-life episode, I’d like to know more about it. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2016, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/36 "2016-05-16T18:38:38Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I’d wager a hundred quatloos you’re thinking of “[I Married Dora](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092377/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1).” [Here’s a clip from the final episode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvVR99yafr8). Thank you! 🙂 ---
**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:** [May 16, 2016, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/37 "2016-05-16T18:52:21Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I wouldn’t put Hogan’s Heroes in this category. Six seasons, 168 episodes, so per the OP, not so bad that it didn’t last long. Virtually all of the Nazis in the show were played by Jewish actors (some of whom were genuine refugees) who relished the prospect of lampooning the Third Reich. In addition, Robert Clary, who played Cpl Louis LeBeau, had actually been in a concentration camp. One of the key conditions in casting them was that the Nazis should never come out on top in any episode. In an interview I remember watching, Bob Crane said they wanted to show how clever Allied POWs were in outwitting their captors. It was a very well thought-out concept, and the episodes were both hilarious and suspenseful. There was never any doubt as to who the bad guys were. Interestingly, it had originally been set in an American prison, but didn’t sell until it was moved to a POW camp. The creators of the series were inspired by the novel _ **Stalag 17** _, and the original name of the TV show was _ **Stalag 13** _. This resulted in a plagarism suit necessitating the change in title. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/38 "2016-05-16T18:57:38Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I wouldn’t put Hogan’s Heroes in this category. Six seasons, 168 episodes, so per the OP, not so bad that it didn’t last long. At the Emmys, it looks like it got nominated for Best Comedy – with Crane and Klemperer getting nominated for the Best Lead and Best Supporting – in the first season; and then got nominated for Best Comedy again, with Crane and Klemperer getting nominated for Best Lead and Best Supporting again, in the second season; followed by getting nominated for Best Comedy again, with Klemperer actually managing the _win_, in the third season (before winning again in the fourth, and getting nominated again in the fifth). That’s pretty danged solid. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/39 "2016-05-16T18:59:21Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I nominate _The Prisoner_ … and to a lesser extent _Teletubbies_. Two acid-fueled fever dreams… _ **The Prisoner** _ might have been an “acid-fueled fever dream,” but it was a **GREAT** acid-fueled fever dream! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882/40 "2016-05-16T19:14:37Z")
1992’s _**[Woops!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103583/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_43)**_, which lasted a whole 11 episodes. I only watched it because of Lane Davies (who I had a hopeless crush on after watching him on _Santa Barbara_). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-were-never-on-the-rails-to-begin-with/754882.md?page=3)