# TV Shows Only You Remember **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [July 8, 2021, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022 "2021-07-08T20:36:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 24
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/463 "2021-07-19T15:25:23Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > [The Man Who Never Was (TV series) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Never_Was_(TV_series)) They might have done better with a TV show based on the 1956 movie _The Man Who Never Was_. On the other hand, it’s tough to maintain interest (and freshness) when you’re dealing with a corpse. > **[The Man Who Never Was](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Never_Was)** > > The Man Who Never Was is a 1956 British espionage thriller film produced by André Hakim and directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame and features Robert Flemyng, Josephine Griffin and Stephen Boyd. It is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Cmdr. Ewen Montagu and chronicles Operation Mincemeat, a 1943 British intelligence plan to deceive the Axis powers into thinking the Allied invasion of Sicily would take place elsewhere in the Mediterranean. > The Man Who Never... ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/464 "2021-07-19T16:09:52Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > The other is _Fridays_ , a knockoff of SNL in the 80s, but, you know, airing on Friday night. The only skit I remember is the men who hum between words. What, you don’t remember “[Enter the Matzoi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfNdovRsZYw)”? Sit and be well! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/465 "2021-07-19T17:16:13Z")
At some time in the 80s, there was a show called “The Wizard”. The main character was a diminutive genius toy inventor, whose young friends ended up using his toys in creative ways on adventures to foil… some sort of evildoers. I remember it very fondly (if vaguely), but I’ve never met anyone else who has heard of it (though it does at least have some mention [online](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_(TV_series))). The specific scenes I remember are a ball that’s rolled in between two bars on a prison window, and then unfolds into a little robot that pushes the bars apart, like Samson with the pillars of the temple, and a couple of remote-controlled drone aircraft, one of which has been stolen by the villains and armed, and the other still controlled by the good guys who use it to take down the villains’ one. ---
**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:** [July 19, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/466 "2021-07-19T17:32:24Z")
Somehow or other, I’ve never seen the movie, but I would like to. I bought a copy of _ **Operation Mincemeat** _ a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Quite a story! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/467 "2021-07-19T17:35:07Z")
‘Fridays’ was just execrable. I hated Andy Kaufman and Michael Richards from the moment I saw them in 1980. I didn’t think the skits were clever or funny. … A few friends of ours used to come over to watch, smoke a joint, then hoot and holler and clap like seals at the idiocy. I had my slice of pizza and zoned out, wondering if this was as good as ‘partying’ was ever going to get. It unfortunately was, as time and life went on and we all went our separate ways. ---
**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:** [July 19, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/468 "2021-07-19T17:35:18Z")
Elaine played a high-class call girl on an episode of _ **Three’s Company** _. She was even hotter in the '80s than she was in the '70s. 😍 ---
**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:** [July 19, 2021, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/469 "2021-07-19T17:43:00Z")
So is _ **Combat!** _🙂 ---
**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:** [July 19, 2021, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/470 "2021-07-19T22:21:10Z")
That reminds me of a show called QED about a 19th century inventor in the old West. > **[Q.E.D. (American TV series)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q.E.D._(American_TV_series))** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Q.E.D. is a 1982 adventure television series set in Edwardian England, starring Sam Waterston as Professor Quentin Everett Deverill. The Professor was a scientific detective in the mold of Sherlock Holmes, and the series had a smattering of what would later be called steampunk. In the show, the lead character was known primarily by his initials, Q.E.D; the reference here is that Q.E.D. usually stands for quod erat demonstrandum, a statement signal... Oh my gracious! The lead was Sam Waterston! ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/471 "2021-07-20T18:52:34Z")
> **[That's My Mama](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That%27s_My_Mama)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > That's My Mama is an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 4, 1974 until December 24, 1975. There are 39 episodes of this series. That's My Mama was never a ratings success, having always been beaten by NBC's Little House on the Prairie among other competing network programs. It was not one of the top 30 most-watched U.S. programs in the Nielsen ratings for either the 1974–1975 or 1975–1976 tele... It was one of the few sitcoms that wasn’t tied to Norman Lear or MTM at the time, and was actually pretty decent. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/472 "2021-07-20T19:15:19Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > It was one of the few sitcoms that wasn’t tied to Norman Lear or MTM at the time, and was actually pretty decent. We watched that one. Can’t remember a single episode, though… Wait - didn’t somebody get a red suit in one episode? If that was that show, not only do I remember, I made my mom buy me a red jacket. She should have said no! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/473 "2021-07-20T19:37:38Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > That reminds me of a show called QED about a 19th century inventor in the old West. It’s appalling what you can find on YouTube, but it’s better than Herman’s Head. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2021, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/474 "2021-07-20T19:55:06Z")
… And the Germans were decades ahead of their time: “We even have a name for it: BLITZKRIEG!” 🧐 **These shows** were on CBS’s space-age schedule in the '60s: > **[My Living Doll](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Living_Doll)** > > My Living Doll is an American science-fiction sitcom that aired for 26 episodes on CBS from September 27, 1964, to March 17, 1965. It was produced by Jack Chertok and filmed at Desilu studios by Jack Chertok Television Productions, in association with the CBS Television Network. > The series was unusual in that it was bought by the network without a formal pilot, at the request of CBS's president James T. Aubrey, due to the success of Chertok's previous series, My Favorite Martian. > The series sta... [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DlLznsNPO58/maxresdefault.jpg "My Living Doll - Opening (in COLOR with unheard lyrics) - POP-COLORTURE.com") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlLznsNPO58) > **[It's About Time (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_About_Time_(TV_series))** > > It's About Time is an American science fantasy comedy TV series that aired on CBS for one season of 26 episodes in 1966–1967. The series was created by Sherwood Schwartz, and used sets, props and incidental music from Schwartz's other television series in production at the time, Gilligan's Island. > Astronauts Mac McKenzie (Frank Aletter) and Hector Canfield (Jack Mullaney) travel faster than the speed of light, resulting in being sent back in time to prehistoric days where they have to adjust to ... [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DsJhBn0I9U4/maxresdefault.jpg "It's About Time TV Series Opening and Closing Theme Song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsJhBn0I9U4) Notice that the format and theme for the second one changed in the middle of the season in a desperate attempt to save the series. The name of Imogene Coca’s character was also changed to “Shad,” probably after it was pointed out that “Shag” has entirely different connotations. I may as well include **this show** , though I expect people remember it more: > **[My Favorite Martian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Favorite_Martian)** > > My Favorite Martian is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. The first two seasons, totaling 75 episodes, were in black and white, and the 32 episodes of the third and final season were filmed in color. > John L. Greene created the central characters and developed the core format of the series, which was produced by Jack Chertok. > A human-appearing ex... [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7piG2V17cH8/hqdefault.jpg "My Favorite Martian (Intro) S3 (1965)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7piG2V17cH8) I never knew the theme had lyrics: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/34RAgTje0p4/hqdefault.jpg "The Satellite Singers - Martian Theme Song (My Favorite Martian theme)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34RAgTje0p4) Remember this **Japanese import?** > **[Ultraman (1966 TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraman_(1966_TV_series))** > > Ultraman (Japanese: ウルトラマン, Hepburn: Urutoraman)\[a\] is a Japanese tokusatsu science fiction television series created by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is a follow-up to Ultra Q, though not technically a sequel or spin-off. Eiji Tsuburaya's production company, Tsuburaya Productions, produced 39 episodes (40, counting the pre-premiere special) that aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) and its affiliate stations from July 17, 1966, to April 9, 1967. Its premiere topped the average rating set by Ultra Q and... [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/kX6V-kFmUuk/hqdefault.jpg ""Ultra Man" U.S. version opening") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX6V-kFmUuk) Here’s the original theme: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Q46Aei-KkF8/maxresdefault.jpg "Ultraman (1966-1967) - Japanese Intro/Credits (Subtitled)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q46Aei-KkF8) Dozo harigata! ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/475 "2021-07-20T20:18:18Z")
When I was in high school, there was a Sci-Fi TV show called, [**Farscape**](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0187636/). I really liked, but I doubt anyone even remembers it. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/476 "2021-07-20T21:48:10Z")
I definitely do. I’m honestly a little surprised you would doubt anyone remembers it. It was one of the Sci-Fi Channel’s highest rated shows when it aired. It was eventually killed by high production costs and low profit margins, as repeatedly happened to Sci-Fi Channel/SyFy shows (and sci-fi shows more generally). But a lot of sci-fi fans watched it. It’s still fondly remembered by most sci-fi fans I know. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/477 "2021-07-20T22:50:58Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > When I was in high school, there was a Sci-Fi TV show called, [**Farscape**](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0187636/). I really liked, but I doubt anyone even remembers it I never even saw an episode, but I know of it. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/478 "2021-07-21T01:57:42Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > I definitely do. I’m honestly a little surprised you would doubt anyone remembers it. In fact, over the past week, my wife, who was a big fan of _Farscape_ during its original run, has been binge-watching the first two seasons, after discovering that the series is on Amazon Prime. 🙂 (And, I agree, most sci-fi fans, at least those over the age of 35 or so, are likely at least aware of it, even if they haven’t seen it.) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/479 "2021-07-21T06:52:43Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > The other is _Fridays_ , a knockoff of SNL in the 80s, but, you know, airing on Friday night. The only skit I remember is the men who hum between words. After a couple years of the ole Betamax, our family ditched it for some rogue Panasonic VHS, and upon hearing of an (at the time) resurrected King Crimson making an appearance on some _SNL_-ish knock-off, I set up the godless, newfangled machine _just_ in time to record the following two fine performances: [Elephant Talk](https://youtu.be/p5Eoek8a500?t=23) and [Thela Hun Gingeet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MFb1Vv-RbY&t=290s) Can’t recall anything else about the show. > [@terentii](#): > > This show was a Canadian import I used to watch on MPS/SP TV in the '80s. Some bits were incredibly non-PC, which I love. The late great Bob Einstein, famous for playing daredevil Super Dave Osborne, was a regular. _Bizarre_? With John Byner? Didn’t mind’im. Yeah, slightly different approach to their thing. Good to see some nods to _Fernwood Tonight_. Wasn’t Fernwood The Prefabricated Furntiure Capital of the World? And to back that comment about Fred Willard seeming ad lib (and glib!). And also the nods to Jacob Brownoski’s _Ascent of Man_. There’s no way I’m going to believe I was the only one when I was a kid who imitated the way he’d emphatically dish with that owlish delivery of his, sometimes in a slightly hunched over posture (or so it seemed). Another good imitatee was not-pretentious-in-the-least Kenneth Clark, whose doc _Civilisation_ was the stuff of PBS and classroooms. “But _SHORELY_ the Ro-_CO_-co Era was an influence _not_ be under-_es_-ti-_ma_-ted.” > [@Andy\_L](#): > > Anyone remember Daktari Basically yelling the theme song, and then whistling the bouncy _Untamed World_ theme song, and then if I was starting to get a bit of a Merlin-on, slide in to some maudlin Mutual of Omaha’s _Wild Kingdom_. Thought about linking them, then thought, how dare I. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I loved watching [Connections](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connections_(British_documentary)). Me too. A show that made sure this grade 8’er’s mind didn’t wander too much. > [@Spoons](#): > > Pretty standard so far, but all 1970s TV detectives had to stand out somehow; they had to be unique in some way: Kojak had his lollipops, Cannon had his Lincoln Continental, Rockford had his father, Columbo had his “Oh wait, one more thing.” What Harry had was a broken-down car that rarely-to-never worked, meaning that Harry often had to ride the bus to investigate cases. That was a nice summing up. I’d maintain, possibly, that Jim Rockford’s allegiance may have lain more with the brown Thunderchicken than Noah Beery, Jr. YMMV. (pa-dum-dum) Has _The Associates_ been mentioned yet, with an 😒earnest, striving Martin Short, and the cutesy-old Alfred Hyde White? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/480 "2021-07-21T10:57:10Z")
I designed a puzzle game based on Farscape and a horror story I read. > **[Farscape](https://360.articulate.com/review/content/086b51cf-dcce-4081-9477-e803a93f65cb/review)** ---
**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:** [July 21, 2021, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/481 "2021-07-21T11:40:31Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > **These shows** were on CBS’s space-age schedule in the '60s: Remember them and watched them all. Except for Ultraman, because that one was dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022/482 "2021-07-21T11:50:20Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Except for Ultraman, because that one was dumb. I only watched Ultraman for the opening, mostly because I loved that swirly title effect. After that, I turned it off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022.md?page=23) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-only-you-remember/946022.md?page=25)