The Edge of Night, Search For Tomorrow, and Another World are the 3 dumbest sounding names for soap operas I can think of. That got me thinking…What are your picks for TV shows with stupid names, even if the show is good?
When I first heard there was actually going to be a network television series called “Desperate Housewives” I (seriously) thought to myself that no one in America would be caught dead watching a show with that title.
Shows what I know…
Terriers
It’s a fantastic PI show that’s very underrated and witty. And it will likely be canned in part because no one knew what the hell it was from it’s crappy title.
Happy Town
It sank like a stone in the ratings, primarily because no show for people over the age of five should be called Happy Town.
Welcome Back Kotter - I mean, after the first episode, how many times can you welcome him back?
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? - I would hope so, and if not, why would I want to watch a show that proves I am an idiot?
Do you want to be a millionaire [or whatever the exact one is]
Um, hello? Money? Put me down as hell YES!
Golden Balls
Welcome to the SDMB, 67java89. We put different kinds of conversations in different forums, and even though you’re asking people’s opinions, you’re talking about TV shows, so this belongs in Cafe Society, not IMHO. (I’m moving it over for you.)
You can review forum descriptions here; that will help you find your way around.
Again, welcome!
twickster, moderator
Every time I saw an ad for the show NUMB3RS, I grumbled at my TV.
I, and pretty much everyone else, pronounce it “numthreers”.
Most Soap Opera names are awful. The Young and the Restless? The Bold and the Beautiful? As the World Turns?
I love the show, but I curse whatever idiot* decided that for its first season it needed to be called Navy NCIS.
*Probably not Bellisario. At least I hope not.
The Secret Storm, anyone?
I’d say that Arrested Development is a terrible name for the show. It’s certainly clever and fits, but it’s hard to remember (a fact that Michael Hurwitz admitted; he has said he wished it had a better name) and may have hurt in the long run.
Raising Hope has a similar problem.
Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.
I had an actor friend who had a small role on “One Life to Live” many years ago. He said the cast & crew themselves joked about the name of the series. They referred to it as “One Leg to Lift.”
Hmm, I don’t see anything wrong with “Edge of Night” for a soap, especially one like EON, which emphasized mystery and suspense. “Another World” and “As the World Turns” are fine too, as are “Young and the Restless / Bold and the Beautiful” to me. They seem pretty straightforward to me.
“Cougar Town” is a pretty bad name.
Especially given how fast they abandoned the original premise.
The '90s UK sitcom, Drop the Dead Donkey. I get the reference, but it’s still a stupid name. Loved the show though.
The all time winner(?) to me has to be a show from the 90s called Too Something. Too Something?
Did they just pick two words from the dictionary at random for that one, try to think of something better, then shake their heads and shrug their shoulders in shame?
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire is a song title from High Society. The first two lines are “Who wants to be a millionaire?” “I don’t.”
So it is sort of appropriate, in a twisted way of looking at it.