# TV shows/soaps with really stupid names **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 29, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256 "2010-11-29T05:19:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![67java89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/aeb1de/32.png) [@67java89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/67java89)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/1 "2010-11-29T05:19:35Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/2 "2010-11-29T05:23:28Z")
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… ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/3 "2010-11-29T06:05:11Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/4 "2010-11-29T06:52:23Z")
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_. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/5 "2010-11-29T08:24:11Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/6 "2010-11-29T08:47:50Z")
Do you want to be a millionaire [or whatever the exact one is] Um, hello? Money? Put me down as hell YES! ---
**Author:** ![ramel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb8c5e/32.png) [@ramel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ramel)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/7 "2010-11-29T08:59:13Z")
Golden Balls > **[Golden Balls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Balls)** > > Golden Balls is a British daytime game show that was presented by Jasper Carrott. It was broadcast on the ITV network from 18 June 2007 to 18 December 2009. > At the back of the studio is the "Golden Bank," a giant contraption like a lottery machine. Inside are 100 golden balls, containing cash values that range from £10 to £75,000. Twelve of these balls are randomly drawn from the Golden Bank and put into a mixer, and four "Killer" balls are added by Amanda Grant, referred to by Carrott as the ... ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/8 "2010-11-29T13:15:17Z")
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](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?f=15); that will help you find your way around. Again, welcome! **twickster** , moderator ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/9 "2010-11-29T14:23:59Z")
Every time I saw an ad for the show NUMB3RS, I grumbled at my TV. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/10 "2010-11-29T14:36:37Z")
I, and pretty much everyone else, pronounce it “numthreers”. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/11 "2010-11-29T15:22:26Z")
Most Soap Opera names are awful. The Young and the Restless? The Bold and the Beautiful? As the World Turns? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/12 "2010-11-29T15:28:39Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/13 "2010-11-29T15:30:05Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > Most Soap Opera names are awful. The Young and the Restless? The Bold and the Beautiful? As the World Turns? _The Secret Storm_, anyone? ---
**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:** [November 29, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/14 "2010-11-29T16:19:28Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/15 "2010-11-29T16:20:25Z")
[Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Is_a_Many_Splendored_Thing_(TV_series)) 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.” ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/16 "2010-11-29T23:02:27Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/17 "2010-11-29T23:34:21Z")
> [@choie](#): > > …“Cougar Town” is a pretty bad name. Especially given how fast they abandoned the original premise. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/18 "2010-11-30T00:16:35Z")
The '90s UK sitcom, [Drop the Dead Donkey](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_the_Dead_Donkey). I get the reference, but it’s still a stupid name. Loved the show though. ---
**Author:** ![jrbor76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9e8a1a/32.png) [@jrbor76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrbor76)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/19 "2010-11-30T23:45:26Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256/20 "2010-12-01T00:06:49Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Do you want to be a millionaire [or whatever the exact one is] > > Um, hello? Money? Put me down as hell YES! **Who Wants To Be A Millionaire** is a song title from [High Society](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaY4OeSbN30). 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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-soaps-with-really-stupid-names/562256.md?page=2)