# TV Shows that made a big pop culture splash but are now disproportionately forgotten **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 17, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849 "2014-11-17T13:36:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/101 "2014-11-19T00:44:26Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > **glee** is definitely heading that way. It was super buzz-worthy in its first season (and actually was a decent show to boot). Yeah, I was going to suggest _Glee_ as an example of a show that made a big pop culture splash with its first two seasons but seems to have been largely forgotten by the public already…and it still has its final half-season to go. The AV Club recently referred to _Glee_ co-creator Ryan Murphy as “TV’s current king of diminishing returns” and put _Glee_ and two of his other shows (_Nip/Tuck_ and _American Horror Story_) as the first three items on their list of “[One-season what-ifs: 14 TV series that should’ve stopped after one season](http://www.avclub.com/article/one-season-what-ifs-14-tv-series-shouldve-stopped--211896)”. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/102 "2014-11-19T00:55:15Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > 1. Gunsmoke - This one started out as a radio drama in 1952 and went on to TV fame. It is still the longest running series in history at 20 years and 635 episodes. That crap ran constantly in syndication even when I was a child and I have still never made it through more than a few minutes of any episode. It may be a great show for all I know but The Rifleman and Bonanza were always much more entertaining. it is tied with Law and Order for longest running drama, though it has many more episodes. though neither is the longest running series which is now the Simpsons. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/103 "2014-11-19T05:51:03Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **Twin Peaks.** _ I hear/read more references to this show today in proportion to it’s lifespan than perhaps any show (except maybe Freaks and Geeks or Firefly). It’s even in the news now. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/104 "2014-11-19T07:17:58Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **The Ernie Kovacs Show** – widely credited with inventing a lot of now-standard devices and convcentions for TV shows, wildly inventive and at the time hilarious. Most people today have probably never even heard of Kovaks. I learned about him back in the 80’s when I devoured books when I came to America. One of my favorites books from the library was [Cult TV](http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/cult-tv-a-viewers-guide-to-the-shows-america-cant-live-without_john-javna/1225305/) by John Javna, when Entertainment Tonight showed clips by him I was already aware of who he was and how important he was for the history of American TV. Years later when I was in college in a media class the teacher lamented how very little of the history of the media the typical student knew, and asked the class about who he was, so I told them. As he commente later he was amazed that an immigrant knew more of their history than the natives. 😃 I still remember when the book referred to the original 60’s Star Trek: Star Trek got good ratings in their first season, but it was never among the top 30 [if the guys at [classicTVhits.com](http://classicTVhits.com) are correct] and then the book had a side boxed note: “Back then the show was beat on the ratings by shows such as _Iron Horse_ and _Mr. Terrific_… you do remember those huh?” ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/105 "2014-11-19T11:57:03Z")
Certainly not forgotten but I’d like to nominate The Sopranos. I really did believe that show would forever change television drama. That goodies versus baddies would decline as a concept, or, as a concept in higher end productions. Everyone was to be an sob from now on. No political or social belief was sacred. Liberal characters were to be portrayed on an equally poor footing as conservative or reactionary characters. Apart from a few notable exceptions this has turned out not to be the case. Sure, good characters can do bad things on modern shows, but they are almost always driven to it by the unreasonable behaviour of others. Reactionary or conservative beliefs are still a character flaw. I prefer it when everyone is an sob. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/106 "2014-11-19T12:15:53Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Is there an official name for the Love Boat / Fantasy Island type shows? A framing device with recurring characters, a handful of C-list actors, telling two or three unrelated stories running through each episode? > > That seems to be a dead genre. No entirely, I just started watching The Shield. So far their formula seems to be Vic and his crew’s story line, and then there’s Dutch and Claudette’s story line, followed by Julian and Danielle’s story line. My submissions: Barbara Mandrell and The Mandrell Sisters Hee Haw Country was cool for a brief stint in the late 70’s and early 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/107 "2014-11-19T12:35:02Z")
I read the other day that **Knots Landing** was on for 14 seasons. I was stunned; I literally know nothing about it besides “it was a prime-time soap opera”. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2014, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/108 "2014-11-19T12:42:40Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > I learned about him back in the 80’s when I devoured books when I came to America. One of my favorites books from the library was [Cult TV](http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/cult-tv-a-viewers-guide-to-the-shows-america-cant-live-without_john-javna/1225305/) by John Javna, when Entertainment Tonight showed clips by him I was already aware of who he was and how important he was for the history of American TV. > > Years later when I was in college in a media class the teacher lamented how very little of the history of the media the typical student knew, and asked the class about who he was, so I told them. As he commente later he was amazed that an immigrant knew more of their history than the natives. 😃 > > I still remember when the book referred to the original 60’s Star Trek: Star Trek got good ratings in their first season, but it was never among the top 30 [if the guys at [classicTVhits.com](http://classicTVhits.com) are correct] and then the book had a side boxed note: > > “Back then the show was beat on the ratings by shows such as _Iron Horse_ and _Mr. Terrific_… you do remember those huh?” I do remember them. **Mr. Terrific** was a parody of super hero shows. It wasn’t very good, and it was pretty pointless – **Batman** , which it was trying to parody, was itself already a parody of superheroes. Besides, the competing superhero parody show, **Captain Nice** , was better. Not only was it created by Buck Henry (who had created _Get Smart!_ with Mel Brooks), but it starred William Daniels – later to be John Adams (and Sam and John Quincy Adams), Dr. Mark Craig, and the voice of KITT. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/109 "2014-11-19T14:00:06Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > No entirely, I just started watching The Shield. So far their formula seems to be Vic and his crew’s story line, and then there’s Dutch and Claudette’s story line, followed by Julian and Danielle’s story line. > My submissions: > > Barbara Mandrell and The Mandrell Sisters > Hee Haw > Country was cool for a brief stint in the late 70’s and early 80’s. You can’t mention country TV without a shout out to the Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction. CBS was the country broadcasting system for a time. That was almost a decade earlier though, late sixties through 1971. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/110 "2014-11-19T15:39:03Z")
I think HD has a lot to do with it. Except for a few shows (e.g., Seinfeld, Friends) most older shows have been relegated to those obscure cable channels like MeTV or FamilyNet if you’re scrolling through all 1000 channels. The major channels don’t want to bother with shows that look terrible on modern televisions. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/111 "2014-11-19T16:02:52Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > No entirely, I just started watching The Shield. So far their formula seems to be Vic and his crew’s story line, and then there’s Dutch and Claudette’s story line, followed by Julian and Danielle’s story line. > My submissions: > > Barbara Mandrell and The Mandrell Sisters > **Hee Haw** > Country was cool for a brief stint in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Hee Haw is BRIEF???! The show had a life on network TV, then a much longer one – NOT in reruns – in syndication. The show was on the air continuously from 1969 to 1992. Other shows would KILL for a 23 year run. > **[Hee Haw](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hee_Haw)** > > Hee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired from 1969 to 1993, and on TNN from 1996 to 1997. Reruns of the series were broadcast on RFD-TV from September 2008 to April 2020, and aired on Circle. > The show was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, but centered on country music, rural rather than pop culture-inspired humor, and with far less topical material. Hosted by country music artist... ---
**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:** [November 19, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/112 "2014-11-19T16:28:16Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I do remember them. **Mr. Terrific** was a parody of super hero shows. It wasn’t very good, and it was pretty pointless – **Batman** , which it was trying to parody, was itself already a parody of superheroes. > > Besides, the competing superhero parody show, **Captain Nice** , was better. Not only was it created by Buck Henry (who had created _Get Smart!_ with Mel Brooks), but it starred William Daniels – later to be John Adams (and Sam and John Quincy Adams), Dr. Mark Craig, and the voice of KITT. I remember both of those. _ **Iron Horse** _ was a western on ABC with Dale Robertson, about the building of the transcontinental (I think) railroad. _ **MAD Magazine** _ did a satire on it called “The Iron Horselaugh” (or possibly “-laff”). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/113 "2014-11-19T16:39:05Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I can’t remember the last time I saw it in re-runs, can you? > > Think anyone, say, 30 years old or younger remembers it? Right it was HUGE, it’s now only vaguely remembered. I have one: _Ally Mc Beal_. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/114 "2014-11-19T16:40:09Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > “Ginger or Mary Ann?” There was a time every guy understood the question and had an answer. Now that Gilligan’s Island isn’t on TV every afternoon I bet there’s an entire generation that doesn’t. Its still on syndication. People still watch it. ---
**Author:** ![piepiepie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@piepiepie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piepiepie)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/115 "2014-11-19T19:37:44Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > Doug was notable enough that it was picked up by Disney and shown on ABC. It was extremely early-90s-flavored, so I think it aged worse than the other “Nicktoons,” but I know plenty of people still have very fond memories of that show. I don’t think it aged any worse than the other original Nicktoons. The move to Disney killed Doug. Nevertheless, every Halloween you’ll see at least one Quailman. I guess The Real World could count. Made a big splash, but started sucking post Miami, maybe Boston. Hawaii really accelerated the trainwreck. I don’t even know if MTV still makes the show. Its relevancy is on par with TRL and now 106&Park as far as brainless entertainment of my youth. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/116 "2014-11-19T21:34:23Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > I would add \*\*\*Murphy Brown \*\*\*to the list. Very relevant to the politics of its time, but outdated now. This is a great one. MB was huge. People from Hollywood and Washington would clamor to be on it. A Vice President picked a fight with it. Now, all of that works against it because it was such a product of its time. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/117 "2014-11-21T01:20:43Z")
I’m surprised this hasn’t been mentioned, given the shock-of-the-news only a few months ago: \*Mork & Mindy \*had people imitating Mork and stalking Mindy (Pam Dawber) and each week it found a way to critique human behaviors from the perspective of an outsider, and the audiences laughed at those observations. That, of course, was a spin-off from an everyone-is-watching-it show called _Happy Days_, itself a spin-off from _Love, American Style_ because it was such a popular recurring skit. But Happy Days spun off three shows – _Laverne & Shirley_ (already mentioned above), Mork & Mindy, and Joanie loves Chachi – two of which became cultural icons of their time and the last of which didn’t seem to last a season. Now there are few who seem to remember any of them. ☹ * * * Around the time Mork & Mindy was airing (same time, different night?) or shortly after it folded, there was _The Greatest American Hero_ with William Katt donning the superhero suit he couldn’t control. By that age, though, I was watching mainly to catch glimpses of the gorgeous Connie Sellecca, who later moved to the very short-lived _Hotel_ (essentially Love Boat in a San Francisco drydock;)). –G! Do we already have a thread on TV spin-offs? ---
**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:** [November 21, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/118 "2014-11-21T02:05:30Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > I’m surprised this hasn’t been mentioned, given the shock-of-the-news only a few months ago: > > \*Mork & Mindy \*had people imitating Mork and stalking Mindy (Pam Dawber) and each week it found a way to critique human behaviors from the perspective of an outsider, and the audiences laughed at those observations. > > That, of course, was a spin-off from an everyone-is-watching-it show called _Happy Days_, itself a spin-off from _Love, American Style_ because it was such a popular recurring skit. Actually, no. **Love, American Style** was a collection of three or so short playlets plus blackout gags between. ABC also mused the series to test possible series, as well. They tried Barefoot In the Park and Wait ‘Til Your Father Gets Home and others. One of the pilots they tried was a second try for a 1950s-based show (they had previously tried a pilot entitled _New Family in Town_ that had Harold Gould – Rhoda’s Dad and “Kid Twist” from _The Sting_ – as the father). The second pilot had Tom Bosley as the dad, and was called _Love and the Television Set_\*, revolving around Richie’s dating a girl whjo was only interested in his because his family had a TV set. Drippy with nostaligia, and with no Fonzie yet. The pilot got a big boost when Ron Howard, who’d played Richie Cunningham, starred in George Lucas’ 1950s nostalgia movie, _American Grafitti_. ABC cashed in on their already-made pilot. There was never another episode of this on Love American Style. > **[Happy Days](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Days)** > > Happy Days is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most successful series of the 1970s. The series presented an idealized vision of life in the 1950s and early 1960s Midwestern United States, and it starred Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham, Henry Winkler as his friend Fonzie, and Tom Bosley and Marion Ross as Richie's ... \*All Love American Style episodes were entitled “Love and the (blank)” ---
**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:** [November 21, 2014, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/119 "2014-11-21T06:30:34Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Wait 'Til Your Father Gets Home Here’s an off-topic weird thing. Does anybody else remember the animated series about a family of lions that used the same dialogue soundtrack as _Wait Till Your Father Gets Home_? Or did I dream that? ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849/120 "2014-11-21T08:29:44Z")
Tour of Duty That’s Incredible Those Amazing Animals Real People Felicity The Equalizer Gabriel’s Fire Emergency! Aeon Flux [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disproportionately-forgotten/704849.md?page=7)