# TV shows you hated as a child **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 10, 2018, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346 "2018-01-10T18:15:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/181 "2018-01-15T01:06:37Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > You mean Alf and Ralph? They were brother and sister, although they called themselves the Monroe Brothers. Ralph was the female one. She got married to Hank Kimball, the county agent, but the marriage didn’t take because Sam Drucker, who performed the ceremony, let his J.P. license expire. That’s it! Thanks for clarifying my fuzzy memory. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/182 "2018-01-15T01:36:05Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I forgot to mention Dennis the Menace. Dennis was a cute little bundle of mischief and energy in the comic. Jay North was WAY too tall, way too old, and a shitty actor. He stood there with his arms stiff at his sides and mouthed his lines like a robot: ‘Gee, Mr. Wilson!’ ‘Aw, Mom!’ ‘Aw, Dad!’ That was directing, not acting. The producers and director of the show were not exactly visionaries and wanted a squeaky-clean version of Dennis. The two main directors, Charles Barton and William D. Russell also directed _Family Affair_, another show with chirpy child characters. If you watch him in other roles, North was more believable. He was physically and verbally abused by his aunt and uncle, who were his guardians at the studio. (His mother worked, invested North’s salary, and never knew about the abuse.) He was actually a very angry and damaged kid, as you can see in [this interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfFZSe__Ua0&t=4s), in which he says, “I absolutely despised that show, and I’m sorry I was ever associated with it.” I hated the show, but I don’t blame North. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/183 "2018-01-15T13:57:57Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > What are your acting credentials? Me personally? I played Han Solo in Star Wars. Shhhhhh. Don’t tell anyone. What are your viewer credentials? Have you seen a diverse variety of movies, including some made after 1970? Did you enjoy Back to the Future? Why or why not? Submit your answer in paragraph form, 100 words minimum. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2018, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/184 "2018-01-15T15:34:12Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > What are your acting credentials? You don’t need acting credentials, just the ability to view things. **Salinqmind** wasn’t saying “I’d have been a much better actor!” ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/185 "2018-01-15T16:15:27Z")
And for me, it was some creepy-ass “People in full-body costumes” show called “The New Zoo Revue”. I didn’t mind the basic concepts, but the three “animals” all seemed…um…well, back then we would have called them “retarded”, but now? “mentally challenged”? “brain damaged”? The themes–kindness, sharing, etc were just fine, but the full grown adult “animals” who acted like dim 4 year olds was…just \< shudders \> ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/186 "2018-01-15T18:03:02Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > You don’t need acting credentials, just the ability to view things. **Salinqmind** wasn’t saying “I’d have been a much better actor!” This puts me in mind of a quote from Channing Pollock: “Critics are legless men who teach running.” ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/187 "2018-01-15T18:09:40Z")
I have a cousin who was 7 years old when the casting for \* Family Affair\* was underway, and he was being considered for the part of Jody, but, of course, he lost out to Johnny Whittaker. By this time he had done quite a few TV commercials; he was a cute little kid. If he had been insulted by _Mad_ Magazine in its parody the way little Mr. Whittaker was, I would have hit the roof! ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/188 "2018-01-15T18:10:47Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > This puts me in mind of a quote from Channing Pollock: “Critics are legless men who teach running.” I guess we’re done here then. Most of us didn’t act so we shouldn’t be critical of all of the shows mentioned in this thread. Threads over folks. Nothing to see here. Or in the words of Dennis Mitchel, “Aww Gee”. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/189 "2018-01-15T18:18:31Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > This puts me in mind of a quote from Channing Pollock: “Critics are legless men who teach running.” Or a much better, more appropriate quote “I don’t have to be a chicken to smell a rotten egg”. And you still haven’t told us your acting credentials. Your alleged “cousin” being once considered to be allowed to audition for a crap-ass TV show\* doesn’t count as acting experience on your part. \*That show was so treacley and sugary, that the show sent out free bottles of insulin to diabetics who wanted to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/190 "2018-01-15T18:31:36Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > And for me, it was some creepy-ass “People in full-body costumes” show called “The New Zoo Revue”. I didn’t mind the basic concepts, but the three “animals” all seemed…um…well, back then we would have called them “retarded”, but now? “mentally challenged”? “brain damaged”? > > The themes–kindness, sharing, etc were just fine, but the full grown adult “animals” who acted like dim 4 year olds was…just \< shudders \> Oh. Sweet. Jaysus! I had totally forgotten about this show. And now you brought it back :o. Didn’t the opening song go something like: It’s the New Zoo Revue Coming after you… Something like that? And one of the animals was a girl, maybe she was a bee or something. That show was too weird, and you are right, the “animals” were idiots. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/191 "2018-01-15T18:36:58Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > Oh. Sweet. Jaysus! I had totally forgotten about this show. And now you brought it back :o. Didn’t the opening song go something like: > > It’s the New Zoo Revue > Coming after you… > > Something like that? And one of the animals was a girl, maybe she was a bee or something. That show was too weird, and you are right, the “animals” were idiots. It was a hippo, a frog and an owl, [see?](https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=new+zoo+revue&view=detail&mid=27DF4A7FF0676CBD180327DF4A7FF0676CBD1803&FORM=VIRE) ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/192 "2018-01-15T18:43:04Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > It was a hippo, a frog and an owl, [see?](https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=new+zoo+revue&view=detail&mid=27DF4A7FF0676CBD180327DF4A7FF0676CBD1803&FORM=VIRE) Lawd, I went and looked it up. I think I was melding New Zoo Revue and the Buggaloos. 😃 But that damn Doug and Emmie Jo? Did you ever in your life see 2 more tight-ass individuals? That show looks like Lawrence Welk for kids. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2018, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/193 "2018-01-15T18:45:35Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > Lawd, I went and looked it up. I think I was melding New Zoo Revue and the Buggaloos. 😃 > > But that damn Doug and Emmie Jo? Did you ever in your life see 2 more tight-ass individuals? That show looks like Lawrence Welk for kids. You obviously never saw the episode about animal husbandry-“tight-ass” is the _last_ phrase I would ever use about them. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/194 "2018-01-15T18:46:11Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > This puts me in mind of a quote from Channing Pollock: “Critics are legless men who teach running.” Those who can’t do…teach. Not being able to do something doesn’t disqualify you from seeing the flaws. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/195 "2018-01-15T19:40:11Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Or a much better, more appropriate quote “I don’t have to be a chicken to smell a rotten egg”. > > And you still haven’t told us your acting credentials. Your alleged “cousin” being once considered to be allowed to audition for a crap-ass TV show\* doesn’t count as acting experience on your part. > \*That show was so treacley and sugary, that the show sent out free bottles of insulin to diabetics who wanted to watch. My “alleged” cousin is at least as capable as any of you where abusive language is concerned. He is also one of the most intelligent and quick-witted people in the family and could humiliate you all if he chose to do so. He is 58 now, living near Fresno…I can get comments from him if you provoke me, which you seem ready to do. But if you are as smart as you make yourselves out to be that won’t be necessary–you might want to get a copy of the original casting records for \* Family Affair\* and find out for yourselves! ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/196 "2018-01-15T19:42:08Z")
I prefer sweetness, in any case. Whether vitriolic is closer to YOUR preference is not my concern. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/197 "2018-01-15T19:49:45Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > My “alleged” cousin is at least as capable as any of you where abusive language is concerned. He is also one of the most intelligent and quick-witted people in the family and could humiliate you all if he chose to do so. He is 58 now, living near Fresno…I can get comments from him if you provoke me, which you seem ready to do. But if you are as smart as you make yourselves out to be that won’t be necessary–you might want to get a copy of the original casting records for \* Family Affair\* and find out for yourselves! Your cousin makes Danny Bonaduce look like Daniel Day Lewis and that’s saying something given that he is fictitious. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/198 "2018-01-15T20:15:49Z")
I am prepared to report that response, and even at the risk of discipline from the board management I may bring this matter to the attention of my attorney. My cousin is \*not \* fictitious. How DARE you! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/199 "2018-01-15T20:32:39Z")
Attorney? It’s not as if anyone called him an asshole and a hack. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346/200 "2018-01-15T20:50:29Z")
You don’t need those terms to be on the wrong end of a civil action, Mister. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-you-hated-as-a-child/806346.md?page=11)