# What are the five worst television shows of all time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 22, 2009, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833 "2009-07-22T06:15:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/21 "2009-07-22T13:49:15Z")
This is a difficult question because so many shows are so terrible, they air 1 or 2 episodes, are canceled, and immediately forgotten by most. One show that definitely deserves to be on the list (it was indeed cut after 2 episodes aired according to Wikipedia) is [Viva Laughlin](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNmgOIjZJXQ). ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/22 "2009-07-22T13:49:49Z")
Magic Johnson show. Oof. ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/23 "2009-07-22T14:23:24Z")
I actually like Last of the Summer Wine… I know I have shows that I have seen that I couldn’t believe were on the air, but none of them are coming to my brain right now, dang it! I will say Small Wonder was a pretty stupid show. ---
**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 22, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/24 "2009-07-22T14:27:39Z")
**My mother the car** has to be in there somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/25 "2009-07-22T14:34:58Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > **My mother the car** has to be in there somewhere. Sacriledge ! Keep in mind that “My Mother the Car” was on air around the time “Mr. Ed” was a huge hit. So perhaps the bar was a bit low. But I remember enjoying that show. As for worst shows, I’ll nominate: 3’s Company Baywatch Nights (or After Dark or whatever the spinoff was) ---
**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:** [July 22, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/26 "2009-07-22T14:44:16Z")
Whoops! Coupling (and this includes BOTH British & American versions) Good Morning, Miami Three’s Company Full House ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/27 "2009-07-22T14:51:35Z")
_King of the Heap_–This was the shit-com spin-off from _Married with Children_ starring Matt LeBlanc as the heir apparent to his father’s trash collecting business. [DC Follies](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092334/)–if you click the link, make sure you take your antacid. [The View](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1378810/)–(comment withheld) [Bless this house](http://www.tv.com/bless-this-house/show/1682/summary.html)–Starred Andrew “Not Dice” Clay in a remake of the _Honeymooners_. [Dusty’s Trail](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069577/)–Sherwood Schwartz creation to try to recapture the success of _Gilligan’s Island_. SSG Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/28 "2009-07-22T15:02:00Z")
Obviously i am the first (but not the last) to recall Pink Lady and Jeff. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/29 "2009-07-22T15:12:51Z")
Nancy Grace. I WIN! Hee Haw (I know it has its fans, but when it was on in re-runs in the early morning, I woke up with the worst hangover of my life, and it was on the TV, and I was too sick to get up and turn it off. So it’s on my list.) Three’s Company. Never understood why anyone found that idiotic mugging, snickering, and slapstick funny, and Suzanne Sommers looked like a mannequin with a bad wig on her pointy head. ---
**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 22, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/30 "2009-07-22T15:14:52Z")
> [@cormac262](#): > > My mother the car… I remember enjoying that show. Hey, I still remember all the words to the theme song! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/31 "2009-07-22T15:24:17Z")
Five is just too small a number to contain the five worst. I’ll throw out: Benson The Time Tunnel ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/32 "2009-07-22T15:26:43Z")
Well, I won’t try to come up with the very worst shows of all-time, but these are ones that I have viewing experience with. The first four popped into mind and I Googled enough to come up with a fifth. _Home Movies_, I thought, was a dismal short-lived animated series on UPN. A check of Wikipedia reveals to me that it actually survived the quick hook from network TV and lived on for four seasons on cable… damned if I know how or why. _The George Wendt Show_ was George Wendt’s return to series television after Cheers. I remember the promos: “George Wendt… George Wendt… George Wendt to CBS!” This brilliant play on words was funnier than anything in the show. _Alright Already_ was a Carol Leifer vehicle not long after _Seinfeld_, a show she did a lot of writing for, ended its run. I like Carol Leifer. I decided after watching an episode or two of Alright Already that I needed to stop watching, so that I could continue to like Carol Leifer. _Encore! Encore!_ was an awful, short-lived Nathan Lane vehicle. _Emeril_. A sitcom vehicle for Emeril Lagasse. Great idea written all over it. I would quibble with a number of the shows mentioned, but defending _Cavemen_ or _According to Jim_ as good enough to not be one of the five worst shows of all time is not a hill I want to die on. That said, I will stick up for the wildly uneven _Dana Carvey Show_… parts of that were pee-your-pants funny. Heh… re-reading, I see this was **breezman** ’s pick along with _Alright Already_, which I’m surprised anyone else even thought of. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/33 "2009-07-22T15:27:34Z")
Children’s programming takes the worst categories IMO: “ **Barney** ” - it’s not the obnoxious purple dinosaur that disturbed me the most. It was the impossibly cheerful, overly tolerant, uber-polite, phony-ass kids on the show, many who were allowed to stay years past the point where they were cute. No, I don’t love you, Barney, and we’re not a happy family. But nothing, and I mean, nothing prepared me for the imported twin horrors that my 3 year old niece became obsessed with a few years ago: “ **DoodleBop** ” and “ **The Wiggles**.” Oh my. At least it was kids who embarrassed themselves on “Barney.” These shows hired full grown adults to routinely debase themselves for a paycheck. Bad writing. Bad singing. Bad dancing. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/34 "2009-07-22T15:30:03Z")
Kath and Kim Testees The Nanny What’s the one with the designers? The one that gave us “hot mess”. That show. Dog the Bounty Hunter ---
**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 22, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/35 "2009-07-22T15:35:10Z")
Oh Lordy - how could I forget **The Chevy Chase Show** , launched in a post-Carson era along with a flurry of others. Scuttlebutt was that Chase had wanted a sketch show but talk shows were hot and so that’s what he got. Never before or again have I seen a program in which the star so obviously - desperately - _painfully_ - did not want to be there from the very beginning. His commercials for Doritos, airing at the same time, were far superior. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/36 "2009-07-22T15:35:30Z")
> [@Olentzero](#): > > I never saw this one, but from the promo I did see back in the day I could tell this one was a howler. > > [The Charmings](http://www.tv.com/the-charmings/show/1481/summary.html). I have to disagree. This show was at least well cast. Judy Parfitt (Lillian) and Paul Winfield (The Mirror) have done some good work. And Caitlin O’Heaney was perfect as Snow White (first season only); a rare combination of innocent and sexy. It didn’t add up to much, but I’m sure there are five TV shows that had less going for them than that. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/37 "2009-07-22T15:38:30Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Also, THE MUNSTERS w/ John Schuck as Herman… That would be _The Munsters Today_. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/38 "2009-07-22T15:40:42Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Five is just too small a number to contain the five worst. > > I’ll throw out: > > Benson > The Time Tunnel Pfft, Benson was entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/39 "2009-07-22T15:40:59Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > But nothing, and I mean, nothing prepared me for the imported twin horrors that my 3 year old niece became obsessed with a few years ago: “ **DoodleBop** ” and “ **The Wiggles**.” I’ve never seen “DoodleBop,” but I think you’re being way too harsh on the Wiggles. Okay, so their show isn’t exactly Masterpiece Theatre, but what do you expect? It’s designed to be pre-school kiddie fare, and it’s pretty good at what it does. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833/40 "2009-07-22T15:41:35Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > **Last of the summer wine**. Dismal fixture of Sunday telly that seemed to go on for millenia. The worst because it was so tedious. Not at all bad - rather endearing in fact - during the Foggy, Clegg & Compo time (late 70s). I must say you need an ear tuned to Oop North English to get a lot of the gags, though. A season or two of _All Creatures Great and Small_ and I was good to go. Probably helped that my PBS affil ran it very late _Saturday_ night and I usually had a few tied on at the time. _To the Manor Born,_ OTOH…was there anything at all to that show other than the vanishingly remote possibility that one day Marjory Frobisher might get laid? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-five-worst-television-shows-of-all-time/503833.md?page=3)