# What was the stupidest premise for a TV show ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303 "2005-03-07T03:22:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/1 "2005-03-07T03:22:20Z")
I nominate Blind Justice. A cop goes blind and through hard work and determination, gets back on the force-- gun and all. The reason why this premise is even worse than Homeboys in Space is that this is serious. It’s a drama and we are supposed to believe they’d give a blind man a badge and a gun. I’m sure it’s because all of his other senses are suddenly almost super sensitive. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/2 "2005-03-07T03:29:44Z")
Not all that stupid; blind detectives have a long and honorable history. And certainly nowhere near **My Mother the Car**. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/3 "2005-03-07T03:30:38Z")
Every time I see the promos for Blind Justice I laugh and laugh. It just looks so awful, even besides the premise. What the hell are they thinking with this? ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/4 "2005-03-07T03:43:44Z")
I second **My Mother the Car** , and nominate **Cop Rock**. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/5 "2005-03-07T03:47:29Z")
Wow, that Blind Justice is just, wow. Whoda thunk it? The first thing that stuck to my mind when I saw the thread title was Knight Rider. Then came B.J. and the Bear. Then came the Beverly Hillbillies. That thing ran nine years in primetime. That’s hard to believe. ---
**Author:** ![LeeshaJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LeeshaJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeshaJoy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/6 "2005-03-07T03:48:03Z")
I nominate **American Dad,** since it’s based on the premise that, against all discernable evidence, that Seth MacFarlane does cartoons that don’t suck. (My opinion only. I know there are people who apparently like Family Guy. I believe these people are insane.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/7 "2005-03-07T03:49:01Z")
> [@LeeshaJoy](#): > > (My opinion only. I know there are people who apparently like Family Guy. I believe these people are insane.) I like Family Guy and I’m not insane. I prefer to be called “mentally different”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/8 "2005-03-07T04:38:42Z")
Well, I think you need to set up categories for something like this: [ul][li] **Supernatural/Sci-Fi Premise** : Covering a wide variety of genre shows in which characters accomplish feats that are impossible or ridiculously improbable. All superhero shows would fit in this category, as would space-based futuristic shows and shows featuring characters with paranormal powers. The premise is illogical, but a certain suspension of belief is expected from the audience.[/li][li] **Improbable Situations** : _Blind Justice_ would qualify in that a blind but armed police officer is completely bizarre. The continuing antics of _Gilligan’s Island_ could also qualify, since it’s ridiculous that Gilligan would constantly screw up promising avenues of escape and the others wouldn’t act to stop him. Ultrimately, any show with a premise that is possible, but features characters who react in bizarrely unlikely ways qualifies. Adding to this, many comedy shows that were hits in the fifties and sixties now seem painfully obvious and even childish today. I can’t see why adults would _ever_ have been entertained by _Bewitched_ or _Beverly Hillbillies_ for example; the jokes are lame and childish and the laugh track incessant.[/li][li] **Game Shows** : Deserves a category of its own in that some premises are unworkable, dull or insipid. Jackie Gleason’s one-episode _You’re In the Picture_ qualifies, as it was so bad Gleason appeared in the timeslot the following week to apologize. Some modern “reality” shows also qualify. The pivotal moment, I thought, was when a numer of people (myself included) thought _Tiny House_ was for real, before seeing the Geico logo. The genre had reached the point where even parody was indistinguishable.[/li][li] **“Comedy” Shows** : Through a mix of poor writing, poor acting and poor direction, a numer of comedy/variety shows are simply painful to watch. Tim Conway suffered several bouts of this, after his brilliant stint on _The Carol Burnett Show_. The short-lived _Fridays_ is also a worthy nomination.[/li][li] **“Lesson” Shows** : The premise of the show is simply a vehicle to serve up heaping spoonfuls of preachy wisdom to the audience. Whether or not the show qualifies as stupid or inspiring depends on the individual tastes of the viewer. Personally, I’d nominate _Touched by an Angel_, _Quantum Leap_, the later seasons of _M_A_S_H\* and numerous individual episodes of the various _Star Treks_, as having the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the forehead. Though these particular examples may also qualify under the “Supernatural/Sci Fi” category, they’re not alone. Some episodes of _Night Court_ had the same problem, obvious when in the last five minutes, the laugh track would abruptly stop. Similarly, the little wrap-ups at the end of episodes of _Jerry Springer_ qualify, as Jerry tries to give little sermons about why the behaviour of the people we’ve just watched _on his show_ was less-than-polite. Naturally, Jerry looks forward to giving the audience the same lesson the following day. Also, John Bunnel talks about how _World’s Wildest Police Videos_ offers valuable information as to what to do if you find yourself involved in a high-speed chase. This is a transparent lie; the only value in the videos is the prurient and vicarious thrill from watching them.[/li][li] **Political Shows** : As with “Lesson Shows”, it’s an matter of individual bias whether or not a Political Show qualifies as stupid. I personally found Rush Limbaugh’s TV show intolerable, mostly because he was a jerk who wasn’t as funny as he thought he was. As a result, listening to his loyal audience giggle whenever he said “Algore” inspired eye-rolling revulsion. I’ve also heard left-wing pundits who seem to assume that the audience is comprised of idiots, so it swings both ways.[/ul][/li] There’s a great deal over overlap in these categories and “escapist” entertainment can still be highly watchable, in the disbelief-suspension mode. The key, I’d guess, is if there exists among the show’s creators an assumption that the audience is stupid. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/9 "2005-03-07T04:50:00Z")
James Fransicus already portrayed a blind insurance investigator in “Longstreet”. Bruce Lee was a recurring character. “Blind Justice” is a Steven Bochco show. Then again so was “Cop Rock” ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/10 "2005-03-07T04:58:52Z")
**Biggirl** Actually, when I saw the ads for “Blind Justice”, the first thing that occurred to me was this TV show from the early 1970’s: [Longstreet](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066681/plotsummary) Granted, he didn’t carry a gun, but it just seems to be another case of Hollywood writers visiting the “Premise Recycle Bin”. Heck, we’ve had “The New Munsters”, “The New Odd Couple”, The New Monkees". What’s next? "The New Hudson Brothers " ? ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/11 "2005-03-07T05:00:08Z")
Geez **BobT** Great minds think alike … but their typing speeds differ. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/12 "2005-03-07T05:17:40Z")
“Fish Cops” (Unless I hallucinated that. I may have.) ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/13 "2005-03-07T05:19:47Z")
I thought it was “Fish Police”? ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/14 "2005-03-07T05:21:58Z")
The stupidest concept for a TV show that I’ve seen in recent times is “The Swan.” They take a bunch of average, normal women and perform drastic surgical and dental procedures on them, turning them into the Stepford Bimbos. Everybody ends up looking like Courtney Love wearing Barbie’s prom gown. It would be hilarious if it weren’t so pathetic and scary. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/15 "2005-03-07T05:27:58Z")
The funniest thing about _Blind Justice_ is that my buddy thought of this premise about two years ago, anticipating that it could be a hilarious cop-show _parody_. He was mildly annoyed to find that A: someone else got the idea up and running, and B: that they actually think it stands a chance in hell of being taken seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Pixiesnix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Pixiesnix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixiesnix)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/16 "2005-03-07T05:32:00Z")
There was a short-lived (deservedly so) show in the 80’s called _The Darlings_, about Snow White and Prince Charming living the the modern suburbs. I actually watched the show, but only because I was eight and the show had “Snow White” in it. Oh, the shame. ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/17 "2005-03-07T05:32:18Z")
Alf ---
**Author:** ![Pixiesnix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Pixiesnix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixiesnix)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/18 "2005-03-07T05:37:31Z")
Ugh, make that the _Charmings_, not the _Darlings_. I have to stop watching so much _Andy Griffith Show_. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/19 "2005-03-07T05:43:13Z")
What about the game show on Fox “The Chamber” ? Or for that matter ABC’s “The Chair”. When I first saw The chamber I was like “Interesting show, I give it two seasons max.” The best part of “The Chamber” was along the lines of “…and once the chamber starts, nothing can stop it.” which was followed almost in the same breath with "If you do not wish to continue, you may say “I wish to stop the Chamber” Then again Bonzai Didn’t last that long either. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303/20 "2005-03-07T05:48:09Z")
> [@KCSuze](#): > > I have to stop watching so much _Andy Griffith Show_. :smack: Now that you mention it . . . [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-stupidest-premise-for-a-tv-show-ever/293303.md?page=2)