You think that’s bad? They tried to base a TV sitom on the 1972 film *What’s Up, Doc?" – http://imdb.com/title/tt0184172/ – and without Barbara Streisand. I don’t think the second episode was ever aired. I hope it wasn’t.
I remember a sitcom about a WWII submarine, with female nurses traveling along with it. It patrols the seas, putting women at risk in a manner inconceivable in the 1940s. Also, it’s painted pink, because the Japanese did a strafing run while it was in port being repainted, the cans of pink primer paint on the deck were punctured and ran out, and they never get a chance to repaint . . . can’t remember the title. But it was really dumb.
The premise was that there was a highly mobile and agile fat guy who was good at karate (kung fu?). Fit him into a cop series, and there you go! That show was nothing without that guy. But it was kind of awesome. I remember seeing it in Spain long after it had been cancelled.
The only thing I can come up with that’s even close to “Heil Honey, I’m Home” is “Woops!”, a sitcom from the early days of the Fox network.
Premise: someone accidentally starts a nuclear war. Basically, all of humanity is dead, except for a handful of people in a farmhouse. Sounds like quite a recipe for hilarity, no?
While not defending the premise of Woops!, let me just state that I liked the show. Yeah, it wasn’t “Gold, Jerry! Gold!” But it was entertaining to me at the time. And the “homecoming queen” girl was hot. And I see that Evan Handler was in it. Interesting.
I once heard that one of the networks was going to put on a show with a handful of bland, inoffensive people that would summarize the events of the day.
[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…[/li][/QUOTE]
Well, give the man credit – plenty of people have laid eggs and not had the grace or good sense to admit, much less apologize for, their fiascoes. (The first example that comes to mind are Rick Berman interviews in which he states that he just doesn’t understand why ST: Nemesis and Enterprise tanked.)
And the origin of Police Cops was even stupider. According to producers who met with the real Homer Simpson (who became so offended by the dumb character that shared his name he later changed his name to Max Power), the original plan was described as Titanic meets Frasier. But ABC already had a project like that in development with Annie Potts, and it scared the hell out of them. So they decided to do a cop show called Badge Patrol. Believing no one wanted to see a show about giant badges with guns, they decided to make a show about the people behind the badge. Police…cops…Police Cops.
Of course, this is only one of the many shows that Springfieldian producers have clogged our airwaves with, which also includes, but is not limited to, the following: Ethnic Mismatch Comedy #644
MTC: Monkey Trauma Center
Law & Order: Elevator Inspectors Unit
The IRS Presents: Hershel Krustovski’s Clown-Related Entertainment Show
Handle With Care (Star Troy McClure explains, “I play Jack Handle, a retired cop who shares an apartment with a retired criminal. We’re the original Odd Couple!”)
Monk is an example of a really bizarre premise that actually ended up being a great show. That is, until they fired the second-most important cast member and ruined it.
Not only that, but that movie was based on an event that really happened. There was a sub that was painted pink for a short time during WWII. It was painted pink for the same reason as in the movie. They only had pink to use for primer and before they had a chance to put on the final coat, they were attacked and had to leave quickly. Of course, they painted it grey the first chance they got.
If we are allowed to mention fictional shows (mentioned on other shows), I present this bit seen on Dinosaurs:
<name> is a Widower with 7 interracial children. He marries a ghost with 7 interracial children of her own. Just watch the sparks fly when mother-in-law moves in! It’s all “Way Too Complicated”
