# What's the Least Funny TV Show Ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 29, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292 "2005-11-29T23:25:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/81 "2005-12-20T09:45:50Z")
> [@Alma](#): > > Oh dear god. I thought I didn’t know what show that was, but I _clearly_ remember Ann Jillian playing a ghost. I can only assume I’ve blocked the rest out because it sucked powerful. IMDB lists exactly one memorable quote from that show: > [@](#): > > Memorable Quotes from > “Jennifer Slept Here” (1983) > Joey: You mean everywhere I go, everything I do, you’re going to be there? > Jennifer: I’m going to be there. It’s like poetry! ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/82 "2005-12-20T09:58:40Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > They turned George into a black Archie. George was ALWAYS a black Archie - he just wasn’t the star of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/83 "2005-12-21T01:34:32Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Yep. Ann Jillian was the ghost. You know, I remember being twelve years old and thinking Ann Jillian was the sexiest thing going. I also remember not being able to stand _Jennifer Slept Here_, and being disappointed. I can’t for the life of me figure out how I knew who she was _before_ that show. Magazine cover, maybe? Anyway, having my memory jogged about that show once again confirms my suspicion that [there’s a fetish page for every cussed thing you can imagine](http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/3384/true_femmes_invisible.html). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/84 "2005-12-21T01:43:36Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > You know, I remember being twelve years old and thinking Ann Jillian was the sexiest thing going. I also remember not being able to stand _Jennifer Slept Here_, and being disappointed. I can’t for the life of me figure out how I knew who she was _before_ that show. Magazine cover, maybe? _[It’s A Living](http://imdb.com/title/tt0080233/)_, also titled, at various times in production, _Making A Living_. That’s the point where I remember her jumping into public awareness (though I found out in doing IMDB research for this answer that she was the older June in Roz Russell’s movie version of _Gypsy_!). ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/85 "2005-12-21T02:25:24Z")
> [@Alma](#): > > Oh dear god. I thought I didn’t know what show that was, but I _clearly_ remember Ann Jillian playing a ghost. I can only assume I’ve blocked the rest out because it sucked powerful. I remember this show. One thing I recall was that they could never decide on just how big of a star Jennifer had been (same as Ginger Grant on _Gilligan’s Island_). In one episode she would be referred to as a B Movie starlet who never really got a big break, and in the next she’s on par with Marilyn or Valentino. As memory serves they also changed the era when she lived- sometimes she was recently deceased and other times she was from the 50s or 60s. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/86 "2005-12-21T02:29:41Z")
> [@Glassy](#): > > Just the other day I caught an episode of a show I’d never seen before: **Three And A Half Men** , the sitcom with Charlie Sheen in it. > > Damn, that was some not funny tv. As far as I can tell, it has the same basic plot as **Full House** , but with Charlie Sheen. Who thought that was a good idea? I think I was somewhat entertained by the credits sequence, but the following twenty-five minutes was stupid, offensive, and grimly lacking in amusement. I was awed by the not-funniness. You may be right about **_Three_ And A Half Men** with Charlie Sheen, but \ ***Two \* And A Half Men** with Charlie Sheen makes me laugh every time. Conchatta Farrell absolutely cracks me up! Guess differences in taste are part of what makes the world go 'round. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/87 "2005-12-21T02:29:51Z")
Two other especially unfunny ghost themed sitcoms for the heap: [Down to Earth](http://imdb.com/title/tt0086697/)- a TBS sitcom starring Dick Sargent as the head of a wacky family whose maid is secretly a dead flapper trying to get her wings. Not only did it seem like they made it up as they went along, but they made it up while suffering from hangovers. [Nearly Departed](http://imdb.com/title/tt0096659/)- not even Eric Idle could help this lame attempt at a Topper remake (with, I remember, a super annoying and obviously sweetened canned laugh track). (Of course aside from _Spamalot_ and _The Rutles_, few of Eric’s solo post-Python ventures have really been that good.) ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/88 "2005-12-22T02:56:17Z")
**The Nanny**. I’d rather hear the death rattle of my mother than to hear Fran Drescher and her faux whine. Dishonorable discharges: Of course, afterMASH was horrendous too. [They even brought Gary Burghoff (Radar) to guest star in a couple of episodes](http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/5576/aftermash.htm). HBO also lifted its rightleg and let the fart of a show called “The Mind of the Married Man” out. “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” really is on bordertown for me. It’s on that _it’s so bad it’s almost good_ kind of show. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/89 "2005-12-22T03:16:20Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” really is on bordertown for me. It’s on that _it’s so bad it’s almost good_ kind of show. But it was _supposed_ to be! It was an over-the-top parody of soap operas. I don’t think that counts. ---
**Author:** ![TastesLikeBurning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@TastesLikeBurning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TastesLikeBurning)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/90 "2005-12-22T10:19:36Z")
I happened to flcik the telly on one afternoon a few months back to find **Bob Patterson.** It was the epitome of train-wreck television. ---
**Author:** ![threeorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@threeorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threeorange)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/91 "2005-12-22T11:33:04Z")
From sometime earlier this decade, **What About Joan**. It starred Joan Cusack, whose character was supposed to have been somewhat neurotic, which can be potentially funny. Cusack, however, played the character as borderline psychotic, which made the show mostly tragic and painful to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/92 "2005-12-22T17:24:00Z")
> [@threeorange](#): > > From sometime earlier this decade, **What About Joan**. It starred Joan Cusack, whose character was supposed to have been somewhat neurotic, which can be potentially funny. Cusack, however, played the character as borderline psychotic, which made the show mostly tragic and painful to watch. It’s always odd to me when a show is cast with somebody who is painfully funny- a comedic genius almost (which imo Joan Cusack is- her _Addams Family Values_ performance was one of the greatest of the 90s) and other good support but the show sucks and tanks, and it happens at least once a season. Other naturally funny people who’ve had dreadfully unfunny shows: Bette Midler Lucille Ball (though admittedly she had whipped that wacky redhead stuff until it frothed at the mouth, sweated blood, and had a 109 degree fever and was still trying to make it pull the cart even in 1980s) Dudley Moore - had two just bloody awful TV shows Katey Sagal Jonathan Winters (several bad shows) Randy Quaid (one was with Jonathan Winters) Many others. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/93 "2005-12-23T19:12:16Z")
What was that show - I think it was in the '80s - about three overweight sisters living together, and the trials and tribulations of being three overweight sisters living together? It was just a series of fat jokes, repeated ad nauseum over each episode. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/94 "2005-12-23T19:35:29Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > What was that show - I think it was in the '80s - about three overweight sisters living together, and the trials and tribulations of being three overweight sisters living together? It was just a series of fat jokes, repeated ad nauseum over each episode. Wasn’t it Babes? Around 1990. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/95 "2005-12-23T20:01:24Z")
> [@Birdmonster](#): > > I’m proud to be among the Full House majority. That was a shit storm in my brain. I’m surprised that no one has mentioned Sagat’s other crowning achievement: America’s Funniest Home Videos. Oh God, yes. I can watch _Full House_ if I have to, but _America’s Funniest Home Videos_ is painfully, embarrassingly unfunny. The videos are just boring and pointless, but the sequences in between are pure torture. Bob Saget poorly delivers unfunny jokes, there is some stilted laughing in the background, and you are left with a feeling that the world just got slightly dumber. > [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > I know I’m in the minority here, but **Family Guy** is one of the unfunniest shows I’ve ever been subjected to. Its popularity is a complete mystery to me. Some shows are acquired tastes. I think _Family Guy_ is the polar opposite. I loved it at first, but it got old fast. I watch it, as it still averages one brilliant joke per episode, but it’s no longer the enjoyment it once was. It isn’t anything close to the rewatchability of, say, _Simpsons_ either. ---
**Author:** ![Glassy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Glassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glassy)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/96 "2005-12-25T03:07:19Z")
> [@DesertGeezer](#): > > You may be right about **_Three_ And A Half Men** with Charlie Sheen, but \ ***Two \* And A Half Men** with Charlie Sheen makes me laugh every time… Guess differences in taste are part of what makes the world go 'round. Uh, yes, that is the show that I meant. Well, **DesertGeezer** , you’re obviously an individual of taste and intelligence (I’m not being sarcastic - I’m a fellow Steinbeck fan). Maybe I caught the one unfunny episode? ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/97 "2005-12-25T14:49:00Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > Arrested Development. You are going to hell for this ststement. ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/98 "2005-12-25T15:02:43Z")
Mamma’s Family – I can’t believe no one has brought up this horridly unfunny Vickie Lawrence spin-off of that horrible sketch from the Carol Burnette Show. What’s Happenin’ – Rerun and Shirley I still can’t scrub this from my brain. And to the person who nominated Beverly Hillbillies – you clearly don’t get it. It isn’t so much a show about silly hicks, it is a show about how silly society is in general. The hippie and social movement jokes are among the best things happening in the 60’s. Very sly and VERY funny. ---
**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:** [December 25, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292/99 "2005-12-25T15:13:00Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > You are going to hell for this ststement. I’ll be there waiting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-least-funny-tv-show-ever/333292.md?page=4)