# Worst concept for a TV special or series ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011 "2011-01-01T01:44:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/61 "2011-01-03T23:19:00Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Hey, you’re trying to top My Mother The Car and Heil Honey I’m Home; I think you’re gonna need a bigger gun than _“good-looking guy takes off his shirt a lot and uses super-strength to help government investigators”_ in the bad-concept department. 😃 Yeah, you’re right. Damn! I never win anything. ☹ > [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > It had very cool theme music. Ladies and gentlemen I have a show I want you to see. It has two good parts; The first 30 seconds and the last 30 seconds. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/62 "2011-01-04T05:31:26Z")
If you actually want to watch the infamous “Heil Honey I’m Home” [here you go.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWjCkcAmzDc) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/63 "2011-01-04T06:46:52Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Actually, I agree about _Six Feet Under_, to a point. It is a pretty disturbing concept, a family of undertakers,and that is one reason I didn’t watch it when it first ran. I think _Dexter_ is a horrible concept for a show, which is why I’ve never watched it. Creeps me out just thinking about it. But clearly there’s more to it than meets the eye, or it wouldn’t be so unfathomably popular. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/64 "2011-01-04T06:56:23Z")
Two Many Cats, that was Moment of Truth. I didn’t care for it either, but for different reasons. I think that any show that takes the results of a polygraph seriously is fatally flawed to begin with, and having some of the supposedly horrifying revelations be false was monumentally retarded. (“So, DKW, did you kill Nicole Brown Simpson?” “No.” That answer is…true." “Well, _that_ was pointless…”) That plus the incredibly unforgiving prize structure which lead to nearly everybody leaving empty-handed killed any lingering interest I may have had. I never saw an episode, but Jackson Pollack ([www.xoverboard.com](http://www.xoverboard.com)) once mentioned a game show called Hurl, where the object was to eat a lot and then get on various scary carnival rides. Whoever threw up the least won $1,000. It’s not often a show manages to be offensive, disgusting, moronic, _and_ ridiculously cheap. And while it’s not an especially egregious case, I have to give an honorable mention to Forever Eden, the ill-fated Fox project. The premise was to start with 16 contestants placed in a vacation paradise. There were no tasks or requirements of any kind; they could relax, socialize, have fun, get drunk, etc. At the end of each round (about 1-2 weeks IIRC), everyone got to vote for who they wanted to leave, and the one with the most votes was out. The remaining 15 each got a number of gold coins. Then a new contestant joined the fray and the next round began. In other words, all you had to do to survive…and spend another week in a luxurious vacation resort and get paid a lot for the privelege…is NOT BE THE BIGGEST JERK. If you were friendly and affectionate, you could stay for as long as you damn well pleased. Sure, maybe they’d find other people as friendly as you, but not fifteen. This one died almost the moment it was born; all I ever saw was the pilot. I watched nearly all of Temptation Island, and frankly, I found it just plain _pointless_. A bunch of couples throw parties and play some silly games with a bunch of rent-a-models. No prizes, no contests, nothing important at stake. Like, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/65 "2011-01-04T07:22:04Z")
I think many people miss the point about _Heil Honey, I’m Home!_. It was intentionally over-the-top and tasteless. It’s only real crime was that it wasn’t very funny but there was nothing at all wrong with the concept. In the hands of a Mel Brooks it could have been hilarious. BTW for those wishing to judge for themselves the first episode is freely available on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/66 "2011-01-04T15:23:03Z")
You’re right about the concept, but there’s no way it’s funny for more than two minutes. Maybe **30 Rock** should try and revive it. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/67 "2011-01-04T16:17:25Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > _Cop Rock_ was no more terrible in concept than any other musical, which admittedly is a genre I despise. So I do have sympathy. Nah, the problem with _Cop Rock_ (that _Glee_ avoided by not using original music) is that it’s hard enough coming up with half a dozen decent songs for a show; coming up with half a dozen a week is crazy impossible. ---
**Author:** ![poker\_in\_the\_rear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dc4da7/32.png) [@poker\_in\_the\_rear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poker_in_the_rear)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/68 "2011-01-04T17:26:58Z")
Hole in the Wall Large people in skin tight silver space suits trying to fit through a hole in a wall. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hole\_in\_the\_Wall\_(U.S.\_game\_show)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hole_in_the_Wall_(U.S._game_show)) ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/69 "2011-01-04T19:27:57Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Worst series idea > > [Heil Honey I’m Home!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heil_Honey_I%27m_Home!) I’m sorry, the thread for the _Awesomest Concept EVER for a TV Show_ is down the hall. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/70 "2011-01-04T19:51:01Z")
How about a series with two people taking care of a “family” of performing chimps? **The Hathaways** starred Jack Weston and Peggy Cass and The Marquis Chimps. It was so awful that ABC television (who ran it) were frequently also the sponsors. It ran the 1961-62 TV season. > [@](#): > > Later-day television critics Castleman and Podrazik (1982) have called The Hathaways “possibly the worst series ever to air on network TV”, criticizing the production, scripts, acting, the “utterly degrading” premise, and the overall “total worthlessness” of the program.[3] I watched it, as a kid. > **[The Hathaways](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hathaways)** > > The Hathaways may refer to: TV never learns. A decade later they had **Me and the Chimp** , starring a fresh-from-That-Girl Ted Bessel. This time the show was on CBS > [@](#): > > Bessell refused to participate when the title was first given as “The Chimp and I”. It is considered by many to be one of the worst shows in the history of television, and for many years was a frequent punch line when comedians wished to reference bad TV shows. > **[Me and the Chimp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_and_the_Chimp)** > > Me and the Chimp is an American sitcom which aired for one season during 1972 on CBS. It was created by Garry Marshall and Thomas L. Miller and produced by Alan Rafkin for Paramount Television. > Mike Reynolds is a dentist who lives with his wife, two children, and a chimpanzee named Buttons, who is a washout from the space program (a fact unknown to Mike and his family until an old army sergeant visits). > Episodes revolve around Buttons' doings or undoings, such as extending the line Mike drew ... ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/71 "2011-01-05T01:22:41Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > And while it’s not an especially egregious case, I have to give an honorable mention to Forever Eden, the ill-fated Fox project. The premise was to start with 16 contestants placed in a vacation paradise. There were no tasks or requirements of any kind; they could relax, socialize, have fun, get drunk, etc. At the end of each round (about 1-2 weeks IIRC), everyone got to vote for who they wanted to leave, and the one with the most votes was out. The remaining 15 each got a number of gold coins. Then a new contestant joined the fray and the next round began. In other words, all you had to do to survive…and spend another week in a luxurious vacation resort and get paid a lot for the privelege…is NOT BE THE BIGGEST JERK. If you were friendly and affectionate, you could stay for as long as you damn well pleased. Sure, maybe they’d find other people as friendly as you, but not fifteen. This one died almost the moment it was born; all I ever saw was the pilot. Which sounds very close to the premise of [_Coach Trip_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coach_Trip) here in the UK. Group of people on a free coach holiday round Europe get to vote off couples they don’t like, who are then replaced by new fodder. There are standard couch-trippy organised daily visits to museums or whatever in the place they’re visiting that day, but otherwise no tasks as such. Votes take place at the end of each day, not weekly, but the aim is to continue the free holiday for as long as possible. Experience demonstrates that it indeed tends to be the pleasantest couples who manage that. Yet it’s riveting. A bunch of freeloading Brits with all prejudices intact cooped up in a confined space abroad, then given excuse to vent their frustrations with each other. Wrapped up in a travelogue. Genius television. While I’m not quite sure I’d call it a hit and it’s never broken out of daytime scheduling, it’s gradually established itself as a guilty pleasure and they’ve apparently now filmed 8 series of it. And it’s becoming increasingly common for people to sheepishly admit to the grip of a Sunday afternoon back-to-back run of repeats of it. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/72 "2011-01-05T03:34:20Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > How about a series with two people taking care of a “family” of performing chimps? > > **The Hathaways** starred Jack Weston and Peggy Cass and The Marquis Chimps. It was so awful that ABC television (who ran it) were frequently also the sponsors. It ran the 1961-62 TV season. > > I watched it, as a kid. > > [The Hathaways - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hathaways) > > TV never learns. A decade later they had **Me and the Chimp** , starring a fresh-from-That-Girl Ted Bessel. This time the show was on CBS > > [Me and the Chimp - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_and_the_Chimp) Darn, and I’d thought I was being original: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12845904&postcount=16](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12845904&postcount=16) ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/73 "2011-01-05T17:44:33Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > (dis)Honorable mention for _Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire._ And I knew (periphally) the “millionaire” Rick Rockwell, who was a millionaire only if you added up all his property, debt, family’s property, family’s debt and squinted. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/74 "2011-01-05T18:08:37Z")
[Toonces, the Driving Cat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toonces_the_Driving_Cat) - the actual pitched sitcom, not the excellent skits that inspired it. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/75 "2011-01-05T18:18:33Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > a program “re-enacting” Michael Jackson’s autopsy [How unoriginal](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163521/) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/76 "2011-01-05T18:42:14Z")
Some great examples, here, though I strongly disagree with Hogan’s Heros. I never actually watched Small Wonder. How terrible was it? ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/77 "2011-01-05T19:10:26Z")
What? 76 posts in, and no one has mentioned the GEICO Caveman TV Series? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/78 "2011-01-05T19:29:22Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > What? 76 posts in, and no one has mentioned the GEICO Caveman TV Series? Correct. Because that show ROCKED. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/79 "2011-01-05T21:31:05Z")
[Naked Jungle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_Jungle) was a puzzle/endurance type gameshow created for Channel 5 in the UK, in the very early days after the channel was first launched. All of the contestants appeared completely naked, as did the host, Keith Chegwin, who was previously best known as a presenter of programmes for children. No attempt at modesty was made by the contestants, camerawork, or editing. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011/80 "2011-01-05T22:11:37Z")
[Take _Blazing Saddles_, remove the booze, the beans, and the banter.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roLoEheJ9Zc) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-concept-for-a-tv-special-or-series-ever/566011.md?page=5)