# Worst decision a TV show/movie has made? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2016, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599 "2016-07-10T19:44:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/21 "2016-07-11T16:32:00Z")
Howard Cosell’s “Saturday Night” variety show. A show, as Johnny Carson said, tennis star Jimmy Connors sang and Frank Sinatra didn’t. Or get the judge in the Patty Hearst trial to allow defense attorney F Lee Bailey to talk about the trial in progress only to have the network say no: Result: bland interview on what a nice woman Patty really is. Putting Barbara Walters on the ABC Evening News where anchor Harry Reasoner didn’t want her (he went back to CBS and “60 Minutes” and the format didn’t play into Walter’s strengths. Had it’s amusing aspects of Dan Rather saying no anchor was worth $1 million a year and four years later he was getting $1.8 million to replace Walter Cronkite. Courage. Jack Webb took over “77 Sunset strip” for the sixth and final season. He charged the format to a more noirish, less lighthearted show and got rid of everyone except Efrem Zimbalist. The good side was a few disasters like this, Webb was forced to revive his “Dragnet” career so we got four years of Friday and Gannon chasing down dope fiends and purse snatching dogs. The last season of “Maverick” saw them try to introduce yet another Maverick brother Brent. Robert Colbert begged them not to cast him as that, preferring to be ion a dress and named Brenda ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/22 "2016-07-11T16:36:19Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > First star trek movie - the bald woman robot. And then the guy falls in love with her. Watching that movie, we all wondered why after ten years with virtually no “Star trek” (alright, there was a cartoon) they decided to remake the NOMAD episode “The Changeling”. Roddenberry couldn’t come up with something more original? ---
**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:** [July 11, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/23 "2016-07-11T16:43:36Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > 3)They could have done what happens fairly often now, reveal the murderer and then set up a new problem to be dealt with next. Which is what they did. The show hit a rough spot for a couple of episodes afterwards, but regained its footing and was doing well dramatically when it was cancelled. (Note: the ending was a _season_ finale – setting up things for the next season – not a series finale.) ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/24 "2016-07-11T16:56:45Z")
> [@ddsun](#): > > Sleepy Hollow: Kill the witness. > > I’m sure there are many others. That one is just so painfully fresh. Well, they claim the actress wanted to leave. But she was driven to it by _two seasons_ of bad decisions. (Too bad the original creative team mostly left after season 1.) Examples: Minimize roles of interesting characters (Jennie, Frank & even Abbie) to concentrate on dull characters (Katrina, the gelded Horseman, and John Noble, proving acting talent can’t erase crap writing). Not to forget Hawley! Incoherent plot & character arcs. Separating the two witnesses (whose chemistry was a gift) as much as possible. Introducing interesting characters only to kill them off immediately. Lack of witty writing. Etc… Really, killing Abbie was the last straw–even if Nicole wanted to leave. Then they renewed the show… ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/25 "2016-07-11T17:06:39Z")
Cousin Oliver. What do I win? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/26 "2016-07-11T18:57:10Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Which is what they did. The show hit a rough spot for a couple of episodes afterwards, but regained its footing and was doing well dramatically when it was cancelled. > > (Note: the ending was a _season_ finale – setting up things for the next season – not a series finale.) I was only 10 or 11 when it was on, so all I know about it was I hear and read, but it’s my understanding that revealing the murderer was a result of a bunch of people butting heads and the show never did well after that. Looking at the wiki page for the episodes reminds me that I think part of the reason they made the reveal was because ratings were slipping to begin with. Season 2 Episode 1 had 10 million viewers and immediately slipped to 15 and down to 11 million. The killer was revealed with 17 million people watching (must have been promo’d) but they mostly hung around 10 million viewers after that. Compare this to double the viewers for the previous season. As for regaining it’s footing, I don’t want to derail the thread, but I’d say that’s debatable. It really changed gears after that. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/27 "2016-07-11T20:03:17Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Watching that movie, we all wondered why after ten years with virtually no “Star trek” (alright, there was a cartoon) they decided to remake the NOMAD episode “The Changeling”. Roddenberry couldn’t come up with something more original? It’s the question we all want to ask Lucas, Abrams, et al, as well. Still, Khan (Best. Trek Movie. Ever.) was a sequel. So, 1 and 2 are reruns, 3 is a weak continuation of 2, 4 is a fair continuation of 3, and 5 is from another universe entirely. Then normal movies start coming. It isn’t like ST:The Motion Sickness was the worst ST movie made. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/28 "2016-07-11T20:31:20Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > The “Coy and Vance” years of Dukes of Hazzard. > > And far and away the worst, Chico and the Man’s producers refusing to cancel the show after Freddie Prinze committed suicide. Is there even an example of a show that lost its major star/stars, and survived on to actually be successful? Seems to me that’s the point when the show starts shambling around like a zombie for another few seasons, before it finally drops dead after a few seasons. \*Note: I’m not counting ensemble cast shows like MASH, who lose a few prominent members, but rather shows that center around one or two main characters and then lose them. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/29 "2016-07-11T20:50:09Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Is there even an example of a show that lost its major star/stars, and survived on to actually be successful? Seems to me that’s the point when the show starts shambling around like a zombie for another few seasons, before it finally drops dead after a few seasons. > > \*Note: I’m not counting ensemble cast shows like MASH, who lose a few prominent members, but rather shows that center around one or two main characters and then lose them. In the case of the _Dukes of Hazzard_, John Shneider and Tom Wopat did sign new contracts and returned to the show as Bo and Luke, though. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/30 "2016-07-11T20:54:38Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Is there even an example of a show that lost its major star/stars, and survived on to actually be successful? Seems to me that’s the point when the show starts shambling around like a zombie for another few seasons, before it finally drops dead after a few seasons. LAW & ORDER was better after a full castectomy. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/31 "2016-07-11T20:56:34Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > Cousin Oliver. > > What do I win? A one way ticket to Hawaii? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/32 "2016-07-11T21:05:16Z")
But beware; it carries a terrible curse. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/33 "2016-07-11T21:11:32Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > LAW & ORDER was better after a full castectomy. It was done in stages, like a Hollywood facelift. A little nip here, a tuck there, and pretty soon there’s none of your original face left. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/34 "2016-07-11T21:12:23Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Putting Barbara Walters on the ABC Evening News where anchor Harry Reasoner didn’t want her (he went back to CBS and “60 Minutes” and the format didn’t play into Walter’s strengths. Had it’s amusing aspects of Dan Rather saying no anchor was worth $1 million a year and four years later he was getting $1.8 million to replace Walter Cronkite. Courage. Don’t forget, CBS tried teaming Rather and Connie Chung on the Evening News. It. Did. Not. Go. Well. Back to the scripted shows. Continuing _Eight Simple Rules_ after John Ritter died. Continuing _Chico and the Man_ after Freddie Prinze died. Continuing _Bonanza_ after Dan Blocker died. Trying the _Sonny & Cher Show_ after they got divorced. Continuing _NewsRadio_ after Phil Hartman died. [QUOTE=bump] Is there even an example of a show that lost its major star/stars, and survived on to actually be successful? Seems to me that’s the point when the show starts shambling around like a zombie for another few seasons, before it finally drops dead after a few seasons. [/Quote] _The Danny Thomas Show_ and _Eight Is Enough_ survived loss of their original wives; _Bonanza got by after Pernell Roberts left; Bewitched_ – famously – had two Darrens. _Cheers_ lasted longer without Shelley Long than with her. While it can happen, the odds aren’t great. ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/35 "2016-07-11T21:24:13Z")
> [@DoperChic](#): > > The whole last season of Roseanne where she won the lottery. It was bad. But the series finale, to me, really made up for how unrealistic the final season was. ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/36 "2016-07-11T21:27:05Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > It was done in stages, like a Hollywood facelift. A little nip here, a tuck there, and pretty soon there’s none of your original face left. Weeeellll—to me the only ones I couldn’t stand were Benjamin Bratt and Fred Thompson. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/37 "2016-07-11T21:27:51Z")
Lost, not mapping out a path that includes more answers and explanations once the length of the series was determined. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/38 "2016-07-11T21:46:24Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Is there even an example of a show that lost its major star/stars, and survived on to actually be successful? Seems to me that’s the point when the show starts shambling around like a zombie for another few seasons, before it finally drops dead after a few seasons. > > \*Note: I’m not counting ensemble cast shows like MASH, who lose a few prominent members, but rather shows that center around one or two main characters and then lose them. I just remembered [The Hogan Family](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hogan_Family). It started out as _Valerie_, starring Valerie Harper, who played the mother of three kids whose husband, an airline pilot, was frequently away from home. She was fired after the second season and her character was killed off. Sandy Duncan joined the show as her sister-in-law and the show was retitled _Valerie’s Family_. A year later it became _The Hogan Family_. It remained popular for at least three years after Harper’s departure, although the ratings took a nosedive after the series moved from NBC to CBS for its final season. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/39 "2016-07-11T22:00:30Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Revealing Laura Palmer’s murderer. > > … > > … > Having said that, it’s still a great show, if you haven’t seen it, go watch it. Watch what? You never even mention the show title! 😃 (I know, I know!) > [@installLSC](#): > > Making Archie Bunker a “nice guy” during the later years of All in the Family and the whole run of Archie Bunker’s Place. Why eliminate the whole purpose of your character? Same with HotLips on MASH. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599/40 "2016-07-11T22:33:30Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Lost There, I fixed it for you. I actually loved the show, but really, the creators told you right up front with the title that they had no idea where they were going with it. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-decision-a-tv-show-movie-has-made/759599.md?page=3)