# Worst TV show ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 14, 2016, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933 "2016-07-14T22:33:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/82 "2016-07-16T19:48:56Z")
Three more contenders: The Gong Show The Morton Downey Jr Show Zoobilee Zoo ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/83 "2016-07-16T19:52:19Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I nominate _Mary_. A short lived (3 episodes) 1978 [variety show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_(1978_TV_series)) hosted by Mary Tyler Moore following the success of her sitcom. > > Fairly interesting supporting cast. > > It was awwwfuuuullll. > > Watched some of the first episode. 15 minutes in they had a bit called “The First Fifteen Minutes of _Mary_.” where they did a nostalgic look back at the show so far. Those 15 minutes were horrible. Showing clips just doubled the pain. > > The people running it were clueless. E.g., they thought they could get (then unknown) David Letterman and Michael Keaton to do song and dance bits. After “Afternoon Delight” dropped off the charts, the Starland Vocal Band had their own variety show. :eek: It lasted several episodes, and also featured David Letterman. Fortunately, he wasn’t well known enough at the time for it to destroy his career. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/84 "2016-07-17T00:08:35Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Not anymore. Variety is dead, specialty is in. Even _Sábado Gigante_ is done. I think they still have them in Japan, but it is dead here in the US. > [@Derleth](#): > > Most sitcoms are pretty stupid, but _Three’s Company_ stands out as a particularly bad example of what moral depravity a culture can be pushed to when normal porn is artificially scarce. Was it really? I’ve never seen it. What made it so bad/depraved? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/85 "2016-07-17T02:27:22Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Was it really? I’ve never seen it. What made it so bad/depraved? It was founded on false pretenses: The ostensible purpose of the show was to be a comedy, when in reality the purpose was to be near-pornography. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/86 "2016-07-17T02:36:28Z")
For some reason Sonny Tufts’ name was a bit of a joke during the 1960s. In one ep of “My Mother, the Car,” the plot all revolves around going to a drive-in movie in the Mother/Car to see a Sonny Tufts movie. I’ve never seen any of his stuff, personally, so I can’t say whether it was justified. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/87 "2016-07-17T02:47:24Z")
Remember **American Idol**? The reality show where the winner of a season-long singing contest won a for-real recording contract? No, I’m not nominating it. However, in its heyday, a competing show called Superstar USA sprung up. It billed itself as a straight-up knock off of American Idol: it had the same format with a lot of people performing a series of singing auditions in front of an audience, and the field would slowly be winnowed to a single winner. What the contestants were not told is that the _worst_ singers would be the ones who advanced. The show was a giant, soul-crushing prank, designed to build up the egos of people who just couldn’t admit that they were terrible singers, and then humiliate them on television. There have been a lot of shows with outright bad premises. I truly hope that nothing ever comes close to being as cruel and heartless as this. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/88 "2016-07-17T02:54:11Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > There have been a lot of shows with outright bad premises. I truly hope that nothing ever comes close to being as cruel and heartless as this. Too late. Wayyyy to late. "[De Grote Donorshow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Grote_Donorshow) (The Big Donor Show) was a reality television program which was broadcast in the Netherlands on Friday, June 1, 2007, by BNN. The program involved a supposedly terminally ill 37-year-old woman donating a kidney to one of twenty-five people requiring a kidney transplantation. " ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/89 "2016-07-17T03:11:05Z")
You do know about _Queen for a Day_, don’t you? There would be three to five women on the show each day. They would each talk about the terrible situation they were in. They would often desperately need some medical help for a member of their family, for instance. The studio audience would vote for which of them should get that help. The winner would get it (and a bunch of junk from the sponsors of the show which often would be useless to the winner). The remaining contestants would get a smaller amount of junk from the sponsors (but not the help that they needed) and would be quickly hustled off the stage: > **[Queen for a Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_for_a_Day)** > > Queen for a Day is an American radio and television game show that helped to usher in American listeners' and viewers' fascination with big-prize giveaway shows. Queen for a Day originated on the Mutual Radio Network on April 30, 1945, in New York City before moving to Los Angeles a few months later and ran until 1957. The show then ran on NBC Television from 1956 to 1960 and on ABC Television from 1960 to 1964. > The show became popular enough that NBC increased its running time from 30 to 45 min... ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/90 "2016-07-17T05:11:16Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > _The Lawrence Welk Show_ Of the same caliber would be [Donny and Marie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073985/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1). ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/91 "2016-07-17T05:25:02Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Jessica Simpson and her then-husband had a variety show that lasted 1 episode that I know of. I saw it on the TV listings and started to watch it just to see if it was for real. > > It was; I lasted maybe 10 minutes. > [@xizor](#): > > And if we didn’t learn from that mistake, they tried the same thing with the Osbornes. Same result. You’re thinking of [Newlyweds](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380934/?ref_=nm_knf_t1), which was awesome in a trainwreck kind of way. (“Is tuna chicken?”) **nearwildheaven** is talking about [The Nick & Jessica Variety Hour](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408034/), which is awful in every way. To be fair, the Variety Hour was a single “event” special, along the lines of the Star Wars Christmas Special. > [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > I really don’t think that any show that ran for multiple seasons could even be\* in the running\* for worst ever. That’s actually a fair point, but it also makes me think that the more interesting question would be the worst show ever that got at least a second season. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/92 "2016-07-17T06:06:17Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > “Under The Dome” started off interesting then got stupid fast. I didn’t even make it through the first season. > > “Wayward Pines” Season 2 is starting to circle the drain, IMO. I gave up on “Under the Dome” after about three episodes. Lost interest in “Wayward Pines” about halfway through season 1. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/93 "2016-07-17T15:29:55Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Three more contenders: > > The Gong Show > > The Morton Downey Jr Show > > Zoobilee Zoo Aww. As a little kid, I loved the The Gong Show. > [@Derleth](#): > > It was founded on false pretenses: The ostensible purpose of the show was to be a comedy, when in reality the purpose was to be near-pornography. What? Suzanne Somers running around without a bra = near-porn?? As for my nomination, I suggest a reality show that was sort of a real-life Clue game, but with the contestants being picked off one by one. I can’t remember the name, but the idea sounded like it might of had potential, yet it was so hilariously bad as to make me give up at the start of the second episode. Anyone know what I’m talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/94 "2016-07-17T16:26:36Z")
And then there’s _You’re in the Picture_, a show whose first episode was so bad that the host spent the second episode just apologizing for the first episode (and then the show was cancelled): > **[You're in the Picture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27re_in_the_Picture)** > > You're in the Picture is an American television game show that aired on CBS for only one episode on Friday, January 20, 1961 at 9:30pm, the evening of the Inauguration of John F. Kennedy. > The show, created by Don Lipp and Bob Synes, was an attempt by its host and star Jackie Gleason to "demonstrate versatility" after his success within variety shows and The Honeymooners. Gleason was joined by Johnny Olson as announcer and Dennis James doing live commercials for sponsor Kellogg's cereals. > Tec... ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/95 "2016-07-17T16:44:07Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > (snip)Most sitcoms are pretty stupid, but _Three’s Company_ stands out as a particularly bad example of what moral depravity a culture can be pushed to when normal porn is artificially scarce. I think you can make an analogy to the epidemic of synthetic pot usage and overdoses because actual marijuana is made artificially scarce. People end up using a substance immeasurably worse as a substitute. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/96 "2016-07-17T21:22:17Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I can still sing the theme song for this one too after fifty years! 🆒 > > **Of course** they had the same sets as _ **Gilligan’s Island** _; both shows were produced by Sherwood Schwartz! That’s impossible. It’s about time was set in prehistoric times and Gilligans Island was set in the present day on an island, duhh… ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/97 "2016-07-18T15:56:38Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > _The Osbournes_ ran three seasons, and was the highest-rated MTV program at the time. I’m not talking about their reality show, I am talking about their [variety show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osbournes_Reloaded), which only 35 minutes of the first hourlong episode was ever aired. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/98 "2016-07-18T16:37:40Z")
I won’t name a single particular show, but rather a genre- those shows detailing the lives of such people as dwarves, girls with two heads, and those unfortunates who are so obese they can’t move. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/99 "2016-07-18T17:06:24Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > As for my nomination, I suggest a reality show that was sort of a real-life Clue game, but with the contestants being picked off one by one. I can’t remember the name, but the idea sounded like it might of had potential, yet it was so hilariously bad as to make me give up at the start of the second episode. Anyone know what I’m talking about? This was in the last few years, right? I remember talking about it on the SDMB and not getting too far in to it, either. There was also a recent one called “ **Utopia** ” where a bunch of people had to live in a “walled-off” commune sort of place and basically build their own society from the ground up. Except it turns out that all people - even people vetted for reality tv - are awful and can’t possibly create a society, and it was just week after week of people screaming at each other and getting sent home for nearly killing each other. I don’t think it lasted a full season because the premise was shot after just a handful of episodes (the season wasn’t done being shot while it was being shown). ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/100 "2016-07-18T17:25:41Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I think _My Mother the Car_ was unfairly slammed at the time. Sure, the premise was bad, but so was the premise of a lot of shows. _Bosom Buddies_ anyone? (For that show they dropped the idiot drag premise at the end.) > > But it was just a regular so-so sitcom otherwise. Except: It had the glorious voice of Ann Sothern! > > Maybe people just didn’t get the Sonny Tufts references. > > And writers such as Allan Burns and James L. Brooks more than made up for it later. I’ve never seen an episode of _My Mother the Car_, but I agree with this anyway. People ridicule the premise, which was admittedly wacky. But was it really any stranger than the premises of, say, _My Favorite Martian_ or _I Dream of Jeannie_? What makes a show good or bad is what they do with that premise–are the jokes good, are they performed well, is the writing fresh and interesting? As I say, I’ve never seen _My Mother the Car_, so I can’t judge it on that score. But the strange premise shouldn’t be enough to sink it in and of itself. Sonny Tufts, for awhile, was a good go-to punchline–there’s at least one joke about him that I can recall on _The Dick Van Dyke Show_, as well. He had the perfect combination of having a funny-sounding name, and being a somewhat famous but not-very-good actor. Speaking of wacky premises… In threads like this, I like to mention _Out of This World_, another direct-to-syndication sitcom that aired around the same time as _Small Wonder_, and also managed to run for four seasons. It was about a teenage girl who was half-alien, and thus had superhuman abilities that she had to hide. Alas, rather than doing anything interesting with them, she used them to solve typical teen-sitcom problems like getting a date to the prom or covering up a little white lie, always in the most predictable way possible. Maybe because it lacked the inherent creepiness of the “robot daughter” premise, it doesn’t seem to be as well-remembered as _Small Wonder_, but I can assure you it was equally stilted and amateurish. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933/101 "2016-07-18T17:31:35Z")
It may not be the worst TV show ever, but any discussion of the topic should include [2 Broke Girls.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1845307/) Kat Dennings continued career is proof that God is an angry and vengeful God. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-show-ever/759933.md?page=6)