# Worst TV Shows, or-Why we call it The Idiot Box **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559 "2013-03-21T18:56:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/1 "2013-03-21T18:56:11Z")
What are the three worst television series you’ve ever seen? Rules: 1. You must have personally seen it, not just heard about it. 2. It must have been a actual _series_, not a pilot or movie. Minimum of 5 episodes. 3. Miss you, Opal. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/2 "2013-03-21T19:02:06Z")
I’d vote for _Small Wonder_, but I’ve never seen it. I’ll start the bidding at _Benson_, but I know we can do far worse. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/3 "2013-03-21T19:09:48Z")
1. Small Wonder 2. Meego 3. Touched By An Angel ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/4 "2013-03-21T19:14:42Z")
1. Manimal 2. Silver Spoon 3. Empty Nest Also, does anyone remember a show in the 80s featuring (warning: extremely vague recollection ahead!) a car that could turn invisible, and when visible, appeared to be made out of light? Maybe it was a spy show of some sort? The car appeared to have blue tape (or tape that would glow under a blacklight) outlining all the angles. Found it - [Automan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automan)! ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/5 "2013-03-21T19:16:50Z")
If there is a show I hate more than **Glee** , it’s not yet coming to mind. mmm ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/6 "2013-03-21T19:17:58Z")
Mama’s Place Cop Rock Gilligan’s Island ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/7 "2013-03-21T19:18:02Z")
I hate the show so much that I am even angry that _other people_ watch **Dancing with the Stars**. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/8 "2013-03-21T19:24:52Z")
I don’t know if I can do just 3. Just off the top of my head, in no particular order: Two Broke Girls The View My Super Sweet Sixteen The Real Housewives of [wherever] Anything starting with “Tyler Perry Presents” ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/9 "2013-03-21T19:25:01Z")
Happy Days - it may have started out OK, but devolved into something unholy Laverne and Shirley - started unholy The Sean Hannity Show - I soooo want to punch that smug bastard ---
**Author:** ![Srsly\_Dad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Srsly\_Dad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Srsly_Dad)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/10 "2013-03-21T19:29:57Z")
The Tortellis Cheers spin-off about Carla’s ex husband. Played by Dan Hedaya really annoying guy, bad actor (you might recall him if you see his picture. Jean Kasem played his wife. Absolutely horrid. Aired Jan-May 1987 and amazed it lasted that long. I guess being married to Casey Casem gets you some latitude. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/11 "2013-03-21T19:32:23Z")
My Mother The Car, a periennial favorite in this category, was a real show I really saw with my own eyes. The male lead, if memory serves, was Jerry Van Dyke, but Dick himself couldn’t have improved it any. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/12 "2013-03-21T19:35:05Z")
Any of the Kardashian shows Herman’s Head The Ropers The Tortellis (Ninja’d on this one) ---
**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:** [March 21, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/13 "2013-03-21T19:40:30Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > My Mother The Car, a periennial favorite in this category, was a real show I really saw with my own eyes. The male lead, if memory serves, was Jerry Van Dyke, but Dick himself couldn’t have improved it any. I used to watch this. It featured the voice of Ann Sothern as the car. Avery Schreiber played the villain who kept trying to steal the 1928 Porter. Bad, but not, I think, among the worst. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/14 "2013-03-21T19:43:53Z")
1. FOX News 2. Jerry Springer 3. Oprah ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/15 "2013-03-21T19:46:48Z")
[QUOTE=Truman Burbank] My Mother The Car, a periennial favorite in this category, was a real show I really saw with my own eyes. The male lead, if memory serves, was Jerry Van Dyke, but Dick himself couldn’t have improved it any. [/QUOTE] > [@CalMeacham](#): > > I used to watch this. It featured the voice of Ann Sothern as the car. Avery Schreiber played the villain who kept trying to steal the 1928 Porter. > Bad, but not, I think, among the worst. I think the show’s concept and fact it made to the prime time schedule of NBC is proof there was a lot of LSD going around Hollywood in the mid 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/16 "2013-03-21T19:48:25Z")
**Czarcasm** , judging by some of the responses, you might want to amend your rule number one or add a rule that says ‘you must have personally seen _at least one full episode or more_’. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/17 "2013-03-21T19:48:29Z")
I assume you’re limiting this to actual prime time series mostly aimed at adults, because there were some really awful live-action Saturday morning stuff on when I was a kid (that one with Ruth Buzzi?). Under that assumption: 1. Too Close for Comfort Has there ever been a show worse than that? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/18 "2013-03-21T19:50:18Z")
_Here Comes Honey Boo Boo_. I watched about 20 minutes of an episode, but had to stop before my brain jumped out of my ear. _The Jerry Springer Show_. Invite real people on your talk show, with the fervent hope that they get mad enough at one another to start fighting. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/19 "2013-03-21T19:54:27Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I assume you’re limiting this to actual prime time series mostly aimed at adults, because there were some really awful live-action Saturday morning stuff on when I was a kid (that one with Ruth Buzzi?). _[Lost Saucer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Saucer)_! > [@RitterSport](#): > > 1. Too Close for Comfort There were four reasons why I watched that show as a teenaged boy, and they were [Lydia Cornell and Deborah Van Valkenburgh](http://www.cyndi.com/items/2910.jpg). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/20 "2013-03-21T19:56:30Z")
1. Ozzie and Harriet. The very epitome of 1950s whitebread dumb father TV. Leave it to Beaver was Hamlet in comparison to this. 2). Land of the Giants. Irwin Allen must have had a private bet about how bad a show he could get on the network, and kept making them worse. This was so bottom of the barrel that it was under the barrel. Obnoxious characters you cared nothing about trapped in a bad special effects world. I think I saw five of these, but gave up in disgust when none of the cast got squashed by the giants. 2. Space 1999. Spaceships going faster than light without explanation was bad enough, but the Moon? I knew from Mission Impossible that Martin Landau and Barbara Bain could act, so the only explanation for their poor performance here must be the direction. I’m behind My Mother the Car being on the list also, if just as the stupidest premise ever for a TV show. And you realize that a subtext of this thread is who is dumb enough to spend the time to watch five episodes of utter dreck. I plead youth myself, and the lack of the Internet at the time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559.md?page=2)