# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![kneegrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@kneegrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kneegrow)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/61 "2013-03-22T00:13:11Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > 1. Space 1999. Spaceships going faster than light without explanation was bad enough, but the Moon? that’s weird. a. when in the series do they claim that the moon goes FTL? b. given all the crap we accept from sci fi shows, like sound in space, braking, artificial gravity without explanation, all aliens being humanoid, complaining about the moon going FTL seems … petty? besides, if you accept a ship going ftl, there’s no good reason why the moon couldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/62 "2013-03-22T00:21:25Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Firefly Firefly was not the worst show you ever saw. Maybe you didn’t like it, maybe you hate Joss Whedon because he killed your parents, maybe you can’t stank Nathan Fillion’s smirk. Whatever. But it ain’t the worst show you ever saw, unless you’ve only seen three shows and therefore the three shows you listed are also the best shows you’ve ever seen. This thread isn’t “Shows that are overrated by the fanboys”. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/63 "2013-03-22T00:26:38Z")
**Babes** - one of the many turds early-90s FOX flung at the wall in the post-Simpsons time slot, hoping something would stick. It was a sitcom about 3 fat sisters and it was funny cuz, get this, they’re fat! Get it? They’re fat! I suffered through one episode in those pre-DVR, live-TV watching dark days. Wikipedia claims it lasted an entire season. **Boobah** - kids show from the creators of Teletubbies. I guess the target audience was kids who didn’t think Teletubbies was repetitive enough. Even my kids, who were 3 and 1 at the time and watched Teletubbies, thought it was boring and pointless. It didn’t even have Teletubbies’ this-might-be-cool-if-I-were-stoned appeal. ---
**Author:** ![Sweetums](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Sweetums](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweetums)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/64 "2013-03-22T00:28:20Z")
What no hate for “Pink Lady and Jeff?” ``` A truly dreadful variety show where the produce had been convinced that Pink Lady, a pop duo from Japan would would be popular if they had a show in America. ``` However nobody bother to find out if the girls spoke English. They didn’t, at all, so an American comedian was added to do most of the talking, with the girls having to be coached phonetically on what few lines they could manage. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/65 "2013-03-22T00:28:43Z")
> [@kneegrow](#): > > that’s weird. > a. when in the series do they claim that the moon goes FTL? > b. given all the crap we accept from sci fi shows, like sound in space, braking, artificial gravity without explanation, all aliens being humanoid, complaining about the moon going FTL seems … petty? > > besides, if you accept a ship going ftl, there’s no good reason why the moon couldn’t. The moon has to be going faster than light if it is reaching other planets/stars outside of the solar system. I don’t remember the show well enough, but I thought they did. And yeah, I think there’s a pretty big difference between a chunk of rock hurtling through space faster than light after an explosion (if I remember the origins of the travel) and a ship that is designed through some magical physics handwaving to go that fast. And now I have the theme in my head. Damn you all. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/66 "2013-03-22T00:35:30Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > _The Suite Life of Zack & Cody/The Suite Life on Deck_. Disney Channel’s dreckiest alleged sitcom, which I was forced to watch while baby-sitting. It made _Saved by the Bell_ look like _Masterpiece Theatre_. Obviously you’ve never seen “Dog With a Blog”. Think of how bad a blogging dog show would be, and set your sights much, much lower. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/67 "2013-03-22T00:46:02Z")
> [@Sweetums](#): > > What no hate for “Pink Lady and Jeff?” > > ``` > A truly dreadful variety show where the produce had been convinced that Pink Lady, a pop duo from Japan would would be popular if they had a show in America. > > ``` > > However nobody bother to find out if the girls spoke English. They didn’t, at all, so an American comedian was added to do most of the talking, with the girls having to be coached phonetically on what few lines they could manage. Wow, I haven’t thought about that show in years. Yeah, it was bad. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/68 "2013-03-22T01:13:39Z")
2 pints of lager and a packet of crisps. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/69 "2013-03-22T01:25:49Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > My Mother The Car, a periennial favorite in this category, was a real show I really saw with my own eyes. Hell, I can still sing the theme song. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/70 "2013-03-22T01:29:36Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > 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). 😉 Lydia’s awesome, and she’s a [pretty decent blogger](http://politicallyhot.blogspot.com/) in my opinion. I thought the show was pretty decent, and it was always a hoot to watch Ted Knight. My worst: Laverne and Shirley Barney Enos ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/71 "2013-03-22T01:31:56Z")
Obviously, none of you ever saw **[Dusty’s trail](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusty's_Trail)**. Premiering in 1973, this turkey was a remake of Gilligan’s Island, complete with Bob Denver as Dusty, Forrest Tucker playing a “Skipper” surrogate, a couple of gals from Petticoat Junction offering up the “Ginger or Mary Ann” question, a rich banker (and his wife), and a really smart guy. Instead of being stuck on an island, they were lost out in the wild, wild west. Horrible. Just **horrible**. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/72 "2013-03-22T01:33:58Z")
I feel as though this thread is missing something… Oh yeah. It’s missing mention of **Homeboys in Outer Space**. [Opening Credits](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9CzPH17ySA) ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/73 "2013-03-22T01:36:35Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Deadwood :rolleyes: So it was the only show you ever watched? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/74 "2013-03-22T02:22:45Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > The moon has to be going faster than light if it is reaching other planets/stars outside of the solar system. I don’t remember the show well enough, but I thought they did. I never liked the show even as a kid, and hardly ever watched it, but I think you’re wrong. There was one episode where the Moon came back close to Earth, and several hundred years had passed. So they are experiencing time dilation. A journey between suns may take decades, but it seems like a week to them. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/75 "2013-03-22T02:27:22Z")
I think I once saw part of “Cop Rock”. I was so horrified I couldn’t even move or make a sound. It was like, the police chief singing a song telling his officers to be careful. I wish I could block it out. > [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > **Babes** - one of the many turds early-90s FOX flung at the wall in the post-Simpsons time slot, hoping something would stick. It was a sitcom about 3 fat sisters and it was funny cuz, get this, they’re fat! Get it? They’re fat! I suffered through one episode in those pre-DVR, live-TV watching dark days. Wikipedia claims it lasted an entire season. Yet another dark memory. Ugh. I’m going to have nightmares tonight, and it’s the fault of everyone in this thread. Do you understand? “Dinosaurs” was pretty fucking stupid. (“Not the mama!”) It would have worked as a kid’s cartoon – as an adult show, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/76 "2013-03-22T02:36:40Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Hell, I can still sing the theme song. Reminding me of another horrible show with a theme song I can remember: “But they’re COUSINS! Identical COUSINS all the way!” ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/77 "2013-03-22T02:45:16Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I never liked the show even as a kid, and hardly ever watched it, but I think you’re wrong. There was one episode where the Moon came back close to Earth, and several hundred years had passed. So they are experiencing time dilation. A journey between suns may take decades, but it seems like a week to them. I’m confused. You think the time dilation proves they are NOT going faster than light? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/78 "2013-03-22T02:48:35Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Reminding me of another horrible show with a theme song I can remember: > > “But they’re COUSINS! Identical COUSINS all the way!” “You could lose your mind!” ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/79 "2013-03-22T02:48:55Z")
Yes. Time dilation occurs when going at sublight speed. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559/80 "2013-03-22T02:52:17Z")
From when I was really young, Wizards and Warriors. Looking back on it I’d probably slash my wrists before watching it again, but when I was a kid I loved it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tv-shows-or-why-we-call-it-the-idiot-box/653559.md?page=5)