Lists are fun, aren't they? They put everything in perspective, they're easy to navigate, and they spark debate. But sometimes a list has entries in it that just make you scratch your head and wonder, do they really think that or are they just trying to be provocative?
The Chicago Tribune lists their picks for the 25 worst shows of all-time. Many of the usual suspects are here: Pink Lady and Jeff, BJ and the Bear, Manimal, and Small Wonder - but then they go completely off the rails and lists The 100 Lives of Blackjack Savage! If you don't remember this NBC show (it lasted 8 episodes in 1991), it was about a billionaire (Daniel Hugh-Kelly), accused of embezzlement, who escapes to an island, who gets involved with a ghost and has to save 100 lives. This was a really fun show and doesn't deserve to be on any "worst" list.
I also take issue with other shows on the list that might not be anywhere near anyone's "best" list but were OK shows: Mr. Belvedere, Mama's Family, Beauty and the Beast. No need for those shows to be on a "worst" list.
And if you're going to list worst shows of all-time, be fair. You can't include shows that lasted only one episode.












Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-03-2007 @ 1:39PM
Oreo said...
I agree Bob, one episode isn't enough for "worst", but then how many would count? So I guess they have to start somewhere.
I don't know, or maybe tried to forget, most of those shows, but I hate Barney & Friends too! :) The cute dog and lamb were much better than the dumb dinosaur, but I didn't even know it was still on the air.
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11-03-2007 @ 2:52PM
Brent McKee said...
Any such list that includes "Petticoat Junction" is a bad list, but any list that includes "Petticoat Junction" and doesn't include "Supertrain" is an insanely bad list.
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11-03-2007 @ 2:59PM
plinstrot said...
In no way is Cavemen one of the worst shows ever. This is just another examples of critics thinking they're cool bashing the show cause it had a god-awful never-aired pilot and as a show is subpar in quality compared to most things currently on TV.
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11-03-2007 @ 3:28PM
Oreo said...
Cavemen should be on the list for one reason, even if not a single episode of the show had aired. IT'S BASED ON A COMMERCIAL!!!!
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11-03-2007 @ 3:36PM
khamel said...
mr belvidere? best show ever!!!
and how can you hate on small wonder and mama's family?
worst list ever is more like it.
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11-03-2007 @ 3:43PM
charles said...
I'm going to have to agree: one episode is not fair. In fact, "worst" almost has to be broken into categories.
An overall "worst" list would account for shows that lasted, say, five episodes. That would be long enough for something bad to potentially start to right itself, but not so long that it takes space from the next category. Consider all the shows with strong pilots that went off the rails in short order ("Studio 60"). A network pulling a show after fewer episodes is basically them admitting that they screwed up.
I think a more interesting "worst" list would be shows that lasted a full season or more (particularly those that were renewed). It would bump a lot of the usual suspects ("Manimal", "Cop Rock"), and bring to the front some serious "Where *all of us* thinking?" items.
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11-03-2007 @ 4:10PM
jkmkay said...
Petticoat Junction was terrible.It was only watchable when the Beverly Hillbillies or Green Acres did a crossover.3 shows from the same people.Two are still funny.Even with Uncle Joe,I dare anyone to find a laugh on Petticoat Junction.
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11-03-2007 @ 4:19PM
lucyfan62 said...
I'm sorry, but I love MAMA'S FAMILY! It may not have the class of MARY TYLER MOORE or THE BOB NEWHART SHOW, but it was funny! Vicki Lawrence and Dorothy Lyman are geniuses! And I'm so tired of hearing how bad CAVEMEN is. It's NOT! I've found it to be quite humorous and it has a good cast. So what if it's based on a commercial. At least the commercials pretty much developed the characters over time. Look at the new movie that's coming out soon, THE CHRISTMAS COTTAGE - it's based on a PAINTING!!!!!
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11-03-2007 @ 5:03PM
Bash said...
OMG I agree with Bob.
*picks up the phone*
Hello Hell? What's the temperature down there?
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11-03-2007 @ 6:03PM
Preach said...
Whoaaaaa, "The Beauty and the Beast"??? Say what you will about the last season, but the ones with Linda Hamilton were great.
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11-03-2007 @ 6:25PM
C C said...
OK, this "worst shows" list cannot be taken seriously.
They but Beauty and the Beast on it.
Beauty and the Beast was a wonderful show-until CBS went to extraordinary lengths to destroy it.
If you go back and see who was on the writing staff, a couple of very familiar names pop up. George R. R. Martin, the author of the "A Song of Fire and Ice" fantasy who's been called "the American Tolkien" by Time Magazine, wrote many episodes of Beauty and Beast. Howard Gordon, who has been involved with some of the greatest tv series of the past twenty years (24, X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel), was a writer and story editor. Two of the great innovators of modern fantasy in literature and tv worked on that show, and they have the gall to call it "bad". Guys, do your research.
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11-03-2007 @ 7:43PM
Paul said...
Mr. Belvedere was a charming and entertaining show, for what it was.
Certainly not one of the 25 worst shows of all time by any means.
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11-03-2007 @ 8:27PM
superbagman said...
Yes! I've been trying to think of the name of "100 Lives" for a long damn time. I don't remember much about the show, but at least now I have a name!
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11-03-2007 @ 9:03PM
Danny Smith said...
I want to evaluate these individually
"You're in the Picture" (1961) Few people would go on the air these days to apologize for a bad show, which is why it shouldn't be at the very bottom. Low yes, but Jackie has guts (in more ways than one)
"Petticoat Junction" (1963-'70). You can't put a show on this list because is was funny back then but not now. Besides, Uncle Joe deserves better.
"My Mother the Car" (1965-66). It made it through one season because the kids loved it. Would have made it if they thought about demographics then (maybe on Saturday mornings).
"Turn-On" (1969). Saw clips and I have to say bad idea.
"Ernest Angley Hour" (1973-present). Always avoid faith healer type shows. Am religious though.
"B.J. and the Bear" (1979-81). Makes Adventures Of Sheriff Lobo look like Shakespears
"When Things Were Rotten" (1975). Not many parodies make it (like Get Smart), but this one is better than others that didn't make it. Glad that Brooks didn't forget and brought it to the big screen.
"Mr. T. and Tina" (1976). Wrong right from start.
"The Ropers" (1979-80). Norman Fell was never the same. While not overall good there were some good episodes at first. Besides, we finally got to see the Roper's car.
"Joanie Loves Chachi" (1982-83). No real thought was put in this show. Deserves spot.
"Mama's Family" (1983-90). The sketch was not weak on Carol Burnett. The problem was it went from good on Carol to mediocre on its own. But mediocraty is not a reason to be on this list.
"Manimal" (1983). Concept terrible. Deserves its spot.
"Mr. Belvedere" (1985-90). The reasoning for Mama's Family Also applies to this show, but in this case it started as a very good movie (Sitting Pretty).
"Small Wonder" (1985-89): It was a syndicated show that never showed up in my area. But from what I read from other sources it's not my cup of tea.
"Life With Lucy" (1986). Can't add anything to this review. It's only saving grace is the episode she did with John Ritter.
"Beauty and the Beast" (1987-90). Never could stand this show. Don't know why it lasted sooooooo long
"Cop Rock" (1990). Misfires. TV musicals belong on variety shows, which are pretty much dead
"Pink Lady and Jeff" (1980): Quite possibly the reason variety shows are dead.
"The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage" (1991). A variation of the plot as "My Name Is Earl" maybe, but not the same.
"The Jerry Springer Show" (1991 to present). His aim is low. Too bad his ratings aren't
"Barney & Friends" (1992-present). Anything that is good at teaching kids doesn't belong on this. Wait for the worst character list to come out and put the purple one at numero uno.
"Homeboys from Outer Space" (1996-97). The name was a tip-off. And the show was the final straw.
"The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer" (1998). How this one got put to script, I don't know
XFL (2001). NBC + Pro wrestling = big sucking noise that's traveling in space where aliens are even now seeing it and saying (probably in unison) "What the f&%$"
"Cavemen" (2007): Ballooning a commercial will only make it bust.
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11-03-2007 @ 9:22PM
Jim Nelson said...
The Clip they had for "Pink Lady and Jeff" doesn't really do the show justice, as it's just a generic cheesy disco number. What made this show truly "special" was the girls' interaction with Jeff Altman. This show may quite possibly have been the most unintentionally creepy and disturbing thing I've ever seen on prime time network television.
I've never had the privilege of seeing "My Mother the Car", but given the premise, this show could only have been either one of the biggest flaming turds in the history of the medium....or sublimely brilliant. I'll defer to the popular consensus on this one.
"Petticoat Junction" was hardly "Cheers", but I've seen more than 25 shows that were much worse.
There were several other daytime talk shows that could easily join the Springer show on this list (Geraldo, Maury Povich, Jenny Jones, just to name a few), but Springer is the one everyone thinks of when you mention the genre, so I guess if you're only going to include one, it has to be Springer.
Back in the '80's, there was a show on Fox called (IIRC) "Whoops". It was about the last few survivors of an accidental (hence the name) global thermonuclear war. It was a sitcom. I rest my case.
They listed "BJ and the Bear", which I'll admit was dreck, but then they forgot to mention its even worse spinoff: "The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo".
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11-03-2007 @ 9:34PM
Jeremy Tucker said...
Um, I don't really think including Turn-On is unfair, even if only one episode aired.
But no Supertrain? Are you KIDDING?
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11-03-2007 @ 10:59PM
boxlight said...
Couldn't let this pass: ""Joanie Loves Chachi" (1982-83). Scott Baio's addition to "Happy Days" was a classic jump-the-shark moment"
NO! The Happy Days classic jump-the-shark moment was when FONZIE ACTUALLY JUMPED THE FRICKIN' SHARK! Don't they know where the expression came from?
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11-04-2007 @ 12:25AM
MattyD said...
Hmmm Automan never made it to this list. Anybody remember this with Desi Arnaz Jr as Walter Nebucher? The fact I remember this off the top of my head must mean insanity has krept in. But wait, what about Quark? That proved that a show can be SO bad, it actually has some redeeming qualities. Whats that I hear? Salvage 1 ? Not even Andy Griffith could save the show about a homebrew rocket salvage team that goes to the moon to gather up all the junk left by missions there. And then there is Cleopatra 2525 or whatever the number was. Lets take sexy females, shot them into the future and let them fight people. And last but not least, may I nominate any show that came from a decent move but as a show, it paled in comparison. I site Logans Run and Planet of the Apes as two of these
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11-04-2007 @ 12:52PM
xtinemichele said...
Someone has to give love to Pink Lady, and I guess it's gonna have to be me - not Jeff though, he was (and still is) one non-funny individual. I was in Japan in May and bought a bunch of Pink Lady CDs (and as my Japanese friend told me I am a nerd!) I was, gee, 10 when that show was on (and yes, I have the DVD set) and it was fabulous..for a disco-loving 10-year-old. I guess the nostalgia factor is part of its appeal for me. But at least it was better than the Brady Bunch Variety Hour!
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11-04-2007 @ 4:37PM
Mel said...
I can't stand Worst lists. Are you so mean that you really have to compile and post a list of things you hate?
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