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BS: Worst TV shows ever?
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Subject: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 08 Jun 07 - 02:08 AM I realize this is a VERY big...and a never-ending subject. The competition is simply tremendous for this category, and it doesn't let up, it just gets worse. Given the fact that I haven't been watching TV since around the late 80's, I am limited to naming older shows. I bet there are some now that are at least as bad...maybe even worse than the worst of the oldies. What comes to mind? Well... Gilligan's Island (!) The Beverly Hillbillies (!!) and (drum roll....................) Three's Company (!!!) Those ones had it all. Terrible initial premise. Terrible acting. Dreadful scripts. Pitiful dialogue. Relentless, mindless, inane stupidity of the most repetitive and predictable sort. What more could you possibly ask for in a really bad TV show? I think that "Three's Company" was the most annoying, though, and that's not something to sneeze at. John Ritter, be proud! So, what are your picks for worst TV shows ever? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Sooz Date: 08 Jun 07 - 02:32 AM Anything that promises "reality"! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: John O'L Date: 08 Jun 07 - 03:15 AM Little Hawk, you've been a long time gone. The News is now worse than Three's Company, and worse than The News is any commercially produced current affairs program, and worse even than that, as Sooz has observed, is anything allegedly "real". |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: skipy Date: 08 Jun 07 - 03:28 AM Football! Skipy |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: kendall Date: 08 Jun 07 - 07:47 AM Sports. My Mother, the car. It would be easier to just name the good ones. Wouldn't take nearly as long. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: robomatic Date: 08 Jun 07 - 10:46 AM "My Mother The Car" "The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer" "Everybody Loves Raymond" "The King Of Queens" "Still Standing" "Who's The Boss?" "According To Jim" most of the reality shows which are topping each other in off-taste weirdness that an exposure to them induces a need for an all-over loofa scrub. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: GUEST,282RA Date: 08 Jun 07 - 12:25 PM ALL reality TV Lost Heroes JAG NCIS CSI Law & Order Mind of Mencia Dog the Bounty Hunter (then again, it's "reality" so what could we expect?) Judging Amy (I hate any book, movie or TV show that starts off with a continuing action verb followed by a proper noun such as "Saving Private Ryan," "Raising Arizona," "Feeling Minnesota," "Drowning Mona," "Killing Elizabeth," "Saving Grace (about a woman named Grace)", "Killing Zoe," etc) There are others I wanted to list but they're so forgettable that I can't recall them at the moment. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Greg B Date: 08 Jun 07 - 12:34 PM Hands down--- 'Touched by an Angel' 'Mayberry RFD' (the post-Andy Griffith thing) 'The Perry Como Show' 'Tales of Wells Fargo' 'The Big Valley' 'The Munsters' (though 'The Addams Family' was quite good) 'Lost in Space' 'Dallas' (they should have shot and killed JR in the first episode) 'I Dream of Jeannie' (speaking of Larry Hagman) 'Bewitched' 'The Brady Bunch' 'Petticoat Junction' Most people would say 'Green Acres' but again, I like it. But I *like* Gilligan's Island.... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: KB in Iowa Date: 08 Jun 07 - 12:47 PM I like Gilligan's Island, too. It is stupid and sophomoric and insert what adjective you will but I don't care, I still like it. As bad as the 'reality' shows are, I am more disturbed by the new brand of crime shows. Some of them are extremely violent. I don't even watch them, just flipping through the channels to see if there is anything on (there isn't) you might see someone shot through the chest with an arrow, depicted very graphically (actual example of someting I saw). |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 08 Jun 07 - 01:12 PM Star Trek. Overrated show featuring bad acting. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Black Beauty Date: 08 Jun 07 - 01:25 PM I despise those programmes were the presenters continuously laugh at themselves. In the U.K. we have a plague of gay men as television presenters. These guys get right up my nose. My list of "Worst TV shows ever" Doctor Who. Star Trek. Desperate House wives. The Apprentice. Stars in Their Eyes. Love Charlotte |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 08 Jun 07 - 02:16 PM I particularly like Greg B.'s list. ;-) Couldn't agree more. As for Star Trek, I expected it to show up on this list and I understand why. It was one of those shows that was both good and bad at the same time, depending on from what angle you considered it. I mean, it ranged from highly imaginative and innovative (at the time) to downright hilariously bad in some episodes and in some respects....depending. The original show seems a whole lot sillier now than it did back then. Anyway, I'm sure Mr Shatner is tickled pick by the visceral emotions he has managed to stir in those of you who have given your worthy opinion here. ;-) My feeling is that much of the stuff that is showing up on mainstream TV now is probably so dreadful that it surpasses any attempt at even describing how dreadful it is. Incomprehensibly bad. Therefore I do not really regret missing the last 20 years of TV programming in the least... "In the U.K. we have a plague of gay men as television presenters." Really? That's odd. I wonder why? Perhaps it's a union thing? I can see how that could get pretty annoying, all right. We'll start a thread later on best TV shows. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: GUEST,Seiri Omaar Date: 08 Jun 07 - 02:37 PM American Idol. I'm sure there's many here who agree. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 08 Jun 07 - 02:43 PM American Idol? I've never seen it, except that a friend told me about some young singer on there called Sanaya Malakar, and I watched him on YouTube. Yeah...pretty awful, allright. They ought to have a panel of trash-talking parrots as judges. It would be much funnier. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Pseudolus Date: 08 Jun 07 - 02:46 PM Funny thread, because a lot of your "worsts" are shows that I enjoyed. I have heard people who HATED "Hogan's Heroes" although I haven't seen that here yet, but I loved it. One of the all time funny characters on TV was Sgt. Schultz...loved that guy. For the worst, I agree with the "reality" TV. Hate Survivor, The Bachelor, the bachelorette, the apprentice and all the others...too many to name. Frank |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 08 Jun 07 - 02:57 PM Matter of fact, Frank, I hated "Hogan's Heroes". ;-) Oh man, how I hated that show...! I felt the same way about "McHale's Navy", for basically the same reasons, I guess. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 08 Jun 07 - 03:02 PM "As for Star Trek, I expected it to show up on this list and I understand why. It was one of those shows that was both good and bad at the same time, depending on from what angle you considered it. I mean, it ranged from highly imaginative and innovative (at the time) to downright hilariously bad in some episodes and in some respects....depending" You could say the same thing about Gilligans Island and My Mother the Car as well!! Radio was presenting similar style stories on programs like X-One just a few years earlier. I guess Star Trek carried that over to television, with lousy acting. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: jacqui.c Date: 08 Jun 07 - 03:02 PM In the UK - On The Buses - totally puerile with a lavatorial standard of jokes that I don't think has ever been surpassed. These days - any reality or 'talent' show. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: kendall Date: 08 Jun 07 - 03:06 PM The original Law and Order was a great show. OK Crackerby was a total failure. I can't imagine that Buryl Ives had anything to do with it. Sugar Foot was just plain dumb. Due South didn't have much going for it either. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Severn Date: 08 Jun 07 - 03:18 PM Histoeical Bad Taste: Hogan's Heroes Rat Patrol (putting American soldiers where there historically weren'r any) Kids Cartoons Clutch Cargo (all-time WORST animation) Astro Boy Kimba The White Lion (Both terrible Japanese animation. To fathom the "Anime" craze for Japanese animation that my daughter was into for a while proved impossible). Live action Kid's Shows with puppets: Diver Dan Lunch With Soupy Sales Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood (Sorry folks, but I wouldn't leave my kid alone with that creep for two seconds!) Other Kid's shows with live host: Mario Brothers Captain Video Pinky Lee Kid's Action Series: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Quiz Show: Family Feud Video Village Other Daytime TV Queen For A Day Regis & Kathie Lee Spinoff AfterMash Greg B named a few more, so all for now. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: KB in Iowa Date: 08 Jun 07 - 03:22 PM If you think Gilligan's Island is bad, you should see Dusty's Trail. It is Gilligan's Island set in a wagon train in the American West. I got a DVD for $1 (had never even heard of it) for my kids. They watched a little bit and said, hey, this is just like G's I. It has esentially the same characters (different actors) only with truly painful writing and really bad acting. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 08 Jun 07 - 03:22 PM How can anyone not like Soupy Sales??? :) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: KB in Iowa Date: 08 Jun 07 - 03:33 PM I liked Astro Boy when I was a kid. Actually there are a lot of shows listed here that I liked as a kid. I don't think I would still like most of them now. Gilligan's Island is an exception, I really do still like that. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: GUEST,Tunesmith Date: 08 Jun 07 - 03:53 PM The Beverly Hillbillies was terrific! I watched the first episode on Youtube recently. Great stuff! And the Perry Como Show? Get out of it! Perry was great, and had some wonderful guests. I can still remember seeing Conway Twitty performing "It's Only make Believe" back in 1958. Wonderful. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 08 Jun 07 - 03:57 PM As Felix said to Oscar - "One man's chicken is another man's gumbo". |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Don Firth Date: 08 Jun 07 - 04:07 PM I presume when "Star Trek" is mentioned, folks are referring to the "The Original Series." In "The Next Generation," you had a pretty good bunch of actors, led of by Patrick Stewart, a seasoned Shakespearean actor with some fairly heavy-duty credits on his resumé. And as far as scripts were concerned, they did have a few weak shows, but there were also a few that ranked right up there with the best of science fiction. And I've been reading science fiction since I was six-years-old, and I'm damn picky. When I first saw it, I thought "The Red Green Show" was about the dumbest thing I'd ever seen on television. Out of horrified fascination, I watched a few more shows, and now I'm kind of hooked on the stupid thing. I think my favorite character is Ed Frid, the nervous animal-control officer. Or Bonnie, Harold's look-alike girl friend, one of the very few women who ever appear on the show (and she only appeared three or four times). My wife likes Harold. Thinks he's kinda cute. Quando omni flunkus moritati. Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Bert Date: 08 Jun 07 - 04:13 PM Then there was "Bonanza in the Sky" Oops! sorry, I meant "Battlestar Galactica". |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: RangerSteve Date: 08 Jun 07 - 04:54 PM I like some of the ones that were trashed, and probably would trash some that others like. If anyone bashed "Alias", I'm coming to your house to straighten you out. So don't do it. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 08 Jun 07 - 05:46 PM For sure, RangerSteve! Bob Dylan totally aced that part. Unforgettable. Specially the part where he's reading off the labels on the soup cans. (I'm joking, okay?) (I'm also deliberately misconstruing what the hell you were talking about...) The Star Trek references on this thread have got to be to the original show. The Next Generation series had some darned good acting and some great stories too. The original show, however, despite its imaginative strengths, really lends itself to being made fun of. And here's a good example of what I mean: Does this sound like Captain Kirk? You bet it does. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Mickey191 Date: 08 Jun 07 - 06:26 PM Anything with Lucille Ball Hogan's Heroes Green Acres George Burns The whole genre of "comedy" shows. Except: Everybody Loves Raymond Great cast, well written & mostly true to life situations. Como's show was excellent. Loved Soupy too. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: RangerSteve Date: 08 Jun 07 - 06:27 PM LH - Alias is a series about spies, with the most unbelievably evil bad guy played by Ron Rifkin, and Jennifer Garner as the hottest heroine I've ever seen. It's totally ridiculous and not believable for a minute, but done well enough that it's a heck of a lot of fun. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 08 Jun 07 - 06:58 PM I see, Steve. Okay. Is Jennifer Garner as hot as Kathleen Turner was in "Body Heat"? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Micca Date: 08 Jun 07 - 08:52 PM LH, You MUST know, NO ONE is as hot as Kathleen Turner was in "Body Heat" |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: The Walrus Date: 08 Jun 07 - 09:15 PM How come no one has mentione the appalling "Big Brother"? (I know it's a "reality" show, but it's so bad, it deserves a mention of its own). Most (if not all) soaps. Anything churned out by the "Princess Diana" industry. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Bert Date: 08 Jun 07 - 11:35 PM I HATE 'everybody loves Raymond' mean spirited ugly attempts at humor. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Amergin Date: 08 Jun 07 - 11:49 PM Bay Watch or anything else with Hasselhoff Seinfeld....what a bunch of self centered whingers. these series loosely based on mythology...like hercules and xena |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 08 Jun 07 - 11:55 PM "series loosely based on mythology" Wouldn't that include "Hogan's Heroes", "McHale's Navy", and "The Desert Rats"? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Liz the Squeak Date: 09 Jun 07 - 02:42 AM Kendal - I guess you had to be a red-blooded girl to appreciate the finer points of 'Due South' or seriously into deaf dogs. I too, loathe the reality shows so much I won't even watch them. I do that with a lot of TV shows. There's so much else to do than watch TV that doesn't interest me, that's why the button is marked 'off' as well as 'on'. LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Bugsy Date: 09 Jun 07 - 02:55 AM The list of shows that I hate is just too long to post here. But I do LOVE Boston Legal with SHATNER!!! CHeers Bugsy |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: kendall Date: 09 Jun 07 - 07:43 AM Liz, Due South made the RCMP look like dorks. That's why I hated it.The only funny thing about it was the dog's name. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Jeanie Date: 09 Jun 07 - 09:47 AM Some shows are so bad, they're good. There was a weird game show a couple of years back (I forget what it was called), which included naked elderly wheelbarrow racing. Then there was the show where the girl had to date different men and guess which of them was/was not gay. The one she eliminated was then asked to "Leave the Hacienda" and a Mexican in a big hat sang a silly farewell song. Anybody see that one ? These are mainstream UK TV shows (I don't have satellite channels - I daren't think what's on THEM). The above examples are so bad, they're good. The ones top of my hit list for worst shows are ones which are apparently popular with the viewing public: 1. "Last of the Summer Wine" 2. "The Royle Family". I would hate to spend any time with these people. Especially that Last of the Summer Wine lot. I just can't see the appeal. Maybe it's because I'm a Southerner.... Ooh, and I almost forgot "Monarch of the Glen" - though that goes into the "so bad, it's good" category - as do "Rosemary and Thyme" and "Diagnosis Murder" - I love that one ! - jeanie |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: RangerSteve Date: 09 Jun 07 - 12:07 PM Little Hawk, I've never seen "Body Heat", but Turner is glamorous, whereas Jennifer Garner is more natural looking. I'll take Jennifer any day. I'd like to nominate the self-improvement shows that PBS trots out during fund raising time (every three weeks). |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 09 Jun 07 - 01:40 PM Okay, well, I haven't seen Jennifer, so I can't say. I do like the natural look, though. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Backwoodsman Date: 09 Jun 07 - 02:10 PM East Enders. Anything with fackin' poncy satherners in it. Everything imported into the UK from the US. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: alanabit Date: 09 Jun 07 - 03:45 PM "Dallas", "Lost In Space", "Charlie's Angels", "Wonder Woman", "Peyton Place", "Dynasty"... Hell, how come no one else has mentioned the ghastly "Peyton Place" already? There were so many peurile comedies on ITV that one is spoiled for choice. "Mind Your Language" has mercifully escaped most people's memories though. They sure tried, but it was about as funny as a baby in a plane crash. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: GUEST,mg Date: 09 Jun 07 - 04:05 PM Oh indeed Every body loves Raymond....mg |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: vectis Date: 09 Jun 07 - 04:25 PM Emmerdale Corrie Home & away Neighbours East Enders Big Brother, lost, stranded on a desert island, down a mine, in the arctic wastes ... whatever, shows All those mindlessly boring talent shows where people get eliminated by public vote or ripped apart by the judges. But the top of the shop for me has to be CROSSROADS remember the wobbly sets and forgotton lines? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: alanabit Date: 09 Jun 07 - 04:28 PM Crossroads yes... I preferred sitting on a cold, wet bum on the banks of the Lhyner to having to endure that horrible thing! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Bill Hahn//\\ Date: 09 Jun 07 - 04:36 PM Not everyone loved Raymond--says he as he raises his hand. As to Law and Order---give me Stephen Hill as the DA and Moriarty as more lifelike Asst DA anytime. It has become a program to which one can now set one's clock with the accurate time---everything right on schedule. Law & Order had an interesting genesis all those years back---anyone recall it? Whoever wrote that a shorter list would be of the "good" shows is quite correct---but, then, everything is taste. Think of this---WWE programs are among the highest rated cable shows. Bill Hahn |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: kendall Date: 09 Jun 07 - 07:58 PM Batman. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Peace Date: 09 Jun 07 - 08:38 PM People who watch TV deserve what they get. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: GUEST,Captain Colin Date: 09 Jun 07 - 08:45 PM Anything featuring (or even mentioning Bruce Forsyth. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 09 Jun 07 - 11:10 PM Right on, Peace! ;-D Gee whiz...I forgot to mention an all-time champ of bad TV shows: *** The Dorks of Hazzard *** Yee-haw! Every bad cliche about life in the southern rural US that you could possibly imagine. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: freightdawg Date: 09 Jun 07 - 11:40 PM I've loved the comments so far. Thought I would throw in my own two kibbles worth... The early shows mentioned were pretty mindless stuff. I grew up on Gilligans Island, F-Troop (which I though was hysterical), The Beverly Hillbillies, Get Smart, Hee Haw, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart (the one where he was a psychiatrist), The Carol Burnett Show, The Tim Conway Show, Laugh-In, The Smothers Brothers show, and probably some more that are buried under too much dust to remember. These shows varied in their inanity, but for the most part they were just written to be funny, and nothing else. Humor, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, so a lot of people didn't get, or didn't like the humor, but beyond laughter nothing much was intended (Except maybe for Tommy and Dick). Actually, in the case of the Carol Burnett show and the Mary Tyler Moore show, the writing is what I would consider to be the gold standard of comedy. The problem with modern shows is that they try to make a statement, be provacative, push the limit, and raise social consciousness and be funny too. Consequently, they achieve nothing. I would rather have a root canal than have to sit through an episode of "Friends" or "Seinfeld" or "Everybody Loves Raymond". The writing is sophomoric, the "jokes" are tasteless, and if you have to resort to potty humor to lead into a canned laugh line, then you have not written comedy. I'll take the inanity of Mayberry or the original "Star Trek" any day. Freightdawg |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: GUEST,4-mer tubehead Date: 10 Jun 07 - 12:00 AM Gilligan's Island was actually an excellent little allegorical program. Most episodes revolved around the innocent (Gilligan), having to make a choice while various influences worked on him. There was the influence of authority (the Skipper), science (the Professor), money (the Howells), and lust (two choices there). The episodes either ended in Gilligan not having to make a choice (didn't like those), or Gilligan making a choice and then explaining why (the morality tale). Gilligan was Everyman. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 10 Jun 07 - 12:02 AM I think you've hit on exactly what's wrong with the modern shows, freightdawg...specially the fact that they are forever trying to, as you say, "push the limit". It's a symptom of decadence, of a society that has truly lost its way. You're right that Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Burnett were the "gold standard" of comedy writing. There were a few really good shows back then. The Smother Brothers had a great show, for instance, but it didn't last long. There's also a disease of political correctness hobbling all attempts at humor now. There are so many things that you cannot joke about at all anymore...because it might offend someone...and yet, note how extreme and offensive the humor IS now in a more general sense just of how it is presented. It's creepy. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 10 Jun 07 - 12:07 AM Interesting analysis of Gilligan, 4-mer. I see what you mean. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: katlaughing Date: 10 Jun 07 - 12:09 AM freightdawg, thanks to TVLand on cable, my 3.5 year old grandson loves the Andy Griffith Show and even looks a lot like Opie.:-) I loved the comedy shows mentioned, but also Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Rifleman, and Hogan's Heroes and, later with my kids, Mork and Mindy and of course, Star Trek. Worst shows? SNL has become one of the worst, imo. I don't even watch many comedies any more for some of the same reasons others have listed, though I don't see them trying to make any statements as much as just use down-in-the-gutter over-the-top (if that's not too mixed up!)so-called humour to show how "with it" they supposedly are. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Backwoodsman Date: 10 Jun 07 - 02:44 AM Sorry, forgot Golf and Darts. The pits. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: RangerSteve Date: 10 Jun 07 - 10:46 AM They show darts on TV? I can't imagine how boring that is, unless it's as boring as poker. TV poker seems to have been created by people who wanted to see if there was something more useless than golf. Even the commentators seem to be at a loss for something to say. And the players are just about the shadiest people alive. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Backwoodsman Date: 10 Jun 07 - 11:33 AM Aye, forgot poker as well. What kind of boneheads actually watch this crap? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Backwoodsman Date: 10 Jun 07 - 11:36 AM Yes Steve, they have darts on UK TV - in the SPORTS programmes, can you believe it! Fat, scruffy, drunken slobs playing a stultifyingly boring pub game, and they try to pretend they're sportsmen! The mind boggles....... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 10 Jun 07 - 12:36 PM Yes, but just picture the audience that watches them! Compared to those worthies they probably do look like sportsmen. It works like this. If you're a fat, lazy, drunken slob...you go to the pub and play darts with your mates and pretend you're a sportsman. If you're too fat, lazy, and drunk to even get on your feet and GO to the pub...you watch others do it on TV. ;-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Peter Kasin Date: 10 Jun 07 - 02:11 PM "Suicide Theatre" (1950's). The already mentioned "My Mother The Car." There was a very lame space ship drama that came out on U.S. TV about five years ago, which was cancelled after about six or seven episodes. Can't remember the name, but it was trying to cash in on the Star trek craze. It was boring, the characters took themselves too seriously....that ship never got off the ground. Chanteyranger |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Don Firth Date: 10 Jun 07 - 02:25 PM There is a golf channel. A whole channel devoted to golf. We have "enhanced" basic cable. 74 channels. And frequently there's not a damned thing worth watching. We usually watch shows on our PBS affiliates (two of them in our area) fairly often, but lately they've been running so many pledge breaks they're getting as bad as the commercial channels. You follow a show, drama or comedy series, for a few weeks and *BOOM* a pledge break that runs for a couple of weeks, and when they get back to their regular programming, there's a whole different line-up and the show you were watching has disappeared. Sometimes they'll show something pretty interesting during a pledge break, but they keep repeating them. Victor Borge's funnier than hell, but we've already seen the program four times, and Andre Rieu (the Lawrence Welk of the violin)? Forget it! Lately we've been trying to follow "The Inspector Linley Mysteries" (when they take a break from the pledge breaks). In addition to the mysteries themselves, there is the continuing plot thread: sooner or later, Thomas Linley is going to wake up to the fact that Helen is a congenital whiner and general pain in the ass and that (to hell with class differnces) his partner, DC Barbara Havers, is rock-solid and dependable. A friend introduced us to NetFlix with an introductory subscription. We've been watching a lot of great movies lately. Thanks, Will! Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: GUEST,282RA Date: 10 Jun 07 - 03:01 PM >>Star Trek. Overrated show featuring bad acting.<< NO NO NO NO NO!!!!! For the last time, you twit: It was a badly rated show featuring terrific overacting! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: GUEST,282RA Date: 10 Jun 07 - 03:05 PM >>American Idol? I've never seen it, except that a friend told me about some young singer on there called Sanaya Malakar, and I watched him on YouTube. Yeah...pretty awful, allright.<<< Oh god! And the stupid media loved this kid!!! Sanjaya this and Sanjaya that. While guys are volunterring to die in Iraq and guys with their faces burnt off are learning to get on with their lives as best they can, MSNBC online had this headline that ran for weeks that said "SANJAYA HAS GUTS!" I could have puked. Shows you just how hopelessly vapid Americans are to eat this retarded shit up. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Don Firth Date: 10 Jun 07 - 03:33 PM American Idol? Never seen it. Don't watch "reality" shows either. Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: katlaughing Date: 10 Jun 07 - 03:41 PM Don, the Inspector Lynley books are every bit as good or better than the series and the last one took a very drastic and shocking turn concerning Helen et alia. 3rd Rock from the Sun is one recent comedy I would recommend. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: frogprince Date: 10 Jun 07 - 05:58 PM Did anyone else love "Walker, Texas Ranger" as much as I did? There aren't too many people who can match Chuck Norris for acting, or for singing a great theme song. (I wonder if Norris wrote the theme himself). :} |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Bill D Date: 10 Jun 07 - 06:34 PM hmmm...de gustibus non disputandum I actually kinda like golf(good golf)....much as I like cycling, because it's non-combative. It's an extremely difficult thing to do well, and no one is waving an arm in your face. but I don't think anyone has yet mentioned the most useless crap ever put on the TOOB...... professional 'wrestling'. They have long ago lost ANY pretense of reality, and struggle every day to come up with new 'plots'....like gory soap-operas....with yelling. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Don Firth Date: 10 Jun 07 - 07:09 PM Nothing at all against golf, Bill. But sitting and watching it? Potentially, 24 hours a day? Uhh. . . . Don Firth P. S. golf : definition Game which one plays with a set of clubs and two balls. One places one ball 11/4 inches in diameter on another ball 8,000 miles in diameter; the object is to hit the little ball without hitting the big one. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Bill Hahn//\\ Date: 10 Jun 07 - 07:18 PM Walker Texas Ranger and good acting in one sentence. Boggles the mind. Almost like linking a McDonalds dinner with one at a fine restaurant. Think these names from the "Golden Age" so quickly tarnished---Jack Palance, Rod Steiger, Theodore Bikel, Nehemia Persoff (bet you never expected that one), Ed Wynn, and so many more. On the distaff side let us never forget Audrey Meadows, Mildred Dunnock, and years later in a few TV things---Emma Thompson. With them one should use "good acting" in the same sentence---or, perhaps, an even better superlative. Bill Hahn |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Bill D Date: 10 Jun 07 - 09:39 PM I'm not sure exactly why I 'sorta' like golf.....I only tried playing it 3 times, and that was about 50 years ago....(I actually made a par the last hole I played). I don't follow it in detail, but it is kind of soothing when basketball or bull riding is on another channel. *grin*....(yes, I know...I could be memorizing a 40 verse ballad, but my brain cell is tired) Ok, I'll tell you what I am VERY tired of on TV. These days it seems to be popular to SCARE us to death about what *NATURE* might do to us. We have shows on PBS, National Geographic channel, The Discovery Channel and its cousins about tsunamis,ULTIMATE tsunamis, floods, avalanches, tornados, ULTIMATE tornados, hurricanes, volcanoes, SUPER volcanoes, earthquakes, MEGA earthquakes, rogue asteroids, meteors, bear attacks, killer bees, strange diseases, .....and if that weren't enough, Supernovas that 'might' burn up the entire solar system--including Starbucks! Then, if you switch the channel, you see a rundown of Famous Serial Killers...with details....or people who didn't quite manage to do a double back-flip on a snowboard or motorcycle. What ever happened to interesting documentaries of insects mating or cultural habits of lost tribes of Borneo?...oh, I'm sorry, they did do that...showed them getting 'strange diseases' by eating each other's brains. THEN there is a fad for showing the sad lives of the morbidly obese (did you know that being over 700 lbs is uncomfortable and unhealthy?) or folks who are opting for extreme types of plastic surgery. Sometimes I get the feeling that Jerry Springer is running things behind the scenes. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Bill D Date: 10 Jun 07 - 10:01 PM This is Last Days on Earth 051 HISTORY 2006 | TVPG | 120 mins | [Closed Captioned] Sun, Jun 10, 8:00p - 10:00p Scientists explain seven of the deadliest threats to humanity: black holes, artificial intelligence, supervolcanoes, asteroid strikes, nuclear war, disease and climate change. Mega Disasters: American Volcano 051 HISTORY 2006 | TVPG | 60 mins | [Closed Captioned] Sun, Jun 10, 11:00p - 12:00a The 1980 Mount St. Helens' eruption. Most Evil Killer Lies 111 DTIMES 2007 | TV14 | 60 mins | [Closed Captioned] Sun, Jun 10, 11:00p - 12:00a Deception used by serial killers. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: guitar Date: 11 Jun 07 - 05:02 AM BIG BROTHER AND EASTENDERS (BRITIAN) AND MOST OF aMERICAN/AUSTRALIAN TELEVISION. NOT ALL BUT MOST |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: clueless don Date: 11 Jun 07 - 09:04 AM In the USA, a pretty bad (IMO) show was the mercifully short-lived Starland Vocal Band show (featuring David Letterman as a regular.) I liked Starland's music, but the show was an embarrassment. To Severn: In my opinion, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood was (and, in re-runs, still is) an excellent children's show. Try watching a week's worth of the show, and see if your opinions change. Don |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: HouseCat Date: 11 Jun 07 - 10:03 AM When I was a kid I LOVED "Dark Shadows". A while back a friend had gotten hold of some DVD's and we had a nostalgic evening watching them. It was so bad it was funny. As her husband observed, "Nothing beats a fake bat on a visible wire attacking a bimbo with a beehive hairdo." |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: frogprince Date: 11 Jun 07 - 02:41 PM To me, "The Lone Ranger" was a radio show, starring Brace Beemer. I had never really watched the TV version. In the early '70's, I was in grad school and someone rented L.R. videos for a campus party. They got the episode in which Reed becomes the Lone Ranger. I'm fairly sure that the old radio script was used for TV with no adaptation whatever for the change of media. It began with a rider arriving to tell the rangers that a rancher and his family had been brutally murdered. A "codger" stood there, absolutely wooden and expressionless, and drawled, "That's too bad" Later a "bad guy" falls several hundred feet off a cliff unto solid rocks. Tonto looks down and tonelessly pronounces, "Him dead, Kemosabe". For adult viewers, at least, so bad it was wonderful. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: RangerSteve Date: 11 Jun 07 - 04:03 PM CLayton Moore was probably hired for the Lone Ranger because he looked like a 50's movie cowboy hero. There are people who read as though there was a period at the end of every line of print, even if it isn't the end of a sentence. Tonto, you go to town and. Get the sheriff. I'll stay. Here and watch the cabin in. Case the gang returns. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Big Al Whittle Date: 12 Jun 07 - 02:33 AM All you Inspector Lynley fans. I can never be bothered to watch that load of crap - I mean we are talking nonsense - a peer of the realm actually working as a copper! What I've wondered is, has the Inspector ever actually got it on with Sharon Small? She is so nice - he must be raving mad. I suppose the that's what makes it so bad - its so unrealistic. Anyone normal would say, bugger the clues, stop the police car and let's go and do the dirty deed! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Grab Date: 12 Jun 07 - 08:28 AM "3rd rock from the sun" recommended? Seriously? That'd be fairly high on my list of worst shows. Probably #3. #4: Sex and the city. Why should we care? And sorry, but I don't find skeletons attractive just because they're dressed in designer clothes. #2: Friends. Why did people think it was funny? Acting's crap, script's crap, characters (what there is of them - South Park animation has more depth) are crap, one-liners are crap, situations are crap, sets are crap, music's crap. Thank heavens it finally got cancelled. But it still wasn't as bad as... #1: Married with Children. The ultimate crap sitcom. I don't think there's ever been one as bad, and pray god there never will be. It's not even amusing when blind drunk, and as sitcoms go that's as bad as it gets. As a special mention, I'd like to add my own place in hell for whoever thought laugh tracks were a good idea. Especially on MASH - thank you BBC for respecting our ability to spot a joke and broadcasting without the laugh track. Graham. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Folk Form # 1 Date: 12 Jun 07 - 10:23 AM The New Avengers. How dare they replace Diane Rigg (sigh) with some other person. Bottom. Humour scraping the bottom of the barrel. Anything with Dawn French in it. Smug self-righteousness is never funny and nor is she. The 70s versions of Wonder Woman and Spiderman. The comic books were never this boring, surely. Superman and Lois. Why Lois? Who cares about her. She doesnt even have any super powers. The series manages to make Superman look like a wimp. MASH. Suicide is less painful than watching this piece of smug self-satisfaction. Anything with The Corries or The Spinners in it. Drove away legions of potential folk fans. I suppose they are better than Mike Harding, though. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Bill D Date: 12 Jun 07 - 12:13 PM M*A*S*H??? Tsk...I guess it shows how different we are. MASH was one of the most widely praised shows of all time. And unlike some shows, it matured and got better after the first few seasons. What does "smug self-satisfaction" mean? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: mg Date: 12 Jun 07 - 12:25 PM I would have to add the infomerxial on the colon cleanse..the guy that talks on it looks so unhealthy and in need of an immediate liver transplant. Does not give one much confidence in the product. mg |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Don Firth Date: 12 Jun 07 - 12:56 PM Regarding "The Inspector Linley Mysteries," you're missing something, weelittledrummer. You don't believe an aristocrat, especially an amitious and energetic young man who feels a bit soffocated by his family, might not want to get out and do something useful in the world? He has an acute, analytical mind, and working as a police detective gives him a chance to use it. As the main character for a series of fictional detective stories, it works for me. And whether or not he eventually wakes up and gets it on with Havers is one of the suspense-points of the series. It ain't over yet. But then, nobody's holding a gun to your head and making you watch it. Are they? Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Big Al Whittle Date: 13 Jun 07 - 03:01 AM no I wouldn't be farting about with dead bodies if I were a wealthy aristocrat - neither would anyone else! and in truth, I stopped watching quite a while back. I'm afraid the sexual tension went out of it as well, when the utter stupidity of watching this programme finally dawned on me. I'm afraid only the remote possibility of seeing Havers in a policeman's helmet and not much else is what will rekindle my interest in Lynley and his dull doings. Please PM me if it happens al |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 13 Jun 07 - 11:35 AM You cannot sustain the tension of a possible romantic liason between 2 major characters in a series if it ever actually happens. And that's why it doesn't. Standard dramatic technique. I regret to say that I have never seen the show, and thus I have never seen Ms Havers either... Sounds like I've missed something there. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Don Firth Date: 13 Jun 07 - 01:11 PM The Inspector Linley Mysteries. Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Don Firth Date: 13 Jun 07 - 01:42 PM Elizabeth George, who writes the novels upon which "The Inspector Linley Mysteries" are based, is following a time-honored pattern established in classic detective fiction. The main character—the detective—is not just any old detective. He (or she) has some specific personal characteristics that set them apart from most people—just like most people are unique when compared to other people. Sherlock Holmes – brilliant but troubled mind that needs puzzles to solve, plays the violin, is addicted to cocaine. Philo Vance – another brilliant mind, knows everything, can carry on a three-page dissertation on Egyptian scarabs or nuclear physics, independently wealthy. Nero Wolfe – obese, never leaves his house, tends his orchids. Archie Goodwin does his "legwork," reports back, Wolfe figures out what what's really going on. And these are only three of a whole host of fictional detectives. There are dozens. Hundreds. And you will not that none of these need to be detectives. wld, you may not "be farting about with dead bodies if I were a wealthy aristocrat," but Thomas Linley, given his attitudes and predilections, and especially his values and his rather fierce sense of justice, would. Works for me. . . . Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Big Al Whittle Date: 14 Jun 07 - 03:37 AM If it works for you Don, I won't say another word. I wish you many happy hours of viewing enjoyment! al |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Don Firth Date: 14 Jun 07 - 01:23 PM Okey dokey. Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: frogprince Date: 14 Jun 07 - 08:55 PM Okay, guys; cast your votes on this: which is a more gratuitous waste of broadcast power, television wrestling, or.... televangelists? I haven't seen Dr. Gene Scott for awhile. For a year or so, I got home from a miserable job at a crazy hour, and would sit down to the TV to unwind. The guy was on for hours every night, sitting there with a scraggly beard, various stupid hats, and a big dog-turd cigar, rambling off what was supposed to be Biblical teaching. I confess to sitting there sometimes, locked into fascination-with-the-train-wreck mode. One night he was expounding on the prophetic significance of the arrangement and dimensions of the chambers and passages inside the Great Pyramid (believe it or not, that goes back to the early roots of dispensationalism). He paused, said, "Send in more money, and I'll tell you the rest", and sat silent for a prolonged period. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 14 Jun 07 - 09:18 PM Well...I'm not sure which is a bigger waste...but I think it would really be entertaining to combine them somehow. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Don Firth Date: 14 Jun 07 - 10:09 PM It's got my vote, Little Hawk! Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Big Al Whittle Date: 15 Jun 07 - 05:24 AM have you seen (can you miss) those weird Tony Robbins 'Get the edge' self improvement courses. That guy makes the TV evangelists seem like honest journeymen. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Richard Bridge Date: 02 Jul 09 - 01:54 PM Worst Ever? Maybe "I love Lucy", or "Bootsie and Snudge". |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Richard Bridge Date: 02 Jul 09 - 01:55 PM 100. Better read the thread now. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 02 Jul 09 - 02:06 PM "I Love Lucy" was an astonishingly bad TV show. One would think it had been designed to torture confessions out of prison inmates. At least, that's how it struck me. A lot of people apparently loved it, though. (?) Then there was "Three's Company". AUUUUGHHHH!!!! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Richard Bridge Date: 02 Jul 09 - 02:08 PM How dare anyone diss Dr Who? Little Britain is as dire as anything else mentioned here. And as for "Crossroads"... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: goatfell Date: 02 Jul 09 - 02:19 PM the Queen's speech at christmas |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: number 6 Date: 02 Jul 09 - 04:33 PM hey L.H. Mchale's Navy Hogan's Heros Beverly Hillbillies Gilligan's Island I thought you said you didn't have a TV in your home at that period in your life!?!?!?! biLL |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: number 6 Date: 02 Jul 09 - 04:40 PM We had a TV and I wouldn't watch those programs. Happy Days is one program I would add to the worst TV show ever ... and also add Barretta and that one other stoopid program with the bald guy as a detective. How about The King of Kensington, Charlie's Angels. IMHO ... TV went straight down hill in the 1970's. biLL |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Acorn4 Date: 02 Jul 09 - 04:52 PM For those of you chronologically gifted.... Terry and June. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Bill D Date: 02 Jul 09 - 07:36 PM My taste has I'd list programs, but my list/explanation from 2 years (10 Jun 07 - 09:39 PM ) ago back up there ↑ seems to say it all. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: GUEST,seth in Olympia Date: 02 Jul 09 - 11:02 PM I grew up in Cleveland in the early 50's, when TV was black and white, three stations, and a fair amount of local production. Nobody really know how to do TV then, so a lot of stuff was brought over, more or less directly, from the radio. Polka shows, in-studio wrestling, amateur talent shows,bowling shows, locally produced movie programs, children's shows, most of it truly awful, though it didn't necessarily seem that way at the time....I know I preferred the locally produced " Uncle Jake" to " Howdy Doody" because you could actually go downtown and get on "Uncle Jake", while nobody knew how you got to be on Howdy. Anyway, there was a certain bit of funky hometowness to those shows, that is gone, gone with the wind now. I got rid of my TV in the mid 70's, but in this culture, you can still know a lot about what goes on with TV even if you rarely watch it. My most recent TV encounter was watching Jerry Springer every day with my mental health clients. I think that the earlier poster was correct: Jerry Springer is secretly running everything. seth |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Bill D Date: 02 Jul 09 - 11:04 PM *grin*...this "earlier poster" appreciates the support of the idea... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 03 Jul 09 - 12:39 AM No, we didn't have a TV back then, Bill, but I used to see the shows sometimes at some friends' places...and then I also saw reruns of some of them in the 70s from time to time. One time my parents went on a holiday in New England somewhere for 3 weeks in the mid-60s, and the place we were staying at had a TV...I saw a whole bunch of shows...really enjoyed the comedy one with George Burns and Gracie Allen. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Ron Davies Date: 03 Jul 09 - 07:26 AM I agree with Tunesmith. Beverly Hillbillies was just great TV. Perfect escapism Ridiculing the rich--far more than hillbillies--as a continuing theme. Perhaps Mudcatters would prefer that hillbillies be ridiculed. Good scenery (Ellie Mae). It was the introduction for lots of people to bluegrass--and the highest quality bluegrass---Flatt and Scruggs. ( Obviously if you hate all bluegrass, this would not be a selling point.) And on top of this, probably one of the all-time best theme-songs ever. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: number 6 Date: 03 Jul 09 - 08:03 AM It's been mentioned here in this thread, and L.H. has aired his distaste for these ... but any of 'reality T.V.' shows. Just dreadful stuff ... probably the last gasp of desperation in the ratings competition ... before TV finally is absorbed and replaced by the internet. biLL |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: GUEST,Neil D Date: 03 Jul 09 - 03:16 PM The Carol Burnett Show might be the gold standard of comedy (actually, Tim Conway was the only funny person on it but he was funny enough all by himself. The best bits were Tim being outrageous and everyone else breaking character because he was cracking them up.) but Mama's Family with Burnett, Vicki Lawrence, et al. was by far the worst show of all time. And believe me I have loathed a lot of TV shows over the years, but none so bad as that one. The problem nowadays is too damn many stations with time to fill. Do you realize there are now five different reality shows about logging. In another year we'll be watching: Number Men - Fascinating intrigue in the lives of Certified Public Accountants. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 03 Jul 09 - 04:41 PM There are reality shows about logging???? Good lord. Sounds like a good remedy for those who have trouble falling asleep. I wonder if there's a "lawncutting" channel yet? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: RangerSteve Date: 03 Jul 09 - 05:27 PM LH - Since you've seen Burns and Allen, I can honestly say you've seen the best TV ever had to offer in the way of comedy. You are lucky. And, yes, there is at least one show about logging. And another about crabbing in the Bering Sea. And one about driving tractor-trailers over ice roads in the Arctic. In my opinion, each show is intersting once. Every other episode seems like more of the same. Yes, it's dangerous. Yes, you can get killed. Yes, the people who do these jobs are a little bit crazy. And these shows go on for more than one season. The fact that after a while it only gets interesting when someone dies makes it all a bit too morbid for me. If you think the idea of a CPA channel is far-fetched, there is already a golf channel. Really. Golf, for Pete's sake. 24 hours a day. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 03 Jul 09 - 06:18 PM I have to tell Raptor about the golf channel. He hates golf. ;-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: bubblyrat Date: 04 Jul 09 - 05:43 AM "I Love Lucy" ----I still,after all these years,cringe over Lucille Ball's awful voice (although Gale Gordon was funny & a redeeming feature ). |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: pdq Date: 04 Jul 09 - 07:05 AM "Since you've seen Burns and Allen, I can honestly say you've seen the best TV ever had to offer in the way of comedy." Interesting that Paul Henning was writer for the Burns and Allen TV show in the early 1950s. He is best known for dominating the airwaves from 1962-71 with Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies. Henning even wrote the theme songs. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: RangerSteve Date: 04 Jul 09 - 12:48 PM Oh, yeah, I forgot, there's a show about people who reposess cars. I haven't seen it yet, oddly enough, the ads make it look like it might be intersting, but I wonder just how many cars they have to reposess before they get an hour's worth of worthwhile footage. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Bill D Date: 04 Jul 09 - 01:19 PM "There are reality shows about logging????" Yup...Regular logging, swamp logging, river dredging for logs....and JUST announced... **Ice Logging** (more danger, ya' know: Oh, indeed! And about driving trucks on dangerous roads on Canada's "Ice Road", and now about driving Alaska's Dalton road from Anchorage to Prudhoe...and about fishing for crab in the Bering Sea. Those at least have some 'real' danger and stories... The really weird 'reality' shows are the ones vaguely patterned after "Survivor",where tasks are assigned and weak contestants 'voted off'. When it's done about singing, it's tacky but easy to grasp...sorta.....BUT...they also do it about **cooking**, **designing clothes**, **running a business** (a couple variations), and...wait for it...**grooming dogs**!! "Missy, you didn't really fluff up that poodle's neck band enough...Jose wins!" Have I missed any? Then, the "el Cheapo" reality shows, fueled by millions of videos now that every idiot has either a camera or a cell-phone with the ability. Now there are 5-6 shows displaying car wrecks, skiing accidents, explosions, shark attacks, volcanos...etc.... And even shows where idiots PLAN dangerous stunts and have them filmed IN ORDER to be on TV! Further...(you knew by now there must be a 'further', huh?)...I just discovered a show where women hire this guy to 'set up' their boy friend or husband but having some pretty girl flirt with him and tempt him, while filming it all with hidden cameras....(I watched 20 seconds or so...then gagged and went on to high class stuff like NASCAR races...) The one 'reality' show that offers something really good is "Dog Whisperer", where Caesar Milan shows folks how to train & cope with dogs. This man is a genius, and his basic message & understanding of dog psychology is.....awesome. I don't have a dog, so it is not regular fare for me...but I will look at it occasionally just to be astounded. I'm sure I missed a bunch of examples of gratuitous crap......ah, well |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Bill D Date: 04 Jul 09 - 01:36 PM (Oh...I forgot the 2-3 cop shows where you have a film crew follow police doing daily 'stuff'...lots of drunks, family fights...etc. And the "TV court shows, where stupid small claims of stupid small-minded people are 'settled' by smart-alec 'judges' who are good with quips...(yes...there IS a Spanish version, too...I knew you'd ask) Oh...and the Prison shows, where we see the dregs of society demonstrating how they smuggle in contraband, order 'hits' back in the 'hood', and make weapons out of sharpened toothbrushes to settle scores with guys who 'disrespect' them. (Sometimes they show guards pretending to 'control' these folks.) Oh...I almost forgot the guy who makes his living going all over the world eating weird foods! (Baked Raccoon brains is mild...) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 04 Jul 09 - 11:58 PM Just think, Bill, there may soon be a TV "reality" show about the contentious political threads on Mudcat Cafe. Viewers nationwide will tune in daily to chuckle and exclaim over the gratuitous spite, the insults, threats, and personal vendettas unfolding between Mudcat members and the few despised "Guests" who dare to intrude, the accusations of homophobia, sexism, racism, anti-semitism, and bigotry, the malicious rhetorical questions (of the "are you still beating your wife and kicking your dog" variety) and the character attacks that are not really intended to elicit a real answer of any kind, but rather to subject the other person to a bit of emotional browbeating and perhaps waste a significant amount of their time if they get sucked into trying to defend themselves. And last but not least....the vicious partisan infighting between Democrats and Republicans! Such a show would never run out of fertile subject matter and it would incorporate enough hostility and discord to keep viewers hooked indefinitely. ;-D |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: GUEST,seth in Olympia Date: 05 Jul 09 - 12:03 AM I have a memory of my father and my grandfather trying to watch a football game at my gramp's place in small town Ohio in the early 50's. They couldn't quite get the station to come in, so there was lots of distortion and "snow" on the little b/w/ screen, the teams were wearing white, or whatever what color appeared that way, It was blowing snow outside and for sure in Cleveland where the game was being played. we couldn't see a thing on that little TV, but the adults in the room were completely engaged with it. One of my first experiences with the power of the medium. I think I was having a fine time too. seth |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Little Hawk Date: 05 Jul 09 - 12:07 AM It would be almost like listening to the game on the radio, wouldn't it? Except you'd get eyestrain... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Gurney Date: 05 Jul 09 - 01:08 AM 'Get Smart' and "Some Mothers Do Have 'Em.' Stuff like that. I love comedy, but it has to BE comedy, not mocking the afflicted. They are actually trying to sell DVDs of 'Get Smart!' |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Skivee Date: 05 Jul 09 - 01:27 AM I am shocked...shocked I say, that the usual subjects, in spinning out this distasteful litany of brain-sucking trash, have failed to list the worst series of all time. I suppose the burden falls to me, now. "Turn-On" was ABC's attempt to get a comedy show along the lines of NBC's "Laugh-In". I recall it as being heavily promoted. Rapidfire jokes and quick cut-aways. The family saw it. None of us laughed. The cast may as well have been reading the phonebook. I discussed it with friends at school the next day...nobody else had laughed. It was a show so bad that it was cancelled DURING its first episode. We may take some solice in the fact that it was cancelled. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: SharonA Date: 05 Jul 09 - 05:03 AM To my mind, "worst" doesn't necessarily mean "silliest premise" or "most one-dimensional acting" or "most distasteful to me personally". For example, some of the shows of the '60s mentioned here (Gilligan's Island, Beverly Hillbillies, etc.) are admittedly too silly to be entertaining to adults but were designed as "family" entertainment so they were suppposed to be entertaining to children -- adults were to be entertained by watching their children enjoy the shows IMO. My idea of "worst" show is a show that is detrimental to the well-being of any minor forced to participate in it because of the greed of his/her parents or guardians (as determined by the post-show behaviors of its child stars). Therefore, I nominate "Full House", "Diff'rent Strokes", "Family Affair" and "The Patty Duke Show". I think it's safe to add "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" to the list because of the impact that Jon & Kate's on-air animosity and impending divorce will have on their children who have been forced to live through that while the cameras rolled. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: alanabit Date: 05 Jul 09 - 05:53 AM A couple of years ago I was in the kitchen of a language school where I worked. My boss was in there with a man in his late thirties, whom I assumed was a colleague, whom I had not met before. Stranger: RTL II are working on the schedules for autumn. There is some really good stuff coming up. alanabit: It must be really hard work to keep it all down to the necessary standard. Stranger: (angry and sarcastic) Oh. That puts a whole different complexion on it! It turned out that the stranger was the Programme Director of RTL II and an important customer... My boss did not fire me on the spot, so I guess I was lucky. In fact he was quite decent about it and later agreed that he had no problem with the substance of what I had said. (I think he did ask me to work on my timing of such remarks in the future...) From what I am reading on this thread, I can assume that it would give a lot of Mudcatters pleasure to have the opportunity to meet Programme Directors! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Don(Wyziwyg)T Date: 05 Jul 09 - 09:41 AM ""Bottom. Humour scraping the bottom of the barrel."" YES! From underneath! The definitive answer though is that it hasn't been written yet, though all signs indicate that it is not far off. The seed may already be sown on this thread, if somebody picks up the concept of a reality show based on an internet forum. The only question is WHO would they cast to play the part of the Godlike, but supercilious kibitzer who never says anything germane to the topic, simply contenting himself with rubbishing all those who do. I'm not sure that we have any actors left with the required level of megalomanic egotism. Don T. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Worst TV shows ever? From: Acorn4 Date: 05 Jul 09 - 07:21 PM I think "Crossroads" has been mentioned - the scenery that moved - the chef, Mr Booth who had left the series for six months but his arms were still handing a huge steaming saucepan through the serving hatch. My favourite was there was a lady on the show called Vera, who had an obnoxious brat of a son who would say things like "I'm just working at the motel until I go to University" in a voice a bit like Tony Blair. In one episode the lad was talking to his mother and I noticed that he had what appeared to be tomato ketchup running down his chin, at which I was a bit baffled. The mother and son then began to argue and this culminated in her slapping him round the face. The ketchup was supposed to be the blood flowing down his lip caused by the slap but had, in fact, been put on beforehand. |
