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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
 Posted - 11/08/2007 : 1:22:06 PM
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[url]http://www.cracked.com/article_15290_13-most-ridiculous-tv-shows-ever-get-green-lit.html[/url]
My first reaction to this piece was: now I know why I don't read Cracked magazine anymore. Mad Magazine wrought the wonderful MAD TV and Cracked gives us crap like this?
Here is the not-so-definitive list of absurd TV shows that writer Chris Bucholz puts together:
13. Automan
12. Beauty and the Beast
11. Bosom Buddies
10. Cover Up
09. The Fall Guy
08. The Greatest American Hero
07. The Master
06. Misfits of Science
05. Out of this World
04. B.J. and the Bear
03. The Man From Atlantis
02. Quark
01. The One Hundred Lives of Black Savage
If nothing else, this list seems to exemplify the perils of letting Generation Xers pass themselves off as TV historians. There's not a single show here from the 50s and 60s. For instance, note the glaring omission of My Mother the Car, certainly a top candidate for any list of all time worst. Out of this World gets a nod but not My Favorite Martian. Man from Atlantis gets the one-fingered salute but not Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.
It's also unclear what criteria the writer is using to scold these individual shows. Is it a show's concept that's under fire here or merely its execution? I can think of a hundred shows with zanier premises than The Fall Guy, which in all fairness was never that bad a show. Besides, why did this Lee Majors TV series make the list and not The Six Million Dollar Man? I mean, if we're awarding points for ridiculousness here, a stunt man tracking bail jumpers is infinitely more credible than a bionic Bigfoot. |
Edited by - zombiewhacker on 11/08/2007 11:37:37 PM
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Neville
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Spain
1590 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2007 : 1:53:34 PM
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| I guess whoever wrote that was thinking of the premise, not the execution. Beauty and the beast and The Great American Hero had rather absurd premises, specially the former, but they were succesful TV series, they even have achieved cult status. |
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Citizen Carrier
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
322 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2007 : 3:22:30 PM
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Sorry, The Dukes of Hazzard was far more ridiculous than The Master.
On many levels.
Gotta go. I'll have to come back to this topic. |
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2007 : 3:38:18 PM
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quote:
I guess whoever wrote that was thinking of the premise, not the execution.
I agree with you there. Many shows have ridiculous concepts that when executed well turn out great. On the other hand, how many great concepts die due to execution.
quote:
If nothing else, this list seems to exemplify the perils of letting Generation Xers pass themselves off as TV historians.
I don't know if my generation is the blame here. At least the early part of my generation, mostly pre-cable, saw quite a bit of older TV series. Considering even the 80's shows left off of the list, this smells of someone completely inept.
- While science has societal benefits, science is not a social virtue. - |
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Citizen Carrier
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
322 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2007 : 7:17:26 PM
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Yes, I don't think this guy was trying too hard.
Like you say, many shows might seem ridiculous in conception, but do well in execution.
It is much easier to come up with ones that are both ridiculous and a flop.
Cop Rock, anyone? Remember that? A musical television show where the cast spontaneously launches into songs and choreographed dance numbers?
The very notion of musicals in general is just too hard to take. Too much like watching fare from Bollywood. I have two I can tolerate. One is Blues Brothers and the other one...isn't.
Can you imagine pitching that concept to the executives?
"Yeah, well, we think we can land the Hill Street Blues crowd AND people who like Show Tunes with this one!"
I think that one lasted like three episodes. |
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RossM
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
427 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2007 : 11:04:56 PM
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Great American Hero was supposed to be a comical show and so it had a comical premise. But what about tween shows like Saved By The Bell, The Suite Live is Zack and Cody, Hanna Montana etc. These show are geared toward 12 year old girls and even at that are awful, cheaply made, stupidly plotted and horribly acted. This demographic can be given good shows like Degrassy Jr. High but that takes actual work and imagination.
rossM |
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Ericb
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
648 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2007 : 07:45:13 AM
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I can't believe that Cavemen is still on the air.
"I reserve the right to look as well as be boring." - Robert Fripp |
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tam1MI
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
558 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2007 : 4:50:03 PM
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| As someone who saw not only Pink Lady and Jeff AND The Brady Bunch Variety Hour and lived to tell the tale, I can say without reservation that list isn't even close. |
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Danitsu
Minister of the Sacraments of Jabootu
40 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2007 : 9:34:09 PM
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The list mainly took shows that were canceled after one season and considered them ridiculous. Even if they claimed this list was just from the 1980s on, it is definitely not near the bottom of the barrel.
"If you get served and serve them back...Then IT'S ON!!!" |
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RossM
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
427 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2007 : 10:30:53 AM
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remember "Turn On" an ABC copy of Laugh In. It was so stupid that it was canceled after just one show. Several affiliates cancelled it DURING the show. I actually watched some of it. Unfortunately I dont remember much of it though.
rossM |
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