1. Putting Jay Leno at 10pm


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


Having agreed back in 2004 to give Conan O'Brien The Tonight Show in 2009 - but not wanting to lose the still (very) popular Jay Leno - NBC execs. needed a plan.

In December 2008, armed with spreadsheets that demonstrated how much money the network would save on production costs, NBC announced their big idea: Jay Leno gets a five-night-a-week comedy show at 10pm!



WHAT HAPPENED?


The Jay Leno Show couldn't pull a prime-time-size audience. And when Leno went down, he took the ratings for the all-important local newscasts with him (major markets like Philadelphia plummeted as much as 48%).

The O'Brien hosted Tonight Show, meanwhile, saw its numbers drop 50% - both as a result of a weaker lead-in and the redheaded host's less-than-mainstream comedy style.


Frantic to right a wrong, NBC Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin announced that that he was yanking Leno in primetime, and he proposed turning it into a half-hour yukfest at 11:35pm - thus bumping Tonight to 12:35am tomorrow.

The 46-year-old O'Brien vehemently opposed the offer, insisting that NBC's proposed time shift would result in the "destruction" of a vulnerable institution.

Amid a wave of pro-O'Brien sentiment, at press time the host was negotitating a way off the network that would net a payout of nearly $40 million, which includes severence for his staff - though he'd have to stay off the air until at least next fall before resurfacing elsewhere, like maybe on FOX.


As for Leno, he'll get to return to The Tonight Show gig he clearly wasn't ready to leave.



LESSON LEARNED


Programming for the bottom line instead of ratings - NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker's stated goal ends up hurting both.









2. FOX Yanks Family Guy off the air - TWICE! (1999 & 2002)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


It debuted to 22 million viewers after the 1999 Super Bowl, but the irrevelant cartoon saw its ratings fall due in large part to numerous time-slot shifts.

FOX pulled it from the schedule in late 1999, then aired episodes sporadically until 2002, when they officially canceled it.



WHAT HAPPENED?


Family fans rallied, making the show the top-selling TV-on-DVD set of 2003, while reruns on Cartoon Network boosted viewership by 239%.

In 2005, a chastened FOX brought the show back, and it's now one of their Sunday-night tentpoles.



LESSON LEARNED


King of the Hill lasted 13 seasons - The Simpsons is on year 21.

When it comes to FOX animation, patience is truly a virtue.









3. Cavemen (2007)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


Those Geico ads are hilarious - a sitcom starring the hairy cavemen is a sure thing!

"It started in a really true place," exec. producer Josh Gordon told EW in 2007. "It wasn't 'how to make a TV show that could sell auto insurance.'"



WHAT HAPPENED?


Critics scoffed, ratings went middling to weak, and the misguided endeavor ended after six episodes.



LESSON LEARNED


What's funny for 30 seconds can become very tiresome after 22 minutes.

Especially if it's not saving us any money.









4. Moonlighting's David and Maddie Hook-up (1987)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


Over the course of two and a half seasons, the Bruce Willis-Cybil Shepherd detective dramedy became a pop culture phenonmenon filled with lust/hate romantic tension.

The combustible chemistry came to a head for a heavily hyped Season Three event, when David and Maddie finally had sex.



WHAT HAPPENED?


Once the duo did the deed, Moonlighting went creatively limp. (Other complications including behind-the-scenes bickering, contributed to the problem).

The show was canceled in 1989 - and became a warning to all writers of all future will-they-or-won't-they TV couples.



LESSON LEARNED


Kids, sexual tension is a sacred thing.

Save yourself for your final episode.










5. The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer (1998)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


This infamous sitcom about Abraham Lincoln's titular black butler (played by Chi McBride) - featuring jokes about slavery and Lincoln's gay tendencies - was fledgling network UPN's attempt to grab at attention.

As entertainment president Tom Nunan told EW at the time, "This is exactly the show we want to put on our air to say 'We do cool TV too!'"



WHAT HAPPENED?


The series was met with protests from NAACP, so UPN pulled the controversial pilot and aired an alternate episode instead.

The series got the ax three weeks later.



LESSON LEARNED


This shouldn't surprise anyone: Slavery is not funny!









6. Premature Exits


All TV actors should heed the cautionary tales of three famous faces who jumped off successful ships only to see their star status quickly sink:


a) After feuding with the Bonanza writers and producers, Pernell Roberts bailed in 1965 at the end of season six.

While the Western continued its run for eight more years, the next decade and a half weren't so fame-filled for Roberts.

(He ultimately bounced back with 1979's Trapper John, M.D.)



b) Shelley Long walked out of CHEERS in 1987 following season five; in addition to pursuing a movie career, the actress said she left to spend time with her young daughter.

Long never regained her Hollywood footing (save for her portrayal as Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch motion pictures)



c) David Caruso, the actor who left the NYPD Blue precinct during season two in 1994 to become a movie star.

The result? Two flops (Kiss of Death, Jade) and an ill-fated tv comeback in Michael Hayes.

Caruso would have to wait eight years to conquer tv again, thanks to a pair of shades and a show called CSI: Miami.









7. Coupling (2007)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


Looking to find their next Friends, NBC execs. decided the solution was... to launch an adaptation of England's version of Friends.

"It's a provocative show," boasted then NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker. "There will be no other comedy on broadcast television like it."



WHAT HAPPENED?


With abysmal ratings and protests from groups like the PTC, the sitcom was pulled by NBC after four episodes.



LESSON LEARNED


For every import that works (The Office, Ugly Betty, American Idol) there are a dozen more that fail (Life on Mars, Cracker, Kath & Kim).









8. ABC Overdoes Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (2000-2002)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


After the Regis Philbin-hosted game show exploded in August 1999, ABC execs. used it to fill multiple weak spots in their schedule, eventually running Millionaire four nights a week.



WHAT HAPPENED?


Though the network raked in short-term ad dollars, the overexposure created viewer burnout, and truncated Millionaire's reign as a phenom.



LESSON LEARNED


There can be too much of a good thing.









9. Felicity Cuts Her Hair (1999)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


Producers thought it would be dramatic for buzzy star Keri Russell to chop off her signature long curly hair, at the start of the college drama's second season, as her character tried to move on from a bad breakup.



WHAT HAPPENED?


The haircut heard 'round the world led to a deep cut in the ratings - although a time-slot switch and the series' moodier tone certainly didn't help.

"Nobody is cutting her hair again on our network," WB Entertainment president Suzanne Daniels later declared.



LESSON LEARNED


There is such a thing as bad-hair season, especially on a network of young hot things.









10. The XFL (2001)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


NBC and WWF teamed up to create an alternative football league that would attract NFL fans looking for "extreme" action during the off-season.



WHAT HAPPENED?


Remember that player with "He Hate Me" printed on the back of his jersey? He was onto something.

Viewers derided the XFL as lame, and the league folded after one season.



LESSON LEARNED


Tough-sounding team names (Hitmen, Xtreme, Maniax) don't matter if the teams are just plain tough to watch.









11. Terrible Late-Night Talk Shows


The road to late-night glory is littered with the carcasses of those crashed and burned behind the desk. Pat Sajak, Joan Rivers, Rick "Disco Duck" Dees.

However, the two biggest flameouts have to be Chevy Chase and Magic Johnson. But whose was the bigger bomb? Tough call.



Both The Chevy Chase Show (1993) and The Magic Hour (1998) were spectacurlary inept.

Chevy began his first episode by missing three easy shots into his onstage basketball hoop - and things just got worse from there.

Magic's low point came when he allowed Howard Stern's crew to come spend an entire hour farting into the microphones and telling him how horrible his show was.



THE VERDICT


I cannot stress enough how awful Magic Johnson was as a talk-show host.

Still, Chevy was considered a genius of late-night TV from his days on SNL, making his bomb all the more deadly.









12. Reality Hosts Destroy The Emmys


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


What better way to celebrate the Emmys' new category of Outstanding Reality Host than letting the nominees host the entire show?

Survivor's Jeff Probst
Dancing With The Stars' Tom Bergeron
Deal or No Deal's Howie Mandell
Project Runway's Heidi Klum
American Idol's Ryan Seacrest



WHAT HAPPENED?


The quintet flopped from the very first minute.

Turns out doing an ad-libbed skit about how unprepared you are to host the Emmys is not a good way to start of hosting the Emmys.



LESSON LEARNED


Sometimes it pays to have an actual script.









13. Jackie Gleason Apologizes For You're In The Picture (1961)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


The game show featured celebrities sticking their heads into an illustrated backdrop, and then guessing what famous scene they were a part of by quizzing host Gleason.

If they guessed correctly, CARE packages were donated to those in need.



WHAT HAPPENED?


The show's first episode was hammered by critics, and the following week Gleason appeared on a bare set to issue his now-famous apology.

He quipped that Picture, "would make the H-bomb look like a two inch salute."



LESSON LEARNED


Nothing wrong with stars competing for charity, but it helps to make sure the game they're playing is, you know, good.









14. The Brady Bunch's Cousin Oliver (1974)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


By '74, Greg was about 80 years old and Bobby's puberty wasn't exactly pretty - or funny.

So with the show needing a cute scamp to shake things up, Carol's nephew Oliver (Robbie Rist) came to live with the Bradys near the end of season five.



WHAT HAPPENED?


Oliver became the patron saint of the unwanted child and lasted only six episodes, at which point The Brady Bunch was canceled.

He left an unfortunate TV legacy: The Hail Mary Moppet.



LESSON LEARNED


No one likes a new kid. Look at:

Stephanie on All in the Family
Sam on Diff'rent Strokes
Billy on Who's The Boss
Luke on Growing Pains
Maddie on Ally McBeal
and don't forget Scrappy Doo!









15. Kid Nation (2007)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


We'll drop a bunch of children in a New Mexico ghost town and let them create their own society!

It'll be like Survivor, but adorable!

As exec. producer Tom Forman told EW that summer, "This feels more real than any reality show we've ever seen. The kids are incredibly honest."



WHAT HAPPENED?


The show got bogged down in scandals like a child-labor law investigation by the state (it was eventually dismissed) and the news that youngsters accidentally drank bleach (they lived).

There was no Season 2.



LESSON LEARNED


Viewers love reality TV drama... provided everyone involved is past puberty.









16. Networks and Stars Pass On Hit Shows


We all make mistakes. But most of them don't go on to win truckloads of Emmys, make millions of dollars, and turn their casts into incredibly popular TV stars.


a) HBO famously passed on Sopranos' writer Matthew Weiners' creation Mad Men, only to watch it win rave reviews and every award possible for AMC.


b) ABC turned down future ratings juggernaut CSI at a time when it was relying on the likes of Two Guys and a Girl for survival.


c) Rob Lowe was offered Dr. McDreamy on Grey's Anatomy (which would make a star out of Patrick Dempsey). He decided to take a gamble on five-episode Dr. Vegas instead and lost.

(He however later went on Brothers & Sisters).









17. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006-2007)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


Aaron Sorkin's much ballyhooed return to TV after The West Wing featured a pedigreed cast led by Matt Perry an Bradley Whitford and a subject everyone knows - late-sketch comedy.



WHAT HAPPENED?


Sorkin's patented walk-and-talks were not as effective when characters were in a huff about those bastar*s at network standards and practices.

The drama attracted a strong initial audience, but viewers soon checked out of Studio 60, and the show was yanked off the air in early 2007.

NBC - which had confidentially made an early series committment before the pilot was even shot - quietly burned off the remainder of the 22 episodes that summer.



LESSON LEARNED


Even certified TV geniuses can have awful ideas.









18. Joanie Loves Chaci (1982-1983)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


In an effort to find a follow-up to the aging Happy Days - while also capitalizing on the teen-steam appeal of stars Scott Baio and Erin Moran - ABC moved the lovebirds to Chicago and got them to sing!



WHAT HAPPENED?


In spite of Baio's big-time heart-throb status, the show was canceled after two brief seasons.

Possible root of the problem: Baio and Moran performed original new music in every episode.



LESSON LEARNED


Keep Scott Baio away from any and all microphones.









19. NBC Cancels Baywatch (1990) and JAG (1996)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


Ratings for David Hasselhoff's lifeguard drama and David Elliot's military courtroom series weren't strong enough to persuade NBC to pick up the shows for a second season.



WHAT HAPPENED?


Baywatch producers got new funding and sold the show into first-run syndication, where it ran for ten more seasons, grossed hundreds of millions of dollars, and (according to Guinness) became the most popular show in the world.


As for JAG, CBS picked it up and it went on to run for nine more seasons and spawned the hit spin-off NCIS, which went on to launch NCIS: Los Angeles.



LESSON LEARNED


An itchy trigger finger can lead to financial regret.









20. Coy and Vance Replace Bo and Luke Duke


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


Himbos are all interchangeable, right?

So when John Schnieder and Tom Wopat walked out of The Dukes of Hazzard over a contract dispute in the spring of 1982, the studio replaced them with cousins Byron Cherry and Chris Mayer.



WHAT HAPPENED?


Viewers didn't swoon for the look-alikes.

Though Bo and Luke were re-instated the following February, the franchise never fully recovered.



LESSON LEARNED

Beloved characters cannot be replaced with look-alikes.









21. American Juniors (2003)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


It's American Idol with kids!

And we'll get Justin Guarini to be one of the judges!



WHAT HAPPENED?


The goal was to put together a supergroup to croon lyrics like "One step closer to heaven," but it was hell for the viewers who endured scamps being critiqued by judges.

After a strong start, ratings nose-dived, and season two was called off.



LESSON LEARNED


Seeing adults have their hopes and dreams crushed on national television is hilarious - yes!

Seeing little kids? Not so much.









22. On The Lot (2007)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


"Exec. produced by Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett."



WHAT HAPPENED?


The reality show - which followed aspiring filmmakers vying for a $1 Million development deal - featured a roster of director judges including Garry Marshall, Brett Ratner, and Michael Bay... but not Spielberg.

The debut lost 70% of its American Idol lead-ins, host Chelsea Handler jumped ship, the live results shows were axed, and ratings dropped to 3 million viewers.



LESSON LEARNED


Having big names behind-the-scenes isn't enough.









23. The LOST Rip-offs of 2005: Surface, Threshold, and Invasion


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


With LOST providing that mythology-laced sci-fi drama that could attract younger viewers, the networks scrambled to create the next great geeky mystery.



WHAT HAPPENED?


While the three copycat series went out of their way to ask plenty of questions wrapped in enigmas surrounded by even more questions, the answer provided by the audience was a resounding "WE DON'T CARE!"

The shows lasted for a combined total of 50 episodes.



LESSON LEARNED


Some concepts simply cannot be duplicated.









24. Pink Lady... and Jeff (1980)


WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


English? No problem!

NBC president Fred Silverman was convinced that American audiences would love a variety show starring Japanese pop-duo Pink Lady with American comedian Jeff Altman serving as translator.



WHAT HAPPENED?


For five painful episodes, Altman did cheesy stand-up while Pink Lady attempted to lip-synch disco hits like "Boogie Wonderland".



LESSON LEARNED


Variety shows are challenging enough when your hosts do speak English.









25. Totally Absurd Musical Dramas


American Idol. Church. The Shower.

All places where singing is not only allowed but encouraged.

But what happens when you try to add crooning to scripted dramas?

You get Cop Rock (1990) and Viva Laughlin' (2007)



Cop Rock had policemen, perps, juries, you name it... all break out into song.

There was even one tender little ditty between a crackhead mommy and the baby she was about to sell for $200.


The Nevada-set Viva Laughlin' tried more for a sex and sizzle, but couldn't even pull off camp appeal, even with mega-star Hugh Jackman; gone after two episodes.



VERDICT


While we have to give the crackhead mom props for actually having a pretty decent voice, the scene was one of the most ridiculous in TV history, sealing the deal for Cop Rock in this epic duel of the debacles.






and the rest...




26. The Writers' Strike (2007-2008)


The squabble-shut Hollywood down for 100 days - and gave us the spring edition of Big Brother.





27. Life With Lucy (1986)


The last sitcom from comedy legend Lucille Ball was a legendary eight episodes.





28. Central Park West (1995-1996)


Darren Star's campy sudser was such a bad fit with CBS' old-fogy image, Raquel Welch herself couldn't save it.





29. Pirate Master (2007)


This attempt to blend Survivor with Pirates of the Caribbean resulted in.. the worst of both worlds.





30. Casting Ryan Jenkins on Megan Wants a Millionaire (2009)


The hiring of the 32 year old contestant - who hanged himself soon after police named him as the prime suspect in his wife's murder - highlighted reality TV's reliance on quicky background checks.





31. Project Runway goes to L.A. (2009)


Boring contestants and MIA judges meant a weak Lifetime debut.





32. Bionic Woman (2007)


Not even Battlestar Gallactica exec. producer David Eick could make this uninspired TV reboot work.





33. MyNetworkTV (2006)


News Corp's effort to launch an alternative to The CW using English-language telenovas was greeted with overwhelming indifference by many viewers.





34. 60 Minutes II Apologizes (2004)


The spin-off news mag. ran a story on President Bush's military record in the National Guard... but their evidence was bogus and they had to issue an on-air apology.





35. Are You Hot?: The Search For America's Sexiest People (2003)

Lorenzo Lamas used a laser pointer to show people's imperfections on national TV. Say classy, ABC!





36. Gilmore Girls minus Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino (2006)


Sherman-Palladino's voice was key to the show, but the network kept the series going after negotiations with her fell through.

Fans got one last, limp season.





37. Turning Hit Movies Into Sitcoms


Besides M*A*S*H, has it ever worked?

Let's see...

My Big Fat Greek Life
Clueless
Uncle Buck
Ferris Bueller





38. The Lone Gunmen (2001)


The truth may be out there, but the ratings weren't for this X-Files spin-off.





39. Joe Millionaire 2 (2003)


Foreign floozies competed for a cowboy in this poorly received second season that most have forgotten about.





40. Welcome to the Neighborhood (2005)


ABC canned this reality show mess about African-Americans, Hispanics, and gays vying for a house in a white suburb; it never made it to airing.





41. The Fugitive (2000-2001)


The splashy Tim Daly remake got all of the hype, but the show after it (CSI) got all of the viewers.





42. Hello, Larry (1979-1980)


The worst of McLean Stevenson's-post M*A*S*H flops.
And that is saying something.





43. Casting Eric Balfour in Anything


Fearless never made it to the air.
Hawaii, Conviction, and Sex Love & Secrets flopped.
Even his guest-list (FreakyLinks, Ink, The Ex List, Life on Mars..) is problematic.





44. Six Degrees (2006)


J.J. Abrams' name above the title and a post-Grey's Anatomy slot weren't enough to interest people in this tepid relationship drama.





45. Dennis Miller on Monday Night Football (2000-2002)


If there's one thing football fans love, it's for some know-it-all to club them over the head with obscure references to require an encyclopedia to decipher.





46. Emily's Reasons Why Not (2006)


It had a big star (Heather Graham), a premise based on a popular book, a HUGE promotional push... and no viewers.

Gone after one episode.





47. My Mother The Car (1965-1966)


Just look at the title. Does that sound like a good idea to you?





48. Networks Give Up On Saturday Night


Once upon a time millions of folks tuned in for powerhouse Saturday night programming, like The Love Boat and Mary Tyler Moore.

Today the best we can hope for is a rerun of Numb3rs.





49. The Beautiful Life: TBL (2009)


This Mischa Barton fashion drama met an early demise after two episodes aired.





50. Replacing Jane Pauley with Deborah Norville on Today


Pushing fan favorite Pauley off the couch in favor of the younger Norville sent viewers fleeing to Good Morning America.

Norville was out the door less than two years later.

Pretty good list.

One thing I don't agree on though: ABC passing on CSI. Sure it was a hit on CBS, but we don't truly know if it would have been on ABC. You could also look at it as CSI starting all the procedurals on CBS, and eventually leading CBS to first place wins, but I don't see it as that.

Great article!! They get special props from me for listing Pink Lady & Jeff, Coy & Vance, and the XFL. *shudders*

Cute article, I got the issue today (I subscribe) but just glancing at it, it left out many more much bigger TV disasters like,

The Brady Bunch Variety Hour
Sonny Bono Comedy Review
Madame's Place.....actually I liked it
Howard Cosell Variety Show
Bay City Rollers
The New Odd Couple
Blanskie's Beauties

just to name a few....

and I completely disagree about "besides Mash, when did a show work after a hit movie?" DUH....The Odd Couple, Alice, Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I'll add to this one when I have more time......there are at least 10 successes.

It was nice they included some oddities like Gleasons "Apology" as part of "You're In The Picture", I have them both and yes they are part of televisions golden age disasters, which usually get overlooked.

And stop always picking on "My Mother The Car"...lol....we will never get a DVD release...it really wasn't that bad.....

Cute article, I got the issue today (I subscribe) but just glancing at it, it left out of much more TV disasters, like

The Brady Bunch Variety Hour
Sonny Bono Comedy Review
Madame's Place.....actually I liked it
Howard Cosell Variety Show
Bay City Rollers
The New Odd Couple

just to name a few....

and I completely disagree about "besides Mash, when did a show work after a hit movie?" DUH....The Odd Couple, Alice. I'll add to this one when I have more time......there are at least 10 successes.

It was nice they included some oddities like Gleasons "Apology" as part of "You're In The Picture", I have them both and yes they are part of televisions golden age disasters, which usually get overlooked.

And stop always picking on "My Mother The Car"...lol....we will never get a DVD release...it really wasn't that bad.....and clueless wasant too bad and i wish they would stop picking on hello larry it was no emmy winner but it was a good show

I can't believe "Cavemen" only made third place on the list! They should have made a sitcom with the Gecko instead! :lol:

How on earth was the show "Surface" a "Lost ripoff"?? :confused: :confused:

The only possible connection is that both are fantasy oriented (but in the case of "Lost", only tangentially so).

"Hello, Larry" wasn't nearly as bad as some of Stevenson's bombs, namely "In the Beginning".

Greg Brady was about 80? I think Williams was 20 when the show ended, hardly a huge difference to the 18 his character was supposed to be.

And...no mention of "Supertrain"?

Otherwise, not a terrible list I guess.

Maybe they'll do a sequel to the article and add all the rest of those. How they forgot to add Manimal or Cop Rock I'll never know. :crazy: :lol:

Maybe they'll do a sequel to the article and add all the rest of those. How they forgot to add Manimal or Cop Rock I'll never know. :crazy: :lol:

It's probably pretty hard to boil it down to just 50, I agree. :)

It's probably pretty hard to boil it down to just 50, I agree. :)
They should've just made it 100 and put out a double issue. :nod:

Maybe they'll do a sequel to the article and add all the rest of those. How they forgot to add Manimal or Cop Rock I'll never know. :crazy: :lol:

#25 Cop Rock is mentioned.

#25 Cop Rock is mentioned.
Oops...how did I miss that? D'OH!!! Thanks for the correction.

Oops...how did I miss that? D'OH!!! Thanks for the correction.

Well, it's quite a long list, and it's getting late. ;)

Well, it's quite a long list, and it's getting late. ;)
True. :lol:

I asked Susan Olsen what she thought about the BB Hour not being on the list at all.....she said EW was lame and that the list sucked!
:lol:

I asked Susan Olsen what she thought about the BB Hour not being on the list at all.....she said EW was lame and that the list sucked!
:lol:
Gotta love Susan...thank goodness for Facebook!! :D

The only way the XFL could have made it was to allow everything that's prohibited in the NFL; basically a blood-bath free-for-all.

There's no way any athlete in their right mind would sign up for that.


What they couldn't do in violence they tried to do with "sexy cheerleaders". I remember near the end the cheerleader antics were dying down.

^ How long was the XFL on, anyway?

^ How long was the XFL on, anyway?

I believe from February - May 2001.

I believe from February - May 2001.
Thanks. I remember it was early 2001 and aired on Saturday nights. I was working Saturday nights at the time and never saw it. Sounds like I didn't miss much. :lol:

Thanks. I remember it was early 2001 and aired on Saturday nights. I was working Saturday nights at the time and never saw it. Sounds like I didn't miss much. :lol:

I saw it as it aired since I used to be on a teen bowling league on Sat. nights and afterwards my team and I usually ate in the bowling alley bar/lounge.

Everytime we went to eat during that time they had the XFL on and everyone asked "What's extreme about this?"

The only thing I really remember was the cheerleader skits but other than that it was "just football".

Bad marketing did them in; people were expecting hardcore violence and WWF stars to appear all of the time which wasn't what it was.

Thanks. I remember it was early 2001 and aired on Saturday nights. I was working Saturday nights at the time and never saw it. Sounds like I didn't miss much. :lol:
The first game was played on Feb. 3, 2001 and the last game (The Million Dollar Game/championship) was played on April 21, 2001. Apparently you weren't the only one who wasn't watching. The main reason this league folded after one season was "astoundingly low TV ratings".

The first game was played on Feb. 3, 2001 and the last game (The Million Dollar Game/championship) was played on April 21, 2001. Apparently you weren't the only one who wasn't watching. The main reason this league folded after one season was "astoundingly low TV ratings".

Yeah, and the reason the ratings were low was because it didn't live up to all of the expectations of WWF fans.

The NFL fans weren't a fan of it as well due to the association with WWF; they didn't take it seriously.

Of the 50 Biggest Bombs and Blunders, I counted 12 reality shows. That's more than 1 in 5 blunders. So all of those bombs/blunders happened just this past decade. If it weren't for them, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour might have made the list!

I asked Susan Olsen what she thought about the BB Hour not being on the list at all.....she said EW was lame and that the list sucked!
:lol:

Technically The Brady Brides and The Brady's (even though I have them all and enjoy them) should have been on the list as well as one big number of Brady disaster spin-off's.... and what makes it them even more unique is that different incarnations of "The Brady Bunch" have the only distinction of being on all three networks in different decades even! Showing that all three Networks made disaster discisions regarding our beloved bradys throughout the decades! Thank the Brady lord above!

The Brady Bunch/ Brady Variety ABC
The Brady Brides NBC
The Bradys CBS

Technically The Brady Brides and The Brady's (even though I have them all and enjoy them) should have been on the list as well as one big number of Brady disaster spin-off's.... and what makes it them even more unique is that different incarnations of "The Brady Bunch" have the only distinction of being on all three networks in different decades even! Showing that all three Networks made disaster discisions regarding our beloved bradys throughout the decades! Thank the Brady lord above!

The Brady Bunch/ Brady Variety ABC
The Brady Brides NBC
The Bradys CBS
Agreed!! I dare anyone to name any other sitcom that spawned a cartoon, a variety show, an adult drama and two feature films...all since 1969!! :cool:

Agreed!! I dare anyone to name any other sitcom that spawned a cartoon, a variety show, an adult drama and two feature films...all since 1969!! :cool:

AGREED my friend.....and don't forget about Fox's TV movie based on the features and their 60 minute mini movie based on the TV series as well and of course NBC's movie "Growing Up Brady"! and the stage production "The Real Life Brady Bunch".......lol....all true!

AGREED my friend.....and don't forget about Fox's third TV movie based on the features and their 60 minute mini movie based on the TV series as well and of course NBC's movie "Growing Up Brady"! and the stage production "The Real Life Brady Bunch".......lol....all true!
It's enough to make your head spin...but in a good way!!! :lol:

#11 - was a sure fire call!

Magic Johnson was def. bland as a talk show host. To make matters worse, I was also surprised that he didn't even use a basketball hoop on his set, considering that he used to be a basketball player himself.


And regarding Millionaire:

Another bomb move that should've been incorporated on this list is:

Turning game shows into regular celebrity fare.

In addition to overexposure by ABC w/ Millionaire, they also did too many celebrity editions, which also helped contribute it demise on ABC.

The only all-celebrity network game show that worked successfully was Tattletales.

And to anyone that produces game shows, make sure you don't overdo yorselves with special celebrity editions as a regular thing.

When you turn a regular half-civvie/mostly civvie-driven show into a regular or all-celebrity edition, your show will bust.

Look what happened to:

- The 1971-75 ABC version of Password when it became Password All-Stars. By the time they went back to having civvies as contestants, the damage was already done and came too late to save this show.

- Bullseye when it became Celebrity Bullseye in very late 1981/very early 1982.

- Whew!

- Hot Potato - this show was already doomed w/ it airing in the noon time slot but the Celebrity edition didn't help but make matters worse.

- ABC Millionaire

- The NBC version of The Weakest Link

#11 - was a sure fire call!



The only all-celebrity network game show that worked successfully was Tattletales.

And to anyone that produces game shows, make sure you don't overdo yorselves with special celebrity editions as a regular thing.

When you turn a regular half-civvie/mostly civvie-driven show into a regular or all-celebrity edition, your show will bust.




You seem to be a real expert in gameshows, which as am I, but you forgot completely about "The Hollywood Squares"! You pick "Tattletales" as the only all-celebrity network game show that worked successfully? Also what about Match Game? If your point was that it was a show without any street contestants, then I guess I agree, even though the "banana" section, etc....was techincally rewarded if their team won, but the counter parts on "Tattletales" really weren't celebrities, who really knew who William Shatner's wife was? This is all with a "tongue in cheek" attitude of course but am looking for a clarification. my best....

PS....also what about Celebrity Sweepstakes?, not sure how long that one ran in the 1970's....

Technically The Brady Brides and The Brady's (even though I have them all and enjoy them) should have been on the list as well as one big number of Brady disaster spin-off's.... and what makes it them even more unique is that different incarnations of "The Brady Bunch" have the only distinction of being on all three networks in different decades even! Showing that all three Networks made disaster discisions regarding our beloved bradys throughout the decades! Thank the Brady lord above!

The Brady Bunch/ Brady Variety ABC
The Brady Brides NBC
The Bradys CBS


The thing was, ratings wise, both the Variety Hour and Brides did fairly well that should have earned renewals. The Bradys had that unfortunate position to be on opposite "Full House", a show that embodied what The Brady Bunch did in the '70s.
I know Sherwood was miffed at NBC, that he walked away from Harper Valley PTA (his other NBC show at the time) :lol:

^ Sherwood was involved with Harper Valley PTA? I never knew that!! :lol:

^ Sherwood was involved with Harper Valley PTA? I never knew that!! :lol:
Then you probably weren't aware that Bill Asher directed a number of episodes of Harper Valley PTA either?!

^ Now I did know that. :lol: He also directed the two made-for-TV Jeannie movies in the 80s.

The thing was, ratings wise, both the Variety Hour and Brides did fairly well that should have earned renewals. The Bradys had that unfortunate position to be on opposite "Full House", a show that embodied what The Brady Bunch did in the '70s.
I know Sherwood was miffed at NBC, that he walked away from Harper Valley PTA (his other NBC show at the time) :lol:

Hello my friend,

I actually like any and all anything Brady, and I agree about the ratings, but it it pretty much universally agreed upon that the variety hour was an embarrassing "what were they thinking?" idea...which is what this thread started about, commenting on the current issue of Entertainement Weeklys' article about TV's 50 biggest blunders....they stated "cousin Oliver" as one of them and left out what brady fans consider to be the real disasters...but trust me....I would buy complete series of the variety, brady brides, and the bradys, luckily I have the complete series of the latter two. Especially proud I have my original CBS airings of "The Bradys".

PS....I also luckily have three episodes of "Harper Valley, PTA" when yes TV Land actually ran it and in my humble opinion the best part of that series was seeing Barbara Edens' legs, bringing us back to the last season of jeannie when she finally wore mini's......lol......now I've really gotten us off-topic!

Not disagreeing with you, TeeVee.......:lol:

I have the Brides and The Bradys as well--made my own DVDs (from the Fox Family airings). I too would buy the official DVDs......Brady Christmas as well.

I loved Harper Valley PTA (if you watch the original movie, it was clearly made out to be a TV pilot that somehow got a theatrical release, made a little money, aired on NBC to HUGE ratings causing the series to get ordered)
Barbara Eden.......Fannie Flagg........they were a great comic duo!
Sure Eden's legs and cleavage were nice bonuses too :lol:

I think the biggest blunder was the Cavemen sitcom.

I love these lists... it's always fun to read about other people's egregious errors in judgement! :lol:

I love these lists... it's always fun to read about other people's egregious errors in judgement! :lol:
So do I...and you gotta love the masses who won't let these people live down those mistakes!! :lol:

CSI, Survivor, Weakest Link and Millionare seemed to kill a lot of late 90s shows that were creeping their way into the 2000s.

I only remember American Juniors because it was the lead-in for Keen Eddie.

I think that 'The Bronx Zoo' should have been mentioned. It was a decent show but for some reason NBC didn't have a decent time slot for it (I think Night Court suffered the same fate as well, it kept getting bounced around along with Cosby near the end to compete with The Simpsons). Then again this was also around the same time they were throwing out the 80s management and messing up the Saturday Morning block.

^Did ya know The Bronx Zoo actually began life as a CBS sitcom called "Making the Grade"?

[B]2. FOX Yanks Family Guy off the air - TWICE! (1999 & 2002)

26. The Writers' Strike (2007-2008)

I disagree with these two. I'd replace them with the following:

ABC's decision to cancel The Wonder Years before the kids graduated high school, and

ABC Family's decision to cancel State of Grace in 2002 after just 38 episodes

I do think that reality shows and prime time game shows are contributing to the demise of scripted TV shows.

I also think canceling TV shows after a few episodes is a big mistake. If network executives thought like that years ago, then shows that went on to become classics wouldn't have had a chance to find an audience.

NBC canceling the original Star Trek should be on the list if them canceling Baywatch and JAG are going to be there. Star Trek I believe, was the highest rated (or one of the highest) shows in the 18-34 demographic. Unfortunately, at the time, the Nielsens only collected their data in terms of total amount of viewers.

The whole ninth season of Dallas (which turned out to be a bad dream that Victoria Principal had) should be on the list. It was a cheap and insulting excuse to bring Patrick Duffy (who supposedly, got killed off at the end of the prior season) back. Knots Landing, the sister show to Dallas from that point forward, separated all ties with Dallas (in the Knots Landing universe, Bobby Ewing was still dead). I think this is what inspired the series finale of Newhart, in which the whole series was revealed to be a dream of Bob Newhart's character on The Bob Newhart Show.

Any show that tries to continue after the real life death of the lead actor (e.g. Chico and the Man with Freddie Prinze, Sr., Petticoat Junction with Bea Benaderet, The Royal Family with Redd Foxx, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter with John Ritter, etc.) should also be on the list.

If anything, the WB-UPN merger is a much bigger blunder/bomb (due to shear incompetance/lack of foresight) than MyNetwork TV, which had nothing to work with from the start. The CW is floundering right now in large part due to their small minded thinking of running a broadcast network like it's a niche cable channel.

As for Emily's Reasons Why Not, any show that gets canceled after only one episode should be by default, be on this list.

I've noticed that the only sports mentions have been Dennis Miller on Monday Night Football and the XFL. I have some additional suggestions:
*Major League Baseball on CBS (1990-1993) - CBS pays at least $1 billion to show a half hearted, sporadic regular season schedule (in the process, destroying the institution known as the Game of the Week, when it aired on NBC previously), only to wind up losing $500 million at the end of the day.

*The Baseball Network (1994-1995) - Probably the only good thing to come out of the strike was the termination of this insipid joint venture between Major League Baseball, ABC and NBC. The most offensive part of all was the fact that playoff games prior to the World Series, were not nationally televised.

*The National Hockey League on SportsChannel America (1988-1992) - The NHL went from being on ESPN, which was at the time, available in at least, 80 million homes, to SportsChannel America, which was available in maybe, at least 40 million less. Oh and plus, the NHL still didn't have a national over-the-air contract in the United States (outside of the All-Star Game being on NBC).

*The NBA on ABC (2002-present) - Where do I start? Well, in less than five-seven years, ABC (and ESPN while we're at it) has gone through numerous lead play-by-play men (Brad Nessler, Al Michaels, and now Mike Breen), lead color commentators (Bill Walton and Tom Tolbert, Doc Rivers, Hubie Brown, and now Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy), studio hosts (Mike Tirico, Dan Patrick, and now Stuart Scott), graphic and music packages, etc. The nadir had to be when ABC had the Pussycat Dolls intro their otherwise miniscule regular season telecasts (boy, I miss John Tesh's "Roundball Rock" on NBC and the CGI Boston Garden on CBS even more). Not to mention, that ABC's NBA Finals ratings have been some of the lowest in history (even worse than the tape-delayed days on CBS back in the late '70s-early -80s).

*Lisa Guererro, Erik Dickerson, O.J. Simpson and Tony Kornheiser on Monday Night Football. To me, that's far worse or more offensive than Dennis Miller being there. At least with Miller (although, it was a failed gimmick at the end of the day), pretty much got what you paid for.

*"Cute" Fox Sports mascots like Scooter the talking baseball and Digger the gopher.

*Bryant Gumbel on NFL play-by-play. Leave the play-by-play to your brother, Greg.

*The 1992 Olympic Triplecast

NBC canceling the original Star Trek should be on the list if them canceling Baywatch and JAG are going to be there. Star Trek I believe, was the highest rated (or one of the highest) shows in the 18-34 demographic. Unfortunately, at the time, the Nielsens only collected their data in terms of total amount of viewers.

The whole ninth season of Dallas (which turned out to be a bad dream that Victoria Principal had) should be on the list. It was a cheap and insulting excuse to bring Patrick Duffy (who supposedly, got killed off at the end of the prior season) back. Knots Landing, the sister show to Dallas from that point forward, separated all ties with Dallas (in the Knots Landing universe, Bobby Ewing was still dead). I think this is what inspired the series finale of Newhart, in which the whole series was revealed to be a dream of Bob Newhart's character on The Bob Newhart Show.

Any show that tries to continue after the real life death of the lead actor (e.g. Chico and the Man with Freddie Prinze, Sr., Petticoat Junction with Bea Benaderet, The Royal Family with Redd Foxx, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter with John Ritter, etc.) should also be on the list.

If anything, the WB-UPN merger is a much bigger blunder/bomb (due to shear incompetance/lack of foresight) than MyNetwork TV, which had nothing to work with from the start. The CW is floundering right now in large part due to their small minded thinking of running a broadcast network like it's a niche cable channel.

As for Emily's Reasons Why Not, any show that gets canceled after only one episode should be by default, be on this list.

I've noticed that the only sports mentions have been Dennis Miller on Monday Night Football and the XFL. I have some additional suggestions:
*Major League Baseball on CBS (1990-1993) - CBS pays at least $1 billion to show a half hearted, sporadic regular season schedule (in the process, destroying the institution known as the Game of the Week, when it aired on NBC previously), only to wind up losing $500 million at the end of the day.

*The Baseball Network (1994-1995) - Probably the only good thing to come out of the strike was the termination of this insipid joint venture between Major League Baseball, ABC and NBC. The most offensive part of all was the fact that playoff games prior to the World Series, were not nationally televised.

*The National Hockey League on SportsChannel America (1988-1992) - The NHL went from being on ESPN, which was at the time, available in at least, 80 million homes, to SportsChannel America, which was available in maybe, at least 40 million less. Oh and plus, the NHL still didn't have a national over-the-air contract in the United States (outside of the All-Star Game being on NBC).

*The NBA on ABC (2002-present) - Where do I start? Well, in less than five-seven years, ABC (and ESPN while we're at it) has gone through numerous lead play-by-play men (Brad Nessler, Al Michaels, and now Mike Breen), lead color commentators (Bill Walton and Tom Tolbert, Doc Rivers, Hubie Brown, and now Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy), studio hosts (Mike Tirico, Dan Patrick, and now Stuart Scott), graphic and music packages, etc. The nadir had to be when ABC had the Pussycat Dolls intro their otherwise miniscule regular season telecasts (boy, I miss John Tesh's "Roundball Rock" on NBC and the CGI Boston Garden on CBS even more). Not to mention, that ABC's NBA Finals ratings have been some of the lowest in history (even worse than the tape-delayed days on CBS back in the late '70s-early -80s).

*Lisa Guererro, Erik Dickerson, O.J. Simpson and Tony Kornheiser on Monday Night Football. To me, that's far worse or more offensive than Dennis Miller being there. At least with Miller (although, it was a failed gimmick at the end of the day), pretty much got what you paid for.

*"Cute" Fox Sports mascots like Scooter the talking baseball and Digger the gopher.

*Bryant Gumbel on NFL play-by-play. Leave the play-by-play to your brother, Greg.

*The 1992 Olympic Triplecasti agree about the nba on abc the coverage is awful baseball on cbs was a big mistake too

*The NBA on ABC (2002-present) - Where do I start? Well, in less than five-seven years, ABC (and ESPN while we're at it) has gone through numerous lead play-by-play men (Brad Nessler, Al Michaels, and now Mike Breen), lead color commentators (Bill Walton and Tom Tolbert, Doc Rivers, Hubie Brown, and now Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy), studio hosts (Mike Tirico, Dan Patrick, and now Stuart Scott), graphic and music packages, etc. The nadir had to be when ABC had the Pussycat Dolls intro their otherwise miniscule regular season telecasts (boy, I miss John Tesh's "Roundball Rock" on NBC and the CGI Boston Garden on CBS even more). Not to mention, that ABC's NBA Finals ratings have been some of the lowest in history (even worse than the tape-delayed days on CBS back in the late '70s-early -80s).

In the words of Marv Albert: "YEESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!"

In addition to their bad music and graphics packages, they also have a knack for muting crowds over most of their NBA games, as if people were watching another version of Sportscenter.

That's not say NBC was half guilty of doing this practice too during their NBA days, but at least NBC unlike ABC/ESPN knew when to drown out their commentary to allow the crowd to cheer loud enough. ABC/ESPN talks incessantly over games.

Eh, I find EW to be jerks often times. The Brady Bunch one doesn't holdwater-it was on its way out anyway. And what's clever about calling Greg 80?

Hello Larry was one of the most underrated tv sitcom of all time. How can Hello Larry be on the list and not

Flo
Phyllis
Sanford Arms

Hello Larry was one of the most underrated tv sitcom of all time. How can Hello Larry be on the list and not

Flo
Phyllis
Sanford Arms
Phyllis does not belong on this list of Bombs and Blunders. The show might have had a sucessful run had it not been for the loss of Barbara Colby, (who was murdered in 1975) the lead co-star, after filming just 3 episodes, and the loss of the elderly actress Judith Lowery in the second season, who played Mother Dexter, probably the most popular character.
This show should be on some sort of "what could have been....list", IMO.

Hello Larry was one of the most underrated tv sitcom of all time. How can Hello Larry be on the list and not

Flo
Phyllis
Sanford Arms
What about Sanford? Or Redd Foxx's variety show? :eek:

Laurence Tisch's time overseeing CBS in the late 1980s-early 1990s should be on the list (he was to the "Eye" Network what Jeff Zucker is to NBC). Under Mr. Tisch's watch, CBS' evening news program (then, anchored by Dan Rather) went from first place to third. This perhaps is in part, due to the budget being cut at CBS News, which in return, negatively effected the overall quality. CBS also bid approximately $1.2 billion on Major League Baseball, only to wind up losing $500 million four years later. Worst of all, CBS lost the National Football League package (which they had since 1956) to the then upstart FOX network, who offered the NFL at least $100 million more per year, than what the cost-cutting Tisch was willing to offer. CBS wound up losing a lot of key affiliates to FOX over this. Because in large part to Laurence Tisch's idiocy at running CBS, they wound up getting bought out by Westinghouse in 1995.

Laurence Tisch's time overseeing CBS in the late 1980s-early 1990s should be on the list (he was to the "Eye" Network what Jeff Zucker is to NBC). Under Mr. Tisch's watch, CBS' evening news program (then, anchored by Dan Rather) went from first place to third. This perhaps is in part, due to the budget being cut at CBS News, which in return, negatively effected the overall quality. CBS also bid approximately $1.2 billion on Major League Baseball, only to wind up losing $500 million four years later. Worst of all, CBS lost the National Football League package (which they had since 1956) to the then upstart FOX network, who offered the NFL at least $100 million more per year, than what the cost-cutting Tisch was willing to offer. CBS wound up losing a lot of key affiliates to FOX over this. Because in large part to Laurence Tisch's idiocy at running CBS, they wound up getting bought out by Westinghouse in 1995.

Under his watch he also managed to lose the rights to the NBA to NBC as well.

Because in large part to Laurence Tisch's idiocy at running CBS, they wound up getting bought out by Westinghouse in 1995.

Similarly, because in large part to ABC canceling The Wonder Years before its time, they wound up getting bought out by Disney the same year! (Since then Westinghouse has let CBS go! Not so with Disney and ABC!)

Here's some blunders -

Legends of the Superheroes 1979

http://www.wikio.com/video/541377 <-- A super hero roast. :eek:

http://static.shopify.com/s/files/1/0000/8622/products/legends07_large.jpg?1266645781

http://static.shopify.com/s/files/1/0000/8622/products/legends04_large.jpg?1266645781



Superman the Musical 1975

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCVfvmp_cRM&feature=player_embedded

http://static.shopify.com/s/files/1/0000/8622/products/superman_the_musical_6_large.jpg?1266645781



Justice League of America 1997

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ5kCdJPGL8&feature=player_embedded

http://static.shopify.com/s/files/1/0000/8622/products/justice_league_1997_5_large.jpg?1266645781

Superman: The Musical?? Scary. :eek: :crazy: :lol:

Superman: The Musical?? Scary. :eek: :crazy: :lol:

Yeah, this was a tv production based off of the Broadway musical It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman. Sort of like that Mary Martin television production of Peter Pan just way... way worse.

I believe Loretta Swit was in this Superman thing.

i watched legends of the superheros and superhero roast when they first aired on nbc and i didnt realize at the time how incredibly cheesy and campy they were

37. Turning Hit Movies Into Sitcoms


Besides M*A*S*H, has it ever worked?

Alice(9 seasons), The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Odd Couple...so I'd say yes.

And personally- I enjoyed Weird Science, and Harry and the Hendersons.

Yeah, this was a tv production based off of the Broadway musical It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman. Sort of like that Mary Martin television production of Peter Pan just way... way worse.

I believe Loretta Swit was in this Superman thing.
I bet that's one project Loretta never brings up. :lol:

i watched legends of the superheros and superhero roast when they first aired on nbc and i didnt realize at the time how incredibly cheesy and campy they were

That Legends of the Superheroes show is perhaps most notable for Adam West and Burt Ward reprising their roles as Batman and Robin (some 11 years after their show had been canceled). Frank Gorshin meanwhile, came back as the Riddler on that very same special. That special was in the same league as the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special from around the same time period.

...that "It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman!", adapted from the 1966 Broadway musical, was seen on "ABC's WIDE WORLD OF ENTERTAINMENT" [their late-night showcase] in 1975. Whatever charm the original musical had (if you listen to Columbia's original cast album) wasn't evident on TV.

Fred Silverman came up with the idea of the two "LEGENDS OF THE SUPERHEROES" specials in a desperate attempt to boost NBC's ratings [he also developed "PINK LADY & JEFF", before he realized Mei & Kei couldn't speak a word of English!]- after all, didn't his scheduling cartoon shows featuring superheroes prop up CBS' Saturday morning schedule in the fall of 1966? But this was prime-time...and these weren't cartoons. You only get a "WONDER WOMAN" that works in prime-time just once- providing it isn't "campy", as those two awful specials [complete with laugh tracks] were. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY didn't include them in their list because their staff were too young to see or remember them- what they remember most is TV they watched in the late '70s and early '80s; anything before that is "ancient history"- and if they're unaware of it, then it doesn't exist or isn't worth mentioning...a shame.

NBC made the same mistake with "DEAL OR NO DEAL" that ABC made with "MILLIONAIRE"- it was their turn to be #3 {or 4} in the ratings, and they depended on this one game show to turn them around. But, thanks to Jeff "I know what I'm doing!" Zucker, they couldn't develop other successful series to supplant it....and literally drove "DEAL" into the ground. Or rather, into first-run syndication. Now, it looks like that's just about over, too.


:tv:

Fred Silverman came up with the idea of the two "LEGENDS OF THE SUPERHEROES" specials in a desperate attempt to boost NBC's ratings [he also developed "PINK LADY & JEFF", before he realized Mei & Kei couldn't speak a word of English!]- after all, didn't his scheduling cartoon shows featuring superheroes prop up CBS' Saturday morning schedule in the fall of 1966? But this was prime-time...and these weren't cartoons. You only get a "WONDER WOMAN" that works in prime-time just once- providing it isn't "campy", as those two awful specials [complete with laugh tracks] were. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY didn't include them in their list because their staff were too young to see or remember them- what they remember most is TV they watched in the late '70s and early '80s; anything before that is "ancient history"- and if they're unaware of it, then it doesn't exist or isn't worth mentioning...a shame.



Legends of the Superheroes is late 70's('79)....unless I'm misunderstanding what you're saying.

Since the TV Guide Channel recently aired a special devoted to the biggest TV blunders ever, I thought that it would be a good enough of a time to revive this discussion. I have two more blunders that should be put under consideration: NBC cutting away from the closing ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics in order to air The Marriage Ref followed by the late local news. Also, FOX temporarily canceling America's Most Wanted in 1996. Only massive protests from the public, law enforcement and government (as well as the poor ratings for the sitcoms that aired in AMW's place) officials persuaded FOX to bring it back.

Oh, I totally agree about America's Most Wanted. That show has done so much for the public, it just boggles the mind that FOX would be dumb enough to give it the heave-ho, even if it was temporarily.

Oh, I totally agree about America's Most Wanted. That show has done so much for the public, it just boggles the mind that FOX would be dumb enough to give it the heave-ho, even if it was temporarily.

Speaking of which (http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/day_most_wanted_was_canceled_yq6gF5snMkKkT48hBp41jO):
John Walsh recalls the time in 1996 when Fox opted to cancel "AMW" in favor of sitcoms. But thanks to public outcry, the groundbreaking show was resurrected.

Speaking of which (http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/day_most_wanted_was_canceled_yq6gF5snMkKkT48hBp41jO):
John Walsh recalls the time in 1996 when Fox opted to cancel "AMW" in favor of sitcoms. But thanks to public outcry, the groundbreaking show was resurrected.
At least they learned their lesson!!!

I thought Cavemen sucked,so did Ohara,with Pat Morita,and the only Joanie Loves Chachie song I like is,When You Look at me. It's not fair The Simpsons is on it's 21st season,I think,The King of The Hill stopped after 13. I wish South Park stops after 23. The Simpsons has been going on too long. Another blunder is on the Price is right,when a woman was told to "Come on Down" her tube top came on down too,:lol:

Another blunder is on the Price is right,when a woman was told to "Come on Down" her tube top came on down too,:lol:

I think the Janet Jackson 2004 Super Bowl incident was a bigger "nipple incident" than that.