View Full Version : 25 Cheesiest Syndicated TV Shows


TMC
01-16-2009, 12:54 AM
This list seems awfully '90s-early 2000s centric:
http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467,00.html

JACK OF ALL TRADES (2000-2001)
STARRING Bruce Campbell
PREMISE The Evil Dead veteran plays an American agent during the 1800s who's sent to the South Pacific to help a British spy (Angela Dotchin) guard against Napoleon's naval advances.
REDEEMING QUALITIES As always, Bruce's chin. And the brilliance of casting Verne Troyer as Bonaparte.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_1,00.html

HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS (1995-1999)
STARRING Kevin Sorbo
PREMISE Imagine Knight Rider, but without the car. Hercules (Sorbo) and his buddy Iolaus (Michael Hurst) regularly roll into some ancient Grecian hamlet to save the townsfolk from rogue warlords, petty gods, or demons from the mythological pit.
REDEEMING QUALITIES Sorbo was an engaging lead, and the series always had a good sense of humor about itself.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_2,00.html

XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS (1995-2001)
STARRING Lucy Lawless
PREMISE Imagine Knight Rider, but without the car. Xena (Lawless) and her buddy Gabrielle (Renιe O'Connor) regularly roll into some ancient Grecian hamlet to save the townsfolk from rogue warlords, petty gods, or demons from the mythological pit. Oh, and Xena is seeking to make amends for her early days as a rogue warlord herself.
REDEEMING QUALITIES A darker tone than Hercules set it apart, and the recurring lesbian subtext made it pretty mature for a show about hot chicks kicking ass.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_3,00.html

EARTH: FINAL CONFLICT (1997-2002)
STARRING Kevin Kilner
PREMISE Aliens have made first contact and ingratiated themselves with humanity. A police officer (Kilner) is caught between protecting them and fighting them as a member of the resistance.
REDEEMING QUALITIES It's based on a Gene Roddenberry idea — does that count?

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_4,00.html

THUNDER IN PARADISE (1994)
STARRING Hulk Hogan, Carol Alt
PREMISE Is it cheating if I say that this is like Knight Rider, but with a super-advanced boat instead of a car? Because it totally is. Two former Navy SEALs (Hogan and Chris Lemmon) flit all over the high seas as crime-fighting mercenaries while making time to raise Hogan's daughter and flirt with a hottie bar owner (Alt).
REDEEMING QUALITIES The boat. It talks.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_5,00.html

CLEOPATRA 2525 (2000-2001)
STARRING Gina Torres, Victoria Pratt, Jennifer Sky
PREMISE Five hundred years in the future, three very attractive revolutionaries (Torres, Pratt, Sky) do battle with the machines that have taken control of Earth's surface.
REDEEMING QUALITIES Always nice to see an entirely female-driven show, even if one of the characters was a 20th-century exotic dancer who fell into suspended animation after getting a boob job. (Seriously.)

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_6,00.html

ACAPULCO H.E.A.T. (1993-1994, 1998-1999)
STARRING Catherine Oxenberg
PREMISE A counterterrorist team sanctioned by the United Nations, H.E.A.T. (Hemisphere Emergency Action Team; awesome acronym, I know) was founded by the terrifically named Ashley Hunter-Coddington (Oxenberg) and fights international terrorism anywhere a bunch of bikini-clad models wouldn't be suspect.
REDEEMING QUALITIES Did I mention that H.E.A.T.'s cover was as the owner-models of a bathing-suit company?

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_7,00.html

QUEEN OF SWORDS (2000-2001)
STARRING Tessie Santiago
PREMISE Didja ever see Zorro? Young, attractive Spanish aristocrat sets up shop in Old California to fight injustice — personified by a power-abusing governor? Yeah, now imagine that with a woman in the lead.
REDEEMING QUALITIES Gosh, the show sure looked pretty, with all its Spanish location shooting and hot swordswoman action.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_8,00.html

RELIC HUNTER (1999-2002)
STARRING Tia Carrere
PREMISE Continuing the cheesy-TV trend of making shows a lot like movies you may have liked, but just a little different, Hunter followed Indiana Jones-y archaeologist Sydney Fox (Carrere) as she spans the globe looking for historic artifacts that needed returning to museums.
REDEEMING QUALITIES There was one episode where Sydney and her assistant, Nigel (Christien Anholt), had to go undercover at a nudist colony....

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_9,00.html

BEASTMASTER (1999-2002)
STARRING Daniel Goddard
PREMISE If you loved the 1982 Marc Singer flick of the same name, then we should have a beer, because there aren't many of us. But you'll also know the gist of the TV extension: Dar (Goddard) is the last of his tribe, can talk to animals, and dislikes wearing a shirt.
REDEEMING QUALITIES Natalie Mendoza, who kicked so much ass in The Descent, plays Dar's lost love.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_10,00.html

SUPER FORCE (1990-1992)
STARRING Ken Olandt
PREMISE Ex-astronaut Zachary Stone (Olandt) dons an experimental suit of futuristic armor to fight, well, futuristic crime — and bring the criminals who murdered his brother to justice.
REDEEMING QUALITIES One of the show's recurring villains was G. Gordon Liddy. Yes, the Watergate G. Gordon Liddy.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_11,00.html

RENEGADE (1992-1997)
STARRING Lorenzo Lamas
PREMISE Well, the opening narration sets it all up better than I could: ''He was a cop and good at his job. But he committed the ultimate sin, and testified against other cops gone bad. Cops that tried to kill him but got the woman he loved instead. Framed for murder, now he prowls the badlands. An outlaw hunting outlaws, a bounty hunter, a renegade.''
REDEEMING QUALITIES Lorenzo's crime-fighting duster was pretty rad.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_12,00.html

T. AND T. (1988-1990)
STARRING Mr. T
PREMISE The Mighty Mohawked One played former boxer T.S. Turner, who was — what else? — convicted of a crime he didn't commit. After he's sprung by crusading lawyer Amanda Taler (Alexandra Amini), the two Ts start a private-investigation business.
REDEEMING QUALITIES Duh, Mr. T! I pity the fool who needs more.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_13,00.html

CONAN: THE ADVENTURER (1997-1998)
STARRING Ralf Moeller
PREMISE The despicable sorcerer Hissah Zuhl has killed Conan's parents and enslaved his homeland of Cimmeria — so what else is there for a barbarian to do but exact his revenge?
REDEEMING QUALITIES Muscles, baby.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_14,00.html

BAYWATCH (1989-2001)
STARRING David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson
PREMISE Oh, please. Like anyone cared.
REDEEMING QUALITIES Red bathing suits. And slow motion.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_15,00.html

BAYWATCH NIGHTS (1995-1997)
STARRING David Hasselhoff
PREMISE Apparently, Mitch Buchannon (Hasselhoff) got tired of the sand and the sun and opened a PI firm with a buddy. But that got boring to watch, so in the second season, the show went all X-Files. And was promptly canceled.
REDEEMING QUALITIES Given that there were a lot less bathing suits, not many.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_16,00.html

THE ADVENTURES OF SINBAD (1996-1998)
STARRING Zen Gesner
PREMISE It's like Hercules and Xena, but in the Middle East! Or like Knight Rider, but with a sailboat!
REDEEMING QUALITIES Nice to see Baghdad portrayed in something of a positive light.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_17,00.html

V.I.P. (1998-2002)
STARRING Pamela Anderson
PREMISE Anderson played Vallery Irons, the glamorous figurehead of a bodyguard agency. Together with six other beautiful people, Val solves crimes by using her bubbly, buoyant personality.
REDEEMING QUALITIES Anderson's willingness to poke fun at her own image leavened the already light adventure.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_18,00.html

ANDROMEDA (2000-2005)
STARRING Kevin Sorbo
PREMISE Again, why summarize when I can crib from the show itself? ''He is the last guardian of a fallen civilization, a hero from another time. Faced with a universe in chaos, Dylan Hunt recruits an unlikely crew and sets out to reunite the galaxies. On the starship Andromeda, hope lives again.''
REDEEMING QUALITIES The Sorbo!

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_19,00.html

SHEENA (2000-2002)
STARRING Gena Lee Nolin
PREMISE Nolin left the confining world of Baywatch to topline this comic-book adaptation. Like Tarzan, Sheena was orphaned in the jungle and grew up learning to fight like animals and talk to animals. Unlike Tarzan, she can take on the form of animals — just by looking into their eyes.
REDEEMING QUALITIES Hmmm. I've gotta go with the jungle-print bikini.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_20,00.html

ADVENTURE INC. (2002-2003)
STARRING Michael Biehn
PREMISE Judson Cross (Biehn) calls himself a professional explorer, and he and his company take it upon themselves to find stuff that needs finding. And, more often than not, get into trouble along the way.
REDEEMING QUALITIES Michael Biehn. The dude was Kyle Reese, man!

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_21,00.html

THE LOST WORLD (1999-2002)
STARRING Peter McCauley
PREMISE No, it didn't have anything to do with Jurassic Park, though Prof. George Challenger (McCauley) and his turn-of-the-century explorers do run into dinosaurs during their voyage to a prehistoric land hidden in the Amazon.
REDEEMING QUALITIES Dinosaurs!

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_22,00.html

MUTANT X (2001-2004)
STARRING John Shea
PREMISE Adam Kane (Shea) was a geneticist who accidentally created hundreds of mutants, who are being hunted by Kane's old employers, who want mutants for themselves.
REDEEMING QUALITIES Even though it looked shot on the cheap, the stories hold up pretty well.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_23,00.html

SHE SPIES (2002-2004)
STARRING Natasha Henstridge
PREMISE It's like a hotter version of The Mod Squad — three female felons are released from the hoosegow to work as secret agents for the government. Which, if you talk to any parole officer, happens all the time.
REDEEMING QUALITIES Henstridge sure is purty. Which, in a show like this, is all you're looking for.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_24,00.html

KUNG FU: THE LEGEND CONTINUES (1993-1997)
STARRING David Carradine, Chris Potter
PREMISE Picking up a couple of generations after the first Kung Fu series, Carradine plays the grandson of the first Kwai Chang Caine, who, after the destruction of his Shaolin temple, reunites with his estranged son, a police detective named Peter (Chris Potter). Together, they get in adventures.
REDEEMING QUALITIES He may have lost a step since the '70s, but Carradine can still hold the screen — as we'd see later in Kill Bill.

How can you do a list of the most cheesy first-run syndicated TV shows and not have "Small Wonder" (that low budget sitcom from the '80s about a gynoid, who looked like a ten year old girl) on the list? :rolleyes:

catlover79
01-16-2009, 01:30 AM
I am STUNNED that Small Wonder didn't make the list - or Out of This World, for that matter.

Marvo301
01-16-2009, 01:46 AM
I don't know if you guys noticed but there isn't a single sitcom on that list. It's all adventure type shows. Obviously whoever made that list wasn't a sitcom fan.

Mikado
01-16-2009, 02:37 AM
Here in Canada we had a show where a family realised their new dog was their reincarnated uncle! :rofl: (I cant recall what it was called)

factsoflife
01-16-2009, 02:47 AM
why isn't Charles In Charge and Punky Brewster on the list they have to be two of the cheesiest syndicated shows ever!

dawsongirl
01-16-2009, 02:48 AM
^ LOL at Mikado's show.


Only one I ever saw was She Spies. It was cheesy for sure!

Mikado
01-16-2009, 02:56 AM
Here in Canada we had a show where a family realised their new dog was their reincarnated uncle! :rofl: (I cant recall what it was called)
OHHH I remember now...it was called DOG HOUSE

http://www.retrojunk.com/details_tvshows/1225-dog-house/

Marvo301
01-16-2009, 03:18 AM
I'd forgotten all about "Uncle Digby"! As I recall The uncle was a police officer with the dog squad. When he was killed in the line of duty he was reincarnated in the body of his canine partner. The dog was naturally given to his only living relatives, his sister and her three children. Only the oldest son knew about Uncle Digby as he was the only one to whom the dog spoke.(Yes! The dog spoke). To the rest of the family he was just a dog. Hilarity ensued!!

Mikado
01-16-2009, 03:31 AM
I'd forgotten all about "Uncle Digby"! As I recall The uncle was a police officer with the dog squad. When he was killed in the line of duty he was reincarnated in the body of his canine partner. The dog was naturally given to his only living relatives, his sister and her three children. Only the oldest son knew about Uncle Digby as he was the only one to whom the dog spoke.(Yes! The dog spoke). To the rest of the family he was just a dog. Hilarity ensued!!
RIGHT....man it was BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!! :lol: :crazy:

megamanj2004
01-16-2009, 03:32 AM
I actually liked Kung Fu: The Legend Continues!

I agree w/ the poster about Xena and Hercules being cheesy though!

comedyfreak
01-16-2009, 09:23 AM
Stupid list they don't know what they're talking about. I'd also add She's The Sheriff to that list.

factsoflife
01-16-2009, 02:03 PM
i can't believe they left off "Harry and The Hendersons"... that was a cheesy show if ever there was one!

catlover79
01-16-2009, 03:56 PM
i can't believe they left off "Harry and The Hendersons"... that was a cheesy show if ever there was one!
Wow, there's a blast from the past. :lol:

catlover79
01-16-2009, 03:57 PM
I actually liked Kung Fu: The Legend Continues!

I agree w/ the poster about Xena and Hercules being cheesy though!
:lol: David Carradine was in that, right? I thought there was a Kung Fu series made that he was not part of, but I could be wrong.

MickeyMac
01-16-2009, 05:19 PM
I'd throw in What A Countryinto that list, and Putting On The Hits too. Remember those cheesy shows?

catlover79
01-16-2009, 05:42 PM
I'd throw in What A Countryinto that list, and Putting On The Hits too. Remember those cheesy shows?
I've heard of Putting on the Hits, but not What a Country. :lol: When did that one air?

MickeyMac
01-16-2009, 09:29 PM
I've heard of Putting on the Hits, but not What a Country. :lol: When did that one air?


Mid 80's What A Country was about a group of immigrants trying to be U.S. citizens, it was set in a classroom. You didnt miss anything.

catlover79
01-16-2009, 09:30 PM
Mid 80's What A Country was about a group of immigrants trying to be U.S. citizens, it was set in a classroom. You didnt miss anything.
You're right - I don't think I missed much. :lol:

dawsongirl
01-16-2009, 10:01 PM
Mid 80's What A Country was about a group of immigrants trying to be U.S. citizens, it was set in a classroom. You didnt miss anything.
Was Yakov Smirnoff in it? :lol:

dawsongirl
01-16-2009, 10:13 PM
Was Yakov Smirnoff in it? :lol:
OMG...he was. :rofl:

jimpickens
01-16-2009, 10:20 PM
Madams Place and Black Scorpion as well as the Robocop series.

megamanj2004
01-17-2009, 02:13 PM
:lol: David Carradine was in that, right? I thought there was a Kung Fu series made that he was not part of, but I could be wrong.

David Carradine was in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues as...you guessed it...the main character!

:lol:

steevo
01-18-2009, 12:29 AM
"The $1.98 Beauty Pageant", anyone? :rolleyes:

catlover79
01-18-2009, 12:34 AM
"The $1.98 Beauty Pageant", anyone? :rolleyes:
If the show is was as bad as the title, I don't blame you for adding it to this list!! :eek: :lol:

Mikado
01-18-2009, 12:48 AM
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman The Gong Show (They were both cheesy, but, i loved them)

Marvo301
01-18-2009, 01:08 AM
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman The Gong Show (They were both cheesy, but, i loved them)

Remember the Unknown Comic!!!

catlover79
01-18-2009, 01:09 AM
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman The Gong Show (They were both cheesy, but, i loved them)
Who hosted The Gong Show again?

Mikado
01-18-2009, 01:47 AM
Chuck Barris , who was also the Producer hosted , Cat....and yeah, I remember the unknown comic...he was Canadian :)

And speaking of Mary Hartman(2) , don't forget its equally as cheesy and just as funny spin-off Fernwood/Hollywood Tonight

catlover79
01-18-2009, 02:11 AM
Chuck Barris , who was also the Producer hosted , Cat....and yeah, I remember the unknown comic...he was Canadian :)

And speaking of Mary Hartman(2) , don't forget its equally as cheesy and just as funny spin-off Fernwood/Hollywood Tonight
Thanks, Mikey. :lol:

Mikado
01-18-2009, 03:01 AM
YW, Cat :)

Zoneboy
01-18-2009, 03:20 AM
I've never seen a single show on that list.

catlover79
01-18-2009, 03:30 PM
Didn't they also do a syndicated version of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids?? :rolleyes: :crazy: :lol:

dawsongirl
01-19-2009, 01:22 AM
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman

That show was baaaaaad.

Marvo301
01-19-2009, 01:23 AM
Yes they did. It starred Peter Scolari.

dawsongirl
01-19-2009, 01:24 AM
Didn't they also do a syndicated version of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids?? :rolleyes: :crazy: :lol:
Someone had some of those on Youtube.

catlover79
01-19-2009, 01:25 AM
I thought so. WHY of all movies would they make a TV show out of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids?? :eek: :crazy: :lol:

dawsongirl
01-19-2009, 01:27 AM
"The $1.98 Beauty Pageant", anyone? :rolleyes:
:rofl:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076971/ For those who never caught it on GSN.

Zebra 3
01-19-2009, 02:06 PM
http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_17,00.html
(http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467_17,00.html)
V.I.P. (1998-2002)
STARRING Pamela Anderson
PREMISE Anderson played Vallery Irons, the glamorous figurehead of a bodyguard agency. Together with six other beautiful people, Val solves crimes by using her bubbly, buoyant personality.
REDEEMING QUALITIES Anderson's willingness to poke fun at her own image leavened the already light adventure.

A friend of a friend's second cousin's neighbour told me VIP has cool intro music. YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0k1bKkneg8) http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/4704/paperbagbe8.gif

TMC
04-13-2013, 03:35 AM
I am STUNNED that Small Wonder didn't make the list - or Out of This World, for that matter.

http://officialfan.proboards.com/post/9578823/quote/470267

I remember this very well. Needless to say, it didn't age well and looks beyond cheesy now. The mom went on to star in Even Stevens.