TV shows with cheap sets and production values - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 10-17-2021, 05:27 AM

Like the sets look like something that just looked like it came out of thrift store and/or the actors obviously did their own hair and makeup for instance.

stevea · 10-17-2021, 01:09 PM

For such a popular show, I always thought the sets on Everybody Loves Raymond were subpar. You don't expect set design to look as good on a multi-camera show as a single-cam, but there are others that look way better.

RetroGuy2000 · 10-17-2021, 02:49 PM

I enjoyed all of these, but the production values were sometimes sub-par:

The Honeymooners - Jackie Gleason was said to like the low-budget set, didn't like retakes, and preferred a "live" feel to the show. If a wall wobbled, they just kept it in the take, per Gleason's instructions. He didn't care. It makes the series feel a bit like a school play.

Captain Video - An estimated 5,000 episodes were produced, and the show was sometimes airing as many as six times per week on DuMont's stretched-thin schedule; Captain Video aired live for several years, so there were no retakes. In fairness, the episodes around 1953 and later did have a slightly higher budget, but slightly higher than "nothing" wasn't much.

Doctor Who - The classic 26 seasons are notorious for their low budgets, bad special effects, and cheap sets. It really depends on the era. The writing was often incredible, and the Tom Baker and early William Hartnell eras are deservedly well-loved. The producers treated the cast so horribly that characters often disappeared with little or no notice. In the worst example, the Doctor's companion Dodo disappears mid-storyline because actress Jackie Lane's contract expired and the producers were too cheap to bring her back for even one brief farewell scene, so another character awkwardly explains on camera that Dodo has suddenly moved to the countryside. Awkward! Companions frequently lasted one season and their actors didn't renew their contracts, leading to a constant cycle of new characters. Producers saw so little value in the Doctor's companions that they even reused companion names: Vicki -> Victoria, Sara -> Sarah Jane. The episodes themselves were given so little value that over 250 episodes were junked, and 97 episodes are still missing, presumed destroyed by the BBC. Talk about cheap!

Land of the Lost - This show was so low-budget it makes Doctor Who look like Shakespeare. The rubber suits, bad green screen, and cheap sets didn't date well. Still, I loved it as a kid!

Three's Company - for such a hit show, and knowing it made millions, it's so odd in modern times to see the cheap sets and recycled scripts (how many misunderstandings did this show have?).

The Facts of Life - In Seasons 2-4, nearly every scene takes place in the cafeteria, kitchen, or lounge, as if the producers were too cheap to build some additional sets. Only two episodes from this era occur in an Eastland classroom, and this classroom is later reused as a Langley College classroom in Season 6. The NYC diner set is reused in back-to-back episodes for what are supposed to be different diners. At times, it feels like the producers forgot there were supposed to be more students at this school, like when Natalie "prepares breakfast" with just six halves of grapefruit! In the first season, the Tiny Cafeteria set is reused as the gym and also Mr. Bradley's office (this actually was very clever, and only becomes clear on repeated viewing). The Tiny Cafeteria is so small there is only room for four tables! The girls' dorm rooms are mostly interchangeable, with only Tumpy's and Cindy's rooms being distinctive. The sets are recycled from Maude and Co-Ed Fever. The final three seasons of the show have the girls' house oddly growing, with many new rooms, doors, and written-in additions which make little sense given the existing shape of the house, and what has previously been stated by the characters. I roll my eyes when I hear "boiler room" or hear talk about the three magical additional bedrooms tacked on in seasons 8 and 9, but no discussion of additional bathrooms. Still love this show!

Star Trek - the flimsy "alien" sets and styrofoam rocks sometimes make the production feel cheap. I don't know why "outer space" needed to feel like an indoor set so often.

stevea · 10-17-2021, 07:12 PM

I forgot about Small Wonder. A multi-cam, videotaped show. Those shows should stay away from trying to mock up outdoor sets. On one episode I think they tried going fishing-really bad.

Brady Bunch - I think everyone over the years has commented on the astroturf back yard. It was a single camera show--they should have used a back lot.

I forgot too (^) about The Honeymooners. Most of the muffed lines were Gleason--leave it in. I remember one episode (vaguely) where something obviously went wrong-- I think something came off his handmade outfit for a costume party. He had a funny ad-lib for it.

Also (again ^) recycled plots -- the winner on this goes to the later years of Bewitched. I think I counted at least a dozen of them in the eighth season for another thread recently.

Script continuity -- people involved in productions probably didn't envision the binge marathons of today, but sitcoms in general have been bad in maintaining continuity. The kid develops an allergy to the dog, and it's gone by the next episode. A recurring character's name (sometimes first, sometimes last) name changes over the course of the series.

RetroGuy2000 · 10-17-2021, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevea

I forgot about Small Wonder. A multi-cam, videotaped show. Those shows should stay away from trying to mock up outdoor sets. On one episode I think they tried going fishing-really bad.

OMG, Small Wonder.

Where to start?

I do think multi-cam shows can do outdoor sets in a pretty realistic way... it just usually doesn't happen. The camping episode of Who's the Boss is a great way to do it: they brought in real horses, and the forest set didn't look cheap and fake. Friends did a football episode and the result was decent, too.

Quote:

Brady Bunch - I think everyone over the years has commented on the astroturf back yard. It was a single camera show--they should have used a back lot.

That would have been so much better. And it's not as though Paramount didn't have access to studio backlots, and we even see backlots in use in one of the Oliver episodes.

Quote:

I forgot too (^) about The Honeymooners. Most of the muffed lines were Gleason--leave it in. I remember one episode (vaguely) where something obviously went wrong-- I think something came off his handmade outfit for a costume party. He had a funny ad-lib for it.

Gotta respect an actor who can "go with the flow" and recover!

Quote:

Also (again ^) recycled plots -- the winner on this goes to the later years of Bewitched. I think I counted at least a dozen of them in the eighth season for another thread recently.

Yep!

Quote:

Script continuity -- people involved in productions probably didn't envision the binge marathons of today, but sitcoms in general have been bad in maintaining continuity. The kid develops an allergy to the dog, and it's gone by the next episode. A recurring character's name (sometimes first, sometimes last) name changes over the course of the series.

I understand continuity getting messed up between, say, Seasons 1 and 6. But I think we all remember episodes where the continuity gets messed up even between episodes in the same season... or even back-to-back episodes.

stevea · 10-17-2021, 09:09 PM

LOL, re Small Wonder. I've heard it said, it was sooo bad, it was good. For its apparent low budget, they did have a go at some not-so-bad special effects.

It's probably a show few would admit they watched.

When it comes to set design, it's gotta be really difficult to do woods and rural scenes on a soundstage. For one thing you can almost always see a backdrop--if you're looking for one.

stevea · 10-17-2021, 09:12 PM

Football--wow, kudos to Friends. That had to be difficult. I will say, the Raymond staff didn't do too bad with golf. Multiple greens--it had to be pretty expensive.

RetroGuy2000 · 10-18-2021, 04:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevea

LOL, re Small Wonder. I've heard it said, it was sooo bad, it was good. For its apparent low budget, they did have a go at some not-so-bad special effects.

It's probably a show few would admit they watched.

Probably so. I watched every episode until (I think) the final season when my local affiliate stopped airing the show. I was a pretty dumb kid, so I didn't care if it was a silly show. I watched whatever was in front of my eyes.

And I think the special effects were likely the funniest part of the show.

Quote:

When it comes to set design, it's gotta be really difficult to do woods and rural scenes on a soundstage. For one thing you can almost always see a backdrop--if you're looking for one.

The worst use of a backdrop I can recall was the Facts of Life episode where Mr. Bradley goes out the front door of the dorm, and the backdrop is literally 5 feet in front of him. It was the fakiest fake that ever faked. I couldn't believe they left that in there. Almost as bad as seeing Mr. Parker creeping through the bushes in Season 3.

The best '80s backdrop was on those Who's the Boss two-part camping episodes. I saw those episodes recently, after seeing them many years ago, and was very impressed. The episodes held up. The set and camera crew, and the animal handlers, did an amazing job of creating a forest on a soundstage.

RetroGuy2000 · 10-18-2021, 04:57 AM

I thought of another one.

Saved By the Bell - I know this series was never meant to be viewed by adults, but still. They hold their school pep rallies in the local diner, school dances are also held in the diner, and charity events are... also in the diner. They did eventually build a gym and stage set for the school, but that came several years later. I do give them props for the Malibu Sands episodes, which took those kids outside the bounds of the studio temporarily, but then they were right back at the school. Between the Indiana/California, Tori/Jessie/Kelly, and Miss Bliss discontinuities, this series ended up pretty messy. And would it have killed the producers to bring back Nikki and Mikey for a handful of episodes, to provide better continuity between the original GMMB show and the rebooted SBTB?

stevea · 10-18-2021, 07:54 AM

I'll admit to seeing every episode of Small Wonder--I just won't admit my age LOL.

I also have both DVD sets, and the 1st season set has very interesting commentaries from the main cast. IIRC except Tiffany Brissette.

RetroGuy2000 · 10-18-2021, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevea

I'll admit to seeing every episode of Small Wonder--I just won't admit my age LOL.

I also have both DVD sets, and the 1st season set has very interesting commentaries from the main cast. IIRC except Tiffany Brissette.

I had no idea the show was even on DVD.

I did view a few episodes of the show on YouTube or DailyMotion a couple of years ago; the show has not held up well, but I do have a good friend IRL who still loves that series, and I don't judge. I guess he must have those DVDs, too.

I remember watching the "milk carton" episode sometime after the episode was skewered by the Nostalgia Critic and Cracked.

SarahBellum · 10-18-2021, 10:58 AM

Lost in Space, although the robot was pretty good.

RetroGuy2000 · 10-18-2021, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahBellum

Lost in Space, although the robot was pretty good.

Definitely low production values, but the show does have its fans.

stevea · 10-18-2021, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I had no idea the show was even on DVD.

I did view a few episodes of the show on YouTube or DailyMotion a couple of years ago; the show has not held up well, but I do have a good friend IRL who still loves that series, and I don't judge. I guess he must have those DVDs, too.

I remember watching the "milk carton" episode sometime after the episode was skewered by the Nostalgia Critic and Cracked.

Shout did a bang-up job on the first season, with commentaries. The second season was a serious downgrade in quality, and no extras. The third and fourth seasons, nothing.

installLSC · 07-03-2022, 06:36 PM

Putting British TV shows on this list is kinda unfair considering the low budgets compared to Hollywood, but
"Are You Being Served?" all the sets look shabby and uninviting--which is exactly what a failing store would look like. If an American studio tried to do this it would look way too nice to work.
My local PBS station airs "Last of the Summer Wine" and all the indoor sets look awful. Cramped with ugly wallpaper. Combined with the homeliness of the cast all I can think is "in Hollywood they wouldn't even let these people on the set".

10-17-2021, 05:27 AM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 125,621	TV shows with cheap sets and production values Like the sets look like something that just looked like it came out of thrift store and/or the actors obviously did their own hair and makeup for instance.

10-17-2021, 02:49 PM	#3
RetroGuy2000 Julie,Julie Anne,&Felice 4Ever Forum Star Join Date: Dec 27, 2013 Posts: 16,914	I enjoyed all of these, but the production values were sometimes sub-par: The Honeymooners - Jackie Gleason was said to like the low-budget set, didn't like retakes, and preferred a "live" feel to the show. If a wall wobbled, they just kept it in the take, per Gleason's instructions. He didn't care. It makes the series feel a bit like a school play. Captain Video - An estimated 5,000 episodes were produced, and the show was sometimes airing as many as six times per week on DuMont's stretched-thin schedule; Captain Video aired live for several years, so there were no retakes. In fairness, the episodes around 1953 and later did have a slightly higher budget, but slightly higher than "nothing" wasn't much. Doctor Who - The classic 26 seasons are notorious for their low budgets, bad special effects, and cheap sets. It really depends on the era. The writing was often incredible, and the Tom Baker and early William Hartnell eras are deservedly well-loved. The producers treated the cast so horribly that characters often disappeared with little or no notice. In the worst example, the Doctor's companion Dodo disappears mid-storyline because actress Jackie Lane's contract expired and the producers were too cheap to bring her back for even one brief farewell scene, so another character awkwardly explains on camera that Dodo has suddenly moved to the countryside. Awkward! Companions frequently lasted one season and their actors didn't renew their contracts, leading to a constant cycle of new characters. Producers saw so little value in the Doctor's companions that they even reused companion names: Vicki -> Victoria, Sara -> Sarah Jane. The episodes themselves were given so little value that over 250 episodes were junked, and 97 episodes are still missing, presumed destroyed by the BBC. Talk about cheap! Land of the Lost - This show was so low-budget it makes Doctor Who look like Shakespeare. The rubber suits, bad green screen, and cheap sets didn't date well. Still, I loved it as a kid! Three's Company - for such a hit show, and knowing it made millions, it's so odd in modern times to see the cheap sets and recycled scripts (how many misunderstandings did this show have?). The Facts of Life - In Seasons 2-4, nearly every scene takes place in the cafeteria, kitchen, or lounge, as if the producers were too cheap to build some additional sets. Only two episodes from this era occur in an Eastland classroom, and this classroom is later reused as a Langley College classroom in Season 6. The NYC diner set is reused in back-to-back episodes for what are supposed to be different diners. At times, it feels like the producers forgot there were supposed to be more students at this school, like when Natalie "prepares breakfast" with just six halves of grapefruit! In the first season, the Tiny Cafeteria set is reused as the gym and also Mr. Bradley's office (this actually was very clever, and only becomes clear on repeated viewing). The Tiny Cafeteria is so small there is only room for four tables! The girls' dorm rooms are mostly interchangeable, with only Tumpy's and Cindy's rooms being distinctive. The sets are recycled from Maude and Co-Ed Fever. The final three seasons of the show have the girls' house oddly growing, with many new rooms, doors, and written-in additions which make little sense given the existing shape of the house, and what has previously been stated by the characters. I roll my eyes when I hear "boiler room" or hear talk about the three magical additional bedrooms tacked on in seasons 8 and 9, but no discussion of additional bathrooms. Still love this show! Star Trek - the flimsy "alien" sets and styrofoam rocks sometimes make the production feel cheap. I don't know why "outer space" needed to feel like an indoor set so often.
	__________________ The Facts of Life's "Lost Girls" Tribute to Julie Piekarski, Eastland Girl Join "The Group", Sitcoms Online's Facts of Life group!

10-17-2021, 01:09 PM	#2
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,536	For such a popular show, I always thought the sets on Everybody Loves Raymond were subpar. You don't expect set design to look as good on a multi-camera show as a single-cam, but there are others that look way better.

10-17-2021, 07:12 PM	#4
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,536	I forgot about Small Wonder. A multi-cam, videotaped show. Those shows should stay away from trying to mock up outdoor sets. On one episode I think they tried going fishing-really bad. Brady Bunch - I think everyone over the years has commented on the astroturf back yard. It was a single camera show--they should have used a back lot. I forgot too (^) about The Honeymooners. Most of the muffed lines were Gleason--leave it in. I remember one episode (vaguely) where something obviously went wrong-- I think something came off his handmade outfit for a costume party. He had a funny ad-lib for it. Also (again ^) recycled plots -- the winner on this goes to the later years of Bewitched. I think I counted at least a dozen of them in the eighth season for another thread recently. Script continuity -- people involved in productions probably didn't envision the binge marathons of today, but sitcoms in general have been bad in maintaining continuity. The kid develops an allergy to the dog, and it's gone by the next episode. A recurring character's name (sometimes first, sometimes last) name changes over the course of the series.

10-17-2021, 09:09 PM	#6
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,536	LOL, re Small Wonder. I've heard it said, it was sooo bad, it was good. For its apparent low budget, they did have a go at some not-so-bad special effects. It's probably a show few would admit they watched. When it comes to set design, it's gotta be really difficult to do woods and rural scenes on a soundstage. For one thing you can almost always see a backdrop--if you're looking for one.

10-17-2021, 09:12 PM	#7
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,536	Football--wow, kudos to Friends. That had to be difficult. I will say, the Raymond staff didn't do too bad with golf. Multiple greens--it had to be pretty expensive.

10-18-2021, 04:57 AM	#9
RetroGuy2000 Julie,Julie Anne,&Felice 4Ever Forum Star Join Date: Dec 27, 2013 Posts: 16,914	I thought of another one. Saved By the Bell - I know this series was never meant to be viewed by adults, but still. They hold their school pep rallies in the local diner, school dances are also held in the diner, and charity events are... also in the diner. They did eventually build a gym and stage set for the school, but that came several years later. I do give them props for the Malibu Sands episodes, which took those kids outside the bounds of the studio temporarily, but then they were right back at the school. Between the Indiana/California, Tori/Jessie/Kelly, and Miss Bliss discontinuities, this series ended up pretty messy. And would it have killed the producers to bring back Nikki and Mikey for a handful of episodes, to provide better continuity between the original GMMB show and the rebooted SBTB?

10-18-2021, 07:54 AM	#10
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,536	I'll admit to seeing every episode of Small Wonder--I just won't admit my age LOL. I also have both DVD sets, and the 1st season set has very interesting commentaries from the main cast. IIRC except Tiffany Brissette.

10-18-2021, 10:58 AM	#12
SarahBellum Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 15, 2007 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 3,873	Lost in Space, although the robot was pretty good.

07-03-2022, 06:36 PM	#15
installLSC Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 19, 2013 Location: United States Posts: 271	Putting British TV shows on this list is kinda unfair considering the low budgets compared to Hollywood, but "Are You Being Served?" all the sets look shabby and uninviting--which is exactly what a failing store would look like. If an American studio tried to do this it would look way too nice to work. My local PBS station airs "Last of the Summer Wine" and all the indoor sets look awful. Cramped with ugly wallpaper. Combined with the homeliness of the cast all I can think is "in Hollywood they wouldn't even let these people on the set".