I'm a lot like Brian Benben from the HBO series Dream On, in that I basically grew up in front of the television. So, when I see bad TV it really pisses me off.What's more irritating is that good shows get cancelled and the most idiotic programs somehow last forever -- they have unbelievably long original series runs, then are picked up for years in syndication.
Topping the chart on this list has to be Family Matters ... uuugghhhh. The show ran for nine fricking, annoying years from 1989 to 1998. It was about this idiotic character named Urkel, and his almost-as-annoying family. It's the kind of show that has the laugh track on automatic, no matter what's going on in the show and no matter how inane and stupid it is you hear the laugh track -- as you are slowly driving the fork in your eye to relieve the cerebral pain you are feeling from the bad humor. There's no creativity, just bad slapstick comedy that nobody ever laughs at, yet, I repeat, the show ran for 9 YEARS!! And, the link above takes you to a site on TV.com where viewers can rate the show -- and right now it's at 8.7 out of 10 (luckily, my abysmal rating brought it down from 8.8). I guess this proves that John Q. Public sucks -- if they can like this crap like this.
The only show that came close to this stupid piece of trash was Perfect Strangers, which (surprise, surprise) Family Matters was a spinoff of. This show falls under the "buddy show" category, when Balki moved in with cousin Larry -- hilarity ensued for seven years, and almost drove me to turn the TV off for ever.
On the flip side, quality shows -- where the writers actually had to think about what they were writing and were actually creative -- get tossed off the air before their time. Shows like the original Star Trek (three years), Police Squad (six episodes), Quantum Leap (5 years), the Black Donnellys (13 episodes) left you wanting to see more, yet they couldn't generate enough audience to keep them on the air. Guess that's because they didn't write their show for the lowest common denominator, who appreciates the rip-roaring comedy of Family Matters, Perfect Strangers, or any comedy that airs on the Disney Channel. Which reminds me ... for cases where capital punishment is necessary, I think that it should be a law that in the executioner's room that they air The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, so that the victim is pleading for the sweet relief of lethal injection.
What shows do you hate, and which do you wish had a longer original series run?
RoadRage
2 comments:
I'm still just devastated that Carpoolers was canceled after its first season last year. It was SO FUNNY!!!! Dammit.
Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip had an all star cast and some of the most intelligent writing I have seen in years for a "dramedie," and of course, it was cancelled. 6 Degrees was also a very good show about how 6 different peoples lives intertwined without them and knowing and was cancelled after 6 episodes...
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