Biggest TV show busts in history

[Guest Youth N Asia]

Brady was/is good on whose line...

Show came off too rehearsed to me...the Bristish one seemed more like improv (and no, I'm not a supporter of British comedy, I hate most of it)

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

I wouldn't say rehearsed just as wrestling isn't rehearsed. I think in the american version they were helped by editing and were told the topics before the show...

 

Either way, very funny.

[Guest WrestlingDeacon]

I know people who have been to Who's Line tapings. They do something like 4 hours at a clip and then edit it all down to look decent. If you saw the improv ppv that Drew Carey has done you know what the show can look like long form.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

I know people who have been to Who's Line tapings. They do something like 4 hours at a clip and then edit it all down to look decent. If you saw the improv ppv that Drew Carey has done you know what the show can look like long form.

I know this is way off topic, but Showtime aired the improv ppv thing...it was pretty dull till the last bit.

 

There were mousetraps set all over the stage, and they had to act out a bit blindfolded....very very funny

[Guest Lethargic]

Action ended with Peter Dragon getting the heart attack right?

No, he recovered from that in 2 episodes. It actually ended pretty sadly and the last episode had more drama than comedy. The real ending had them finding out that a rival studio (A Miramax clone complete with two big fat Weinstein brothers) actually owned the rights to the movie they were making. They couldn't afford to get it back so the prostitute character decided that they she would sleep with them to get the rights back. Dragon tried to talk her out of it since by this time they were in love and everything. But she had to do it cause it was the only way. The next morning she came back completely destroyed and sick of Hollywood so she left and moved to the mid-west to get out of the life. It seemed that Peter wanted to go with her but he knew he wouldn't be able to change so he just let her go. The scene where he watched her leave was actually pretty sad, for Action at least. After that he went back to the studio to finish the movie and that was that.

[Guest starvenger]

Maggie and Crying Man died which made way for Jerry's brother and that MTV girl to join the show, this was the begining of the end for Sliders. I think the Professor also died but not sure.

Maggie = MTV Girl aka Kari Wuhrer. Wade was the one sent to the internment camp.

 

The American Whose Line would be better if they went back to two rotating players to go with Ryan and Colin, and went with a bigger pool of players. Just my opinion, though. I'm sure Wayne's a nice guy, but you don't need to have an improv song from him EVERY show.

[Guest Eagan469]

Maggie and Crying Man died which made way for Jerry's brother and that MTV girl to join the show, this was the begining of the end for Sliders.  I think the Professor also died but not sure.

Maggie = MTV Girl aka Kari Wuhrer. Wade was the one sent to the internment camp.

 

The American Whose Line would be better if they went back to two rotating players to go with Ryan and Colin, and went with a bigger pool of players. Just my opinion, though. I'm sure Wayne's a nice guy, but you don't need to have an improv song from him EVERY show.

I don't care if he's a manic-depressive - DRAG Tony Slattery to the US to make episodes

[Guest razazteca]

I think the main reason Titus was cancelled was because of the line up of Malcohn in the Middle, Titus, and Bernie Mack. All three shows were basically the same thing disfunctional family sitcoms that had the main character talk to the camera.

 

Malcohn was focused on the kids so that was save for cute factor, Titus was your basic stand up comedian gets a tv show based on his life, and Bernie Mack was the same damn thing except it was Crobsy with an edge.

 

Titus was funny it had Stacy Keach as the alcoholic father and alot of jokes about his relationships with his girlfriend and father the conflict between them. And when he would do the talk to the camera skits it was golden.

 

Apperently Fox was going after the fans of the Kangs of Comedy concert movie, trying to steal the audience back from UPN or WB.

[Guest starvenger]

Apperently Fox was going after the fans of the Kangs of Comedy concert movie, trying to steal the audience back from UPN or WB.

IMO, a Bernie Mac hampered by network language regulations just isn't as funny...

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

MANTIS was very good. For those who don't know, MANTIS was about a handicapped superhero who used a special exo-skeleton and darts that temporarily paralyzed to fight crime. The first few episodes were very ingenius and it gained a small following, but FOX wanted it to be the next X-Files and the show lost something.

 

I also think it was too simalar to Batman for it's own good.

[Guest red_file]

I also think it was too simalar to Batman for it's own good.

Unfortunately, the cynic in me has to believe that have an African American lead didn't help either.

[Guest starvenger]

I also think it was too simalar to Batman for it's own good.

Unfortunately, the cynic in me has to believe that have an African American lead didn't help either.

Kinda makes me wonder how long "Night Thrasher" will last, if it ever makes it to the small screen...

[The Dames 0]

Whatever happened to "Haunted" on UPN that debuted earlier this year? I wanted to watch it, but it conflicted with 24 & Smallville. Horrible timeslot.

 

Dames

[Guest Dr. Wrestlingphysics]

I think Fresh Prince of Bel Air got a lot less good in the later series. It started of quite funny, but when they changed the mother, and Will and Carlton went to college and Ashley got older and then the new kid appeared for no reason, it just fell into the trap of dealing with "issues" and trying to be more serious rather than being a comedy.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

Whatever happened to "Haunted" on UPN that debuted earlier this year? I wanted to watch it, but it conflicted with 24 & Smallville. Horrible timeslot.

 

Dames

That show kicked ass...yanked after about 4 or 5 episodes and replaced with reruns of UPN's Monday shows.

 

BOOOOO

[Guest wwF1587]

Roseanne - watching reruns of this show now and then on TBS it still pisses me off when they had to switch beckys... no offense but the origianal becky they had to start the show was WAY better than her replacement for a while.. the lottery thing too was just completely stupid... i refuse to watch that season, whenever they show reruns of that i just turn it cause that was bad shit

 

XFL - way to go vince

 

South Park - after a near perfect first season i never got back into this show.. just really faded out.. I guess I got tired of waitting for what seemed forever for new episodes

[Guest Youth N Asia]

I don't think South Park's gotten any worse. I just think after the shock wore off it didn't come off as funny...I still love the show.

[Guest godthedog]

South Park - after a near perfect first season i never got back into this show.. just really faded out.. I guess I got tired of waitting for what seemed forever for new episodes

dude, what are you talking about? the episodes from the first season seem clumsy and amateurish compared to the shit they're cranking out now. the timing is better, the satire is sharper, & they're cramming more and more off-the-wall 'what the fuck' ideas into every show. starvin marvin in space & scott kellerman must die smoke anything from the first season.

[Guest Crux]

Roswell...it started off well enough and then it just sno-balled.

[Guest razazteca]

Remember that time period in the 90s when other networks tried to make prime time animated series to challange the Simpsons? One of the Halloween Specials even made fun of this with the intro of tombstones of the failures.

 

Family Dog

Fish Police

Capital Critters

[Betty Houle 0]

The season of ROSEANNE when Darlene left for school and they introduced the new Becky and Mark became a permanent part of the show was a pivotal part of the show. The focus of the show changed at this point. There was still funny episodes though.

 

The real harbringer of the upcoming collapse of the show was the Halloween episode that had Roseanne delivering her baby and meeting Jerry Garcia in the process. Still some funny stuff after that though.

 

Anf then they won the lottery...

[Guest Anorak]

I'm not even sure how many series/episodes there have been because they don't show it that frequently in the UK anymore but King Of The Hill just isn't enjoyable anymore. The first series was shown in full in a regular timeslot and was excellent. It was well observed and gentle/subtle humor which worked really well wheras the later episodes i've caught seem to be completely flat, virtually every main character has become either unlikeable or irritating in some way.

 

While its still a very popular show with its own full length movie in the pipeline Red Dwarf 'busted' quality wise from series 7 onwards. Even series 6 wasn't perfect but it was still a funny show with the darker tone of the cliffhanger episode 'Out Of Time' an effective mini-departure in a weird RD/Empire Strikes Back kind of way. Series 7 was terrible however with Rimmer being ousted for much of it and the addition of Kochansky as the one regular female character was never going to work. Series 8 could have been interesting with the original Red Dwarf 1 crew brought back to life but it was equally dissapointing.

 

The most spectacular 'bust' of a show in recent memory was Channel 4's Social/Political satire show Brass Eye. The show was one of the most critically acclaimed in what has undoubtedly been a golden modern era of British comedy but will always be remembered by most for its final episode which was devoted entirely to child abuse. Yup, CHILD ABUSE. Naturally the press went had a field day as people all over the country (most of whom hadn't even seen the show and its content) protested their outrage at such 'filth'. In the actual show Chris Morris (Mr Brass Eye) had targeted television, the music industry, news programmes and the media in general for being either moral hypocrites or sensationalist hatemongers towards the issue. Morris, who had always hit a bit too close to the ugly reality of many issues for some people was (as he knew himself from the episodes first broadcast) out on his ear post haste. Brass Eyewas important television as much as it was great television, an all too rare instance of angry, passionate and confrontational modern satire and comedy which posed real questions some people never wanted asking in the first place. I can't think of a better, funnier show in recent memory which went 'bust' in more spectacularly controversial style.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

King of the Hill...I really liked the first season, but after that they just kinda make Hank his wife's bitch. Just not the kind of thing I want to see on tv, plus it wasn't as funny. And the new eps are just the shits.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Anyone say Suddenly Susan yet?

 

I never liked the show, but it was popular for a year and then when poof.

 

You can pretty much well say that about every show put in between Friends and Seinfeld in MSTV's heyday.

[Guest MD2020]

How about Who Wants to be a Millionaire? The format of the show was generally the same, but it was at such a high level of ratings and on all the time, and then bang--it totally went to shit.

[Guest razazteca]

The thing with Suddenly Susan, it was funny but when Judd Nelson left and the suiside by one of the cast members and new characters just destroyed what was good about the show.

[Guest starvenger]

How about Who Wants to be a Millionaire? The format of the show was generally the same, but it was at such a high level of ratings and on all the time, and then bang--it totally went to shit.

And thank goodness for that. There is only so much of Regis acting all smug and stuff that a person can take...

[Guest Youth N Asia]

How about Who Wants to be a Millionaire?  The format of the show was generally the same, but it was at such a high level of ratings and on all the time, and then bang--it totally went to shit.

And thank goodness for that. There is only so much of Regis acting all smug and stuff that a person can take...

The show was ok when it was only every now and then. But when they had it on so often it killed it. It was easier to root for someone when it wasn't on all the time.

 

The thing that bugged me most was that if the person said he had it narrowed down to A and B, then did a 50/50 they would take out the two he had in mind. That happened every single time and was not random like they claimed. Probably why Regis tried to pep talk them into saying what they thought it was before they guess.

 

I also hated this crap.

 

Q: "What is the Captial of Michigan?"

 

a. Lansing

b. Detroit

c. Ann Arbor

d. toaster oven

 

Every damn question before $1,000 they tried to have a cute answer for d

[Guest Michael Joel Benoit]

I LOVED Family Matters when I was young. I actually considered buying the Urkel doll when it was out (thank goodness I didn't).

 

But the last three seasons just didn't do well for me. Maybe it was Laura's new haircut, or Urkel living in the Winslow's house, or Urkel getting cloned and turning into Stefphan. It didn't have the fun and magic the earlier seasons did.

 

I HATED the final season when it moved to CBS. I never liked the new Harriet and Eddie moving on his own and becoming a policeman. And I could tell I wasn't alone as the ratings for the CBS season sucked. Rachel and Waldo leaving didn't help my opinion of the show that much.

 

Perhaps, the saddest part was in the final season, Laura FINALLY fell in love with Urkel. And no one was there to witness it. That was the biggest storyline throughout the entire show's run, would Laura ever fall in love with Steve Urkel? Now it happened but since the show sucked, no one saw it. The final episode ended with Laura and Steve engage to be marry and you could tell that they were planning for another season when the wedding would happen. But it never did. The last words from Urkel were "Only when we kiss, Laura Lee, only when we kiss." And that was that. No wedding. Kind of a sad way to end huh? I would atleast let them have the wedding before ending the show. But it ended on an incomplete note and that sucks.

 

But, atleast they show the early episodes on TBS so we still got that.

[The Dames 0]

I never watched one episode of that season....how did Laura fall in love with Urkel!?

 

Dames