Top 25 worst TV shows ever

[DianaMo]

The Chicago Tribune's Tempo staff compiled a list of their "Top 25 worst TV shows ever".


Top 25 worst TV shows ever

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/chi-071024worst_tv,0,2684896.story

What would you add to this list?

One interesting thing from this page is that the Trib is finally offering tv listings online.
I'm surprised that it took them this long to offer this feature, since I think they own a company that compiles and resells the listings.

[TiVo'Brien]

I liked "When Things Were Rotten." :o

Of course, I was 12 at the time. :p

[Mikeyis4dcats]

heh, I liked Mr. Belvedere and Small Wonder as a kid.

[DougF]

Besides Barney, I've only ever seen "B.J. and the Bear" from that list and I loved it.

[rich]

Beauty and the Beast wasn't bad.

[trnsfrguy]

Beauty and the Beast wasn't bad.

I recently rented the first season from Netflix and thought it was terrible. But, I loved the show back in the 80's.

[TIVO_GUY_HERE]

+1 Beauty and The Beast wasn't bad. If fact I would pick that as a top show of that era, at least for me.

[sieglinde]

You would be surprised about how many shows that you thought were OK when they were on are just terrible. I tried to watch Man from UNCLE, a show I loved, again and it was horrible.

[jlb]

How can one not like Beauty and the Beast.....Come on....Sarah Connor (sp?)!!!!!!!

http://entimg.msn.com/i/150/Movies/Actors4/Beauty_PF51108_150x225.jpg

[borther]

For me, it's not even close. Full House is my all time worse. I hated it so bad that I can't even watch anything that has any of the adult stars in it

With therapy, I can now watch ER, so I must be recovering.

[nedthelab]

I liked "When Things Were Rotten." :o

Of course, I was 12 at the time. :p


I think I was aruond 9 - thought it was funny

[keirgrey]

Me too!

[anom]

I recall Beauty as the Beast not as being terrible so much as overrated. That show had some hardcore fans.

I don't think I've seen more than 3 or 4 shows on the list, and I've never even heard of several of them.

[dcheesi]

heh, I liked Mr. Belvedere and Small Wonder as a kid.+1 Although I at least realized the Small Wonder was bad, I just liked it anyway :) OTOH, I thought Mr. Belvedere was actually pretty decent ...for a sitcom.

[latrobe7]

Ugh, I HATED "Small Wonder"!

[johnperkins21]

Mr. Belvedere should not be on there. It wasn't a great show, but one of the 25 worst? Not even. Looks like they kept reality shows off the list though, otherwise it would have been littered with them.

I just can't trust a reviewer who thinks that Three's Company was only slightly better than The Ropers. And come on, Mama's Family had its moments.

[visionary]

I can't believe none of the awful variety and talk shows are missing? Judy Garland's drunken show for instance, and any number of awful talk shows are far worse than most of these. Petticoat Junction was a great show in it's time, with pretty girls, why it would be there I don't know. It ran 7 years so was well sponsor supported so that meant ratings were fine.

My Mother the Car was really not a bit different than say Ghost Whisperer now, just they made the mistake of saying the car WAS mom, instead of a ghost talking thru the radio, which is how it was done. It was a comedy and that was done for humor no doubt. They could well do that plot today they just won't say the car is the ghost, just that the ghost is haunting the car, see?

[bareyb]

I don't agree with this list at all. Many of those shows are still popular in syndication and are considered classics. Maybe they are just "classically bad"? I am ashamed to admit I've seen nearly all of these and liked most of them. At the time. :p


"Mama's Family"
"Happy Days"
"Pink Lady and Jeff"
"B.J. and the Bear"
"Ernest Angely Hour"
"My Mother the Car"
"Petticoat Junction"
"Queen for a Day"
"Small Wonder"
"Manimal"
"Mr. Belvedere"
"Barney and Friends"
"The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer"
"The Geena Davis Show"
"Temptation Island"
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
"Caveman"
"Viva, Laughlin"

[visionary]

I am surprised no one mentions Jackass and Bevis/Butthead, not only bad in the sense of a badly acted and scripted show, but criminal in the way of training kids to set fires, poison food and so on, for fun. Maybe they only want network tv shows? If so, what about all the awful ones on MyNetworkTV, they are so bad I don't ever tune in.

[Magnolia88]

I recall Beauty as the Beast not as being terrible so much as overrated. That show had some hardcore fans.

I know -- seriously hardcore fanatics. I think they will be outraged at its inclusion on this list and the writer can expect some very nasty e-mails.

I thought Small Wonder was cheesy and horrible, even as a kid. How the heck did that show last for four years? How is that possible?

I loved BJ and the Bear, though. When I was 8.

[anom]

I am surprised no one mentions Jackass and Bevis/Butthead, not only bad in the sense of a badly acted and scripted show, but criminal in the way of training kids to set fires, poison food and so on, for fun. Maybe they only want network tv shows? If so, what about all the awful ones on MyNetworkTV, they are so bad I don't ever tune in.
Beavis and Butthead was a terrific show.

It was not a very good parenting tool. But then, it wasn't meant to be.

[smallwonder]

Ark II

Family and monkey travel around post-apocalyptic Earth in a ridiculously-shaped RV.
http://www.saturdaymorning.pop-cult.com/images/Ark2.jpg

[latrobe7]

...
Please tell me that your username and the name of the TV show are just coincidence! Is that you VICI?!

[jsmeeker]

For me, it's not even close. Full House is my all time worse. I hated it so bad that I can't even watch anything that has any of the adult stars in it

With therapy, I can now watch ER, so I must be recovering.


Seeing Bob Saget as a comedian can be shocking if you haven't seen him as anything other than Danny Tanner (or the host of America's Funniest Home Videos).

Also, Lori Laughlin was super hot, and stayed hot well after leaving the show.

[smallwonder]

Please tell me that your username and the name of the TV show are just coincidence! Is that you VICI?!


:D God, no! First thing I thought of when I saw the thread title was that show. Every now and again Sirius plays a 10 second clip of the show's theme song on the '80s channel and I can't stand it. That truly was a horrific show.

I'm surprised Alf didn't make the cut. Giant furry alien puppet somehow screams worst show ever...

[appleye1]

I liked (and still like) six of the shows on that list. I'm not going to say which ones! :o

But I will put in a positive plug for Petticoat Junction. I loved the whole Petticoat Junction/Beverly Hillbillies/Green Acres cycle. I picked up a bargain bin DVD of Petticoat Junction a while back that had 3 episodes on it. The show was as good as I remembered it to be.

[lodica1967]

I loved BJ and the Bear, though. When I was 8.


How sad is it that I can still sing the theme song to BJ and the Bear 25 years later!!?? :o

[Jesda]

I named my car Mr Belvedere. Its British.

[Uncle Briggs]

Mr. Belvedere was hilarious. Caveman doesn't belong on there either.

[marksman]

Surprisingly good bad list.

The one I would take exception with is BJ McKay and his best friend Bear.

[bengalfreak]

I don't agree with this list at all. Many of those shows are still popular in syndication and are considered classics. Maybe they are just "classically bad"? I am ashamed to admit I've seen nearly all of these and liked most of them. At the time. :p


The list you posted is not the 25 worst shows, they are related links. "Happy Days" is not one of the listed shows, "Joanie Loves Chachi" is, thus the related link to Days. Most of those shows are really, really bad. Mr. Belvedere, Petticoat Junction, and Beauty and the Beast are head scratchers.

[lawilson2]

Barney should have been #1...

[gchance]

This list suffers from everything these lists always suffers from. I'm not saying The Ropers was the greatest comedy, but look at the entry:

"The Ropers" (1979-80). An entire show built around the landlords from the nearly as awful "Three's Company."

They thought Three's Company was awful. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Greg

[LoadStar]

"'Mr. Belvedere' (1985-90). Starred Bob Uecker -- need we say more?"
And the answer is: yes, you do need to say more, I think, because the rest of us are a little puzzled.

[anom]

They thought Three's Company was awful. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Three's Company was pretty damn bad. John Ritter had some charm and a gift for physical comedy, but that's about all the show had going for it, IMO.

[appleye1]

The list you posted is not the 25 worst shows, they are related links. "Happy Days" is not one of the listed shows, "Joanie Loves Chachi" is, thus the related link to Days. Most of those shows are really, really bad. Mr. Belvedere, Petticoat Junction, and Beauty and the Beast are head scratchers.Yeah, everybody take note - here's the actual list:

"You're in the Picture" (1961)
"Petticoat Junction" (1963-'70)
"My Mother the Car" (1965-66)
"Turn-On" (1969)
"Ernest Angley Hour" (1973-present)
"B.J. and the Bear" (1979-81)
"When Things Were Rotten" (1975)
"Mr. T. and Tina" (1976)
"The Ropers" (1979-80)
"Joanie Loves Chachi" (1982-83)
"Mama's Family" (1983-90)
"Manimal" (1983)
"Mr. Belvedere" (1985-90)
"Small Wonder" (1985-89)
"Life With Lucy" (1986)
"Beauty and the Beast" (1987-90)
"Cop Rock" (1990)
"Pink Lady and Jeff" (1980)
"The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage" (1991)
"The Jerry Springer Show" (1991 to present)
"Barney & Friends" (1992-present)
"Homeboys from Outer Space" (1996-97)
"The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer" (1998)
“XFL” (2001)
"Cavemen" (2007)

[IJustLikeTivo]

As with all lists of this type, this one is flawed due to a bad premise. What they really mean is the "worst 25 show we hated but we know some people loved and that people even remember"

Some of them lasted many years 7-8 in some cases, clearly NOT BAD, not even close to the worst. Heck, there are no Tim Conway shows on the list. By definition, this list should be nothing but shows that made it on the air and shouldn't have and were immediately or very nearly immediately cancelled. But that would be stuff no one would remember which is why the idea is idiotic.

[markymark_ctown]

Earnest Angley...heal thyself :)

[heySkippy]

I liked My Mother The Car. Of course, I was 10, but still....

[tirofiban]

How about Galactica 80?

[nedthelab]

misfits of science!!

Last season of MASH (okay last 2-3 years)

[tivoboyjr]

I liked When Things Were Rotten, too, when I was a kid.

Mr. Belvedere doesn't belong on the list. It was a pretty funny show. Brice Beckham, the little kid, was very good. He always cracked me up, which isn't that easy to do.

I don't really get the logic to putting Barney on the list. By the same logic, you could just list 25 kids shows. Other than Spongebob, they're all pretty annoying to adults.

What would I add? Any of the ABC sitcoms, like According to Jim. They're all terrible.

[jtlytle]

Mr. Belvedere was my favorite show and I had crush on him! It shouldn't be on the list.

[appleye1]

Other than Spongebob, they're all pretty annoying to adults.
Even Spongebob was annoying to this adult, although I did like the theme song.



Mark (who endured years of Spongebob Squarepants with his youngest)

[cheesesteak]

They missed Flash Gordon.


When Things Were Rotten was great.